Contrary to his previous belief, Caspian did not get in trouble for arriving late at the academy. It seemed that being the chaperone for a sorceress made him exempt from the normal rules. While this did not sit well with many of his peers or the instructors, Caspian found that he couldn't care less what they thought. Perhaps he was being petty, but he enjoyed having something to finally lord over those idiots who hated him because he wasn't born a noble.

That morning, Caspian found himself training in one of the courtyards. Elincia was with him, having risen early to watch. He tried to ignore the feeling of her eyes on his bare back as he went through the motions.

Slash. Sidestep. Thrust.

He'd improved a lot in the last month. Ever since he'd gained real experience as a Sorceress's Knight, Caspian had realized that he was nowhere near strong enough. His battle with that female elven assassin had taught him that much.

Backpedal. Parry. Riposte.

Shuffling along the ground, Caspian moved his sword in a dizzying display. Light from the sun glanced off the blade, causing his weapon to be seen as nothing more than silver flashes. Sweat clung to his skin and dripped down his torso. Every breath taken came out a deep gust as he tried to keep his breathing even.

Move to the left. The right. Spin. Slice. Faster. He needed to be faster.

Ever since his return from Ashtown, Caspian had been working on improving his attack speed. He had strength, and he had dexterity, but his speed was lacking. Perhaps if he'd been faster, he could have defeated that elf without being forced to...

Blood splattered against the ground, staining the floor as it spread like a puddle underneath the elf's body.

He shook his head, gritting his teeth and forcing his mind away from the past. That wouldn't help him now.

The sun climbed ever higher into the sky at a slow, steady pace. Caspian realized that he must have spent several hours out there already. Elincia was still there, still gazing at him, having not moved from her spot. She was lying on her stomach, feet kicking lazily in the air, and her head propped on her hands. Her cheeks were oddly flushed. He wondered why. It wasn't like she'd been exerting herself at all.

It must be a girl thing, he concluded, deciding to stop for now. He'd gotten in a good workout, and he felt like he was improving. It was enough for him.

Sighing exhaustedly, he thrust his sword into the ground and took several deep breaths. His body ached. The sword that he was using had been created by Vé, one of the three spirits of creation from the Nordic Clan. Elincia had gifted it to him, claiming that she'd asked Vé to make it after he'd told her what he was trying to accomplish. This sword couldn't be used as a weapon, but as a training implement to strengthen his arms and core, it was excellent.

"That was really impressive, Caspian!" Elincia complimented as he walked over to her. "You've gotten so strong, and your skill with a blade is admirable! I think you might even be a match for D'artagnan!"

Hiding his blush behind a laugh, Caspian said, "Thanks, but I don't think I'm quite that powerful yet. I still have a long way to go."

D'artagnan was Sylvia's knight. Hailed as the strongest knight to have ever graced the earth, he was the person that all of the knights-in-training strived to be like. Caspian had met him on several occasions when he lived with Sylvia. He admired the stoic knight.

"I might be a match for someone like Derek, though," Caspian continued. Sure, Derek looked much better now than when they'd first met, but from what Caspian had seen of the man, Derek still had an appallingly low amount of stamina. Caspian was sure he could take Erica's knight in a fight.

"Speaking of fights, today is the day for the tournament sign ups, right?" Elincia said.

"That's right." Caspian frowned as he looked at the windowless sill. His towel, which he was certain he'd placed there, was not hanging where it should have been. "And students who are planning to participate are exempt from classes so we can sign up."

Frowning, Caspian started to search for his towel—until Elincia presented it to him.

Has she been holding onto it just so she could give it to me?

Thanking her with a smile, he accepted the towel and wiped the sweat from his body. While doing that, however, Caspian felt Elincia's eyes on him. He turned to face her. Elincia was staring at him; her eyes were like two daggers trying to pierce his chest.

What is she staring at? And why is she blushing?

"Elincia?"

"Eep!" Elincia squeaked. Her cheeks darkened, and she looked anywhere but at him. "Y-yes? What is it?"

"... Nothing," Caspian said after a long pause. "Anyway, why don't I escort you back to your room, then we can meet back up in the sign up hall?"

"I'd rather stay with you," Elincia admitted before seemingly realizing what she just said. "W-what I mean is, I don't really want to leave your side, um, because you and I are..."

"I understand," Caspian interrupted. "But you know, I need to take a shower and get dressed, so..."

"Ah!" Elincia gasped. "T-that's right! You're going to be taking a shower..."

Caspian watched as Elincia trailed off. Her eyes glazed over as her mind went somewhere that he could never follow. He wondered what she was thinking, but when a small trickle of drool suddenly escaped her mouth, he decided that he was better not knowing.

