Shibou End wo Kaihi shita Galge no Heroine-tachi ga Ore no [Nikki-chou] o Yonde Himitsu o Shitta Rashii [LN] Bahasa Indonesia Volume 1 Chapter 1

 

Chapter 4: Know Your Place

A heavy, somber mood hung over Pina and the others on their walk back to Tritonis Academy.

The cheerful moments they had enjoyed at the pool just a short while ago felt almost surreal now, replaced by a suffocating gloom. Naturally, Pina—the victim of the unfair scheme—was deeply despondent, but even Laurier and Haruhana wore grave expressions.

"Tampering with the Gobots to force a Counter-Battle through... That's entirely uncalled for!" Haruhana fumed, her voice trembling with indignation.

"Haruhana is right; it's despicable beyond words," Laurier agreed reluctantly, her voice tight with regret. "However, a recorded outcome is still an outcome. Without any proof of foul play to present to the Gobots... Pina, if worst comes to worst, you have my permission to withdraw from the academy."

While echoing Haruhana's outrage after hearing how Pina had been coerced into the match, Laurier was forced to propose a drastic alternative.

The penalty for failing to fulfill the terms of a Counter-Battle was expulsion from the Academy Archipelago. Conversely, if a student formally dropped out of their school and left the archipelago to return to their home world, they could disregard whatever conditions had been imposed on them, loss or not.

Yet that option meant a future where Pina would no longer be at Tritonis Academy.

"I refuse to accept a future without Pina!" Haruhana protested, pumping her fists. "Can't we simply beat those people in another Counter-Battle? I will take the field myself!"

"That won't work, Haruhana," Laurier replied with a bitter shake of her head. "The opposition would never agree to a match with you."

Though Haruhana grasped at a Counter-Battle as a ray of hope, Laurier was forced to crush it.

While Counter-Battles served to resolve disputes, they required mutual consent to take place. Unless one faced extraordinarily combative opponents like the Kaldi siblings, or possessed leverage to negotiate as they had with Ginion, a match could not be initiated.

When trying to extract something from another party, getting them to accept the duel in the first place was always the most difficult and crucial step.

Though Tritonis Academy boasted impressive individual fighters, its overall influence was rock-bottom. The school possessed no collateral or incentives attractive enough to entice their foes into a duel. If anything, fighters of Haruhana and Laurier's caliber were exceedingly valuable, but because they were so powerful, no sensible mage would ever willingly challenge Tritonis to direct combat.

After all, in a fair fight, only a tiny handful of students across the entire Academy Archipelago could ever hope to defeat them.

In fact, even Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus—one of the Two Great Schools—had excluded Haruhana and Laurier from their immediate retaliation targets. Targeting Pina instead was a calculated, inevitable move for any enemy seeking to inflict maximum psychological damage on Tritonis Academy.

"Please, both of you, don't look so solemn!" Pina chimed in, putting on a brave face. "It's really okay. I just have to stay over there for a week. Right?"

Pina tried to sound cheerful, but her upbeat tone could not wash away the deep dark clouds of anxiety hanging over Laurier and Haruhana.

Even brief contact had been enough to reveal the character of their enemies. It was glaringly obvious that they viewed Pina, a Dampiel, as subhuman. What horrors would they subject her to inside the closed, inaccessible domain of the Main Campus? Neither Laurier nor Haruhana even wanted to imagine it.

Wearing a grim expression that was rare for her, Haruhana snapped her hand up in a crisp salute.

"In that case, I shall escort Pina tomorrow! Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus or not, if anyone tries to lay a finger on her, I will blow them away without hesitation!"

"You can't do that, Haruhana," Pina insisted. "The Main Campus is off-limits to outsiders. We can't give an enemy who's already targeting Tritonis Academy a fresh excuse to attack us."

Pina firmly turned down the offer, shaking her head at her friend's tightly clenched fists.

Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus housed countless Ranked Students, including three of the coveted Single Numbers.

There was the 6th Seat and the 8th Seat—and towering above more than a million students at the absolute apex of the hierarchy, the 1st Seat.

Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus had not earned its reputation as one of the Two Great Schools for nothing. They possessed multiple mages evaluated as equal to or even stronger than Haruhana, the 5th Seat. Unlike their previous opponents, this was not a foe Haruhana could simply overpower with brute force.

"So really, don't worry so much," Pina murmured, offering a faint, self-deprecating smile despite knowing full well the grueling ordeal awaiting her. "My worth was never the same as yours or Haruhana's to begin with. That's why I couldn't afford to lose... and yet I did."

Even as she faced being plunged into a harsh fate, Pina put on a brave front, her smile tinged with loneliness.

Pina Lycure was a Dampiel. In the Heaven Disc World, where blood-sucking Vampires ran rampant, carrying half that blood meant she had been subjected to prejudice from the moment of her birth.

In the Heaven Disc World, human rights and equality carried entirely different meanings compared to Earth World.

Here, human rights were tied to social standing, and equality was merely a concept hoarded by those in power.

Born into a realm where exploitation was accepted as standard practice, she needed to be strong above all else. Without the strength to push back against absurdity, she felt she lacked the right to stand beside Laurier, a royal princess. She would never be a friend who could speak to them as an equal—only a burden for Laurier and the others to protect.

"You understand, right?" Pina whispered, her voice dropping. "It's my fault for being weak."

"That is absolutely not true!" Laurier snapped back. "Listen to me, Pina—wait..."

Laurier had been ready to launch into a passionate argument to save Pina regardless of what she said, but the words died in her throat.

Only now did she finally notice a vital piece missing from their group.

"Wait... Where did Kuro go?" Laurier asked, blinking in confusion as she looked around.

"Kuro branched off in a different direction a while back," Haruhana replied nonchalantly. "Is something wrong?"

As Laurier frantically glanced back and forth, Haruhana provided her casual answer.

Pina and Laurier exchanged looks, color draining completely from their faces.

Neither girl was dense enough to believe that Kuro had simply wandered off on personal business under these circumstances.

"No way..." Pina breathed, her voice trembling. "Kuro didn't... head straight for the Main Campus, did he?"

"What?!"

Haruhana's expression instantly stiffened at the pale, panicked words of the girl beside her.

Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus was not a place one could simply charge into out of anger and hope to survive. It was an autocratic academy ruled with an iron fist by its principal, a high noble of the Tohsei Empire. The student body was an elite clique brimming with supremacy, willing to trample over basic human ethics if it meant currying favor with the powerful principal of their motherland.

Yet Kuro, having arrived in the Academy Archipelago less than a week ago, could not possibly comprehend the true horror of the institution that had cornered Pina—the terrifying reality of Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus.

If he had recklessly barged in to pick a fight, his very life could be in grave danger depending on how things escalated.

"Pina! Haruhana! We must bring Kuro back at once—" Laurier cried out, her face pale with panic, only for her voice to cut off abruptly.

Her frantic command was cut short the moment they reached the entrance of their academy.

Standing right at the gates of Tritonis Academy was a single woman.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with sleek indigo hair tied up behind her. Her features radiated strong will and sharp intelligence, while her posture was so immaculately erect that anyone, regardless of gender, would instantly perceive her as a refined beauty. As she quietly gazed up at the damaged school building, every trace of their current crisis vanished from Laurier's mind.

"S-Sister...?!" Laurier gasped, her voice a mix of shock and delight.

Yet in stark contrast to Laurier's emotional outburst, the woman's eyes remained cool and impassive.

"Laurier," the woman said coldly. "Have you forgotten even the proper etiquette for a greeting?"

Snapping back to her senses, Laurier drew one foot back and lowered her body, lightly pinching the hem of her skirt so it wouldn't touch the ground as she bowed deeply.

"Forgive me, Sister. It has been far too long."

"Very good," the woman acknowledged with a nod before her features softened slightly, offering a smile to the two girls behind Laurier.

After accepting Laurier's formal greeting, she turned her warm gaze toward Haruhana and Pina.

"It is good to see you again, Haruhana, Pina."

"Long time no see, Lady Claudia," Pina murmured, bowing respectfully.

"Yes! It is an honor to see you again, Princess Claudia!" Haruhana greeted with her usual raised-hand salute.

While Pina bowed politely, Haruhana offered her customary crisp military salute.

The individual standing before them was not someone they could afford to treat lightly, even under their current predicament.

Claudia Tritonis—First Princess of the Tritonis Kingdom. During the founding era of the Academy Archipelago, she had persuaded her nation's high officials to establish Tritonis Academy. By introducing numerous aspects of Earth World culture to the Heaven Disc World, she had set countless trends in high society, commanding overwhelming admiration among the younger generation.

"We shouldn't stand around conversing out here," Claudia noted gracefully. "Let us step inside."

With a gesture for the three girls to follow, Claudia stepped through the academy gates.

Though the motive behind her sudden arrival was unclear, the fact that Claudia had come alone suggested something major might be occurring back in their homeland. Laurier couldn't possibly put off attending to her elder sister. Just before crossing the threshold into the building, Laurier leaned in to whisper into Haruhana's ear.

"...Haruhana. Pursue Kuro and head to the Main Campus."

Haruhana gave a silent nod and spun on her heel. While Pina possessed superior mobility for long-distance travel, Laurier didn't want to send her anywhere near Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus right now. Even if Kuro wasn't actually at the Main Campus, it would simply end up as a harmless false alarm.

"Laurier, I'll go prepare some tea," Pina offered. "I believe we still have some saved for guests."

"Thank you, Pina. Please do."

Parting ways with Pina, Laurier quickly hurried after Claudia.

"I heard there was an upcoming audit, Sister," Laurier began as she caught up, "but why have you come completely alone?"

"I arrived in the Academy Archipelago several days ago," Claudia revealed. "There were suspicious discrepancies in Ginion's reports starting from last year. I refrained from visiting Tritonis Academy to avoid drawing attention while investigating his misconduct... though I never imagined it would culminate in such a conclusion."

They entered the principal's office and seated themselves on opposing sofas. In the presence of her elder sister, who was virtually guaranteed to ascend the throne, Laurier had no intention of claiming the head seat reserved for the principal.

"Now then, Laurier," Claudia cut in, her sharp eyes fixing on her sister. "Pina is injured, and you've dispatched Haruhana elsewhere... Just what is going on here?"

The First Princess of the Tritonis Kingdom stared down her younger sister, delivering her demand with razor-sharp authority.

Floating within the dimensional chasm, the Academy Archipelago was divided into five main islands.

At the center of these floating landmasses—whose combined area matched Tokyo's twenty-three wards—lay Central, the island housing the headquarters of the Gobot Administration Bureau.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the North Region, situated on the northern main island, stood a fortress-like structure of massive proportions.

The high-rise complex, easily rivaling the luxury hotels of Central, was packed to the brim with state-of-the-art educational and institutional facilities.

Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus.

This was the head campus of one of the Two Great Schools, presiding over more than a hundred branch academies. And right before this iconic landmark of the North Region stood Kuro.

"Man, what a ridiculous building..." Kuro muttered under his breath.

He stood alone before the locked iron gates, gazing up at the sheer scale of the place.

The vast grounds surrounding the towering skyscrapers were enclosed by impossibly thick perimeter walls. The imposing architecture felt far less like an academy and much more like a fortified military base.

He had hoped to cut Tick off before he returned, but that had clearly been wishful thinking.

"Alright then."

Kuro rolled his shoulders, loosening up his muscles.

Standing outside the very school where Kyoko Kasagaki resided, his plan was simple enough.

"Guess I'm crashing the gate."

With any luck, Tick himself would show his face. That would allow Kuro to initiate a Counter-Battle and force him to scrap the condition imposed on Pina. If someone else stepped out instead, he'd just beat them senseless until they dragged Tick out for him.

Either way, he would prevent Pina from being left cornered and helpless. Just as Kuro channeled magic power into his knuckles, making them glow crimson as he prepared to smash through the thick outer wall, a voice called out.

"Are you Asahino Kuro?"

A group of students emerged from the surrounding side streets, surrounding him.

"...And who might you guys be?" Kuro asked, narrowing his eyes.

There were three male students who appeared to be his age or slightly older. Their military-style uniforms marked them clearly as students of the Main Campus.

"Lady Kyoko ordered us to drive you away if you showed up here."

