Royal Academy, Room 207 (Kyle POV)

It was another beautiful day today. The sunlight outside was pouring into the classroom from the window and the sound of the birds chirping outside gave me a peaceful sense of tranquility, one which was immediately interrupted by the clack of wood, followed by Sophie’s crystal clear voice.

“Checkmate.” (Sophie)

“Not again!” (Raven)

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor followed the outburst as Sophie jumped out of her seat with a proud smile on her face and turned to me with her hands on her hips while Raven fell to his knees in defeat.

A little over a month has passed since I had my duel with Raven, and after that first match, he’s been coming over every day during lunchtime to play chess with me so as a result, we’ve become pretty good friends. Surprisingly, the class eventually joined in on chess too, so to deal with the new influx of players, I had two new, more professional-looking chess sets made, and after about twenty or so games, we’ve basically established a loose skill ranking.

At the top, of course, is yours truly, and right after me is Mari. Next, in third place is Sophie, while fourth and fifth place go to Halbert and Regnis, who are at about the same level. Sixth and seventh place are Reina and Zane who are also close to being equally skilled, and in last place... is Raven.

Honestly, I don’t know where he’s finding the determination to keep going after losing so much, even Mari lost most of her steam after losing to me about ten times in a row the first day I played against her.

I mean, occasionally he makes a good move or two, but he rarely learns from his mistakes, and after a few more games against him, I noticed that he only makes those good moves after covering his right eye. Furthermore, for some reason, it only works when he’s playing against me.

Well, the mere fact he has some sort of secret weapon against me alone is probably why he keeps trying to play against me despite our levels being so vastly different, but I don’t think he properly understands that I’m the final boss, the level ninety-nine demon lord if you will, while he’s still a level one hero who just started off on his journey. Just because you have one attack that’s super effective against me doesn’t mean you can just go ahead and skip past the other ninety-eight levels!

Unfortunately for Raven though, even a demon lord gets bored after a while, and just stomping him like usual isn’t much fun anymore. I came to the conclusion that he can’t improve much from only playing against me either, so recently, I’ve begun to outsource my games against him to my loyal demon generals, aka my students, while I sit by and play against someone else, watch the match, or read a book.

“How was that, Professor Kyle? It only took twenty-two moves to beat him this time.” (Sophie)

“Hmm, nice job, Sophie. As expected of my first general.” (Kyle)

I held my chin up with my hand as I nodded in approval while looking at the final state of the board. Sophie had systematically hunted down most of Raven’s pieces before cornering his king, making this her fourteenth win against Raven.

“Hmph. Naturally.” (Sophie)

I held my hand out towards Sophie and we exchanged a quick high-five before we both turned to stare at Raven who was looking up at us from the floor.

“Alright, are you ready, Sophie?” (Kyle)

“On the count of three like always, right?” (Sophie)

“Yep.” (Kyle)

Sophie and I simultaneously plastered smug grins on our faces as I held my closed fist up.

“One…” (Kyle)

I extended my pointer finger upwards to start the countdown while Sophie held her hand up to cover her mouth.

“Two…” (Kyle)

My middle finger followed my pointer finger forming my hand into a peace sign as I could hear a few faint giggles already starting to leak out from Sophie.

“Three!” (Kyle)

Finally, my ring finger shot up, completing the countdown as Sophie finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and we both pointed at Raven while laughing hysterically.

“Damn it! Damn it all!” (Raven)

Raven slammed his fist against the ground in frustration and Sophie and I danced around him while we continued to make fun of him.

“I’ll get you back for this humiliation one day, Ky!” (Raven)

“Oh? You’ll get me back, Raven? Let me ask you then, how are you going to defeat me, the demon lord, when you can’t even beat one of my loyal generals?” (Kyle)

“Kuh!” (Raven)

A few moments later, after our laughter finally died down, Halbert let out a dry chuckle before calling out to us with a helpless look on his face.

“Umm, maybe you should give him a break, you two.” (Halbert)

“A break? Those are some bold words coming from my second general himself.” (Kyle)

I gave Halbert a hearty chuckle as Regnis and Zane each grabbed one of his shoulders with understanding smirks on their faces.

