Saki and I enrolled in the academy and crushed the entrance exam.
There were a hundred and fifty students in total.
The school assigned each student to a squad of three.
Saki and I ended up with a girl named Kendra.
I never really paid much attention to her.
But I could tell… being in our squad changed Saki.
He obviously liked her.
And, of course, he didn't want me to know.
He knew I would laugh at him.
Classic Saki.
He had a couple of flavors-of-the-week. Probably his clever way of pretending he didn't like Kendra.
Kendra, on the other hand, was cold. Uninterested. And unnervingly odd.
She was an elf and among elves, there were two types: red-haired elves and orange-haired elves.
Kendra belonged to the latter.
Orange-haired elves were considered nobles. Blessed by one of their goddesses. Said to carry royal blood.
Sounds like your typical royalty, right?
No.
The strange thing about Kendra was that she was always asleep.
During lessons whether theory or practical, she slept.
She slept through lunch.
On missions, Saki had to carry her.
During drills, she dozed off on her feet.
The only time she ever woke up was when someone with an abnormally high power level appeared.
Other than that, she might as well have been dead.
Honestly? That's why I preferred her company.
She didn't bother me unlike the other girls who claimed I was attractive and kept asking me out.
I survived almost an entire year at the academy. Surprisingly.
I was getting bored, but someone had to keep an eye on that oaf, Saki.
Near the end of the year, a new student enrolled.
Saki fell in love instantly.
She called herself Izumi but I recognized her immediately.
Erina.
The missing princess of the fairy kingdom.
She had dyed her silver hair red, but her eyes betrayed her, one blue, one green. Even among fairies, her beauty rivaled goddesses.
The Governor had been pushing intermarriages between races to maintain peace.
Erina, crown princess of Finesia, was meant to marry Kyojuro the crown prince of the vampire kingdom, Nazca.
The arrangement collapsed when Erina ran away, claiming her fiancé was a monster.
Now both kingdoms were searching for her.
Whoever returned her would receive a reward of ten aurum seals.
Even one aurum seal would have completely changed my parents' lives.
One seal was worth a million silver shards.
Exaggerated? Maybe.
But only royals and elites possess them.
If a commoner was found with even one, their fate was sealed, literally.
And the fairy kingdom was offering ten.
That's when I decided to do the right thing.
I would take her back myself.
Saki, of course, came up with a ridiculous plan, the Saki Scheme.
Since Erina was interested in me, I'd get close to her. Gain her trust.
Then we'd stab her in the back and return her for the reward.
The plan worked.
Too well.
She believed I was hopelessly in love with her.
Then it happened.
During a lesson near the academy pool, a magic circle appeared beneath my feet.
Before I could react, I was ripped from reality and thrown into a wasteland I didn't recognize.
No one was there but the air was thick with mana.
I braced myself.
Then someone appeared.
A boy about my age.
A demon his aura made that obvious.
Lavender hair. Crimson eyes.
A black academy uniform.
Black flip-flops.
"Hey there," he said casually.
I knew instantly, this wasn't a friendly summoning.
"My name is Mizu," he smiled.
"Age Number Ten of the Ten Golden Ages."
Age Number Ten.
The weakest of them all.
If they truly wanted me dead, why didn't they send their strongest?
Whatever.
I'd just finish this quickly.
I looked at Mizu.
That playful grin on his face didn't waver as he opened his mouth, then paused.
The ground beneath me trembled.
I leapt into the air just as the earth shattered where I'd been standing.
"I summoned you here," Mizu said calmly, "so we wouldn't destroy the academy."
I landed on firmer ground and shifted into my elf form.
No more games.
A bow formed in front of me, water shaped its frame, fire hardened its string. An arrow followed, humming with mana.
I didn't touch it.
I didn't need to.
My magic answered my thoughts alone. No incantations, no gestures.
With a single command, the arrow screamed through the air, fast enough to split sound itself.
It was aimed straight for Mizu's head.
A clean kill.
But he caught it.
Barehanded.
With no strain nor surprise.
Just that same irritating smile.
That was the moment I realized something important.
If I underestimated this guy, he would kill me.
I tore the studs from my ears, the ones my annoying instructor, Queen, forced on me to suppress my mana.
The change was immediate.
A horn tore out from one side of Mizu's head, and his eyes turned pitch black.
And then I charged.
Everything I had, every spell, every form, every ounce of power inside me.
It didn't matter.
He deflected everything. Attacked and defended at the same time, like he could read me before I even moved.
Every time I shifted forms, he adjusted.
Every time I adapted, he was already ahead.
At some point, the fight stopped being about winning.
I was just trying not to die.
Then,
just as he raised his hand to deliver the finishing blow,
He stopped.
The world seemed to freeze with him.
"You know what?" Mizu said casually, resting a hand on his waist. "I like the way you think. Killing you would be a waste."
The horn faded.
His eyes returned to normal.
And if Age Number Ten was this strong…
I didn't even want to imagine Age Number One.
"Let's be friends," Mizu said lightly.
"I don't have many friends…"
That just irritated me more.
Losing to someone like him only proved one thing, I'd grown weak.
"How much am I getting paid?" I asked, watching my wounds knit themselves back together.
"At the end of the month, you'll receive eight aurum seals," he said, looking far too pleased with himself.
"That makes ninety-six aurum seals by the end of the year."
Ninety-six aurum seals.
I'd take it.
I'm a very dedicated person when money is involved.
"Fine," I said. "I'll join your sorry excuse for a criminal syndicate."
I ignored the small detail that he'd just completely destroyed me in a fight.
Despite my sarcasm, Mizu looked genuinely happy.
"Yay!" he said. "Meet me at Hanoi Shrine. No one ever goes there."
After my unpleasant encounter with Mizu, I teleported back to the academy.
The sun was already setting when I reached the dorm and it was empty.
Thank goodness.
Saki and our other roommate, Yoki, weren't around. For some reason, the two of them together were an abomination. A messy dorm, nonstop noise, and their mere existence was exhausting.
I dropped my bag and rummaged through my suitcase.
Beneath everything, I found a box of cigarettes.
Growing up around Hikigaya and passively smoking for years had left me with a habit I never bothered to shake.
I stared at the box longer than I should have.
Old habits were harder to kill than people.
I took the box, shoved it into my pocket, and left the dorm.
On my way to the training field, I was confident no one would be there.
Around this time, it was always empty.
Perfect.
Of course, the universe disagreed.
Before I even reached it, I ran into Erina.
She was training.
Why?
Why was the universe so cruel?
I just wanted to be alone.
She swung a wooden sword at a dummy, hard. Too hard. The weapon slipped from her grip and flew straight toward me.
Normally, I would've dodged.
But I was drained.
After Mizu, my body refused to listen, even while my mind screamed at it to move.
The next thing I knew, I was on the pavement.
The air was knocked out of my lungs. I didn't have the strength to groan or even curse. I just lay there, staring at the sky.
Pathetic.
I couldn't protect my parents.
I couldn't even protect myself.
What kind of monster was that useless?
"Kiyoshi! Are you okay?" she asked, panic clear in her voice as she rushed over and helped me up.
"I'm so sorry," she said again.