"...Is that so?" Kuro smirked, a dangerous edge creeping into his tone. "So Kyoko really is in there. And sounds like she's already built quite a little kingdom for herself."

Pulling out his Student ID Card, Kuro brandished it toward the trio.

"If you want me gone, challenge me to a Counter-Battle and make me."

Had Haruhana or Laurier been with him, these guys would have been on high guard. But Kuro had only arrived in the Academy Archipelago a week ago; nobody here knew his name or his strength. Coming alone had been a calculated strategy precisely for this reason.

If the enemy let their guard down, setting up a Counter-Battle became far easier—especially against arrogant mages who overvalued their own skills.

Provoked by Kuro's smirk, one of the students stepped forward and pulled out his own Student ID Card.

"Fine then. I'll take care of you first—"

"Come at me all at once," Kuro cut him off cleanly.

"What did you say?"

The surrounding students bristled with anger.

"I don't give a damn if it's three on one," Kuro sneered. "When I win, all three of you are gonna act as my tour guides inside."

The blood surging through the veins in Kuro's arms hummed with magic, tracing glowing crimson patterns across his skin.

"Guess I don't even need to smash down the front gate after all. Once I beat the crap out of you three, you're gonna drag Tick and Kyoko out here to me."

From a window high inside Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus, Kyoko was observing the skirmish taking place outside.

Right before the locked iron gates of the towering perimeter wall, several individuals were engaged in a high-powered magical duel. With a Public Morals Gobot hovering nearby, it was unmistakably an official Counter-Battle.

"My, my, my. To think you would actually come for me. While your passion fills me with utter bliss, you really are a handful," Kyoko cooed, a soft giggle escaping her lips.

Based on Tick's report of Kuro's behavior, she had stationed her subordinates at the gate just in case, and her foresight had proven spot-on.

She couldn't simply go out to meet him herself, yet leaving Kuro unattended was out of the question as well.

This academy housed numerous Ranked Students. If Kuro continued making a scene outside until double-digit rankers like Tick stepped out, things would get dangerous for him. And against Single Numbers like the 6th Seat or 8th Seat, he wouldn't even be allowed the chance to escape.

"If only someone completely unaffiliated with this school could drive my dear Kuro away... Ah, of course."

As a sudden inspiration struck her, Kyoko brought her hands together in a delightedly graceful gesture, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.

On the day of the recent Vampire sighting incident, Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus had suffered a surprise raid by students from Branch 666.

Driven by bounty rewards posted by the Management Bureau for exterminating Vampires, the rowdy crowd from Branch 666 had staged the reckless assault.

Their leader had been captured on the spot and locked away in the Main Campus dungeon.

"Using that gentleman should work wonderfully," she mused happily.

Stepping out of the room, Kyoko glided down the corridor toward the elevator.

Her destination was the underground reflection cells used for disciplining unruly students. Descending three floors beneath the surface, Kyoko unfurled her white oiled-paper umbrella with a sharp snap, as if to ward off the stagnant subterranean draft.

Resting the handle against her shoulder, she strolled into the deepest recess, where a detention cell resembling a medieval dungeon awaited.

Partitioned only by thick iron bars, the space offered not even a shred of privacy. Seated on a chair at the center of the cell was a man bound tight in a straitjacket strapped with heavy leather belts, his ankles anchored to the stone wall by heavy iron chains.

Even bundled inside the straitjacket, his immense, muscular build was unmistakable. Leaving only his head unrestricted was hardly an act of mercy; it was a testament to how dangerous he was. This monstrously restrained prisoner was precisely the man Kyoko was seeking.

"Rejoice, Dotou Jou," Kyoko announced sweetly. "You are being released."

At Kyoko's declaration of freedom, the man named Dotou didn't celebrate in the slightest; he merely raised a single eyebrow in suspicion.

"The hell is this?" Dotou growled, his voice a low, rough rumble. "It hasn't even been a full day since you threw me in here."

"Tee-hee, quite so," Kyoko hummed with an airy smile. "Having to guard against your potential breakout completely ruined poor Pusti's day off. It really is a pity, so to spare the 6th Seat any further stress, I must insist you take your leave at once."

“Bwahaha! Well, my bad about that,” Dotou barked with a rough chuckle. “Make sure to tell the Sixth Seat to loosen up that scowl between her eyebrows. Being so dead serious all the time is just a waste of energy.”

Even though a full day had passed with him bound in restraints so tight he couldn’t move an inch, Dotou showed not the slightest sign of exhaustion as he responded. There was a good reason why he radiated such effortless composure despite being a prisoner.

Quite simply, he was ridiculously strong.

This man was so physically and mentally resilient that he could comfortably snort in contempt at a level of restraint like this.

“So? What’s the real reason you’re here?” Dotou asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, come now, Dotou,” Kyoko replied, her tone dripping with polite amusement. “You allowed yourself to be captured on purpose just so you could scout out the main campus from the inside, didn’t you?”

The big man offered no verbal answer. Yet the fearless, lingering smirk on his face only deepened Kyoko’s conviction.

Just a single day ago, he had barged into the main campus without warning. Taking on two Single Numbers enrolled at Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus simultaneously—the Sixth and Eighth Seats—he had gone on a rampant rampage while maintaining the upper hand the entire time. Only when the underlings who had raided the place alongside him were apprehended did he agree to step into a cell in exchange for their release.

Had that not been the case, it was doubtful whether the main campus could have held him prisoner at all in the principal’s absence.

“Your reputation as a battle junkie precedes you, after all,” Kyoko continued smoothly. “No doubt you hoped to infiltrate our ranks and track down the First Seat’s whereabouts... But unfortunately, even here at the main campus, not a single shred of information exists regarding the First Seat.”

The true identity of the First Seat, who was supposed to be enrolled at the main campus, was shrouded in an uncanny layer of secrecy.

The concealment was so thorough that even Kyoko, a student of the academy herself, had never so much as caught a glimpse of their shadow. The Management Bureau’s database contained nothing beyond a single sentence stating that they were a student of Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus. Kyoko surmised that they were likely employing some form of information-jamming magic, though even that was merely conjecture.

“Now that you know the truth, wouldn’t it be far more efficient for you to run along home?” she asked with a smile. “Since you let yourself be caught intentionally, I assume you’ve already prepared a means of escape in advance.”

“...Tch. So you saw right through me, huh?” Dotou spat, clicking his tongue.

Clicking his tongue, Dotou spread his arms wide.

The loud sound of tearing fabric echoed through the cell as leather straps snapped and flew everywhere. The straitjacket enveloping his entire body had been bound with layer upon layer of thick leather belts, sealing his crossed arms. Yet he tore through restraints scientifically engineered to be impossible for human muscle to break as easily as if ripping paper.

“Ahhh, damn it all,” he grumbled. “What a complete waste of time letting myself get caught.”

He rolled his heavily muscled shoulders with a heavy crunch to stretch out his stiff body. When Kyoko caught sight of the glowing crystal resting against his now-freed chest, her eyes widened in surprise.

Before restraining a mage of Dotou’s terrifying caliber, confiscating his Mana Crystal should have been the absolute highest priority. And yet, hanging around his neck beneath the torn straitjacket was an exposed Mana Crystal attached to a heavy chain.

Noticing Kyoko’s inquisitive glare, Dotou pinched the chain between his thick fingers and flaunted the Mana Crystal.

“This?” Dotou smirked. “Just a little care package from one of my underlings.”

“...So it would seem,” Kyoko murmured softly.

No record existed of anyone visiting the Branch 666 delinquent. That meant he had an ally capable of slipping past the main campus’s security, stealing the Mana Crystal from the locked impound locker, and delivering it directly to Dotou in his cell.

Given this, it was entirely possible that even his lackeys getting captured had been part of the plan. Since the territory of Branch 666 enjoyed absolute extraterritoriality, it wouldn’t be surprising if they harbored exceptionally skilled mages unregistered by the Gobots.

“The First Seat’s still playing hide-and-seek, and I was planning on raising hell the second that shitty principal got back... but since you’ve figured it all out, this is boring. I’m heading home.”

Delivering his casual declaration, Dotou grabbed the thick iron bars of the cell door and bent them wide open with a sickening groan of metal.

When a high-ranking mage clad themselves in mana, their physical capabilities vastly transcended human limits. Watching the man before her crush iron with his bare hands was hardly worth getting shocked over at this point.

“Please make your exit quietly,” Kyoko requested with a polite bow. “It would be quite troublesome if word got out that I was the one who released you.”

“I don’t give a damn about spreading rumors, and I don’t waste my time on small fry,” Dotou scoffed, stepping through the gap. “As long as none of you extras try to block my way out, I’m not gonna bother laying a finger on ya. Unless...”

Dotou’s eyes flashed with a feral, predatory glint.

“...you’re offering to step up and entertain me yourself?” Dotou asked, his grin widening savagely.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my,” Kyoko demurred with an airy giggle, waving her hands innocently. “Perish the thought. An unranked nobody such as myself could never hope to satisfy a fighter of your caliber. Not in the slightest.”

“Hah! If you say so,” Dotou barked out a laugh, clearly unconvinced. “Doesn’t look that way to me, though.”

Laughing off Kyoko’s self-deprecation, Dotou strode away with a stride so bold and dignified it was impossible to believe he had just been a prisoner.

He was a ruthless brute, but he was a man of his word. Watching Dotou’s broad, heavily muscled back recede down the hallway, Kyoko let out a soft, melodic giggle.

Given his hot-headed nature and deep hatred for the main campus, seeing Imperial Style Doji Academy students blocking the front gates for a Counter-Battle would guarantee he’d butt in.

Once he intervened, the skirmish outside would come to a swift conclusion. After all, those capable of withstanding his sheer power in these Academy Archipelago could be counted on one hand.

After all, the rank assigned to him by the Gobot Administration Bureau put him higher than even Haruhana Bacchus.

The Fourth Seat of the Academy Archipelago, Dotou Jou—the Full Armor.

As the President of Branch 666, the lawless school for criminals, he ruled over those outcasts through absolute force. And above all else, he craved battle with the strong.

“Now then, now then, now then,” Kyoko hummed to herself. “Time to head back and watch the show.”

How would the situation unfold now that she had given it a little nudge?

Eager to witness Kuro’s desperate struggle to the very end, Kyoko put a light bounce in her step as she made her way back to her room.

A dry popping sound echoed through the air, immediately followed by a sharp shock wave slamming into Kuro’s body.

“Damn it... These things are a total pain in the ass...!” Kuro growled, gritting his teeth.

Surrounding Kuro was a dense swarm of translucent, soap-like bubbles.

The Counter-Battle was already underway. His opponents were three students from Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus. Keeping his breathing steady so as not to let his emotions run wild, Kuro locked his eyes onto the trio without letting his guard down for a second.

Every single one of them was a skilled combatant who exceeded Kuro’s expectations. The floating bubbles encircling him were the work of the leader standing at the center of the trio.

“Bubble Shock!”

To replenish the bubbles that had popped, the man conjured another massive burst from his open palm, his sharp gaze fixed warily on Kuro.

“Still standing, are you?” the leader sneered. “I heard you were just a freshman who transferred from Earth World... but I suppose you’ve got some skill to back up that arrogant attitude.”

Ignoring the man’s taunts, Kuro closely tracked the movements of the floating spheres, which closely resembled oversized soap bubbles.

Drifting lazily through the air, the transparent bubbles defied the breeze, closing in to encircle Kuro from all sides. Their speed was slow, but they left virtually no opening to dodge through.

Even so, the shock waves generated when the bubbles popped weren’t particularly lethal to Kuro, who could physically reinforce his body. The real problem was that he wasn’t fighting a lone opponent.

“Sword Dance!”

One of the students flanking the bubble user summoned a flurry of magical blades. Hovering in midair, the floating swords wove through the tight gaps between the bubbles, dancing toward Kuro in a swift strike.

The jarring contrast between the sluggish bubbles and the razor-fast blades threw off Kuro’s reaction time. Unable to dodge the barrage raining down from all directions, Kuro braced himself and took several hits directly.

These blades didn’t have enough cutting power to pierce Kuro’s reinforced skin either. But compensating for that lack of offensive punch was the third student’s magic.

“Gain!”

