29 News from the other side (1/2)
Leilade reluctantly let the arrogant boy go and a loud sound could be heard in the empty room when his body hit the ground. Matching her expectation, the previous smug behavior was completely erased and the kid became more terrified than a lamb in front of a wolf. The moment she looked at him, he immediately lowered his eyes, not daring to gaze into her clear blue eyes. Turning toward Alexander, she tried her best to have a kind smile on her face. A smile that gave shivers to the veteran magus.
”He tried to hit me and harass a poor and frail girl. I retaliated but to my surprise he was weak. There's no need to punish him, it was just a friendly interaction.”
The cold voice narrated her side of the story and Alexander would have maybe believed it if he wasn't ears dropping. However, he clearly heard that while the comportment of the boy was inadmissible, there was no evidence of him doing something physical. When they first met, he had already labeled him as a dog that only barks and never bites.
Feeling a headache incoming, Alexander decided that it was not really his job to deal with that and since it was clear that Leilade was a capable kid, he will let her do as she liked. Remembering her past, it was logical that she reacted excessively against any opponents, but to be sure, he still grabbed her and led her further away. Creating a bubble soundproof, he warned the small girl.
”Don't kill anyone, no, no, I rephrase. Don't maim anyone. No serious injuries, nothing permanent. And no death also. That's the rule, no one should lose a limb because they offended you. I shouldn't tell you this, but it is the first year that most of the petty acts occurred. Bullying someone with talent and status is extremely harsh that year and in some cases, few commoners couldn't deal with it and resigned. In your case, I know you won't be swayed by such a ridicule reason. But don't kill, don't destroy their bodies. Anything else is fine.”
He looked earnestly at Leilade, hoping that she will accept those new conditions. If it wasn't for those dark times, she shouldn't have to suffer such a fate, but Alexander was really worried about the entire Academy. With two jewels in the same year, the other nations would have been restless. The only problem with his reasoning was his incomplete information about the very girl in front of him. When he said, nothing could happen to their bodies, it opened a door that he wasn't aware.
”Ok. Only some small bruises and wounds.”
”Yes, exactly. Great, now, you will wait here just for a few minutes. I will get a 2nd Circle mage to accompany you while you wait. You arrived really too early and not everything is ready.”
He destroyed his soundproof bubble and began to sermon Leilade.
”It is inadmissible that a commoner dares to raise her a hand on a noble. If it was anywhere else, you would be in deep problems but you are lucky to have barely the talent to enter this Academy. I let you off this time, but you will face many problems if you do not respect those with better talents. Just a future 2nd Circle wouldn't even be able to become a servant of a 4th Circle magician. Now get out of my sight.”
Anger could clearly be seen on his face and in the end, the magus even snickered while Leilade lowered her head under the hard words. That appeased a bit the boy, but when he dared to look up once more, he met the frosty eyes of the girl. All his courage instantly disappeared and he swore to himself to become a better student. He didn't listen to the pieces of advice of his parents but he regretted to have already an enemy on the first day.
Barely a minute after Alexander left, a young man barely 20 years old entered while yawing. Two black zones were visible under his eyes and he had trouble staying awake. As for explaining anything, he didn't even bother to speak to the two kids. He just found a bench and slept on it. Since he became useless to think about the newcomer, Leilade looked around for the first time.
The hall they currently stayed in was capable of containing more than 100 people without any problems. Numerous chairs and benches were put near the walls and the center was completely cleared of anything. Near one of the wall, a small platform with just two chairs was constructed. Unlike the rest of the furniture that was made of wood, that part of the room was entirely in stone, the two chairs included.Since she had nothing to do, she approached the stage made of stone.
On it, as she expected, some magical reinforcements were inscribed on. No matter how she looked, she still wasn't able to understand their effect without entering in contact. And she wasn't foolish enough to do that when a magus was personally stalking her. That crude ear dropping spell was easily seen by her. Without using magic, she was sensible to the variation of mana surrounding her, the only problem was the fact that she couldn't use it properly.
(Do you think you can steal the mana inside those inscriptions without being noticed? They are maybe primitive but they look disciplined and rigorous.)