Kael laughed, before he motioned Helen to come closer. Placing a hand gently on her shoulder he explained.

“If you want to think of me as the Briar that you know, then that’s fine. I remember everything that we’ve gone through. Although the other is the original, that doesn’t mean I don’t remember everything that she’s done. But, if you don’t want to think of me that way, then that is also fine.” He lifted his hand and shrugged.

“You can just call me Kael, instead. We’re not part of a secret organization, or anything. But, if we do form one, then you’ll be the first to know, I assure you.”

“Kael?” Laura asked, glancing at Briar.

“Well, we can’t both be called Briar. It’s too confusing.” Briar said. “Master Thales suggested that we have separate last names instead. I’m Briar Rose, and he’s Briar Mikael. So we chose Kael for his nickname.”

“Kael…” Laura ruminated over the name, before grinning. “Nice!”

Kael smirked playfully. “On a side not, try not to fall for my devilish charms~”

Laura glanced over at Briar. “Were you always this narcissistic?”

“I’d like to think not, but looking at Kael, now I’m not so sure.” Briar said with a troubled face.

“Hey! It was a joke, a joke!” Kael explained quickly.

“We know. We’re just trying to trouble you.” Laura admitted wickedly.

“Hmph! If that’s how it is, I’m going where I’m appreciated!” Kael sniffed as he left out the window for the martial stage. Laura broke into giggling. “Oh sure! He’ll be so appreciated that I wouldn’t be surprised if his rabid fans tore him to pieces.”

“Hey, that’s my bro that you’re talking about!” Briar interjected. “At worst, only his clothing will be torn.”

“Right, so I can assume he’s about as skilled as you are?” Laura asked.

“Ma~aybe.” Briar replied playfully. “Maybe he’ll be even better than I am once this is over.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Don’t go saying that I won unfairly if I end up defeating him out there.” Laura warned. She was also one of the combatants.

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” Briar nodded, readily- an innocent expression on her face.

“…Suspicious. Why would you so easily say such a thing?” Laura squinted her eyes at Briar, looking for a catch in her words. Laura wouldn’t believe that Briar gave concessions so easily when it came to herself.

“Because you’re not going to win~” Briar stuck her tongue out playfully as she ducked out of the room, and dodged around Rien and Karu as she headed towards the magic arena.

“I’ll get you for that after this!” Laura called after her, leaning out of the doorway.

“You can’t get me for telling the truth~” Echoed back down the hallway. Laura chuckled. Briar had no idea what Laura had been doing recently. This time, surely, Laura would prove who the older sister was once and for all.

Karu grinned, and Rien giggled at the exchange they just witnessed in the hallway as they waited for their grandpa to catch up. Laura raised an eyebrow and glared at them sidelong.

“What are you laughing at?” She asked suspiciously.

“You.” Karu replied bluntly, then flinched when it looked like Laura was about to knock him on the head. Just then, the audience erupted in a roaring cheer.

“It looks like today’s your lucky day, kid.” Laura said, as she realized she was late. Laura instantly accelerated, dashing towards the martial arena. She was gone in mere moments.

Grandpa Thur had seen the display from the top of the stairway, as he watched with warm eyes. He had arrived just in time to see Briar slip out of the room as she teased Laura. Watching the playful banter between the young’uns reminded him of times long gone and people long since dead. Unbidden, a tear formed at the corner of his eye.

“Oh dear. I’m not going soft, am I?” He muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway. Before he stepped into Rothema’s viewing platform, he paused, and lifted a head to glance around. Had someone been spying on him?

He narrowed his eyes. Before he could confirm where the gaze had come from, it had passed on. Keeping in mind that it could very well have been the villain they were concerned about, Grandpa Thur made a decision, and boldly strode into Rothema’s viewing room with Rien and Karu behind him.

While, as a Magi, he could simply get a room to his own, it was not the best idea. If he were going to keep both Briars safe, it was best to have a central position between the two. Moreover, now he was equally curious as to who would be so bold as to try and spy upon a legendary Magi.

------------------------

Briar stood upon the stage glancing at her opponents. While the martial tournament was an elimination round until the last 16 menbers, the magician’s contest was not so. It was an elimination round to the very last. So, if she lasted until the end, she would immediately become the winner of the contest.

She smiled boldly as she looked upon the remaining magicians upon the stage with her. These were the best of the best amongst the younger generation. If she beat all of them, she would bring credit to Madam Rothema’s name, as well as solidify her position as one of Rothema’s monsters.