“Guh—?!” Kuro grunted.

The weight of the blades Kuro was blocking multiplied instantaneously, their sharp edges digging deep into his flesh.

That was their tactical synergy: use the shock bubbles to restrict their target’s movement, then have the other two finish the job in tandem. Their formation allowed them to lock down enemies from mid-range without letting them get close, making it nearly impossible to shatter with ordinary tactics.

Yet having already spotted the flaw in their formation, Kuro glared at them with fierce determination.

“—Raaah!” Kuro roared.

No matter how heavy the blades became, their structural durability remained unchanged. Reaching out with a reinforced grip, Kuro crushed the floating sword in his bare hand.

A sharp crunch of shattering metal rang out. Without missing a beat, Kuro hurled the jagged metallic fragments straight ahead.

The shrapnel shredded through the cluster of bubbles, causing them to burst in a chain reaction.

The path to his opponents was wide open. Red glowing runes flared across Kuro’s legs as he kicked off the pavement. His target: the mage bolstering the swords’ weight. Take him out, and they’d lose their only way to deal meaningful damage.

“Bubble Set!”

The leader cast another spell, conjuring a wall of bubbles to block Kuro’s path. I can break right through that shock wave if I reinforce my entire body! Confident in his strategy, Kuro’s body erupted in a brilliant red aura.

However, the bubbles didn’t explode.

Unlike before, tiny, sticky bubbles clung directly to Kuro’s skin and clothes.

“Futility!” the leader sneered. “Be smothered by the cushioning bubbles and rendered completely helpless!”

Kuro thrashed his arms to shake off the foam, but it stuck like glue. At this rate, any blow he landed would be absorbed by the thick layer of cushioning. For a brawler who relied primarily on hand-to-hand combat, it was a devastating counter.

They certainly lived up to the name of the main campus. Individually, each of them was stronger than Conrad from Branch 107. Above all, their teamwork was seamless.

Yet the thought of losing didn’t even cross Kuro’s mind.

“Sorry to break it to you,” Kuro grunted.

Blood trickling from Kuro’s wounds seeped into the bubbles coating his arms, instantly dissolving the mana maintaining them.

The moment the bubbles touched his anti-magic blood, they violently exploded into nothingness.

“I don’t just boost my muscles, you know!” Kuro shouted, breaking free.

With his limbs radiating a fierce red glow, Kuro charged straight toward his targets.

“That’s one down—!”

“Ghah—?!”

Coated in his blood—the very catalyst of his magical power—Kuro’s devastating punch smashed the weight-buffing mage violently into the pavement.

With one component removed, their tactical formation completely collapsed. In a single stroke, the momentum of the battle swung decisively in Kuro’s favor.

Or so he thought.

“Get out of my way, you piece-of-shit trash.”

A ferocious voice thundered across the field, accompanied by a crushing aura of intimidation that dominated the battlefield. Before Kuro’s conscious mind could even process the sudden intrusion, his instincts forced him to throw up a defense.

Kuro instinctively reinforced his entire body a split second before a massive, translucent force slammed directly into him.

“—Ghk!”

Kuro’s body was catapulted into the air. The nauseating sensation of weightlessness turned his stomach upside down, causing his mind to go blank for a brief moment. His vision spun wildly before he crashed helplessly onto the ground.

“D-damn it... What the hell was that...?” Kuro wheezed.

The impact knocked the wind right out of his lungs, but his split-second defense had saved him from severe damage. Was that a trump card from one of those three? Realizing how dangerous that would be, Kuro forced his head up—and froze in place.

The paved ground had been gouged open. Whatever had sent Kuro flying had completely pulverized the area where they had been fighting a moment prior. The three main campus students lay groaning on the ground in agony after taking the strike defenseless, and even the referee Gobot had been half-destroyed, sputtering sparks and emitting thick black smoke.

It was a completely indiscriminate attack. And the culprit behind it was painfully obvious.

A man who had just stepped through the main campus gates stood there, glaring down at the carnage with contempt.

“Don’t block the damn walkway with your pathetic squabbling,” the man spat, looking down at the fallen students. “Know your place, you fucking trash.”

Glaring down at the groaning crowd, the giant of a man prepared to stride right past Kuro.

Kuro glared sharply at his retreating back.

“Hey... hold on a second,” Kuro grunted.

“Huh?”

Clearly not expecting anyone to call out to him, the giant paused in surprise, his fierce gaze shifting down toward Kuro.

Pushing aside the dull ache throbbing across his body, Kuro forced himself to his feet.

He had emerged directly from the main campus building. Though the top half of his white uniform was torn to shreds, he was undoubtedly a student of Imperial Style Doji Academy.

Unbelievably, he had even blasted the official referee Gobot in his assault. That threatened to render the Counter-Battle Kuro had worked so hard to arrange completely null and void.

“What the hell is your problem?” Kuro demanded, wincing slightly. “Butting in out of nowhere and ruining someone else’s Counter-Battle...”

“A Counter-Battle?” the giant sneered. “That weak-ass shit back there?”

Faced with Kuro’s burning anger, the massive student let out a mocking laugh.

“My bad, kid. I thought you guys were just playing house with magic,” he scoffed. “With how half-assed that fight looked, what were you betting? A bottle of juice? If you want an apology, I’ll gladly buy you one from the convenience store down the street.”

“...If you’re gonna talk that much trash, then take their place in a Counter-Battle,” Kuro growled. “Under the exact same conditions I demanded from them.”

Kuro knew he was picking a fight on flimsy logic.

The anxiety of losing his foothold to save Pina was driving him desperate. Posing as an oblivious student to trick someone into a match was no longer an option. His mind was consumed by a single goal: defeat a main campus student in an official duel, take them hostage, and force a match with Tick Token.

As Kuro glared up at him, demanding an answer, the giant’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The hell is wrong with you?” the man asked, blinking. “Are you seriously picking a fight with me?”

There was neither anger nor exasperation in the giant’s voice. Looking down at Kuro with a gaze that moved past surprise into pure bewilderment, enlightenment suddenly dawned on his face.

“Ah, wait. Don’t tell me... You’re from Earth World, aren’t ya?” he chuckled. “And a fresh-off-the-boat first-year who just enrolled this year.”

“...Yeah, so what if I am?” Kuro snapped.

“Heh! Sure, why not?” the man burst out laughing. “I’ll accept your challenge! If I lose, I’ll even become your underling or lackey!”

The instant he heard the man agree, Kuro threw a sudden, heavy punch.

He already sensed that this man was on an entirely different level compared to the trio from earlier. That was precisely why he launched a preemptive strike bordering on underhanded, aiming to take the upper hand immediately.

Yet Kuro’s red-glowing fist, packed with all his strength, came to a sudden halt right before the giant’s face.

There had been no chant. It wasn’t a defense born from a unique magic spell. Realizing what had blocked his attack, Kuro stood dumbfounded.

“This... is a Barrier?!” Kuro gasped.

Magic was a unique ability manifested by individuals wielding Mana Crystals. Flame for Pina, lightning for Laurier, and black fog for Haruhana. While similarities existed, one only earned the right to be called a true ‘mage’ by mastering an ability unique to themselves.

However, Mana Crystals also granted universally shared fundamental abilities.

Namely, Telepath and Barrier.

A Barrier was a basic ability accessible to anyone possessing a Mana Crystal, automatically mitigating damage on a subconscious level. However, its defensive power against magic-infused attacks had clear limits.

And naturally, Kuro’s fist was charged with magic power.

Yet despite that, Kuro couldn’t pierce through a single layer of the man’s basic barrier.

“So?” the giant asked from behind the transparent wall, his tone dangerously calm. “Who the hell are you? State your name first.”

The man demanded an answer through the translucent barrier.

He was strong. Far stronger than Kuro had anticipated.

Suppressing the urge to shrink back before the man’s overwhelming aura, Kuro steeled his spirit with raw hostility.

“I’m Asahino Kuro, a first-year at Tritonis Academy!” he shouted.

“Huh? ...Tch, so you’re not a main campus student?”

“Hell no I’m not! Unlike you!” Kuro fired back.

Bellowing to stoke his fighting spirit, Kuro launched a second strike.

A second barrier materialized before the frowning giant, casually blocking Kuro’s punch aimed squarely at his chin.

“Come to think of it, your uniform is different,” the giant grunted after a brief pause. “Whatever. A fight’s a fight.”

Locking eyes with Kuro, the colossal student straightened up.

“I’m Dotou Jou,” he announced, his voice reverberating like iron. “The Gobot tin cans ranked me as the Fourth Seat of the Academy Archipelago... but people usually know me as the President of Branch 666.”

“Huh?! Branch 666?!” Kuro gasped in shock. “Wait, you’re not a main campus student—gubh!”

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing pulling your fist back?” Dotou barked.

He was completely the wrong target. As Kuro instinctively stumbled back, a reshaped Barrier slapped him hard across the cheek.

“Once you pick a fight, you don’t get to back out over some stupid misunderstanding,” Dotou snapped. “If you’re a real man, see it through to the end!”

“...Fine. Got it,” Kuro gritted his teeth.

The hit had cut the inside of his mouth. Kuro spat out a mixture of saliva and metallic-tasting blood onto the ground.

Fourth Seat, huh? Fine by me.

Considering Kuro’s ambition to claim every single Single Number rank for Tritonis Academy, Dotou was someone he would have to defeat eventually anyway.

“If I win here and get you to cooperate, you’ll make perfect leverage against the main campus!” Kuro declared.

“Bwahaha! Now that’s hilarious!” Dotou roared with laughter. “Don’t tell me you marched all the way here to storm the main campus by yourself?”

“So what if I did?” Kuro glared back.

“Nothing wrong with it at all,” Dotou grinned, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “In fact, I like your style.”

Laughing heartily, Dotou stood relaxed with his hands jammed deep in his pockets.

“I’ll give you a handicap,” Dotou declared arrogantly, puffing out his chest. “I won’t use my hands for a bit. Land even a single clean hit on me, and it’s your victory.”

Puffing out his chest ostentatiously, Dotou was declaring that he wouldn’t use his hands at all.

A fiery spark of rage ignited in Kuro’s eyes.

“Don’t you dare regret saying that, Mr. President of Branch 666!” Kuro yelled, lunging forward.

He hurled himself straight toward Dotou, who met his assault with an unshakeable smirk.

One minute had passed since the duel began.

Not a single one of Kuro’s attacks had reached Dotou.

“Damn it all—!” Kuro spat, swinging with everything he had.

His full-power punch was halted dead in its tracks right before Dotou, who hadn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets.

"I've been watching you for a while... It's pretty rare to see someone channel mana without a Mana Crystal. What's your deal?"

The man stared down at the blood-stained fist halted just inches from his face. His eyes didn't hold the look of a fighter assessing an opponent; rather, he looked at Kuro like an amused spectator watching a street performer finish a party trick.

"Barrier magic is surprisingly deep once you get the hang of it," Dotou said casually. "With enough practice, you can expand its surface area or reshape it however you like. Kind of like this."

"Guff!"

Before Dotou even finished speaking, a portion of the invisible barrier blocking Kuro's fist elongated into a sharp spike and slammed straight into his face.

"And it's not just about bashing people with it, either. A barrier is still a solid mass of mana at the end of the day. Coat your body with it like armor, and you can boost your physical specs, too."

As Kuro snapped his head back from the impact, Dotou lazily pulled one fist out of his pocket and wrapped it in a layer of invisible mana.

"There ya go. Free lesson's over."

He threw a telegraphed punch, making no effort to hide his movement. Off-balance as Kuro was from the previous strike, there was no way to dodge. Dotou's fist, reinforced by the transparent barrier, sank deep into Kuro's stomach.

The breathless shock doubled Kuro over in agony.

"Well, most people get stronger by honing their innate spells, so almost nobody bothers training their Barrier technique," Dotou explained. "Just like Telepath translation, basic crystal functions work on instinct, which makes them way harder to consciously train and master."

Dotou didn't bother following up as Kuro collapsed to his knees, writhing in pain. He clearly saw no need to finish him off, thrusting his hands back into his pockets while lecturing like an instructor talking to a beginner.

Kuro pushed himself up, his face contorting as he staggered to his feet.

