Night had fully claimed the Headmaster's office. Within its dimly lit walls remained three individuals who held the true power of the city. There was Konoe Konoemon, Headmaster of Mahora Academy and Director of the Kanto Magic Association. Beside him stood Takahata T. Takamichi, a top-tier combat mage. And finally, leaning against the wall with a sharp gaze, was Evangeline A.K. McDowell—the True Ancestor vampire who had walked the earth for six hundred years.
Their conversation, naturally, centered on the "Irregular" who had walked out of the room only minutes prior.
"Headmaster, was it truly wise to accept Axel Almar so readily?" Takahata asked, his brow furrowed with concern. "Enrolling him in Class 2-A, of all places... it feels like we're inviting a storm."
Konoemon opened his right eye, his gaze steady. "Consider the alternative, Takamichi. His strength is on par with Eva's, if not greater. Turning such an individual into an enemy would be the height of folly, would it not?"
"Then we could have simply escorted him out of Mahora as a neutral party," Takahata countered.
"We considered that," Konoemon admitted. "But to cast out a man of his caliber only to have him recruited by a faction hostile to Mahora... that is a risk I am not willing to take."
Evangeline, who had been listening in silence, let a predatory smirk play across her lips.
"The old man has a point," she interjected. "If we take the boy's story at face value, he's a traveler from another world. He possesses technology and techniques that are completely alien to us."
Evangeline's mind flashed back to their brief clash. He had summoned that mercurial silver slime without a single syllable of an incantation, maneuvering it as if it were an extension of his own soul. He had utilized physical reinforcement magic she couldn't identify. And most unsettling of all was the way he had frozen her in place—some invisible force that had paralyzed a True Ancestor, even one whose powers were currently suppressed by a curse.
"Precisely," Konoemon agreed. "If we can secure him as an ally, he will be a formidable asset to our cause."
"And those two girls are the 'wedge' to keep him here?" Evangeline asked, her voice laced with cynicism.
"That's a rather cold way of putting it," Konoemon replied with a faint, enigmatic smile. "Axel himself requested to protect them. However... I won't deny that their presence serves our interests. As long as those two are here in Mahora, Axel Almar isn't going anywhere."
"Just a word of advice, old man," Evangeline said, her tone suddenly dropping into a serious register. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you can control him through those girls. He's playing nice for now because of them, but make no mistake: his true nature has nothing to do with your 'Mage of Justice' ideals."
She remembered the final moments of their fight. If Takahata hadn't intervened, those bullets would have torn her apart without hesitation. Axel didn't care that she looked like a child. To him, an enemy was an enemy, to be neutralized with cold, clinical efficiency. That kind of pragmatism was a far cry from the chivalry the mages of this academy liked to boast about.
"I am well aware," Konoemon said softly. "Takamichi, you understand as well?"
"I do," Takahata sighed. "So, how do we handle the surveillance?"
"Don't," Evangeline snapped. "Our common sense doesn't apply to him. I don't know how he does it, but I suspect he'd sniff out a tail in seconds. Why ruin a perfectly good diplomatic start by insulting him with spies? Besides..."
She let out a dry, amused chuckle.
"He's in Ayaka Yukihiro's clutches now. If he so much as sneezes, that girl will make enough noise for the entire Kanto region to hear. She'll be our unintended alarm system."
Takahata thought of his student—the boisterous, over-the-top Class Representative—and couldn't help but offer a weary, sympathetic smile. "Fair point."
"Then it is settled," Konoemon declared. "No direct surveillance. We shall monitor Axel Almar's movements indirectly through his interactions with the girls. Is that acceptable?"
Takahata and Evangeline both nodded.
With the three highest-ranking authorities in Mahora in agreement, the "Axel Almar Problem" was officially moved to the background—for now. But in the quiet of the office, the weight of his presence remained, a silver shadow cast across the future of the academy.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Axel Almar
Level: 38
PP: 625
Stats: Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272 | Defense: 272 | Evasion: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Spend SP to increase Slime performance)
Spirit Commands: Accel (4), Effort (8), Focus (16), Strike (30), Zeal (32), Love (48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
Infight Lv.9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Grey)
Magic (Fire)
Magic (Shadow)
Magic (Summoning)
Kills: 376
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