“The enemy’s humiliation deserves no remorse, Halbert.” (Regnis)

“Yeah. After all, we have to celebrate our victory somehow, don’t we?” (Zane)

“Well said, my third and fourth generals.” (Kyle)

We all exchanged a few more laughs at Raven’s expense before Mari’s annoyed voice interrupted us from across the room.

“Oi, can you idiots quiet down!? I’m trying to play a game here!” (Mari)

After yelling at us, she turned back to Reina and the annoyed look on her face instantly transformed into a blissful smile as she cheerfully placed her piece down on the board in front of her.

“Alright, it’s your turn, Reina.” (Mari)

“... Mou…” (Reina)

Reina let out a cute groan as she held her head in her hands while staring at the chessboard in front of her with a distressed look on her face.

“It’s ok, you can take your time.” (Mari)

I’m sorry, my fifth general, but even this demon lord himself can’t save you this time, so all I can say is that I’ll make sure to remember you. Thanks for your service.

I sent off my fifth general with a short salute before turning back to the rest of the class and clearing my throat to get their attention.

“Ahem. So like I was saying, it’s fine, Halbert. At this point, I’m sure he’s already used to it, and it’s not like we really mean any of it. It’s all in good fun, right?” (Kyle)

I turned to Raven, who let out a sigh before getting up with a bitter smile on his face while patting off his clothes.

“Yeah… Anyway, I have to get back to class now. But I’ll be back tomorrow like usual! So just wash your neck and wait, Ky!” (Raven)

“Eh? Is it already time? See you tomorrow then.” (Kyle)

I waved goodbye to Raven before he stormed out of the classroom with a glint of renewed determination in his eyes. A few minutes passed by as I cleaned up the chess set while Mari and Reina finished up their game, and shortly after, Reina joined the rest of the class again with a defeated look on her face. Sophie consoled her with a smile as I led everyone up to the chalkboard where a complicated light-element alchemy circle was drawn on the board.

“Ok, so what can you guys tell me about this alchemy circle?” (Kyle)

I pointed to the alchemy circle on the chalkboard as Sophie opened up her notebook before her hand immediately shot up.

“Yes, Sophie” (Kyle)

“This alchemy circle is the one for【Radiant Barrier】. It’s a light-element alchemy circle that generates a flat, circular barrier of mana, similar to many basic defensive spells. Here, I’ve drawn another diagram detailing all the sub-designs I know the function of that are in this alchemy circle. Can you double check if everything’s right, Professor Kyle?” (Sophie)

Sophie held her notebook out and showed us the absurdly complicated diagram that she drew before handing it to me as I let out a light cough.

Urgh. So this is what I get for actually trying to teach, huh? She’s looking at me with that excited twinkle in her eyes again. What do I do? Uh…

My eyes darted around the room as I desperately searched for something to help me get out of this situation before eventually staring out the window. Luckily, the weather outside today was nice and warm… in fact, it was almost perfect weather for practical training!

Yeah, practical training! Now that I think about it, we haven’t practiced drawing alchemy circles at all, so we can just do that for the rest of the day. It’ll be a nice break from just regurgitating random alchemy circles on the board every day too.【Radiant Barrier】is even a pretty good circle to test their skills. It’s not insanely difficult to draw, but it’s not too easy either, and it’s easy to test. We can just set up their alchemy circles on some training dummies and I’ll whack the barrier a couple of times to see how strong it is. It’s perfect!

I stared at the diagram for a moment before closing her notebook and handing it back to her.

“Uh, everything looks correct to me. Anyway, just to make sure, you’ve all copied down the alchemy circle somewhere, right?” (Kyle)

“Yeah. Why?” (Sophie)

“Well, I was just thinking, it’s a beautiful day today, so how about we move class outside and practice drawing this alchemy circle? After all,【Radiant Barrier】is a pretty useful one to know, so I want to make sure you can all draw this one correctly.” (Kyle)

I smiled and pointed towards the window at the clear blue sky outside, but unfortunately, my enthusiasm was met with a mixture of confusion and concern. Reina, Regnis, and Zane had varying degrees of surprise written on their faces, while Sophie and Halbert were giving me worried looks.