It wasn't from the pain of the blow.

It was the crushing, overwhelming distance between them.

The sheer gap in power—so vast he couldn't even measure the distance separating them—crushed Kuro's spirit, warping his resolve into brittle fragments.

"Why...?"

The trembling words spilled from Kuro's lips despite himself.

Ever since arriving in the Academy Archipelago, he had fought countless mages. Sure, some had been stronger than him, but his power had never been completely useless.

Yet look at this fight.

Forget winning or losing—the gulf in strength was so absurd that this couldn't even qualify as a battle.

"'Why,' huh?"

Overhearing Kuro's faint complaint, Dotou narrowed his eyes with a bored scowl.

Several barriers reshaped into slender stakes slammed into the ground surrounding Kuro. Striking at a speed that grazed his skin, Kuro couldn't even react in time.

"You came barging into the Main Campus like a lunatic, so I figure you've got your reasons," Dotou scoffed. "But did you seriously delude yourself into thinking a pathetic weakling like you could brute-force his way through?"

Trapped within the ring of barrier stakes, Kuro choked back a response. Dotou had hit the nail right on the head.

Dotou opened his mouth wide and let out a lazy yawn. As he did, the stakes around Kuro expanded, clamping down on his body like a vice.

"Gah... Aaaagh!"

"I don't care what you're after, but someone of your caliber isn't gonna change a damn thing," Dotou said, preparing to drop a cold, hard truth onto the struggling boy. "Wanna know why?"

Dotou stared down at Kuro, who was desperately squirming against the crushing pressure.

"'Cause you're weak."

No matter how much strength Kuro exerted, he couldn't push back. He couldn't shatter Dotou's barrier.

When fighting a mage, possessing an attack capable of breaking an opponent's Barrier was the bare minimum baseline for combat.

The fact that Kuro couldn't even break a non-spell defense meant he hadn't even earned the right to stand on the same stage as Dotou.

"I get why you're so delusionally full of yourself, though," Dotou added with a smirk. "Being born with mana on Earth, where Mana Crystals don't even exist? Yeah, it makes sense you'd think you were hot stuff. There weren't any actual mages around, after all. I bet you felt like a god back home."

Dotou was right.

Growing up with power far beyond normal humans, fighting had always meant holding back for Kuro.

He had never thrown a proper fist in a brawl. Even in gym class, he was never allowed to exert his full strength. And ever since arriving in the Academy Archipelago, he thought he had held his own—battling mages and even leaving his mark against the top elite Single Numbers.

But in truth, Kuro had never truly fought a powerful mage in a real battle.

Wormwine, the Ninth Seat, had only used her abilities within the fun-and-games boundary of a casual sport. And the One-Hand strike from Haruhana, the Fifth Seat, which Kuro had barely weathered, hadn't even been one percent of her true strength.

To the truly strong figures of the Academy Archipelago, Kuro's power wasn't even worth taking seriously.

"This is the Academy Archipelago," Dotou growled. "Trash with your level of strength is a dime a dozen around here."

The wrath of Dotou—a man who had clawed his way to the Fourth Seat of the Academy Archipelago through sheer martial brawn alone—weighed down heavily on Kuro.

Kuro wriggled frantically, trying to resist the crushing force of the barrier, but he couldn't break free. He focused his mind on the blood flowing through his veins, attempting to unleash the same magic he had used to destroy the Dryad. Yet for some reason, it wouldn't take form. The sensation he had grasped back then slipped through his fingers like sand.

"I'll give you credit for having the nerve to storm the Main Campus, but your actual muscle is pathetic," Dotou said with a dismissive sigh. "Not to mention you don't even understand your own limits. You're a joke."

I knew that.

Or at least... I thought I did.

And yet, he couldn't even shatter a single invisible barrier standing in his way.

Watching Kuro struggle, Dotou burst into a mocking laugh.

"Guess it's easy to play reckless when you're completely blind to reality."

"Raaaaah!"

Kuro roared at the top of his lungs.

Unable to stomach the sting of Dotou's harsh words any longer, Kuro unleashed a blood-coated strike that neutralized the mana barriers pinning him down.

The anti-magic properties latent within Kuro's blood shattered Dotou's barrier into pieces. Believing Dotou was now wide open, Kuro charged forward, swinging his arm with every shred of strength he possessed, throwing all caution to the wind.

"Ha-ha!"

Yet Kuro's fist never reached its target.

Letting out a ferocious laugh, Dotou caught Kuro's wrist effortlessly. Having completely seen through the attack, he clamped down with a grip like a heavy iron vise, crushing Kuro's arm in place.

"Was that pure mana nullification, bypassing defense stats entirely?" Dotou barked, grinning broadly. "Damn, what a nice ability you got there!"

The arm gripping Kuro was wrapped in barriers. Not just a single layer, either—he had stacked multiple barriers over his arm, manipulating them fluidly in sync with his body's movements.

By shrouding oneself in mana, physical capabilities were enhanced exponentially.

Dotou had taken Barriers—which were normally meant to be stationary constructs—and converted them into multi-layered armor, moving them at will to bolster his physical strength.

To manipulate basic Barriers with such effortless precision required a degree of technical mastery that bordered on insane. Any mage from the Heaven Disc World would have rubbed their eyes in disbelief at such delicate finesse, yet Dotou merely sneered down at Kuro.

"I mean, seriously! How can someone with such an awesome power be so insanely weak? I just don't get it!"

Faced with such an overwhelming opponent, Kuro's mind went completely blank.

His power was useless. He was being thoroughly outclassed in hand-to-hand combat, his own specialty. Even if he tried to bridge the massive gap in strength with clever tactics, Dotou's sharp eyes instantly saw through his abilities and tricks.

Standing towering before Kuro was a true monster—someone so far down the path of strength that comparing himself to him felt absurd.

After all, Dotou hadn't even cast his own unique innate magic spell once.

"You're nowhere near enough! Not even close!" Dotou roared, pulling back his free fist. "Thinking a weakling like you could force his way through the Academy Archipelago... Talk about taking this place for a joke!"

Dotou cocked his arm back.

Tucking his arm close to his side and pulling back his elbow, he offered a wildly exaggerated windup—an explicit declaration that a devastating punch was coming. The terrifying aura emanating from that clenching fist recalled the overwhelming dread Kuro had felt when facing Haruhana, triggering a singular emotion in his survival instincts.

"You stood before me a hundred years too early, kid."

Fear.

Kuro cringed, paralyzed by the second wave of primal terror he had felt since coming to the Academy Archipelago.

"Clench your teeth," Dotou warned, his knuckles surging with mana. "Savor your own weakness. I'm gonna beat your laziness, your uselessness, and your high-and-mighty power right back into that pathetic body of yours!"

His fist was balled up tight—so incredibly tight.

"I'm gonna smash that stupid pride you hold in your strength into total dust!!"

Along with Dotou's unleashed strike, an absolute, undeniable defeat slammed straight into Kuro.

Having wrapped up what could hardly be called a battle, Dotou stood looking down at the boy he had just sent flying.

"Now then, what should I do with him?" Dotou muttered, scratching his head.

He had only blown away a couple of guys having a Counter-Battle because he happened to be passing by, so finding out one of them was the idiot who had stormed the Main Campus was an unexpected surprise. He could just leave him here, but if he did, the Main Campus students would probably beat the unconscious Kuro to a pulp.

"The guy who came to spring me out of detention is probably scheming something, too, and I sure as hell don't feel like giving those Main Campus snobs anything to celebrate."

Harassing the elite snobs of the Main Campus was a beloved pastime for students of 666 Branch School. Deciding to have his underlings haul Kuro back, Dotou pulled out his smartphone.

"Hey, it's me," he spoke into the receiver. "You guys are still lingering around the Main Island, right? Get over in front of the Main Campus. I need you to retrieve a guy I just beat up... Huh? No, idiot, he's not from the Main Campus. In fact, the school he mentioned sounded kind of familiar—gh!"

Without warning, Dotou dropped his posture low to the ground.

There hadn't been any clear warning sign. Pure animal instinct had sent a cold chill running down his spine, driving his body to move automatically.

His instincts were instantly proven right.

A fist shrouded in pitch-black mist slammed through the exact spot where Dotou's head had been a split second prior.

It was a ruthless, merciless surprise attack. Silent and coming straight from his blind spot, the strike carried enough lethality to knock out even Dotou had it connected cleanly.

"Ha-ha!"

No wonder that school's name sounded familiar. Catching sight of the black-mist-clad attacker's face, Dotou let out a rumbling laugh from the back of his throat.

Tritonis Academy was the school of the ranker positioned directly below him—the Fifth Seat.

"Haruhana Bacchus!"

There was no verbal response. To buy time to regain his stance, Dotou shot a stake-shaped Barrier toward her, but a single swing of Haruhana's mist-shrouded arm effortlessly shattered it to dust.

As expected, she was in a completely different league compared to Kuro.

Silently, pitch-black mist poured out from her hair ornament, creeping across the ground toward Dotou's feet. The phone still in his hand picked up his voice, and the person on the other end was shouting something, but Dotou had no time to waste answering. Hanging up without a word, Dotou tossed his phone straight into the encroaching black mist and flashed a bellicose grin.

"Leg Armor!"

The instant he spoke the incantation, solid mana armor encased Dotou's legs.

His opponent was a fellow Single Number. Unlike against Kuro, holding back his magic made no sense here.

Clad in metalized mana, his legs kicked off the ground as he leaped high into the air.

Bound in silver greaves, Dotou's soles produced a heavy metallic click as he stepped onto thin air. The shining silver armor birthed by his magic was nothing less than hyper-dense mana solidified into pure metal.

Below Dotou, the black mist spread across the ground, shielding and cloaking the unconscious Kuro. It was clearly a move designed to protect him.

"You are the Fourth Seat, Dotou Jou, correct?"

Having transformed the terrain into a squirming sea of black clouds, Haruhana looked up at Dotou standing in midair.

"I do not know the circumstances here... but I have come to retrieve Kuro," she declared politely. "I have no desire to fight you."

Hearing her words, Dotou pieced together why Haruhana had arrived.

Having pursued Kuro, Haruhana had likely come to stop his reckless plan to storm the Main Campus. Spotting Dotou who had clearly just harmed Kuro, she had launched an ambush to pull Kuro out of harm's way.

It wasn't really a misunderstanding. After all, Dotou was indeed the one who had beaten Kuro into unconsciousness. If he bothered to explain the situation nicely right now, Haruhana's will to fight would fade, and things would settle down peacefully.

To hell with a peaceful outcome like that.

Having a powerhouse like Haruhana taking a hostile stance against him was nothing short of a dream scenario for Dotou.

"Hey, hey, you're the one who picked a fight with me first. You don't just get to back out now."

Clashing against the strong was Dotou's sole desire.

Looking down at Haruhana, Dotou grinned savagely at this golden opportunity.

He didn't care about setting up an official Counter-Battle with Gobot authorization. Dotou sought nothing more than a raw, unfiltered brawl to prove his martial strength.

"Here I come!"

The moment he voiced his attack declaration, the forcefield supporting Dotou in midair vanished.

Plummeting under the pull of gravity, Dotou whipped his leg high into the air. With astonishing flexibility, his toes extended nearly a full one hundred eighty degrees vertically.

With no attempt to hide his windup, the armored heel of his greave slammed down toward Haruhana's head.

The silver armor shredded through the black mist on the ground. Facing his sharp, linear axe kick, Haruhana crossed her arms above her head.

Dotou's heel collided heavily with Haruhana's forearm guard.

"Oh?"

Dotou raised an eyebrow at the bizarre sensation.

The instant his leg made contact with the black mist, the power of his kick dampened. He had intended to crush Haruhana and shatter the ground beneath her in a single blow, yet only a tiny spiderweb of cracks formed under her feet.

Frowning at the jarring result, Dotou absorbed the impact of his landing into his knees, instantly pivoting into a rapid barrage of sharp kicks aimed straight at Haruhana.

A continuous flurry of silver-armored kicks sliced through the black mist, bearing down on Haruhana. The honed, instinctual violence of his movement had reached a level that was practically a martial art style of its own.

Yet every single strike had its power sapped away upon contact.

