543 Chapter 543: High School Drama (1/2)
”Your sister isn't joining us?” I asked when Rossetti led Kufa and me to a room, whereas Roselia ran off somewhere else.
Rossetti shook her head. ”She goes to a different school. Holy Saint Francesan Girl's School – it is an all girl's school, so she might find you guys interesting.”
”I didn't know you have a sister,” Kufa remarked, amazed. Rossetti shrugged.
”Yeah, I never told anyone. Didn't seem relevant, especially since she doesn't attend the same school as me.”
”Anyway, let's begin.” I pushed my glasses up my nose and leaned back in my seat. ”What's the plan?”
Rossetti leaned over and conjured a holographic map of the school. She began tracing her finger along the perimeter.
”We are thinking of reestablishing a barrier here, here and here.” She sat back in her seat. ”The cross barriers that the Guang Zhi Yi Sect set up the last time proved to be effective, so if we are to replicate that…”
”Where are we going to get those silver crosses from?” I asked. ”We are not from the Hunter Association. I don't suppose we can simply buy them from a store or order them online from Amazon, can we?”
”Unfortunately, no,” Kufa admitted. ”Even if I use my contacts, I don't think they can help me requisition an entire crate of silver crosses.”
”We'll have to figure something out…maybe find an alternative.” Rossetti sighed and folded her arms. ”Most types of barriers are usually temporary, so we can't set one up for an extended period of time. The only barrier that is permanent is the one constructed by the silver crosses.”
”They are very limited, though,” Kufa warned. ”They only keep out zombies and give trouble to vampires. They don't work against other mages or monsters.”
”Then we should set up sentries. Patrol the school.” Rossetti considered her options. ”Maybe we'll form a club, and have students volunteer to patrol the school after classes.���
”Who would do that?” I asked, trying not to sound too negative. Rossetti shrugged.
”I…don't know.”
We spent the next couple of hours drawing up plans and writing proposals, hoping to submit them to Headmistress Taylor. Whether she would accept them or not was one thing, but at least we tried. Truthfully, I didn't care. I was more concerned over joining the Midnight Order to hunt down the vampires.
”Thanks for coming, guys.” Rossetti smiled, despite our lack of progress. ”We didn't achieve much, but at least we have some proposals. That has to be better than nothing.”
”Yeah. I'll keep you guys updated when I get more news.”
”Oh? You are leaving now?” Roselia appeared, giggling mischievously. ”You should stay for dinner. I would like to get to know my future brother-in-law more.”
”What…brother-in-law?!” Rossetti spluttered.
”Which one do you prefer, Sis?”
”Heh…” Roselia approached me with a wicked smile. ”I say this one. He's the only outsider who can tell us apart.”
”So what?” Rossetti demanded, her hands on her hips. Roselia raised an eyebrow as she glanced back at her twin.
”Have you forgotten? Didn't we agree that the only guys worth marrying are the ones able to distinguish us from each other?”
Rossetti turned bright red. ”That…that's just a childish game we played back when we were kids! Why are you bringing that up now!?”
She then turned toward us and shooed us away.
”Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow!”
”Tch.” Roselia clicked her tongue. ”You're no fun at all.”
As we left, Kufa turned toward me, amazed.
”You were able to tell those twins apart? I couldn't tell at all.”
”Uh, well…I watch too much anime, so when I noticed that the ponytail was on the wrong side…”
”…seriously?”
”Yeah. Oh, and the air they give off is different. Rossetti is more innocent and bubbly. Her sister seems more mischievous and scheming.”
”Now that you mention it…” Kufa scratched his head. Then he shrugged and grinned. ”Or it could be love.”
”Not you too…” Rolling my eyes, I sighed and increased my pace.
*
The next day, I ran into Nan Gong Yue Jian, Lin Xuan Chi and Ling Xue Xiao, and brought them to the staff room. From there, Teacher Lao Shi took over and led the three of them to their new classes. I left them to her because, quite frankly, it wasn't my job to take care of them. The teachers could handle that. I had more important things to worry about.
Besides, my homeroom teacher was Teacher Einsberg, not Teacher Lao Shi. I would rather not join the same class as Yue Jian and the rest.
I didn't want to get involved in some sort of shoujo drama where Yue Jian got picked on by her new classmates for no reason other than because she was the main heroine, attracted the attention of a bishounen character and ended up incurring the wrath of her jealous female classmates. Nope. This was supposed to be a world of magic battle academies, not sappy shoujo romance. I could do without the drama in my life.
While I was in the classroom, I checked my smartphone for news and updates regarding the rescue mission.
”Still nothing, huh? Even though it's over a week since then?”
I couldn't help but feel anxious at the complete lack of updates. Were they going to save Nan Gong Zhao Yan and the missing students or not?
Well, as long as we had no idea where the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Sect was, there was nothing I could do except wait. My specialty lay in summoning and blowing things up, not reconnaissance and gathering intelligence.
”Good morning, everyone.”
As always, Teacher Einsberg greeted everyone with a smile when he walked into the classroom, a folder under his arm. To my utmost surprise, he wasn't alone. He glanced behind him and gestured. Turning back to us, he brightly delivered an announcement.
”We have a new student joining our class today!”
My jaw dropped when I saw Yue Jian shyly tiptoeing into the classroom. Wasn't she supposed to be in Teacher Lao Shi's class? Why was she here? She wasn't an ice mage, was she? In any event, poor Yue Jian quailed when she saw twenty-odd students staring at her, and she almost fainted.
”Are you all right, Yue Jian?”
”A…ah, yes!”
Swallowing, Yue Jian mustered her courage and stayed on both feet. Teacher Einsberg smiled encouragingly at her and gave her a pat on the back.
”Go on, introduce yourself!”