“Wait, you mean we’re actually going to be doing something other than staring at the board today!?” (Zane)

“Professor Kyle, are you sure you don’t need to sit down for a moment?” (Halbert)

“Is it that surprising for me to actually do my job for once!?” (Kyle)

Royal Academy, Training Field (Kyle POV)

A deep breath of fresh air entered my lungs as I stared at the wide-open training field in front of me before shielding my eyes from the sun with my free hand as I gazed at the clouds in the sky.

Ah, it really is nice out today. I guess summer hasn’t completely disappeared yet, huh?

A light breeze blew past me, making my hair flow a little in the wind as the corners of my mouth couldn’t help but edge upwards into a light smile before I slowly walked over to the middle of the field to place down the wooden training dummy I was carrying.

Mari opted not to join us and went back to her office for the day after I told her that we were moving outside, so what met my eyes when I turned around was the class lined up in front of me holding their notebooks.

“Alright, so we’re gonna be testing out your circle drawing skills today. Who wants to go first?” (Kyle)

“Is that even a question at this point, Ky? We all know who it’s gonna be.” (Zane)

Zane let out a dry laugh as Sophie pulled out two vials of golden-colored liquid along with a similarly colored monster core before turning to me with an excited smile.

“Of course. Leave it to me!” (Sophie)

“Well, I think just using a regular pen would be fine, but I guess you can use enchanted ink if you want to. I’m warning you though, it’s pretty hard to get it right on the first try.” (Kyle)

“It’s fine. I have plenty of enchanted ink.” (Sophie)

Sophie walked up to the wooden dummy and a few minutes later, a complete alchemy circle for【Radiant Barrier】was neatly drawn in the middle of the torso. She held the light-element monster core up to the circle before silently activating it with her mana as a bright yellow light shone from the alchemy circle and a circular shield made of light-element mana formed in front of the dummy. It was large enough to cover the whole dummy and the shield itself was faintly transparent, which meant that Sophie had drawn and activated it correctly.

“Alright, how’s that?” (Sophie)

I lightly knocked on the middle of the shield like I was knocking on a door, and every time my hand made contact, a small wave of mana rippled through the shield from the point of contact, canceling out the impact from my knocking.

“Looks good to me. Ok, so now that we have a shield, the first thing I want you guys to know about is the shield’s limit. A single cast activation of【Radiant Barrier】can just barely block a third-circle spell, so while it is a decently strong shield, don’t think you’re invincible just because you’re standing behind it. You have to keep its maximum durability in mind.” (Kyle)

“Maximum durability? I only did a single cast activation, but since I used light-element enhancement ink, it should be more durable than usual.” (Sophie)

I stared at the shield again for a moment before turning back to the class with a nonchalant shrug.

“Hmm, well, I’m not exactly sure how durable it is if the circle was drawn with enchanted ink, so I guess we can test it out.” (Kyle)

“Alright, looks like it’s my turn to shine then. Everyone stand back, I’ll hit it with a third-circle wind spell to start.” (Zane)

“Eh? It’s fine, you don’t need to.” (Kyle)

“Huh? Wait, then how would we test it?” (Zane)

Zane stared at me with a confused look on his face as I lightly knocked on the shield again.

“Well, we can just hit the shield directly, can’t we? Why bother casting a spell and wasting your mana?” (Kyle)

“H-Hit it?” (Reina)

“Yeah.” (Kyle)

“Uhh, we don’t have any weapons with us though...” (Halbert)

“We don’t need a weapon. A fist works just fine, doesn’t it?” (Kyle)

“Eh?” (Halbert)

“Magic and martial techniques aren’t your only options to attack, you know. Sometimes just straight-up punches and kicks are viable too.” (Kyle)

I cracked my knuckles and turned around to face the wooden training dummy before calling out to everyone.