"This black mist isn't physical defense," Dotou analyzed aloud. "Absorbing impact without physical contact... No, is it decelerating the target? ...Wait, not even that."

Exposed to his relentless kicking assault and probing questions, Haruhana didn't flinch. Silently reading his leg movements, she expertly parried his kicks with both hands while stepping back, surrounding Dotou with black mist gushing from the Mana Crystal in her hair ornament.

Despite her reach disadvantage due to their difference in size, she had no need to go on the offensive. Without making a visible strike, her power naturally sapped her foe's strength.

A strange sensation of his power gradually draining away washed over Dotou.

It didn't just dampen his kicks—merely coming into contact with it sapped his physical stamina. Exposed to the absurd, incomprehensible nature of the black mist, Dotou called upon his vast battle experience to draw a parallel.

"—Absorption?"

Haruhana gave no answer, yet she showed no panic at having her ability probed. Just as Dotou narrowed his eyes, wondering if absorption was also off the mark—

Dotou's flurry of kicks suddenly came to a halt.

Having timed his pattern, Haruhana caught Dotou's kicking leg in her hand. Shrouded in black mist, her grip squeezed down hard, making his leg armor creak under the intense pressure.

"First Pina, and now Kuro..."

Haruhana muttered in a low voice, raising her head.

By parrying Dotou's attacks while retreating, she had put plenty of distance between them and the unconscious Kuro. Realizing she no longer had to hold back, her eyes burned with furious anger through the fathomless dark mist.

"Seeing my comrades hurt makes even me angry!" she bellowed.

With a battle cry, Haruhana glided inside Dotou's guard while he was momentarily balanced on one foot, driving a shoulder tackle directly into his waist—the core of his body's balance.

The force was enough to uproot a massive tree anchored deep in the earth. Yet despite taking Haruhana's monstrous strength head-on, Dotou didn't budge an inch. With terrifying core balance, he shut down her attempt to throw him off balance.

Haruhana's eyes widened in shock, while Dotou flashed a broad, wicked grin.

"Hah!"

With a loud shout, Dotou dropped his hips and stomped the leg Haruhana was holding straight into the ground.

A thunderous boom shattered the air as the concrete beneath his sole peeled back and burst apart. The brutal stomp caved the ground into a crater, causing nearby structures to tilt slightly.

The shockwave shook the earth, but Dotou felt no sensation of crushing Haruhana underfoot. Before his heel could grind her into the dirt, she had let go and leaped backward.

Escaping through the billowing cloud of dust with a swift backstep, Haruhana put distance between them. Holding four fingers under her thumb, she released her built-up power in a single snap.

"Open!"

"Shoulder Armor!"

The blast of black mist fired forward at the exact moment solid mana armor coated Dotou's shoulder.

Turning sideways, Dotou charged headlong with his shoulder leading the way. Haruhana's black mist cannonball collided violently with his shining silver pauldron.

Their power was nearly identical. The deflected black mist cannonball vanished into thin air, bringing Dotou's charge to a standstill.

"Bwahahaha! Not bad, Haruhana! Your spells are in a whole different league from mine!"

Dotou laughed boisterously, raising his fists in a battle stance. Riding the dark mist to maintain her distance, Haruhana kept her stern gaze fixed on him.

Through that brief exchange, Haruhana had deduced the true nature of Dotou's magic.

Common wisdom in the Academy Archipelago held that Dotou's magic was super-dense mana armor. Once activated, it exponentially boosted his physical attributes—a straightforward melee-specialized spell that crushed tricks with raw, overwhelming force.

Yet in reality, Dotou's magic was far simpler than that.

"Dotou. Your ability... is simply Barrier magic, is it not?"

"Bullseye," Dotou grinned, completely unfazed that she had seen through him so quickly. "Pretty stupid spell, right?"

He didn't feel any need to hide his magic, laughing off her discovery as if it were common knowledge.

Among the Single Numbers—the top rankers standing at the pinnacle of the Academy Archipelago who wielded miracle-like magic surpassing Earth's science—Dotou was a unique anomaly.

"My spell just takes the basic Barrier anyone can use and turns it into metal," Dotou explained with a chuckle. "Special traits? Zero. Plus, because it wrapped around my body, back when I first unlocked it, using it meant I couldn't move a single muscle! Seriously, even I gotta admit it was a trash spell."

It was a spell that merely metalized the standard Barrier that even an amateur holding a Mana Crystal could manifest.

Barriers formed instinctively by Mana Crystals were normally fixed in space. Earlier, when Dotou had stepped onto thin air, he had simply created a small barrier under his sole to stand on.

As far as magic went, it was a complete dud among duds.

His magic was essentially an upgraded version of the standard Barrier spell anyone could cast. The catch, however, was that activating it locked the forcefield into the rigid shape of body armor, rendering it virtually indistinguishable from an immobile set of physical restraints. Lacking any special properties and being outrageously unwieldy, any mage born in the Heaven Disc World would undoubtedly fall into despair upon discovering such a dud of a spell within themselves.

Yet Dotou had mastered this rudimentary Barrier through blood, sweat, and grueling discipline, eventually granting him the freedom to move unfettered while clad in the heavy mana armor. By pushing a mundane spell accessible to everyone to its absolute limit, he had crushed countless prodigies blessed with unique magic, carving his way all the way up into the elite ranks of the Single Numbers.

"Gauntlets!"

Clenching his fists, heavy silver armor materialized and locked tightly around Dotou's hands.

Shrouding oneself in raw mana naturally boosted physical capabilities. By that logic, the compressed mana armor Dotou conjured grew progressively stronger with each layer he incanted. At the same time, however, wearing armor capable of immobilizing its user meant that even the slightest slip in control carried the fatal risk of leaving him completely defenseless.

Clad in this double-edged sword of armor, Dotou kicked off the ground with explosive force.

Facing a formidable opponent like Haruhana, he had no intention of relying on a simple straight-line rush. Momentarily hardening the armor under his soles, he kicked off thin air itself, executing a three-dimensional aerial maneuver that easily surpassed human dynamic vision to vanish behind Haruhana's back.

Piercing straight through the swirling black mist, Dotou's silver fist closed in ruthlessly on the back of her head.

It was a high-speed aerial maneuver that even state-of-the-art drones couldn't hope to match. This level of mastery—elevating a basic, sub-magical spell like Barrier into ultimate lethality—was the true essence of Fourth Seat Dotou Jou's magic.

Yet the girl standing before him possessed magic that transcended mere raw power, dipping straight into the realm of total absurdity.

"Shut," Haruhana intoned calmly.

A fraction of a second before the strike connected, Haruhana's chant altered the black mist's very properties. What had been intangible vapor suddenly manifested physical mass, binding Dotou in place with crushing force.

"Guh...!" Dotou grunted in surprise.

Frozen mid-air in an awkward posture, Dotou let out a muffled groan. Though visually remaining a gaseous vapor, the dark fog coiled around his limbs and pinned him with overwhelming leverage. As he hung immobilized by this nonsensical phenomenon, Haruhana stepped cleanly into his inner guard.

The dark mist condensed into a raging vortex around Haruhana's right arm. Facing a lethal strike targeted at his wide-open torso, Dotou's eyes flashed with fierce intensity.

"Don't... underestimate me! Arms!" Dotou roared.

His arms burst into brilliant silver light. Heavy armor expanded up to his biceps, and with his dramatically boosted physical strength, Dotou shattered the black mist's binding force through sheer muscle power.

Even as her opponent broke free, Haruhana didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, driving her foot deeper into her stance.

"Open!" Haruhana shouted.

"Hitting!" Dotou countered in unison.

Haruhana threw a devastating punch loaded with the kinetic energy stored inside her black mist. Though half a beat behind, Dotou refused to back down, swelling the armor around his knuckles to meet her strike head-on.

The two fists collided in midair.

An indescribable acoustic shockwave echoed across the area—the violent impact of high-density black and silver mana colliding. It was a bizarre, warping sound that could never be produced by a mere clash of physical masses, distorting the very atmosphere around them.

The one blown back by the clash was Haruhana.

Despite his delayed start, Dotou's overwhelming momentum won out, deflecting Haruhana's fist aside to punch clean through her dark mist and gouge directly into her flank.

Haruhana's body was slammed downward from the sky, crashing into the earth at frightening speed.

She impacted the upper section of the giant outer wall surrounding Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus—and shockingly, her momentum didn't halt there. Turning the young girl's tender frame into a terrifying cannonball, the kinetic impact tore straight down through a stone wall thicker than a grown man's height, splitting the structure in two.

A shockwave no different from a heavy artillery shell striking land rocked the entire district.

A massive vertical scar of destruction was carved into the giant structure as dust and rubble billowed into the air. A moment later, with a sharp, brittle snap, the heavy gauntlet encasing Dotou's fist shattered into pieces.

"That's a pretty damn interesting spell you've got there," Dotou remarked, inspecting his bare hand. "It ain't a barrier, it ain't dampening, and it sure as hell ain't absorption."

The destruction of the perimeter wall had sent the students inside the Main Campus into a panic, but even if those weaklings ganged up, none of them possessed the strength to intrude upon this duel. Paying no heed to the commotion, Dotou lowered his eyes to his shattered armor.

How long has it been since someone smashed through my armor in a head-on fistfight? Dotou mused. Soaking in the nostalgic thrill, he laid bare the true nature of Haruhana's magic.

"The shape of the unique armament manifested from a Mana Crystal represents the absolute essence of a person's magic," Dotou declared coolly. "Yours was a box, wasn't it? Once I factor in that shape, guessing the mechanics behind your spell is child's play."

The name inscribed upon a Mysterion often echoed across lands as a mage's title. Haruhana's Mysterion, Unfathomable—commonly known as Black Box—was famous not only throughout the Academy Archipelago, but across the entire Heaven Disc World.

Roughly four years ago, an eleven-year-old child had completely wiped out an entire Vampire bloodline—at the cost of the mercenary company that had bought and raised her.

Vampires who survived for centuries used their infectious power to dominate villages and towns, occasionally building vast cities or entire nations. A bloated faction of monsters like that was known as a bloodline.

Yet Haruhana had eradicated one of those bloodlines single-handedly at the tender age of eleven. At the price of a mere handful of mercenaries, she had exterminated a horde of Vampires that had swelled to the size of a metropolis, leaving not a single survivor behind.

It was that terrifying feat that caused the name of Black Box, Haruhana Bacchus, to resound in awe across the entire continent.

Brushing away the lingering fragments of his broken gauntlet, Dotou casually sauntered toward the crater where Haruhana lay buried.

"That black mist of yours functions like a box, doesn't it?" Dotou analyzed aloud. "The essence of your magic is 'storing' energy. Anything that touches your mist gets stored inside, and you can pull it out or stash it whenever you damn well please. That's the true trick behind your little fog show."

Dotou's sharp deduction hit Haruhana's secret right on the head.

Her dark mist was no ordinary gaseous vapor capable of physical force. Despite its dispersed form, it operated as a highly specialized container.

It was a box with the anomalous property of absorbing and holding any form of kinetic or magical energy that brushed against its surface.

Casting Open unleashed the stored energy into explosive offensive strikes, whereas Shut retained the kinetic mass within the fog itself. That was why the former resulted in burst-type attacks, while the latter allowed the mist to exert physical force while retaining its fluid form.

"Alright, we're both done warming up," Dotou gritted out, a fierce grin stretching across his face. "Time to stop holding back."

Fixing his gaze on the mountain of collapsed rubble, Dotou didn't harbor a single shred of doubt regarding Haruhana's survival.

Sure enough, Haruhana pushed aside heavy chunks of concrete and stepped out from the debris. Despite suffering an attack capable of leveling fortifications, she barely bore a scratch. Her black mist had simply 'stored' away the vast majority of the shockwave upon impact.

Haruhana's gaze locked with Dotou's.

"...Mysterion," Haruhana whispered.

Dense black fog swirled violently around her body.

Sensors tingled as the air vibrated with raw magical pressure—the undeniable herald of a thrilling battle to the death. Dotou's grin widened into a manic slash. Channeling her mana into the hair ornament embedded with a black Mana Crystal, Haruhana was on the verge of chanting her Mysterion's true name when—

"Whaddya know? Is that the Boss Man brawling with Haruhana?" an abrupt voice blurted out, breaking the tension.

