Elincia was tired. Sleep had not come easily last night. She'd spent most of the night crying, and the rest of it had been spent staring listlessly at the ceiling until exhaustion had claimed her.

I still can't believe Lady Sylvia would say all of that. Does she really believe it?

Her mind had been plagued, caught within a constant loop. She kept going over the argument that she'd had with Sylvia, her first one ever. It figured that their first disagreement would be over Caspian.

Lady Sylvia wasn't a large purveyor of love. She would often say that love was an unnecessary emotion that bred conflict as surely as hatred did. Elincia always had other things on her mind, so she'd never taken those words at face value before, but now she was forced to realize the truth.

How can I even face her anymore?

Elincia didn't know what she would do when she saw Lady Sylvia again. How would she respond? She still felt angry over what Lady Sylvia had told her, about how she was being forcibly restricted from seeing Caspian. At the same time, Lady Sylvia had given her a home—even if she'd not been present for most of Elincia's life. She didn't want to be angry at her.

What should I do?

A knock came at the door. The knock was followed by a voice.

"Elincia? You in there?"

It was Lady Erica's voice!

Sitting up in her bed, Elincia quickly tried to make herself presentable. "C-come in!"

The door opened and Lady Erica waltzed into the room. Tiffania wasn't with her this time. She strolled up to Elincia's bed and looked down at the girl, pausing.

"You look awful," she said at last.

"I feel awful," Elincia admitted.

"Care to share what happened with me?"

Elincia hesitated at the offer. She did want to speak with someone about what happened last night, but by "someone," she actually meant "Caspian." While she did like Lady Erica well enough, she wasn't comfortable telling the woman about what happened between her and Lady Sylvia.

And yet, it's not like I can talk to Caspian about this, she thought bitterly.

Without anyone else to speak with, Elincia told Lady Erica about the previous nights argument. By the time she'd finished speaking, the other sorceress wore a smile that seeped with amusement like a broken sieve leaked water.

"Well, now, isn't that interesting," she murmured.

"Um, Lady Erica?" Elincia was beginning to regret saying anything.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, dear," Lady Erica said in a dismissive tone. "I won't say a word about what you told me. In fact, I am going to help you."

"Help me how?" asked a curious Elincia.

Lady Erica's bright, beatific smile sent chills down Elincia's spine.

"Why, I'm going to let you see your dear Caspie, ufufufu."

Somehow, I get the feeling that Lady Erica is only helping me because she knows it will upset Lady Sylvia, Elincia thought herself.

Oddly enough, that thought didn't bother her very much.

***

The Sorceress's Knight Tournament was only two weeks away. This was done to give the foreign competitors time to settle into their new accommodations, and to experience the new culture before the tournament began.

For Caspian, this meant he would have extra time to train in preparation for the upcoming fights. Sure, two weeks wasn't that much time, but if he could gain just a bit more experience to give himself an edge, even if it was only a small one, then he would take.

"Come on, Caspian! You'll have to move faster if you want to dodge my swings!"

Caspian struggled to move faster than the shock waves that came at him. He could feel his muscles screaming in protest as he pushed them harder than he ever had before. The air around him reverberated with the fierce detonations of displaced air, the ground was torn apart as crescent waves of energy sliced through it, and dirt it kicked up threatened to fly into his eyes.

Nearly a meter away, Derek swung his sword down like an executioner at a beheading, and the world seemed to explode when he did.

They were in one of the many courtyards, far from any classrooms or the dormitory. Caspian didn't know how long they'd been out there. Minutes? Hours? Time was a blurry mess within his mind. He'd long since lost track of it.

"Move faster if you want to dodge this!"

Derek swung his massive claymore like it was a feather. The air exploded in front of him. A shockwave expanded from the blade, gouging out the ground as it raced for Caspian, who leapt back—only for pain to explode in his torso as he ran into another shock wave.

Caspian was lifted into the air and spun around before he landed on the ground with a harsh thud. He grunted as the air was expelled from his lungs, but he refused to let any other sound escape from him. Curling up on his side, he placed a hand against his torso, where the blow had been struck. That last attack was sure to leave a bruise.

"Hm, you lasted longer this time," Derek said.

Caspian blinked as a hazy figure appeared in front of him. The figure held out a hand, which he grabbed and allowed to pull him up. He nearly stumbled again when the fire lancing his torso underneath his right pectoral flared. That had really hurt.

"It's not enough to last longer," Caspian muttered. "I need to be able to defeat you."

Derek's boisterous laughter made him scowl. "Caspian, I don't mean to sound rude, but you're a long ways away from defeating me."

"I think I liked you better when you were sickly and incapable," came his swift retort. Rather than be upset by the harsh comment, Derek laughed it off.

Sitting down on the grass, Caspian released a large gust of breath. His body was screaming at him for the abuse that it had suffered, reprimanding him for putting it through such a rigorous pace. He ignored it. This was merely a sign that he'd gotten a good workout in. He should have been satisfied with that.

He wasn't.

I need to be faster.

Heracles was most definitely a strength fighter. The sheer raw strength that he could unleash was incredible. Caspian would never be able to match him in raw strength, so he needed to become faster—fast enough that it wouldn't matter how strong Heracles was.

"You know," Derek started as he impaled his claymore into the ground and sat next to Caspian, "you're not going to become fast enough to outmaneuver the other competitors in just two weeks."

Caspian twitched. "You can't say that with any certainty."

"Of course I can," Derek countered swiftly. "The human body can grow stronger at an incredible rate, that much is true. However, the rate at which a human grows is limited, even to those who are blessed with powerful bloodlines."

