Merlin High School

That's what was written on the folded piece of paper...

Leo didn't even need to think twice to guess who had slipped this into his pocket. It had to be that mysterious woman—he remembered feeling her hand brushing against him subtly when she leaned close.

Now, everything started to make a little more sense. The people who had kidnapped him... they were clearly connected to his current mess.

Weird magic. Weird girls. A weird, twisted game...

Everything was just bizarre, but—

"How...?" Leo muttered under his breath as he walked over to the cupboard where he had earlier taken the medical kit. He opened it again and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper.

He sat down and began scribbling. Notes, points, a messy flowchart—anything that could help him make sense of what was going on.

'Let's piece this together. What do I know so far?' he thought to himself.

He was kidnapped—abducted—by four unknown women.

One of them had kissed him. His first kiss, stolen just like that. Then she poured something into his mouth...

And then... he died.

Leo froze for a moment, staring at the word he had just written.

Killed.

He remembered it now. Vividly. He could still feel it—being stabbed right in the chest by a strange sword with a glowing blue hilt. It was sharp. Cold. Painful.

That was the last thing he recalled before everything went black.

After that... he had somehow woken up inside a bizarre school building, with no explanation. His body had moved on its own, as if guided by some invisible force, leading him to this house where he now sat.

And then—he got attacked. Some strange guy with a staff had appeared out of nowhere. That man claimed he had already killed Leo once.

"Weird... I don't remember dying by his hand," Leo muttered, his brow furrowing as he tried to process that.

But then again, he had been stabbed after encountering him...

"Pride appeared," Leo said out loud, his voice low. His eyes shifted toward the girl—Pride—who was standing silently nearby, watching him with an indifferent expression.

"Come to think of it," Leo said, turning toward her, "didn't you heal me back then? When you first showed up?"

Pride gave a small nod. "Indeed, Master. At the moment of my summoning, the mana you released was of exceptional purity—unlike anything I have felt in ages. It was sufficient to restore your wounds with my help. However, I am unable to heal you now."

Leo blinked in confusion. "Pure? But that shrine woman said I don't even have proper mana circuits. She said I shouldn't be able to summon anything."

Pride nodded again, more slowly this time. "That is precisely what baffles me. By all logic, the summoning should have been impossible. And yet... You called for me, and I answered."

She shrugged, her usually calm tone now tinged with her own confusion.

Leo leaned back, tapping his pen against the paper. 'Could it be... was it something to do with that kiss?' he thought. He quickly scribbled down a note: Maybe related to the kiss?

And then there was the magical girl.

He'd run into her shortly afterwards. She had looked at him like she knew him—like there was some deep familiarity—but Leo hadn't recognised her at all.

She'd tried to explain things. 

Then came the little vampire girl. And the bat-like monster.

It felt like one absurd thing after another. A chaotic, surreal nightmare.

Then, just this morning, Leo had tried to contact his friends. He called everyone he could think of... it was but someone else.

He'd even gone to the police station—only to discover that the officers there seemed to know him. They addressed him by name and talked like they'd seen him before.

Leo exhaled slowly, his brows furrowed deep in thought. 'This is too elaborate to be a prank. Too real to be artificial,' he thought. 'No one could fake something like this… not with this level of detail.'

He gave a slow, uncertain nod, as if trying to convince himself.

His eyes wandered back to the folded letter.

In the corner of the paper... there was a faint red smudge. Lipstick.

Leo's lips twitched slightly. A smirk, or maybe irritation. He wasn't sure.

Still, he carefully folded the note again and slipped it back into his pocket.

He thought, 'Sigh... None of this makes sense. I remember everything about my life—my past, my memories. They're intact. But these people… these events… none of them match. It's like I'm living in someone else's bod—'

He suddenly froze.

Something clicked in his mind.

His breath hitched.

'Wait... what if...'

His heart started pounding faster. He stood up abruptly, stepping away from the sofa—toward the mirror on the far wall.

He felt sick. Anxious. Dread swirled in his chest like a storm. His mind raced through every possibility, every fear, every horrifying theory.

And finally...

He stood in front of the mirror.

He stared.