An intruder had casually stepped right into the center of the battlefield.

Where an empty space had existed seconds prior, a figure now stood comfortably between them. Though pinned under the murderous, bloodthirsty glares of two top-tier rankers, the speaker appeared utterly unbothered.

"The Kaldi siblings?" Dotou muttered, blinking in surprise.

"Are those the Kaldi siblings?" Haruhana echoed, her strict posture relaxing.

Their calls overlapped simultaneously. Dotou and Haruhana glanced at one another, the lethal tension draining out of them in an instant.

Dotou had summoned the Kaldi siblings earlier to haul away the unconscious Kuro, but he hadn't expected them to show up right in the middle of their fight.

"...You guys actually know Haruhana Bacchus?" Dotou asked, frowning.

"Yeah, totally!" Hororokka piped up brightly, before pointing down. "Oh! Found the Boss!"

"Yikes, he got beat to a pulp, didn't he?" Kurulukka whistled, looking down at Kuro's battered form.

Stepping nonchalantly through the scorched destruction left by their clash, Hororokka pulled Kuro out from where he had been hidden beneath the black mist, nodding with energetic familiarity. It turned out the siblings weren't just acquainted with Haruhana—they knew Kuro as well.

"...Well, that totally killed the mood," Dotou sighed heavily. "I'm heading back."

Shoving his hands into his pants pockets, the delinquent leader turned his back on them without a second thought.

Part of him regretted walking away from a rare fight against Haruhana, but having his battle interrupted had thoroughly ruined his appetite for violence.

He secretly held out a tiny sliver of hope that Haruhana might strike from behind, but as far as she was concerned, if Dotou backed off, there was zero reason to continue the duel. She simply stood her ground, quietly watching his departing back.

Once he had walked far enough that their eyes were no longer on him, Dotou paused and looked up at the open sky above.

"Man... damn it all," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Talk about leaving a bad taste in my mouth."

Scratching the back of his head, Dotou offered one last irresponsible grumble before vanishing from the Main Campus grounds.

"...I see. I understand the situation now," Princess Claudia said calmly.

In the headmaster's office at Royal Tritonis Academy, Princess Claudia listened to Laurier's comprehensive report regarding Ginion's betrayal and the events that followed. Once her sister finished speaking, Claudia turned a piercingly cold gaze upon her.

"I am utterly disappointed in you, Laurier," Claudia stated smoothly, her tone laced with frost. "You have put on quite a disgraceful display."

"B-but, Sister Claudia!" Laurier protested frantically. "We subdued Ginion, who stole our assets, and handed him over directly to the Gobot Management Bureau!"

"Surely you don't naively believe that scoring a late victory magically erases your blunders, do you?" Claudia countered smoothly.

Having her shallow, immature reasoning exposed so ruthlessly, Laurier began to break out into a cold sweat.

Confronted by such childish logic from her younger sister, Claudia let out a long, deliberate sigh.

"Prioritizing a personal comeback over immediately reporting a critical failure... It pains me to realize how severely I have failed in your upbringing," Claudia murmured softly. "However, assigning Ginion to his post was my own error in judgment. For that oversight, I offer my apologies."

"N-No, of course not!" Laurier stammered quickly. "There is no possible way you could be at fault, Sister—"

"Be that as it may, failing to report the crisis remains entirely your responsibility," Claudia interjected sternly. "Concealing a blunder and exacerbating the damage in a desperate attempt to redeem yourself... Do you truly fail to realize that you have acted as the absolute worst kind of leader for an organization?"

At her elder sister's calm yet piercing reprimand, Laurier shrank into herself, unable to meet her gaze.

In truth, Laurier hadn't refrained from contacting Claudia merely out of a desire to hide her own mistake.

She had worried that learning of her trusted knight's betrayal would break her elder sister's heart. After all, back in the Heaven Disc World, Ginion had been among the most fiercely loyal retainers serving under Claudia.

Seeing Claudia's icy, unruffled composure now, however, Laurier realized her emotional concern had been completely naive and pointless.

"I-I am deeply sorry, Sister Claudia," Laurier bowed her head, her voice trembling. "I swear I will never repeat such a failure again."

"I have no use for empty lip service," Claudia replied coldly. "Simply ensure you never disgrace yourself in such a fashion again. From the moment you were born into the royal bloodline, you lost the luxury of acting like a mere ordinary girl."

"Yes, Sister..." Laurier murmured submissively.

Though thoroughly disheartened by the harsh scolding, Laurier couldn't help but feel a warm surge of nostalgia.

Prior to coming to Royal Tritonis Academy, Laurier and Claudia had parted ways on sour terms after a minor squabble. Seeing her sister treat her with her usual strict demeanor actually brought a secret joy to her heart.

Claudia was strict, but underneath it all lay genuine concern. She lived as an ideal, noble exemplar of royalty—a standard Laurier felt she could never hope to match.

During Laurier's childhood, Claudia had acted as her royal tutor, guiding her through actions rather than empty words. As her younger sister, Laurier respected Claudia more than anyone else in the world.

"Fix that bad habit of shutting down and running away whenever you encounter a problem you cannot handle alone," Claudia lectured sternly. "You severely lack the dignity and sense of duty required of royalty who subsist on the sacrifices of their subjects."

"Yes... I understand... You are completely right, Sister..." Laurier agreed weakly, hanging her head lower and lower.

As her sister's sharp admonitions rained down on her, Laurier shrank smaller and smaller. Just when she thought she might vanish into the floorboards, a polite knock echoed at the office door.

"You may enter, Pina," Claudia called out seamlessly.

"Pardon me," Pina replied softly as she stepped inside.

Bowing with the polished grace of a royal servant, Pina pushed a tea wagon into the room. Drawing on her long experience serving in the palace, she had timed her entry precisely to give Laurier a much-needed reprieve.

Presented with a freshly brewed cup of tea by Pina, Claudia paused her lecture.

"Thank you, Pina," Claudia said, taking a cup. "You are still recovering from your injuries, and this is hardly a formal court setting. Please, take a seat."

"You are too kind, Lady Claudia," Pina murmured gracefully.

Offering a neat bow, Pina took a seat beside Laurier. Knowing Claudia was not the type to berate someone in front of an audience, Pina offered Laurier a subtle, reassuring glance that signaled the lecture was officially over.

Claudia closed her eyes, taking a modest sip of tea to savor the aroma and moisten her throat. She possessed enough leniency to deliberately overlook the silent exchange passing between the two girls.

"Um... Sister Claudia?" Laurier broached hesitantly. "Regarding Pina's situation... Is there any chance we might request your assistance?"

"I am afraid that is problematic," Claudia replied smoothly. "I have no jurisdiction to intervene directly in student conflicts within the Academy Archipelago. As for rescuing that new student, our only option is to rely on Haruhana."

Even as royalty of a sovereign nation, one enjoyed no special privileges within the Academy Archipelago governed by the Gobot Bureau. Confronted by her sister's sound logic, Laurier slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Pina," Claudia turned her attention to the Dampiel girl. "Should your opponent's conduct cross acceptable boundaries, you are to return to our kingdom immediately."

"Thank you very much, Lady Claudia," Pina bowed her head deeply.

Beside the dejected princess, Pina bowed her head low. Given the stark disparity in their social standing, even sitting in the same room together was an extraordinary privilege.

"Setting that aside, regarding the official audit..." Laurier tried another angle. "Considering the need to negotiate Ginion's extradition, could you perhaps extend your stay here for a while longer—"

Laurier desperately racked her brain for a way to aid Pina. If she couldn't count on her elder sister's direct intervention, then among her personal acquaintances, Warmwine Amnesium was her strongest potential ally. However, Warmwine loathed engaging in negotiations that offered no tangible benefit.

If only I were like Sister Claudia, none of this would have happened...

Biting her lip in bitter frustration over her own powerlessness, a sudden bolt of inspiration struck her mind.

"Ah...!" Laurier gasped out loud.

"...Therefore, regarding this academy's future—What is it, Laurier?" Claudia paused, raising an eyebrow at her sister's outburst.

"N-No! It's nothing at all!" Laurier squeaked, waving her hands in panic.

She had accidentally blurted out right in the middle of Claudia's explanation. Flustered, she tried to cover her blunder while stealing another peek at her sister's regal face.

First Princess of the Tritonis Kingdom, first in line for the throne, and an idol holding absolute sway over high society across the Heaven Disc World—this was the sister Laurier admired and took the greatest pride in.

The mere fact that such a prominent figure was currently residing on these premises might just serve as the ultimate trump card in bargaining with Warmwine Amnesium.

Having withdrawn from the Main Campus grounds, Haruhana's first priority was contacting an emergency Gobot to tend to Kuro's injuries.

A medical Gobot unit dispatched to the scene rendered immediate first aid before issuing a blunt decree: "Hospitalization is unnecessary. Rest quietly, foolish human." Consequently, Haruhana ended up carrying the still-unconscious Kuro back with her.

A Gobot's medical assessment was far more reliable than an amateur doctor's. Upon arriving back at Royal Tritonis Academy, Haruhana fired off a quick message on her smartphone app confirming Kuro's safe return before heading straight for the infirmary.

When it came to finding a quiet place to rest at school, the infirmary was the natural choice. As she prepared to lay Kuro down on one of the cots, she picked up a pillow and patted it gently.

With a heavy poof, a massive cloud of dust erupted from the fabric.

"This is... unsatisfactory," Haruhana remarked, coughing slightly.

Due to the drastic drop in enrolled students, several facilities throughout Tritonis Academy had been decommissioned. Left abandoned for so long, dust-clogged pillows were hardly suitable for resting an injured boy's head.

"This sofa appears acceptable," she noted after inspecting the leather seating.

Sitting down on the sofa, Haruhana carefully lowered Kuro from her back, easing his head down onto her lap to serve as a makeshift cushion.

Problem solved. Satisfied with her brilliant solution, Haruhana pinched the zipper tab of her jacket. Having carried Kuro all the way back, her body felt flush with heat. Pulling the zipper down to her chest to let the trapped warmth escape, she gazed down at the face resting comfortably on her lap.

Kuro was in absolute tatters.

Nasty blue bruises covered his exposed skin where heavy strikes had landed. To inflict this much damage on Kuro—whose core strength lay in physical reinforcement—Dotou Jou had proved himself a truly formidable combatant.

"Well, half a day should be more than enough for Kuro to make a full recovery," Haruhana murmured quietly.

Perhaps owing to his unique constitution of housing magic within his very blood, Kuro's regenerative abilities far outstripped normal humans. While not quite on par with a true Vampire who could seal gouges in seconds, injuries of this scale were nothing to worry about.

Reaching down, Haruhana gently stroked the hair of the boy resting on her lap.

The moment Kuro had learned of Pina's peril, he had charged headfirst into Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus without a moment's hesitation.

Haruhana, on the other hand, had been unable to do the same. Despite possessing overwhelming power, she hadn't taken action.

Even though her friend was in dire danger.

"How were you able to act so decisively without a single second of hesitation, Kuro...?" she mused softly.

A faint shadow of melancholy clouded Haruhana's expression.

The girl known as Haruhana Bacchus did not act on her own initiative.

Even when a major crisis struck her or the organization she belonged to, she never took the initiative to resolve it independently. She invariably waited for someone else to issue a judgment or command.

Because Haruhana knew all too well that she was an unnaturally powerful monster.

It wasn't an alien anomaly like Kuro, who had been born with magic in the mundane Earth World. Even in the magic-saturated Heaven Disc World, Haruhana stood out as absurdly, overwhelmingly powerful.

She possessed no legendary pedigree, no blessed environment, and no extraordinary life experience. Yet from the very moment she obtained a Mana Crystal and unlocked her unique magic, she had eclipsed everyone around her. Her raw force was so overwhelming that she could trivially suppress almost any crisis on the surface simply by brandishing her power.

That was precisely why she always relied on others to provide the answers.

Deep down, she was acutely aware that she lacked any inner drive capable of justifying the terrifying scale of her power.

She had no burning ambitions, no grandiose goals, and no selfish desires she would crush others to fulfill. Lacking any drive to prove her existence to the world, she had concluded that subjecting her formidable power to the highest authority within her group was the only responsible way to exist.

