The days passed smoothly as Sora drifted between Louise, Chuluke, and Tabatha—attending regular classes during the day and their "special lessons" at night. Life was pretty great.
Three days later, the four of them were having tea and snacks in the courtyard square when a group of senior male students in purple cloaks stormed over, clearly furious.
"Hey, you! You're that kid who keeps pestering Chuluke!"
"Chuluke, you've been avoiding me every time I look for you lately!"
"Familiar, get away from Chuluke right now, or I'll make you regret it!"
Sora glanced at Chuluke. "Who are these guys?"
Chuluke turned his head in embarrassment.
Sora then looked to Louise. "Louise?"
Louise smirked. "Chuluke has an alias—'Chuluke the Slightly Hot.' He's always provoking boys and dressing like a little temptress. These must be guys he got into trouble before."
"What!!"The five boys who had rushed over stared at each other."You too?! No way—Chuluke gave himself to you?!"
They all drew their wands at once, and a full-on magical brawl erupted in the square.
Fireballs, wind blades, water bombs—magic flew everywhere in a chaotic blur.Students around them immediately scattered to avoid being caught in the mess.
Sora's eyesight had improved a lot after several battles, and he could judge their skill just by the spells they cast.These were all "Line-level" magicians with only three points of magical strength. They made a lot of noise and light, but the spells were basic. None of them could pull off third-tier magic like Tabatha.
"With Chuluke's words, these guys are pretty easy to beat," Sora commented.
"Well, of course. Women have to use charm to conquer men," Chuluke teased.
"Heh, then why don't you try conquering me?"
"If you can beat me," Chuluke added with a dangerous smile.
"Then give me a little more time." Sora grinned.
The five boys suddenly froze mid-fight and glared at Sora.
"The familiar is that close to Chuluke?!"
"Unforgivable!"
"Let's take him down first!"
Bruised and irritated, the boys surrounded Sora aggressively.
Tabatha quietly stepped forward and raised her wand.
All five immediately halted, pale with fear.
"What, you're protecting him? Tabatha of the Snow Wind?"
Tabatha didn't react.
Sora stepped in front of her. "I don't like letting women protect me. If someone wants to fight me, I'll fight them myself."
Tabatha glanced at him, then closed her book and stepped back.
Louise asked nervously, "Sora, are you sure? There are five of them."
"It's fine. As long as they can't use third-tier magic, they're no threat."Sora lifted Delphlinka. "I'm relying on you again, partner."
"Leave it to me, buddy!" the sword howled.
The five boys exchanged looks, spread out, and raised their wands to chant.
Sora picked one target and charged. Before the boy finished his incantation, Sora was already in front of him, slamming the hilt of the sword into his stomach and knocking him out.
The other four spells completed: two fireballs, one wind blade, one water bomb.Sora hurled the unconscious boy into the oncoming water bomb and dodged the wind blade by leaping aside.
Two fireballs shot toward him.
Sora raised his sword.
Bang! Bang!He struck both fireballs aside, sliding back two steps.
"Ahh, this heat is nothing! Barely enough to snack on!" Delphlinka shouted, absorbing the fireballs into its blade.
When the remaining four began chanting their next spells, Sora dashed toward the wind-blade user. Seeing how the first boy had gone down, the second panicked, halted his chant, and ran blindly toward the others.
When Sora was five or six meters away, he swung Delphlinka.
BOOM!The fireball the blade had absorbed blasted outward, striking two boys and dropping them instantly.
Only two remained—one fire mage and one water mage.
A fireball and a water bomb flew at him in sequence.Sora's figure blurred as he sidestepped.
BOOM!The two spells collided midair, producing a burst of steam that filled a five-meter area.The boys lost sight of Sora completely.
Sora burst out of the vapor, stabbing his blade toward the water mage.
The boy froze in horror. At the last second, Sora turned his stab into a heavy slap, knocking him flat.
When the steam cleared, only the last fire mage was still conscious.
Sora raised Delphlinka and walked toward him.
The boy collapsed backward in terror. "I—I surrender!"
Sora stopped.
A distant crowd erupted in shock.Five upperclassmen—beaten by one familiar. Louise's "Zero" familiar was as strong as a triangle-tier magician.
"Since I won, don't bother Chuluke again. Otherwise, if I see you, I'll knock you down on sight."Sora glared at them with a cold threat.
Those still conscious lowered their heads miserably.
Sora walked back to the three girls.
"Very domineering, Sora," Chuluke teased with a half-smile. "So… when are you meeting my parents?"
"If I get the chance," Sora said casually.
"No! Don't go!"Louise jumped between them. "Sora, my family hasn't met my familiar yet. If you're going anywhere, you're coming to my house first!"
Tabatha watched the two argue silently.
Soon, a teacher arrived to carry away the injured students.And Sora was summoned to the headmaster's office.Louise and the others followed anxiously.
They met the principal on the fifth floor.
"Sora, is it? You injured five magicians at once. If their parents complain, it could get troublesome."
"They provoked him first! I can testify!" Louise protested.
"Miss Vallière, he's your familiar—your testimony is invalid," the principal said with a smile.
"Then what about me?" Chuluke asked, arms folded proudly.
The headmaster stared at him, stroking his beard. "This is difficult. You must understand—nobles are unreasonable people."
Sora could tell the principal wanted him to do something. He was deliberately creating an opening.
"Headmaster, do you have a problem you need my help with?"
The principal froze. "…You noticed?"
"Well, since you already guessed, I'll tell you."
"Recently, a thief named Fukai sent a letter saying he intends to steal the Rod of Destruction—the secret treasure our academy keeps on behalf of the royal family. Fukai is a notorious criminal who uses magic to rob nobles and pilots a massive clay golem. I want you to help catch him."
"Tabatha and Chuluke are the only triangle-level magician students. And your Sword of Wisdom can absorb and release magic. Combined with your swordsmanship, you should be able to fight at their level."
The headmaster glanced at Louise and coughed awkwardly.
"Miss Vallière is… well… let's move on."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Louise yelled.
Sora narrowed his eyes. "Why don't the academy's teachers handle this? Why ask students?"
The girls also stared suspiciously at the principal.
After hesitating, the headmaster lowered his voice.
"I'll trust you with the truth. Her Royal Highness is visiting in three days. Every capable teacher must focus on her safety. Fukai plans to strike the same day Her Highness arrives, so… I'd like to ask you three for help."
Sora nodded."I understand. I can take down this mud-loving thief, Fukai."
The principal didn't look relieved. Not yet.
"However," Sora added, "my reward must be substantial. If this Fukai is as dangerous as you say, I want three thousand gold coins for defeating him and protecting the Rod of Destruction—and ten thousand if I capture him alive. How about it?"
The principal's jaw dropped—then he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You're an interesting one."
"The academy doesn't have that kind of money, but… if you catch Fukai, I'll recommend you for a knighthood. How about that?"
"Knight?" Sora blinked.
Louise tugged his sleeve. "Accept it! Thank you, Headmaster—I accept on Sora's behalf!"
Sora frowned slightly.
Louise whispered in his ear,"A knight is a title granted to exceptional commoners. They're considered candidates for nobility. With achievements, a knight can even become a baron."
Sora's expression shifted.
"In that case, I'll definitely capture that mud-brained Fukai."
The principal smiled. "I'll look forward to the good news."