“For example, like this.” (Kyle)

My body struck a simple stance and I pulled my fist back, holding it against the side of my waist before sharply exhaling as it shot forward. The moment it made contact with the shield, a huge pulse of mana rippled through it and I felt some resistance for a moment before my fist broke right through. The sound of glass shattering rang out and my fist stopped right before it smashed into the wooden dummy as the small burst of wind generated from my punch made my clothes and hair flutter a bit.

Damn. I might be a little off, but it seemed like it could’ve taken a good bit more than just a single third-circle spell, maybe even two third-circle. Even if it was drawn using enchanted ink, the fact that it’s this durable in the first place means that Sophie drew it almost perfectly. On her first try too. I knew she was talented, but this is kind of unbelievable. The first time I drew【Radiant Barrier】, it took me about three attempts before I even got it barely working. I guess Mari was right. This really is the golden generation, huh?

After breaking the shield, I returned to a casual standing position before turning back around to face the shocked class with a shaky look on my face as a cold sweat ran down my face.

“That【Radiant Barrier】was almost twice as strong as normal. Your talent for alchemy’s pretty scary, Sophie.” (Kyle)

“Wait, I’m the scary one!? You’re the one who can punch straight through barriers without body strengthening magic!” (Sophie)

***

The sound of glass shattering rang out again as I smashed Zane’s【Radiant Barrier】before I turned around to see him collapse to the ground in exhaustion while letting out a sigh of relief.

“Hmm, it’s a little weaker than usual, but considering you just used normal pen, I think you did a pretty decent job this time, Zane. This one gets a pass from me.” (Kyle)

“Urgh. Finally. What was that, my thirteenth try?” (Zane)

“Fourteenth, actually.” (Regnis)

“How the hell did you do it so perfectly on your first try, Sophie!? Ky was right, your talent really is scary.” (Zane)

“Well, it’s not my fault you suck at drawing circles.” (Sophie)

“You’re just a freak! Do you even know how hard it was to get all those tiny details right!?” (Zane)

Actually, what time is it?

Zane and Sophie started to bicker in the background again while Reina and Halbert tried to stop them, but I just ignored the whole spectacle and stared up at the sky again. Judging by the position of the sun, it was about time for class to end. Luckily though, everyone already managed to draw a working【Radiant Barrier】at least once, and honestly, they were all pretty good at it. Reina only took about five tries before she managed to draw a decently working one and it took Halbert eight attempts to get a working one, while Regnis took nine. As mentioned before, Zane took fourteen tries and Sophie… well, I kind of expected her to be a monster at alchemy from the beginning, but let’s just say she really lives up to her reputation. Anyway, that’s good enough for today I think. I should probably dismiss them now.

“Hmm, it looks like we’re out of time for today, so I guess class is dismissed. See you all tomorrow.” (Kyle)

Solria, Middle District, Irisveil Mansion (Aria POV)

The first thing I heard when I woke up was the faint sound of the birds chirping outside, and a moment later, I slowly opened my eyes to see my ceiling, illuminated by the morning sunlight. After sitting up in bed, I rubbed my eyes for a bit and let out a yawn before turning to gaze out my window at the clouds leisurely floating through the sky as a sense of lethargy spread through me. A few more moments passed by while I stared blankly at the vast blue sky outside before the sound of light knocking on my door snapped me back to my senses.

“Aria, you awake yet? Breakfast is ready.” (Kyle)

“Y-Yeah.” (Aria)

I moved my legs over and leaned back on my bed again while stretching when suddenly the door opened to reveal Ky standing there with his apron on. We locked eyes and I froze up mid-stretch as he stared at me for a moment before giving me a slightly disappointed look.

“You just woke up, didn’t you?...” (Kyle)

“N-No, I… ” (Aria)

I scrambled through my head to think of an excuse, but before I could come up with one, Ky let out a faint sigh as he walked over to me. I sat up in an embarrassed panic as he got closer, but after a moment, he was already standing right in front of me.

“Come on, it’s almost seven. Here, let me fix your hair.” (Kyle)

Eh?

“W-Wait!” (Aria)

I felt his hands softly plop down on my head. They were radiating with a familiar warmth, and a moment passed by before he started to run through my hair, straightening it out as a faint blush spread to the tips of my ears.