In other words, whenever no one gave her an answer, Haruhana found herself completely paralyzed, unable to take a single step forward.

Even when it came to rescuing a dear friend, she simply had no idea what she was supposed to do.

"Do you possess those answers, Kuro...?" she whispered to the sleeping boy.

Kuro had acted instantly without relying on a single soul for permission.

Even back in the magicless Earth World, his power must have marked him as an anomaly, yet he possessed the unshakable conviction to act on what he believed was right.

She envied that strength of heart, just a little.

Searching his sleeping face for the answer she had sought since childhood, she noticed how peacefully he rested on her thighs. Somehow, his expression seemed even gentler now than it had moments before.

Does he find my lap pillow comfortable? A mysterious sense of fulfillment washed over her, gently soothing her quiet self-loathing.

"Mmm..." Haruhana let out a soft, contented hum.

Exhaling a satisfied breath, she affectionately ruffed Kuro's hair as he lay across her lap.

"Ngh... Woah, why is it pitch black in front of me?" Kuro groaned, stirring awake.

Prompted by her head-patting, Kuro slowly opened his eyes. Staring up with unfocused vision, he muttered in a dazed, groggy voice.

"Did I get hit in the head so hard I'm hallucinating...? The back of my head feels super soft and cushiony, and there's two giant black mountains blocking my view... Plus it smells sweet... Crap, what is this ridiculous sensation—"

Kuro's trailing sentence froze mid-word the exact instant his eyes met Haruhana's looking straight down at him.

Noticing Kuro's utter confusion as he struggled to process the scene, Haruhana declared with solemn gravity.

"Kuro, those are my thighs and my breasts," she stated flatly.

"Huh...? Wh-What!?" Kuro shrieked.

A split second after processing her words, Kuro tried to bolt upright in absolute panic. Unfortunately, Haruhana had been leaning forward to inspect his face. As Kuro reflexively thrust himself up, his face slammed head-on into her generous chest. Rebounded by the soft yet firm elasticity, the momentum sent the back of his head bouncing right back onto her smooth, supple thighs.

"Whoa there," Haruhana blinked in surprise.

Tickled by the unexpected collision, Haruhana momentarily froze in place.

Rolling sideways off Haruhana's lap, Kuro disengaged onto the floor. Even while his eyes were involuntarily stolen by the dynamic, jiggling motion of her chest swaying violently from the impact, he executed a fluid motion, slamming his hands and knees to the floor in a perfect prostrate bow.

"I am profoundly and sincerely sorry!" Kuro yelled, pressing his forehead against the floor.

Faced with his unconditional apology, Haruhana puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

"That is correct, sir. I am actually quite upset with you," she declared, her tone stern yet formal.

"I'm really, really sorry!" Kuro apologized frantically. "I know words aren't enough to earn your forgiveness, so I'll prove my sincerity through my actions from now on. If you set any ground rules regarding girl stuff, I swear I'll follow them to the letter!"

"I do not care about that at all, sir!" Haruhana barked back, crossing her arms.

"Please care at least a little bit!" Kuro pleaded, groaning in dismay. "If you don't give me some kind of punishment, my conscience is going to eat me alive! Just give me a penalty, I'm begging you!"

"Mm? Is that so?" Haruhana hummed, considering it for a moment. "In that case, since I had so much fun at the pool today, I demand one whole day of your time at some point, Kuro."

"If that's all it takes, of course I'll go with you!" he agreed instantly. "Honestly, after what I did, I wouldn't have complained if you used me as a human bowling pin!"

Kuro dropped into a second full dogeza, and his request for punishment—which turned out to be a simple favor—was readily accepted.

Dragging Kuro around all to herself was something to look forward to another day. For now, Haruhana had a far more pressing matter to address.

"What I am actually angry about is the fact that you went off to Main Campus all by yourself, Kuro," she chided, her expression turning grave.

"That... well..." Kuro stammered, trailing off.

Mortified by the awkwardness of acting on his own only to get utterly beaten, Kuro dropped his gaze to the floor.

"...I thought if I went alone, I could force a Counter-Battle," Kuro admitted quietly. "That Tick guy was looking down on me, and besides... Kyoko, the one pulling his strings behind the scenes, is obsessed with me."

"I may not know the details of your relationship with this Kyoko person... but that is not the point, which is precisely why I am upset," Haruhana replied firmly, refusing to let his excuses derail her.

Unmoved by his self-justifications, she looked straight into Kuro's eyes.

"You simply do not possess the strength to resolve this situation all on your own, Kuro."

The Academy Archipelago were not such a forgiving place.

There were numerous individuals and factions here that even Haruhana's overwhelming power could not overcome. For Kuro, who had only just begun to harness his true abilities, the world was brimming with opponents he stood no chance against.

"...Yeah, you're right," Kuro muttered softly.

At Haruhana's harsh but accurate assessment, Kuro cast his head down.

"I really am weak, aren't I?"

As he sat with his head bowed, his shoulders began to tremble.

A dark stain expanded on the floor directly beneath his gaze. Moisture pooling in his eyes spilled over, dripping down one tear after another with a quiet patter.

Kuro was crying.

He trembled with frustration at his own pathetic helplessness, tears streaming down his cheeks. Haruhana knew all too well the exact emotion fueling those tears.

It was the bitter remorse of someone who had taken action to achieve his earnest desire, only to be crushed by the cold reality of his own inadequacy. It was a crushing sense of defeat that could only be felt by those who dared to move forward in pursuit of a dream born from the depths of their heart.

"I didn't get it at all," Kuro choked out through his tears. "I thought as long as I could draw out the kind of power I used when we defeated Ginion after he turned into a monster—when we took down that Dryad—I could win against anyone... I was just arrogant."

Kuro had believed he was strong. Somewhere deep down, he had arrogantly assumed that as long as he gave it his all, he could overcome any crisis just like he had solved the previous incident.

But how could someone like Kuro—who had spent so long running away from his own strength—ever hope to defeat a true warrior who had believed in his power and forged it through relentless training?

Having suffered a completely helpless defeat at the hands of Dotou, Kuro poured out his innermost feelings.

"I never thought... I'd hate myself so much for being weak...!"

"...Is that so, sir?" Haruhana murmured softly.

Watching the teenage boy shed tears he surely hadn't wanted anyone to see, Haruhana reached out without a moment's hesitation. She buried both hands in Kuro's hair, thoroughly ruffling and stroking his messy locks.

Because of her own supreme strength, Haruhana was all too familiar with human vulnerability, and she knew a fundamental truth.

A person who tries so hard to hold back their tears, yet still ends up crying while regretting their own weakness, is a person who will become strong.

As she gently stroked the head of the boy who would undoubtedly be stronger tomorrow than he was today, Haruhana let a soft smile grace her lips.

"You really are quite adorable, Kuro," she said warmly.

In that moment, Haruhana finally understood the true meaning of the word "cute" that Pina so often used to describe him.

At her tender tone, Kuro pouted, his lips twisting into a subtle scowl.

"...What's that supposed to mean?" he grumbled. "Now you're talking just like Pina."

"Ehehe. I believe I understand how Pina feels now, sir," Haruhana giggled.

Carrying a hint of subtle warmth that differed slightly from her usual cheery demeanor, Haruhana voiced the honest emotion welling inside her chest.

"I really like how honest you are with your own heart, Kuro."

"Haha... I see. Thanks," Kuro offered with a dry, self-deprecating laugh.

Receiving such straightforward affection brought an awkward smile to his face.

Knowing Haruhana, he was well aware she didn't mean it in a romantic sense. Unlike when Pina had confessed her feelings to him in that empty classroom, hearing this simply made him genuinely happy.

"Still, like I told Laurier before, could you stop patting my head?" he grumbled.

"No can do, sir!" Haruhana replied blithely. "Since I am stronger than you, Kuro, I have no reason to stop doing what I want."

Unbothered, Haruhana continued to playfully mess up his hair as she spoke.

Laurier was clingy by nature. Because of her royal standing, she presented a dignified demeanor to outsiders, but with those she considered close, she constantly sought praise and affection.

But Haruhana was entirely different.

Haruhana only ever submitted or yielded to someone who was either stronger than her or held a higher rank.

"Once you manage to defeat me in battle, Kuro, I shall obediently do whatever you say, sir!"

"That's... a pretty long way off..." Kuro sighed heavily, his voice trembling slightly.

The words escaped his lips alongside a weary exhale.

Until he could surpass a warrior on par with Dotou—someone currently so far beyond his level he couldn't even touch her feet—he had no right to refuse having his head patted like a child.

Until he closed that vast, immeasurable gap between them, this status quo would remain.

"However... you are going to get stronger, aren't you?" Haruhana asked softly.

"Yeah. I'll get stronger."

"And you will show me that cool side of yours that Pina keeps raving about someday, right sir?"

"Of course. I'll definitely show you. So... Haruhana," Kuro said, meeting her eyes head-on.

Looking straight back at Haruhana—who saw his weakness clearly yet still believed without a shadow of a doubt that he could grow strong—he spoke with quiet resolve.

"Until my own strength is enough, please let me rely on your power without holding back."

"Understood, sir!" she declared with a crisp salute.

Just as Haruhana gave her enthusiastic consent with an innocent, radiant smile after finishing her hair-ruffling session—

"Yo, Boss! You got your butt totally handed to you by the President!"

"Serves ya right, Boss! Look how kind we are, coming all this way to visit your pathetic sickbed... Wait, whoa!"

Two boisterous uninvited guests barged straight into the infirmary.

Quite how they had managed to enter the school building remained a mystery, but the intruders who slammed the door open were none other than the Kaldi siblings. The younger sister wearing the red mask immediately pointed a finger at Kuro and Haruhana sitting in close proximity and shrieked.

"Boss is trying to do something perverted with Haruhana this time!"

What is wrong with these two...? Kuro wondered, glaring at them with an exasperated expression that instantly sucked away whatever melancholy he had left, while Haruhana blinked in surprise beside him.

"'This time'... Does that mean you were doing something perverted with Pina earlier, Kuro?" Haruhana asked, tilting her head as she put two and two together.

"Ah—lalala! Moving on, you two!" Kuro shouted, jumping to his feet with an unnaturally loud voice.

Desperate to prevent Haruhana from pursuing that line of thought any further, Kuro stood up while raising his voice in a blatantly obnoxious manner.

"This is the Royal Tritonis Academy campus, so outsiders are technically strictly prohibited. Did you guys just break in illegally?" Kuro demanded, trying to shift the focus.

"No way, no way! We're here on a sick call!" Hororokka protested dramatically. "We're good-hearted people who came all this way out of pure concern for our Boss!"

"Yeah, exactly," Kurulukka chimed in with a grin. "After you got knocked out, Boss, we slipped into the school right alongside Haruhana."

Kuro glanced at Haruhana to confirm if that was true, and she gave him a silent nod.

However, this was definitely not a "sick call" in any conventional sense. They just came to laugh at me while I'm down, Kuro thought bitterly, certain they had only come to enjoy the sight of him in a weakened state.

"Boss is pretty tough, huh? For someone who got pulverized by the President, you look pretty normal," Kurulukka noted casually.

"Here, we even bought you some pudding," Hororokka said, tossing a plastic bag onto the table. "Eat up and be grateful! And in return, let us crash at your empty dorms for free!"

"...I knew you had an ulterior motive," Kuro deadpanned.

Looking sullen, he accepted the plastic bag offered by the younger Kaldi sibling, finding a store-bought pudding inside. Its color was noticeably redder than the ones sold back in Japan. When he checked the ingredient label and saw the words "Dragon Egg," his heart unexpectedly fluttered with excitement despite himself.

"So, how was it, Boss? The President was crazy strong, right?" Hororokka asked smugly.

"...Yeah. He was strong," Kuro admitted softly.

To students of Branch 666, the overwhelming power of their leader, Dotou, was undoubtedly a point of immense pride. Having suffered a crushing defeat, Kuro had no room to argue, his lips pressed into a tight, discontent line.

"Seriously though, Boss, why'd you go and raid the Main Campus like that?" Kurulukka asked, leaning in. "Even if their principal is away right now, that's way too reckless."

