"Pain makes you stronger. Fear makes you braver. And tragedy...makes you wiser."

*****1

After the unwanted conversation with the principal, I headed back to the Magic Training Room to meet up with the rest of the class. When I had arrived, everything was back to normal and the students of class 2-D were all focused on their own training. It seemed that this boy named Ming Hao had indeed resolved my mana, just like he said he would...

While I was curious how he did it, I didn't see him anywhere. I decided to save the question for another day...I had a feeling we would meet again. Feng Mian and Qing Yue immediately noticed my presence and hurried over to me.

"X-Xuan Kai! You're finally back. A-Are you okay? Did they hurt you anywhere?" Feng Mian asked with a worried expression on her face.

"Aha...don't worry. I'm fine."

Then, as if realizing something, she widened her eyes and began blushing furiously. "N-No one was worried about you!"

"I was!" Qing Yue jumped in with a bright smile.

"Right...thank you, Qing Yue," I said as I patted her head, and she hugged me back happily.

Feng Mian looked slightly annoyed, so I stopped after a while. I began, "A-Ahem...anyway. There's something I have to tell you two."

Their ears both perked up. "What is it?" they said at the same time.

I scanned our surroundings. "...Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?"

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In a remote section of the hallway, three figures stood - Feng Mian, Qing Yue, and I. Even after carefully checking that no one was in the vicinity, I put up a sound barrier just in case.

"So? What did you have to tell us?" Feng Mian asked with an arched eyebrow.

I sighed. "The principal...he knows about my true strength."

Their eyes both widened and were frozen in shock. "Y-You met the principal?!" Feng Mian cried in surprise.

"I think you're missing the point here..."

"B-But...how?" Qing Yue muttered quietly.

"You probably won't expect this..." I stopped for a dramatic effect. "...But it was security cameras."

"Security Cameras?" Feng Mian had the same expression as me when I first heard it.

"Indeed. He had used security cameras to monitor every single location in the school, the Magic Training Room included."

"Who would've thought..."

"Yeah. But - it doesn't seem like he's against us. In fact, the reason he called me there today is to personally remind me not to tell anyone I can use all 21 Elements." After a while, I hurriedly added, "You two are an exception, of course."

They both nodded as if satisfied, and I let out a sigh of relief. We went back into the Magic Training Room, and I, as usual, hid my strength.

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- The Next Day -

It was just like any other day. The warm morning breezes drifted into my room as I struggled to wake up. After getting out of my bed (albeit extremely reluctantly), I once again skipped breakfast (because I didn't have any) and began my walk to school.

I met up with Qing Yue and Feng Mian on the way, and we engaged in idle chatter on our way to the classroom. However - what happened next was what no one expected.

In my usual desk, was seated an elegant girl with dark purple hair and similarly colored eyes. She was someone I've never seen before. She looked our age, and Mr. Wang had yet to arrive, so I assumed she was another transfer student. I decided to investigate.

"...Hey. Do you have business with me?" I approached her and asked. "This is my seat."

She didn't so much as glance up, and just gave a slight 'hmph.'

Hey now...that attitude reminds me of someone, but it would be rude to say so. But seriously? Another cool beauty...one was enough, if you ask me. They were hard-to-get and that caused many boys to just want them even more, but we already have Yu An Xue. In fact, now that I really look closely, the two of them are not only similar in personality but also in appearance. They were almost like...sisters.

But of course - that is impossible. I've never heard about an heir to one of the Four Great Families of Shenzhen that looked like her. Out of the four families - Xuan, Li, Yu, Qing - the Li family was the strongest, followed by the Xuan family. The Yu family was only a fraction weaker than the Xuan family, and the two swapped placements frequently, placing the Qing family in last.

Therefore, there's no way people wouldn't know about an heir to the Yu family. So I quickly perished the thought about Yu An Xue and this girl being sisters and looked around for another desk to sit at. No point arguing with someone like her.

However - then the near identical counterpart of her walked in the room - Yu An Xue. But upon seeing the girl with purple hair sitting in the corner of the room (my old desk), her eyes widened and she froze in her tracks. In contrast, the purple-haired girl showed no reaction whatsoever, though I'm sure she's noticed Yu An Xue's presence. The other students all gawked at the scene, eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. It seems I wasn't the only one that noticed their similarities.

"N-No way..." Yu An Xue covered her mouth and stuttered, which was something she had never done before. Then, she bolted out the door she came in from just moments ago, and I furrowed my brows and decided to follow her.

There was definitely something wrong here. Yu An Xue has helped me out many times before, and had been the only one to risk making an enemy of the whole class - no, school - by defending me from the insults, before Qing Yue came. I was a person who kept my benefactors and enemies clear, and will pay back hundredfold those who have formed a relationship with me, be it in a good way or bad way.

So seeing Yu An Xue act so abnormally, I couldn't just sit around doing nothing. Actually...I couldn't exactly sit down anyway since that mysterious girl had taken my spot, but that's besides the point. I dashed out the door after her, ignoring Feng Mian and Qing Yue's protests.

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- 5 minutes later, school rooftop -

I pushed open the door that led to the top of the school. And there, I saw a beautiful girl with long pink hair and brilliant pink eyes to go with it. She was Yu An Xue, one of the top beauties of Shenzhen, and the same girl that had helped me out many times before. She didn't do much and the insults kept coming, but...the little things, they add up.

"You...why are you here?" Yu An Xue asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Hah...you are certainly a fast runner..." I panted, dodging the question since I didn't know how to answer. She was really fast at running. That wouldn't have been a problem if I used some Potentia magic, but I still couldn't control the speed very well and needless to say, many problems could arise if I were seen.

"Answer the question."

"I'm under...no obligation to...now am I?" I asked rhetorically. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to use Level Two Blessing Magic, the Restitutio spell family in particular, so I couldn't restore my own energy and hence couldn't help panting.

She stared at me for a while more, then gave a decisive "hmph" and twisted her head away. Yeah...the two of them definitely had some sort of connection.

She wasn't really the type to engage in conversation, so I got right to the point.

"That girl...does she have some sort of connection with you?"

"...I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. But she had flinched ever so slightly when I asked that question. Normally no one would be able to tell, but I noticed. I decided to keep prying, even though this may bring her to hate me.

"Are you two...sisters, perhaps?"

She widened her eyes, and glanced at me, as if surprised I had deduced this. "What...n-no. She's not. S-She can't be..."

I sighed. It seems I was right on the mark. I had already seen resemblances between the two of them from the moment I saw the purple-haired girl, but I hadn't thought that it would actually be the case.

"There's no point in lying to me anymore - not to me, not to yourself. But if you are willing...I'm here to talk to."

Her eyes met mine. They were filled with tears, and not a single soul would recognize the frail girl before me as the renowned icy beauty of Shenzhen. And then and there, she collapsed on the floor, crying and weeping like a girl who had just lost her family. I didn't know what happened between the two of them, but...it definitely wasn't something small.

Not sure exactly what to do, I sat down awkwardly beside her and just watched her cry, pouring out all of her sorrow.

>.>