This must be one of those things that men like myself aren't supposed to know about, he concluded.

***

After taking a shower, Caspian went to his room and got dressed. Unlike most days, where he wore his uncomfortable military-esque uniform, today he donned the clothing that he'd acquired while acting as Erica's temporary knight.

His black pants were slightly baggy, but easy to move in and quite breathable. A crimson shirt conformed to his body. Its short sleeves allowed for unrestricted movement and was soft to the touch. Meanwhile, the white tabard that hung down his chest and back swirled with black designs and trailed down to his knees. The cavalier boots were far more comfortable than his military shoes, which couldn't stand up to wear and tear as well either. A shoulder pauldron sat on his left shoulder while the right was bear. It gleamed in the artificial light of the spirit crystals overhead. To finish off his ensemble, he grabbed his sheath, the sword already inside of it, and strapped it across his chest.

"Hey, hey, isn't that the outfit you were wearing when you came back?" Christo asked from where he was sitting on his bed. The young man must've woken up while Caspian was getting dressed. He was surprisingly good at remaining silent when he wanted to be.

He would make a good assassin if he wasn't so loud the rest of the time, Caspian thought wryly. It was probably a good thing that Christo didn't know subtlety. Otherwise, Caspian feared a dagger would've found its way into his throat while he slept.

"It is. You got a problem with it?"

"No, no. No problem." Christo waved his arms back and forth. "It looks good on you," he said, giving Caspian a thumbs up.

Caspian snorted and ignored the other boy, who climbed out of bed and got dressed in their standard school uniform.

"I'm guessing from that outfit that you're going to enter the tournament?" Christo deduced as they walked out of the dorm room and into the hallway.

"That's right."

"I expected as much." Christo nodded several times to himself. "Thinking on it, maybe I should enter the tournament—oh, I don't really expect to win!" he added upon seeing the look Caspian sent him. "However, it would be interesting to see where I stand among the rest of the student body. Unlike you, who was given a rank, I've never been in a fight, so I don't have a rank to designate my strength."

Caspian was ranked number two in the entire school. He'd earned his rank by accepting several duels during his earlier years. After earning a reputation for not going easy on his opponents, people eventually stopped asking him for duels.

Duels were used at the academy as both a method of solving disputes and determining rank within the student body. All duels had to be signed off by both of the students, the instructor, and the headmaster, so duels didn't happen often. While Caspian wasn't positive of this, he was almost certain that he'd received more duels and duel requests than anyone else since the academy's founding.

"Do whatever pleases you," Caspian said. He didn't care if Christo entered. It wouldn't matter who entered, since Caspian planned on winning regardless.

Caspian and Christo turned a corner and entered the courtyard where sign ups were being held. Already there was a long line of people, students who wished to enter and prove their mettle. There were several people from his class, including Julius and his goons. The muscle bound brute in question noticed him looking in his direction and sneered.

There's a lot of people, Caspian scowled at the thought. Half of them were probably losers who had no chance in winning, and to think, this was only the students from his school. There would be more students from the other four schools competing as well. This is just what I need. More competition.

As Caspian searched for Elincia, he heard Christo whistle beside him. "Spirits on a stick! Who is that babe?!"

Spirits on a stick? Who says that? Caspian made a face. Nevertheless, he still looked in the direction that Christo was indicating—and promptly felt like slamming his face into a wall.

It was Erica. She was surrounded by a horde of male students, though all of them seemed to be keeping their distance. Caspian didn't know if that was due to Eric's presence, which seemed to say, "you can look, but I'll kill you if you touch," or Derek, who looked ready to murder the students ogling his "mistress."

Standing by her side were several other people; Callofloore, Tiffania, and Elincia. While Erica was holding Tiffania's hand as the little girl stared at everything with her wide, round eyes, Elincia was listening to Erica as she told her something—and why was his friend holding a sheet of parchment and a calligraphy pen in her hands?

Is she taking notes?

Caspian pushed his way through the crowd. Several people pushed back, trying to shove him out of the way, but those people he sent to the ground with a well placed elbow to the gut. As he finally finished forcing his way through, Caspian caught what sounded like the tail end of Elincia and Erica's conversation.

"... You should also remember to be firm. Knights—no, all men, are notoriously simple-minded, and they tend to forget things a lot. When that happens, you need to put your foot down and show them what happens when they earn your displeasure."

Elincia nodded several times as she wrote everything that Erica said on the parchment. Caspian decided that enough was enough.

"I'm not exactly sure what you're teaching her, but I think you should stop," he said, walking up to the pair.

"Oh, my, if it isn't Caspie," Erica tittered. "Aren't you looking scrumptious today—and what do you mean I should stop? Young Elincia here asked me for advice. I was merely telling her everything I know about being a sorceress."