"Ah, well..." Kuro mumbled awkwardly.

Faced with the younger Kaldi sister's completely reasonable question, Kuro pondered how to explain the situation regarding Pina while digging into the Dragon Egg Pudding with a plastic spoon. To his surprise, it tasted remarkably like ordinary pudding—and despite it being quite delicious, his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"On that matter, I have just finished giving him a small lecture, sir," Haruhana chimed in smoothly. "Kuro was overestimating his own power just a little bit."

"Hmm. Well, Boss was kinda letting it get to his head," Kurulukka agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, yeah! Come on, Boss, tell us all about how pathetically you lost!" Hororokka jeered, grinning wildly.

"Hey, I'm an injured guy here!" Kuro snapped back, glaring at the two of them. "You've been trolling me non-stop since you walked in! You guys are absolute garbage...!"

Even as he glared at the Kaldi siblings for making fun of his defeat, Kuro realized that the tension in his shoulders had completely dissolved.

He hated to admit it, but bickering with these two had undeniably taken his mind off the despair.

"Hey... let me ask you guys something," Kuro began, his tone growing serious. "If I told you I needed your help to save Pina, what would you do?"

"Hmm? Sure, why not," Hororokka replied casually without a second thought.

Taken aback by how instantly the younger Kaldi sibling agreed before he had even explained what kind of help he needed, Kuro blinked in disbelief.

Her response was so casual that it actually sparked a wave of anxiety in him—What if she just flakes out when push comes to shove?

"...I haven't even told you what I need yet," Kuro pointed out, suspicious.

"What of it? If it's a request from the Boss, we're down!" Hororokka huffed, elbowing her brother. "Hanging out with Boss is super fun anyway, right, Bro?"

"Now hold on, little sis. We should at least hear the details first," Kurulukka chimed in with a dry chuckle. "Though knowing Boss, he might do reckless stuff himself, but he's too soft-hearted to ask anyone else to do something totally crazy."

Hearing the siblings' offhand words, Kuro felt a sudden swell of emotion in his chest.

He opened his mouth to banter back at the bickering pair, but a wave of emotion welled up in his throat before any words could form. He closed his lips and tried to swallow it down, but his tear ducts—already compromised—spilled a very different kind of warm tears than before.

Their casual words, spoken as if it were the most natural thing in the world, filled him with enough joy to bring him to tears.

"Whoa, what gives, Boss?!" Kurulukka blurted out. "Are you seriously crying?!"

"What's the matter?" Hororokka chimed in with a cheeky grin, poking him in the side. "Did our overwhelming generosity move you to tears or something? There, there~"

"...Hmph. Shut up, you idiots," Kuro grunted, sniffing as he tried to play it cool.

As the pair showed zero restraint, smacking his back and jabbing elbows into his ribs, Kuro wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and twisted his mouth into a scowl.

"These are tears of frustration from losing to Mr. Dotou, you morons!" Kuro yelled, barking right back at them.

As he shouted and glared at the pair of teasing idiots, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

Turning around, he found Haruhana beaming warmly at him.

"Kuro," Haruhana said, her smile gentle. "Honesty is the finest virtue a person can possess."

Haruhana might have seemed oblivious at times, but she was surprisingly perceptive and had clearly seen right through him. At her soft advice, the stubborn tension drained from his face.

"Well... I mean..." Kuro stammered awkwardly.

Exhaling softly, Kuro turned back to face the Kaldi siblings.

He was genuinely glad that they were the first people he had met upon arriving in the Academy Archipelago.

From the very bottom of his heart, he truly felt that way.

"...Thanks for everything, Kurulukka, Hororokka," Kuro said, a natural smile softening his face.

Calling them by name, he looked fondly at the two trouble-making delinquents who had become his very first friends in this realm.

Back in her dorm room, Pina was quietly preparing for the next day.

Heading to another academy wasn't a casual sightseeing trip. She didn't have much to physically pack; rather, her preparations were mostly about coming to terms with her own feelings.

Tomorrow, she would be going to Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus to be put on display as a public spectacle.

Yet for Pina, persecution and prejudice were just part of daily life. Away from the watchful eyes of Laurier and Claudia, she had endured endless cold stares and heartless insults. She could never forget the memory of being kept in a cage like a circus freak when she was just a small child, left all alone after losing her mother.

She had managed to endure it back then.

So she would surely be fine this time too. It was only one week. Just seven painful days to survive.

A few picture frames were neatly lined up on her desk. Ever since coming to the Academy Archipelago, she had printed out her favorite photos to display. But among them sat a single item that wasn't a photograph.

It was a one-thousand-yen bill.

A Japanese banknote guaranteeing a thousand yen in currency was a strange and novel curiosity to Pina.

On the very day she had confessed her feelings to Kuro, she had taken the bill that had been sitting in her wallet and tucked it into an acrylic stand. Now it stood side by side with her photos of Laurier and Haruhana.

Because it was the very first gift Kuro had ever given her.

"I really am a handful, aren't I?" Pina murmured to herself with a wistful smile.

She gently traced the outline of the thousand-yen bill through the clear acrylic with her fingertip.

How would Kuro react if he saw proof of such intense attachment from someone who usually acted so reasonable and composed? The thought brought a self-deprecating smile to her lips. Even though she had already confessed to him, letting him see this desk would still be agonizingly embarrassing.

Suddenly, a knock sounded at her door.

The rhythm of the rap against the wooden door was neither as delicate as Laurier's nor as forceful as Haruhana's. That alone was enough for Pina to know instantly who stood outside.

"Pina," Kuro called from the hallway.

Hearing him call her name, her heart skipped a beat.

"Do you have a minute? There's something I want to talk to you about."

At the sound of Kuro's voice, Pina opened her mouth to answer, only to snap it shut again.

She hated the thought of breaking down and clinging to him if she looked at his face right now.

She bit her lip, frustrated by her own glaring weakness.

She didn't want to be someone who just waited to be rescued by others.

She wanted to be strong like Haruhana. She wanted to be proud like Laurier. She wanted to be noble and resolute like Claudia.

She longed to stand tall like the remarkable people around her, yet she felt hopelessly inadequate in comparison.

What will it take for me to ever become like them?

"Look, Pina," Kuro pressed, his tone earnest beyond the door. "I know I'm weak and unreliable... but please, let me help you."

Through the wooden barrier, the voice of the boy she loved reached her ears.

Her chest tightened painfully at his earnest plea.

"I'm sorry," Pina whispered before she could stop herself.

Before she even realized it, an apology had escaped her lips.

If it were Laurier, she never would have forced Kuro to say something so painful. If it were Haruhana, she would have protected Kuro with a single strike of her fist instead.

Because those two were strong.

"Please... just leave me alone right now," she begged softly.

"But Pina—" Kuro protested.

"I'm really, really sorry."

As she was now, pushing him away was the only thing keeping her from completely collapsing into his arms.

"I'm sorry for being so weak that I made you feel like you had to save me."

Truth be told, Pina wanted more than anything to become someone who could stand by Kuro's side and save him.

Which was precisely why she couldn't allow herself to rely on his kindness now.

Outside the dorm room, Kuro stood frozen, his head hanging low in defeat.

The silence in the hallway was overwhelming. In that moment, he found himself desperately missing the boisterous banter of the Kaldi siblings.

She actually apologized to me...

Turning away from Pina's door, Kuro shuffled down the hallway, leaned his back against the wall, and slid heavily onto the floor.

"God, I'm pathetic..." Kuro muttered, burying his face in his hands.

He had talked so big about showing her the path forward, only to end up completely shut out.

Pina was strong.

Yet there was no way he could just leave her to handle this on her own. She was acting exactly like he had when he foolishly charged into Imperial Style Doji Academy Main Campus by himself—confusing reckless pride for true strength.

He couldn't stand by and let Pina make the exact same mistake he had made.

"...Alright!" Kuro declared, smacking both cheeks with his palms to snap out of it.

Steeling his resolve, he pushed himself up from the floor and headed straight for the infirmary.

There were reliable comrades waiting for him there to help save Pina. It didn't have to be Kuro alone carrying the burden.

"Welcome back, Kuro," Haruhana greeted him as he entered. "How was Pina's condition?"

"She's pretty down," Kuro reported with a troubled grimace. "Looks like she's really backing herself into a corner."

"Ah, so basically the same deal as when you recklessly charged into the main school, Boss?" Kurulukka chortled from his seat. "Man, I still wish I could've seen the President beat the snoop out of you!"

"Pina always overcomplicates things," Hororokka agreed with a sigh. "Since she's not a simple-minded idiot like Boss, it actually makes her way more of a hassle to deal with."

"You're spot-on about her overthinking, but do you two really have to tack on those snide insults?!" Kuro barked, glaring at the pair.

Right now, Pina was carrying an aura that suggested she would run away the instant she realized Kuro and the others were trying to rescue her.

So what was the best way to handle this delicate situation? As Kuro and his allies debated heatedly back and forth, the door to the infirmary slid open from the outside.

"Pardon me. Haruhana, how are Kuro's injuries..." Laurier began as she stepped inside, only to blink in surprise upon spotting the Kaldi siblings. "Oh?"

The newcomer was Laurier. Seeing the two delinquents lounging inside, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Sorry, Laurier. Kurulukka and Hororokka basically broke in, but cut them some slack," Kuro explained with an apologetic grin. "Turns out these two actually came by to check up on me."

"If they came to visit you, Kuro, then I shall not press the matter of their trespassing..." Laurier said, her expression turning unusually serious. "However, my elder sister has just arrived at the academy. Please ensure that you do not cause any offense."

"I'm sure it'll be fine... right?" Kuro muttered, casting a dubious glance at the sibling pair.

"If she's the princess's big sister, then she's royalty too, right?" Hororokka scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "We don't give a damn about high-and-mighty nobles, so we don't wanna meet her anyway."

"My sister hit the nail on the head," Kurulukka agreed, crossing his arms. "We try to stay far away from high-society types. Nothing good comes from getting on their radar."

"I-I see..." Laurier murmured, an awkward look crossing her face at their peculiar mix of commoner cynicism and street-smart pragmatism.

Faced with a bizarre blend of commoner perspective and straight-up delinquent logic, even a princess like Laurier was left at a loss for words.

"...Should I go pay my respects to your older sister too, Laurier?" Kuro asked.

"No, that won't be necessary," Laurier assured him with a reassuring wave of her hand. "Sister is staying at a hotel in Central rather than our dormitories. Besides, she is an exceptionally magnanimous person. She would never dwell on minor formalities, nor would she want an injured person to strain themselves on her account."

Kuro nodded in understanding, but then a thought suddenly struck him.

"Actually, your timing is perfect," Kuro said. "We were just brainstorming a way to save Pina. Do you have any good ideas, Laurier?"

"As expected of you, Kuro! You truly are a proud student of our Tritonis Academy!" Laurier beamed, stepping closer as her eyes sparkled. "In fact, your timing is magnificent!"

Her face lit up with excitement as she leaned in eager anticipation.

"Truth be told, I have just come up with bargaining leverage to enlist Lady Wormwine's aid!" Laurier declared proudly. "Let us pool our ideas together with yours, Kuro, and examine them for any potential flaws!"

"Huh? Ah, right!" Kuro gasped as realization dawned on him. "If it's Wormwine, there's definitely something I can help with too! Yeah, of course! If we can bring in people from other academies, we still have plenty of moves left!"

"This one shall lend her full strength as well!" Haruhana declared, crossing her arms with a resolute nod. "Furthermore... I wish to learn more about Lady Kyoko, the mastermind behind this scheme, and what exactly her history is with you, Kuro."

"Look at them getting all fired up, Bro," Hororokka remarked, nudging her brother's shoulder.

"Sure are," Kurulukka sighed under his breath. "If it were up to me, I'd really rather not get dragged into this mess, Sis."

The narrow perspective that had trapped Kuro when he was agonizing in solitude expanded dramatically in an instant.

It was no longer a question of what a still-weak Kuro could achieve alone, but rather about uniting the strength of all the Tritonis students—Pina included—and everyone tied to them to break through this dire crisis.

Side by side, Kuro and his allies put their heads together to hatch a plan to save Pina.

ToC

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