While Leona was trying to take off the rest of her clothes
Rena caught Leona just as the pink lace waistband of her underwear was halfway down her hips.
"STOP!!" she screamed, clutching the girl's wrists like she was disarming a magical bomb. "You can't do this! You're in public! You're in the *Academy*! Gods, you absolute lunatic!"
Leona pouted, lower lip trembling like a child denied dessert. "But I'm abird ...! abrid don't wear pants!"
"You're not bird , you're a drunk with delusions!" Rena hissed, using her mana to physically lift Leona and force her into a sitting position on the nearest bench. "Sit. Down. And stop... stripping!"
"But I'm melting!" Leona whined. "I'm on fire!"
"You're *barely* conscious!" Rena shot back, tugging the half-removed pants back up with one hand while holding Leona steady with the other. "You're not melting, you're hallucinating! Do you even remember your own name?!"
Leona blinked. "...I'm Rena no i'm chicken ."
Rena's soul left her body for a full five seconds.
"I swear, I will strangle you," she muttered, slapping a weak illusion spell over Leona just to keep her appearance at least *technically* decent.
She stood up, exasperated beyond comprehension, and spun to face her husband—who, to no one's surprise, was now sitting cross-legged on a branch above them, picking leaves and letting them flutter dramatically onto the chaos below.
"JIN!" she yelled.
He looked down innocently, as if he had nothing whatsoever to do with the scene beneath him. "Yes, dearest?"
And she screamed angrily
" JIN, YOU KNOW THAT I'M TRAINING TODAY AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW TOLD YOU, RIGHT"
Jin laughed and said,
"This *is* an emergency. Your friend declared war on clothing and dignity. I thought you'd want to witness history."
She was so angry, her aura flared hot enough to melt the snow beneath her boots. "Why didn't you call Lilia or Nox?
"Didn't have their contact info. Besides…" He dangled his feet lazily from the branch. "You're the only one who can handle this particular brand of disaster. And honestly, it's been entertaining."
"You... you..." she was so furious the words caught in her throat. "*You* bought her the alcohol! You knew this would happen!"
"I had a hypothesis," he replied smoothly. "And behold: confirmed."
Rena wanted to punch him. She really did. Or kiss him, then punch him again, then possibly cry. Her emotions were in a blender and her mana was practically sparking from her skin. This was not how today was supposed to go. She was supposed to be perfect. Controlled. Focused. Calm.
She looked down at her own hands, trembling slightly. Naoko had warned her—told her not to let emotions disrupt the flow. Told her to be the mana, not ride it. But right now, Rina felt like the mana was riding *her* into a flaming canyon.
Meanwhile, Leona had resumed humming. "Renaaa... You're my best friend, you know that?" she mumbled, leaning her head on Rina's shoulder. "You're... all warm and glowing. Like a magic heater…"
Rina sighed, long and deep. "Leona, you're going to wake up tomorrow and wish I'd let you explode."
"Nooo... I'll be fine," Leona murmured. "You're always there to fix me…"
That... hit deeper than expected.
Rina looked at her, really looked. Past the red cheeks and the swaying mess, she saw the exhaustion beneath Leona's bravado. The hurt. The loneliness. The way she clung to chaos because peace was too quiet, too revealing.
For a moment, the anger softened. She pulled her friend closer, wrapping the illusion spell tighter around her like a protective blanket.
"I'll take her to her dorm," she muttered, not bothering to look up at Jin.
"No need for that. I can open a gate and take you and Leona to the girls' dorm."
Rena blinked. "Will you do something really useful? "
"I'm full of surprises," he said, hopping gracefully down from the branch. "But don't worry, I didn't do it *for* you. I did it because if Leona gets expelled for public indecency, I lose my favorite source of campus chaos."
"You're impossible."
He stepped close, brushing a strand of fiery red hair from her face, voice suddenly soft: "And you, my phoenix, are breathtaking when furious."
She flushed so hard it made her aura burst like a flare. "Don't... flatter me now! I'm still mad at you!"
"I know," he said with a grin. "That's why it's so fun."