"I'm sure," Caspian said bluntly before turning to Elincia. "Listen, Ele, don't listen to anything this woman tells you. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Erica huffed and crossed her arms. "How rude. I'll have you know that I was a sorceress centuries before your parents were a twinkle in your grandparent's eyes. I know exactly what I'm talking about. How long have you been a sorceress for, Caspie?"

"Yeah, yeah! How long you been a sorceress, Caspie!" Tiffania parroted Erica.

Caspian ignored them both and gazed at his friend. Elincia dithered, and he could practically see the spirit crystals in her head working overtime.

"B-but Lady Erica really seems to know what she's talking about. Are you sure I should just ignore it?"

Placing his hands over hers, Caspian gently took the parchment and calligraphy pen from his friend. "Trust me on this. The only thing that will ever come from listening to Erica is disaster."

"Now that is just rude," Erica said, though she didn't appear particularly bothered.

Derek nodded in agreement. "Indeed. After all that Mistress Erica and myself have done for you, how could you possibly say something so hurtful?"

"You be quiet!" Caspian pointed an accusing finger at Derek. "I know exactly how your thought processes go! You're a masochist!"

Derek blinked, then frowned, and then folded his arms. After several seconds of silence, he nodded. "Hm, well, you've got me there."

"Don't agree with me!" Caspian snapped before turning back to Elincia. "Anyway, please don't listen to anything she says."

"Um, okay." Elincia nodded. "Since you're the one telling me not to, Caspian, I'll listen to your advice."

"Good."

Erica shook her head, seemingly amused. Her little shadow, Tiffania, mimicked her actions, causing a smile to break out on the woman's face. Meanwhile, Derek still appeared to be contemplating his apparent masochistic streak, and Collafloore was just looking at the whole scene like everyone around him was an idiot.

"U-um, excuse me? Caspian?" a small voice said.

Caspian felt a jolt of surprise when he found familiar doe-like eyes staring at him. "Cassidy? What are you doing here?"

"I-I've been here the whole time..."

"Really?" Caspian blinked. "Whoa. I didn't even see you."

Cassidy looked like Zeus had struck her in the face with a lightning bolt. "Y-you didn't even realize that I was here..." she sank to her knees and began drawing circles on the pavement. "I can't believe. He didn't just ignore me... he didn't even know that I was present..."

Caspian winced. Now he felt guilty. Really, he should have kept his big mouth shut.

"Um, I'm sorry about that." Caspian held out his hand to Cassidy. "I didn't mean to ignore it. There was just so much going on when I came over that I couldn't see you within this crowd... and then Erica was trying to corrupt my friend, so..."

"It's okay." Cassidy sniffled. "I understand. Lady Elincia is more important to you."

"Uh, no, that isn't quite the reason why..."

"And she's very beautiful."

"W-well, that is true, but..."

"And I'm so plain and ordinary that it's only natural you would pay more attention to her than me."

"I wouldn't say you were plain..."

"Wah!" Caspian stumbled backwards when Cassidy leapt to her feet. Then she turned around and bolted, tossing several people out of the way like they weighed less than a drachma. The last thing he saw of Cassidy was her running out of the courtyard, screaming, "this is just like that chapter from Masters and Maids!"

Caspian didn't get it.

Masters and Maids? Is that some kind of book?

Regardless, he felt bad for having hurt someone that he considered a friend. He hadn't meant to ignore her.

I'll have to apologize later.

"Caspian?" Elincia asked.

Caspian shook his head. "It's nothing," he reassured her before getting back on track. "Okay. It's time to sign up for the tournament, so let's—"

"Hold it!" Christo shouted. "Hold on! Uno momento! Stop right there!"

"What do you want?" Caspian sighed tiredly. He'd almost forgotten that Christo was also present, and now that he remembered Christo, he also remembered that a crowd of his peers were standing around. All of them were glaring at him.

Well, that's nothing new, but I feel like the glares here are for a different reason this time.

"Caspian! How do you know this woman?" Christo demanded to know.

"Who? You mean Erica?"

"Erica?"

Christo looked back and forth between Caspian and Erica. Then he looked from Erica to Derek before finally going back to Caspian, and then to Erica one more time.

"Y-you're Erica Demonica de Angelo!" Christo shouted, pointing at the woman.

"Oh, dear." Erica held a hand to her cheeks. Her smile was coy. It reminded Caspian of a particularly lazy cat. "So, you've heard of me, have you?"

"Of course I've heard you! Anyone who's been here long enough to have classes on the Dwarven Wars knows who you are! You're the hero who demolished an entire dwarven community by dropping a mountain on top of it!"