Bloodlines. It wasn't something special. However, there was a new study among a group of people who believed that certain families were stronger than others.

This theory was backed by solid evidence, such as the Stål family from Helheim, who had produced generations of strong swordsman. Of course, Caspian thought that was crap. The people who supported that theory were nobles, and the people whose families were said to have strong bloodlines were nobles. This was merely their pathetic attempt at proving their own superiority over everyone else.

"I know that," Caspian grumbled.

"If you know that, then you should know that you won't be able to grow fast enough to outpace the other competitors in only two weeks. All of them are just like you, the best of the best, the elite who have proven that they have what it takes to become a sorceress knight. You're not fighting nobles who wish to ride on the wealth of their parents anymore. These are the people who, just like yourself, have fought and sweat and bled to get where they are. Two weeks of training isn't going to be enough to make a difference."

"Then what should I do?" asked Caspian.

"You need to play to your strengths," Derek answered. "Your sword forms are beautiful, graceful, and incredibly adaptable. I saw it while you were staying in Dorehan Tower. Your style is not one that requires incredible speed, nor one that needs impossible strength. The true strength to your fighting lies within your ability to think quickly on your feet and adapt to any situation."

"But is that going to be enough?" Caspian wondered out loud.

Grinning, Derek slapped Caspian in the back. "What are you getting so worried about? I've seen you fight. I know how strong you are. Very few people will be able to beat you."

Caspian didn't know if he agreed with Derek. He thought about what had happened when he and Elincia were beset upon by those automatons, how he'd been defeated and Elincia had nearly been killed. If he couldn't even defeat a couple of machines, then what chance did he have against people who were training to become a sorceress's knight?

"Anyway, compared to those robots you fought the other night, these kids are nothing," Derek added.

"Huh?"

"Now, then," Derek stood back to his feet, "let us continue sparring. Even if you can't get physically stronger, we can still sharpen your mind by having you fight an opponent that you're still one-hundred years away from defeating."

Caspian's grin was vicious as he leapt to his feet and grabbed his sword. "That's a pretty arrogant statement to make, especially coming from a man who was bedridden for nearly two months."

"Heh... that's some mouth you've got on you. Let's see if you can back it up!"

The spar renewed.

The sound of clashing steel echoed throughout the courtyard.

***

The cafeteria wasn't as empty as it usually was when Christo and Caspian arrived. There were several other people sitting at the tables, eating lunch. Heracles and Perseus were present, chowing down on food like it was going out of style. They didn't even seem to realize that he and Christo had entered. Adesh was also there, and he wasn't alone. Sitting beside him was a figure who was draped in a large black cloak that obscured their entire body from view. It was the other student from Asura Academy.

Asura Academy was in Moksha, the kingdom to the east. Moksha was the leading country on herbology, medicine, and healing. The country's prosperity came not from its magical technology, nor from the strength of its sorceresses, but from their hot springs, which were said to be capable of healing any injury—even wounds that damaged the soul.

"They look pretty tough, yeah?" Christo said after he and Caspian sat down. "We've got some serious competition in this tournament."

"I guess."

"Worried?"

"Not in the least."

"That's just like you," Christo laughed. "Always the confident one."

Caspian said nothing in response. He'd learned long ago that even when he didn't feel confident, he needed to at least project confidence while in the presence of others. If he couldn't do that, then he'd already lost.

"Oh!" a friendly exclamation came from his right. "If it isn't my stylish friend, Caspian!"

This guy...

Caspian resisted the desire to facepalm as he turned to Adesh. "Good morning, Adesh..."

"It's quite stylish of you to remember my name!" Adesh said before turning to his silent companion. "Please allow me to introduce a comrade from my school. This is Naagendra. He's not as stylish as myself, but there are few people who are better to have at your back in a fight."

Naagendra said nothing.

"By the way," Adesh continued, "is this stylish seat taken?"

Caspian debated the merits of telling him off, but he ultimately decided that doing so would be pointless. Besides, he could use this opportunity to scope out the competition.

"Be my guest," Caspian said, gesturing to the seat.

"So stylish!"

What is it with all the whackos I seem to attract?

Caspian wondered if he was cursed. Surely, there couldn't have been a more suitable an explanation to describe why every person he met was an oddball. Christo, Adesh, Derek, Erica, Cassidy... they were all eccentric people.

"I was most surprised to learn that you're friends with the newest sorceress," Adesh continued to talk as they ate. "It seems you are, indeed, more stylish than even I had initially presumed. Might I inquire as to how you and Ms. Elincia became so close?"

Caspian took a bit out of his bagel. It tasted a little stale, but he was more or less used to that. The cafeteria lady never gave him fresh food.

"We're childhood friends."

"Friends from childhood? How stylish!" Adesh swooned—at least, Caspian thought he was swooning. "I see! I see! Yes, it is all playing in my mind right now. You two have known each other since you were little, and so you stylishly promised your friend that you would become her knight, thus ending up in this academy despite your lower class status. Oh, this is so stylish! I am moved to tears!"

When Adesh began crying, Caspian became certain that this young man would be even more problematic than Christo. At least his roommate had never—

"Wahhhhhh! Such a beautiful reason for attending the academy! Caspian, why didn't you tell me?! Waaahhhhh!"

Never mind. It seemed that his roommate was every bit as troublesome as this new guy.

Sitting between two crying idiots, Caspian could do nothing but ponder if banging his head against the table would somehow stop their stupidity from spreading to him.

Probably not, he silently lamented.