I’m pretty sure Ky only took about a minute to fix my hair, but that one minute felt like ten to me and when he finished, he took a step back to look at me before giving me a gentle smile. I immediately broke eye contact with him and lowered my head to stare at my legs as I felt my heart rate rising.

“Ok, all done. Go wash your face and change out of your pajamas then meet me downstairs for breakfast. Today’s gonna be eggs and bacon.” (Kyle)

Ky left my room after that, and when I finally heard the last of his footsteps disappear, I immediately picked up my pillow and buried my face in it as I let out a cute whimper before starting to calm myself down.

“... augh…” (Aria)

Solria, Middle District, Irisveil Mansion (Kyle POV)

Soft sunlight shone into the kitchen from the window and warmed me up slightly as a faint breeze made the curtains flutter before spreading the delicious aroma of eggs and bacon into the living room. It was a picturesque scene of a peaceful morning and I couldn’t help but cheerfully hum a tune while I sat at the dining table reading a book. Two plates of eggs and bacon were sitting in front of me and just as I flipped to the next page, I saw a hint of red out of the corner of my eye. I lowered the book in my hands and turned towards the kitchen entrance to see Aria’s head popping out from behind the wall.

“Hey, what are you waiting for? Sit down and eat. You’ll be late.” (Kyle)

We made eye contact for a moment and she let out a soft grumble before walking into the room.

“Mmm…” (Aria)

She took a seat across from me and picked up her utensils as I put my book down and followed suit, but before I could even say anything else, she abruptly stood up in her seat as she glanced at the clock.

“Ah. Wait, is it half-past seven already!?” (Aria)

“I told you that you’d be late if you didn’t hurry up, didn’t I?... Well, it’s too late to regret it now. Just eat quickly.” (Kyle)

“Urgh.” (Aria)

A few minutes later, Aria dropped her utensils onto her plate with a clang as she finished wolfing down her breakfast before running out of the kitchen in a panic while I took her empty plate and put it in the sink.

“Thanks, Ky. I’m heading out.” (Aria)

“Alright, see you later.” (Kyle)

After that, I heard the sound of the door opening and closing before quiet returned to the house as I finished eating breakfast myself.

***

I placed the last of the dishes on the drying rack with a light clang and turned off the sink as I glanced over at the clock on the wall.

It’s almost eight already, huh? Guess I should start heading to class.

A moment passed by as I stretched my arms a bit after cleaning the dishes, but as I walked out of the kitchen, I saw something unexpected. Sitting on the living room table was a familiar-looking lunchbox. It was Aria’s lunchbox. I walked over and stared at it for a moment before letting out a disappointed sigh.

“... Of course she forgot it…” (Kyle)

Well, looking at the time, I don’t think I’ll make it to the 7th Squad barracks and back to the academy before class starts so… I guess I’ll have to go drop it off it to her during lunchtime.

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Kyle POV)

The faint hustle and bustle of the city echoed out in the background as I made my way towards the 7th Squad barracks with Aria’s lunchbox in hand. It was about a quarter past noon, and lunchtime for the class started a while ago. Raven came over to visit like usual rambling about how today was the day that he would finally defeat me, but unfortunately for him, I had a certain idiot’s lunchbox to drop off today, so after pushing my match with him onto Mari, I went on my merry way, bringing us to my current situation.

After a few minutes of walking, I finally arrived in front of the large metal gate to a familiar dojo-style building. The same old plaque labeled ‘7th Squad’ that was stuck on the front of the building told me that I was indeed at the right place, but it seemed like there wasn’t much happening today because I didn’t see anyone behind the gate when I walked up to it.

Damn, I was hoping someone would be out here to let me in. Should I climb over?... Eh? Wait, it’s open.

Yep, that’s right, the gate was open. You see, when I walked up and nudged it slightly I was prepared to vault myself over it, but it just opened by itself.

I guess someone forgot to lock it… Well, whatever. Easier for me I guess.

After closing the gate behind me, I started to walk over to the front door of the 7th Squad barracks, when suddenly I saw someone round the corner from the right side of the building.