It was only for a moment, but Caspian saw an expression that he'd never seen appear on Erica's face. Her lips contorted into something resembling agony, as if someone had stabbed her with a thousand molten hot needles. Then came the hatred, a burning rage that burst into her eyes like fires from an erupting volcano. It was easily the most frightening look he'd ever seen.

And then the expression faded, and the amiable, slightly mischievous, mien that Erica always wore came back. "Ufufufu, it seems the headmaster needs to update his curriculum a little if you're still learning about pointless history like that."

"Pointless?" Christo blinked.

"Now, let us not speak of ancient history," Erica continued. "Caspie, you came here for a reason, did you not?"

"Erm, y-yes, that's right," Caspian said, snapping himself out of his daze. He glanced at Derek, who's face had become inscrutable. Had he been seeing things?

"So, go on," Erica motioned for Caspian to get moving. "We shall wait here."

"Okay..."

He looked at Elincia.

"I'm going with you," she told him, grabbing his hand. "This is a really important event, and I think we should take a picture to ensure that we always have this memory."

"If that's what you want."

The crowd parted for them as they walked. It seemed the events that had transpired, and the shock of learning who Erica was, must have stunned them.

Passing through the gathered crowd, he and Elincia walked up to the sign up station. It was, in truth, just a long table where a series of instructors sat. Caspian almost groaned when he realized that the person he'd walked up to was Instructor Murdock.

Murdock le Épais was the close-quarters-combat instructor for the advanced combat class. Completely bald, his head gleamed in the afternoon sun as if freshly waxed. Eyes like coals glared at Caspian from beneath a thick brow ridge.

"Sol," Instructor Murdock grunted. "Of all the places for you to choose to sign up, you just had to come up to me."

Caspian's smile was filled with derision. "Believe me, if I had been paying attention to who was open, I would have waited in line."

"Tch, you're still a disrespectful little shit," Murdock insulted.

"And you're still an old man well past his prime. Perhaps you should think about retirement."

"Perhaps you should think about resigning from school!" Murdock peeled his lips back, showing off his ferally grit teeth.

"Excuse me," Elincia interrupted them, her tone admonishing, "but I do not appreciate the way you're speaking to my friend."

Murdock looked like twelve lemons had been shoved down his throat. Everyone knew who Elincia was by now, and Caspian knew for a fact that old man Strattelo had informed all of the staff about her. As a sorceress, even a new one, Elincia commanded the utmost respect. If Murdock threw her words in her face, as he clearly wished to do, then he would be insulting the very foundations upon which their society had been built, for that was what it meant to insult a sorceress.

"My... apologies... Lady Elincia," the instructor said, his voice strained.

Elincia's expression remained stern. "I'm not the one you should apologise to."

Caspian hadn't thought it possible, but Murdock's face suddenly turned green. He turned to Caspian, his facial muscles twitching. This was clearly a struggle for him.

"I... I am... sorry... So—Caspian," he amended when Elincia's cheeks suddenly swelled with anger. "I spoke... out of turn..."

Caspian was being presented with a unique opportunity, one that he didn't fail to notice. This was the first time that an instructor had apologized to him. Ever. From the moment that he first arrived, he'd been the subject of ridicule, not just among his peers but among the faculty, too. When people used to knock over his stuff in class, the teachers would always pretend not to notice. When he was bullied for not being a noble, instructors turned a blind eye. Yet here, now, this man, who'd been the bane of his existence since starting advanced combat training, was apologizing.

I could not accept his apology and tell him exactly what I feel right now, and he wouldn't be able to stop me.

There were so many things that Caspian wanted to say to this man, words that would have made even the most foul-mouthed of pirates blush. He wanted to tell this man exactly where to stick his apology.

The words were on his lips...

Ele.

... When he caught sight of Elincia and her expectant gaze. A war took place inside of him. Caspian wanted nothing more than to lord this new position over the man, but if he did that, then Elincia would be disappointed in him. What's more, Elincia had done this not so he could get revenge on wrongs that had happened years ago, but as a means of allowing Caspian some measure of justice.

Could he do it? Could he use Elincia's position, her actions, like that? Could he allow himself to be selfish like this?

No...

Caspian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his thoughts were clear, calm. This was the right course of action.

"It's okay," Caspian muttered quietly. "I was never a very good student anyway."

While it wasn't much, Caspian knew that he would cherish the flabbergasted, bug-eyed expression on Instructor Murdock's face for as long as he lived.

"I-is that so? W-well, anyway, I guess you are here to sign up, yes? Just sign your name here."

Accepting the calligraphy pen that Murdock gave to him, Caspian signed his name.

With that, he was now officially part of the Sorceress's Knight Tournament.