And he saw...

Himself.

Sigggghhhhh

Leo let out a long, drawn-out sigh as if he had been holding his breath for hours.

Relief washed over his face.

Pride tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression calm but curious, as she watched him quietly.

"Haha..." Leo chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was worrying over nothing... Seems like it's still me," he said, running his fingers across his cheeks and jawline.

But then, his expression slowly shifted. He frowned, something didn't feel quite right.

'Hmm... I look a little different... hmm.' His hands travelled down to his chest, arms, waist... His body felt slightly leaner. Not weak, but... different. Slimmer, even a bit more toned in certain areas—almost like someone had fine-tuned his frame without asking for permission.

Ring... Ring!

A loud phone ringing echoed through the house, sharp and sudden.

Leo flinched at the noise while Pride instinctively summoned her weapon, her stance already defensive.

They both looked toward the source of the sound. It was just the landline phone sitting on a small table in the hallway.

Leo let out a breath, shaking his head slightly. "It's just a phone call," he muttered, still tense. But when he made no move to pick it up, the ringing continued... again and again.

Finally, Leo stepped forward and carefully lifted the receiver. He brought it to his ear.

"...Hello?" he said quietly.

"Leo."

The voice on the other end was male, steady, but strict.

Leo frowned. "...Yes?"

"We're calling from your school."

Leo blinked in surprise.

"The police informed us that you've been messing around instead of attending classes. Care to explain why you didn't come to school today?"

"Well..." Leo opened his mouth to respond, but the voice interrupted him.

"You wouldn't normally skip without a reason. Did something happen? Also, why is your school uniform hanging off a pole?"

"Sir, I thi—"

"Anyway, if you don't show up before lunch, I'll have no choice but to inform the Principal. And you'll have to deal with the consequences."

Click.

The call ended abruptly. Leo slowly lowered the receiver, his face blank and unreadable.

"Master?" Pride's voice came from behind, her head tilted slightly as she looked at him, curious. "Who was that?"

Leo sighed, placing the receiver back in place. "It's nothing..." he murmured, though his mind was clearly elsewhere.

He hadn't planned on going to school today—not after everything—but now...

"I might find some clues there. Something about who I really am," he said softly, his expression turning thoughtful.

Because schools... they were full of memories. Laughter. Drama. Identity. If there was any place that could help him reconnect the pieces of this puzzle, it would be there.

He nodded to himself. "Yeah. I'm going to school."

He gave a quick sniff of his shirt and arms—no odor, thankfully. He looked decent enough, so he decided not to change.

"I'm coming with you then," Pride said without hesitation, already walking toward him.

Leo turned and waved his hands. "No, no. I don't think that's necessary."

"You may encounter other Masters..." Pride said seriously, her voice calm but firm, "and should danger arise, I cannot allow harm to befall you again."

Leo shook his head. "I'll be fine. Don't you remember? Mages are only allowed to fight when there are no civilians around. School is probably the safest place for me right now. So don't worry. Just stay here, okay?"

Pride frowned, clearly unhappy with the idea. Her eyes remained locked on him, reluctant.

Leo gave a small sigh. Then, before she could say anything else, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a sudden hug.

"I'll be okay. You got it?" he whispered.

Pride blinked, caught off guard by the gesture. Before she could respond, Leo stepped back and walked out of the house without another word.

Pride watched the door for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh, "...He is a most curious individual," she muttered to herself.

She turned back toward the living room, where Leo had left his notes scattered on the table.

She glanced at the paper. His handwriting wasn't the best. The content was cryptic and incomplete, making it hard to understand.

But one thing caught her eye.

"One B?" she murmured, reading the large letters scrawled across the bottom of the page.

Meanwhile...

Leo was walking through the streets, blending in with the small groups of late students making their way to school. Thankfully, he was still in uniform. That helped him avoid suspicion. He simply followed the flow, staying quiet and observant.

Eventually, they arrived.

Before him stood the familiar gates of...

Merlin High School.

Leo paused at the entrance, staring up at the sign. His fingers curled slightly at his sides.

"Well... here we go," he muttered, taking a deep breath as he stepped inside.