It was a young man who was dressed in the 7th Squad uniform with a sheathed longsword hanging at his left hip. He had a head full of blonde hair, which contrasted against his bright green eyes, and a moment passed by while we stared at each other before he started to dash over with a serious look on his face.

Oh, looks like someone actually is here today. Perfect, I can probably just drop off Aria’s lunch to him.

“Ah. Hi, are you-” (Kyle)

I smiled nicely and raised my free hand up to wave hello, but before I could even finish my sentence, the tip of his longsword was held at my throat as he yelled at me while radiating ill-intent.

“Who are you!?” (Knight)

Ah, I see. So it’s gonna be one of those days, huh?

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Edward POV)

I could feel a light breeze blowing past my face as I stood there with my eyes closed while the chirping of the birds blended in with the faint drone of the city. Then, I opened my eyes, and the background noise was drowned out by the sound of my sword slicing through the air as I took a step forward. A few swift swings later, I resheathed my longsword at my left hip and let out a sigh to release most of my body’s tension after finishing my daily practice routine.

Looking up at the sky told me that it was a little past noon, about time for me to head back inside and eat lunch.

Speaking of which, Captain Aria said she lost her lunchbox today, right? Well, if she didn’t find it yet... maybe this is my chance to impress her. I’ll give her some, no, all of mine. After all, it’s a proper gentleman’s duty to help a beautiful maiden through her troubles, and well... it wouldn’t hurt if she saw how nice I was and fell for me too.

The mental image of a beautiful woman with flowing, crimson-red hair surfaced in my mind as I held my chin in my hand while the corners of my mouth curved upwards into an expectant smile before I reminisced about the first time we met.

I’ll admit, when I first met her, I didn’t think much of her. She was very pretty, but I’ve seen a lot of pretty women in my time, and just being pretty wasn’t enough for me. However, if there’s one thing I’ll never forget, it’s those cold, yet beautiful, red eyes staring down at me as she helped me up after easily crushing me with just a practice sword during our duel for the position of captain.

That was the first day we met, and also the exact moment that she stole my heart. I don’t know what everyone else thinks of her, but to me, Captain Aria was more than just a pretty face. She was strong, she was noble, and despite her cold outward demeanor, she was even gentle.

A few moments passed before I let out a sigh and finally returned to my senses.

Well, I should head inside. Everyone’s probably waiting for me.

I turned around to walk towards the door to the training room. However, as I was about to enter the training room, the sound of the faint creaking of the front gate caught my attention.

Hmm? Did someone go out?

I spread my mana out as I tried to sense who it was, but I could vaguely tell that everyone else was inside... whereas there wasn’t a single mana signature by the gate.

Hmm, strange...

I immediately turned suspicious as I changed directions and started to walk towards the front gate instead. When I finally rounded the corner, what I saw was a man in a dress shirt with a red tie loosely tied around his neck. He had a head of long white hair that was tied into a ponytail, and his golden-colored eyes met mine for a moment as we stared at each other, but his appearance wasn’t the important part, what was important was that in his hand, he was holding a familiar looking lunchbox, one that I had seen plenty of times. It was Captain Aria’s lunchbox.

Once I saw him, I immediately tried to sense his mana signature again, but it was the same as before, absolutely nothing.

He has no mana signature… Is he a thief trying to steal Captain Aria’s lunchbox? No, probably not. Since he’s capable of completely hiding his mana signature, he’s definitely skilled, not the type of petty thief who only steals food, and there are plenty of things more valuable than Captain Aria’s lunch that he could steal instead… Wait. Could it be? Is he an assassin of some sort trying to poison Captain Aria’s lunch!? That would make sense seeing as it looks more like he was trying to sneak in!

After coming to my conclusion, I immediately dashed over to apprehend the intruder as I grabbed the hilt of my sword.

“Ah. Hi, are you-” (Intruder)

I heard him call out to me in a friendly voice to try to lower my guard, but the instant I saw his hand move, I pulled out my sword. It flashed through the air before stopping right at his neck as I yelled at him.

“Who are you!?” (Edward)

Nice try, but I’m not so easily fooled. I’ll make you pay for this. How dare you make an attempt on Captain Aria’s life!