Ah, no wait! Briar shook her head quickly. She had been playing Kael’s part so long that it was getting a bit difficult to switch mentalities. Where Kael would be bold bordering upon brashness, Briar was supposed be cheerful and mischievous. But now she had displayed ‘brashness’ by mistake.

As things were, several of the contestants frowned at her, thinking she was looking down upon them. They secretly decided that if she became their opponent, then her overconfidence would soon become her downfall.

There were sixteen contestants. And, although Briar had given up learning their names, she was well aware of their displayed power so far, as Helen had filled her in quite generously, earlier. Of course, Briar wasn’t stupid enough to assume that this was all that they amounted to. Assuming that they had held back their trump cards for these last few rounds, Briar calculated their true power to be 1/3rd to 2 or 3 times their currently displayed spells.

Even so, Briar was unconcerned. Because, after all, she was a 2nd rank Master class, magic practitioner. Simply looking at the ages of the children here, it would be a monster of a person who could become a 2nd rank Master class. 1st rank Master class would be their absolute limit.

As Briar was currently disguised as a 15 year-old, it was acceptable for her to be a 1st rank Master Class. 2nd rank would also be stretching it, but acceptable if she was a once in a lifetime genius. But, to be honest, Briar was actually on the cusp of becoming a 3rd rank Master class, since her mana pool was sufficient, but Master class was not simply about learning high-level spells.

Each level needed a certain amount of enlightenment in order to rise to the next level. Moreover, Briar hadn’t been in 2nd rank Master class for very long. Therefore, she decided to get used to her current level first, and consolidate her base before attempting the next level.

Even so, simply her status as a 2nd rank Master class was enough to give her the certainty that she would come in first.

Out of all of the contestants, about three of them seemed like they’d be a close second to Briar. Whether through luck of having their opponents not appear in time for the match, or because they finished up too quickly, Briar was unable to tell who among them were stronger.

She already knew that she would be first. That much was a given. But as for who would be second, even Briar couldn’t tell. There were two girls and one boy. One girl was a student of the Ice Queen, Elsha von Icht, who was another Magi. The other girl was a student of the leader of the Magician’s council, ‘Tornado’ Ray Faerwind, yet another Magi.

The boy dressed in white did not seem to have any Magi as his teacher. In fact, according to Helen, he had made it known that he was a self-taught mage. While interesting, Briar reserved judgement on how powerful a self-taught mage was. After all, it was enough to get him into the finals, so it couldn’t be too simple.

Briar glanced towards the martial section of the figure-8 coliseum. She wondered if they had started the martial matches yet.

--------------------------

Master Thales looked into his room, ready to ship Miles back home, only to discover the empty mana shackles on the table next to a card. Thales picked it up to read.

“It’s been fun, brother~ But destiny calls me! By the time you see me again, I shall become the world’s greatest Phantom Thief!”

The hand holding the card clenched it, crushing the message within.

“Miles!” Thales growled through his clenched teeth, as the demon king apparition grew more and more lifelike behind him.

-------------------------

Kael looked across the stage at his opponent, Naomi, and sighed. Whether it was Naomi or the Minister, it would still be a rather tough battle. But, even so, Naomi was the more troublesome of the two. It’s because her fighting style was similar to Jiu Jutsu and Aikido. It used the strength of the opponent against him.

While he could try using his throwing needles to handle this, he decided not to. Instead, he decided to beat Naomi at her own game…

When the announcer called the start of the match, he ran straight at her. Naomi, seeing the impending attack, stood still as she waited for the attack. But, the moment after, she blinked.

“Huh?”

Kael had thrown a massive feint, but had brushed by her, without laying a single hand on her. She whirled around, ready for another attack, and-sure enough- Kael had headed straight for her, arms building up a massive amount of momentum for the strike. But, then…

He passed her by again in a feint.

“What?”

This time, it looked like he was seriously going to strike at her for real. He glared at her, a bold grin on his face.

He’s serious this time! Naomi thought to herself, and readied for the fight. But, this time, too, it was a feint. An imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Kael’s lips. When Naomi saw it, she understood, immediately, what Kael was doing. This made her furious.

He’s just toying around with me! He isn’t serious about this match! She realized.

She grit her teeth as she faced yet another attack that seemed like it was going to strike. Let’s see how long you can put up this farce before I get my hands on you. She thought as she readied herself against any surprise strikes.