Chapter 1

Two Years After: Love Blooms!?

Part 1

"Big..."

"Quite extravagant, indeed."

Standing in front of the imposing iron gate were a pair of peculiar twins. One wore a dark cloak over a high-collared military uniform, while the other a sloppily-worn black suit paired with a frayed skirt. Behind them were a stack of heavy-looking luggage. Neither knew how to enter the premises legally, so they simply stood and waited for someone else to enter before them.

"Isn't this too excessive? I don't see why they have to make a gate this big."

"Naïve, sister. It's to show the grandeur and prestige of the Academy, so new students like us wouldn't treat them lightly."

"What show-offs. Right?"

"Indeed."

"So this is the Magical Academy... Wow, that gate actually works. It's giving me the chills."

"Leave it all to me. If you have any trouble with your lessons, don't hesitate to break my door."

"I might actually do that, you know? Who'll pay for the repairs?"

"The assailant, of course."

"Cheapskate! At least pay half of it!"

"So you really do plan on breaking my door...? Please spare me the inconvenience."

The teacher listening on the other side of the gate sighed. Lila Mirillia was tasked with the all-important duty to attend to the special students who arrive and exhibit the many facilities the academy had to offer. But she wasn't motivated at all. Special students were special for a reason; many of them had weird personalities that were troublesome to deal with. And the person behind this gate was the most troublesome of them all: Fraulein Floret, the once-in-a-century prodigy who dominated even that special class.

"So how long are we waiting again?"

"We already agreed on waiting. We don't have to rush anyways."

"Hey, hey, you have that, right? Just blast this door with lasers! Use that magic you're so proud of to blast this door to smithereens!"

"Can we please stop talking about breaking doors? And I don't have these 'lasers' you speak of. But I may have other spells that have the same effect..."

Dangerous! Before any of those two could seriously do anything bad, Lila hurriedly pushed the huge gate from the inside, slowly opening it with a creak.

"Ha... ha... welcome... Welcome! Welcome to the Fe Safire School of Magical Arts, ha... or more widely known as the Magical Academy. I'm Lila, and I will be your guide in showing you, ha... our prided facilities... ha..."

She was out of breath. Lila was a frail woman, and pushing that heavy iron gate was more that she could take. But as soon as she lifted her head, it was as if all that fatigue was blown away.

Beautiful... It was the most honest impression she could give. Deep sapphire eyes that captivated her very soul. Fluffy blonde hair without even a single strand out of place. And that smile... that warm loving smile directed at her easily made the innocent teacher's cheeks blush.

"Good morning. I presume you are a teacher here, if I'm not mistaken. I'm Fraulein Floret, pleased to meet your acquaintances, Miss Lila."

"Y—y—you too! Please take care of me!"

"... I believe it is I who is in need of care."

"S—sorry!"

"And I'm Fräulein Floret! I'm also an upcoming student here! Wow, so this is high class service, huh... Nice to meet you, Lila."

There was another one...? Oh yes, they're twins. Lila almost forgot the other twin thanks to Fraulein's sublime presence. What to say, she was frankly disappointing. They had the same features, but their difference was like heaven and earth. Blue eyes. Messy hair. A stiff smile that was borderline smirking. She was someone who could go the marketplace and wouldn't garner an ounce of attention. How dare she have the same name as someone as grand as her twin?

"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Fraulein."

She couldn't help but answer in a flat tone incomparable to her previous fervent attitude.

Lila was troubled. She was only tasked to guide students from the special class, and she wasn't told that her twin sister was part of that. And obviously, it was the prim and proper Fraulein who she had to guide. But they both seemed close, so Lila was thinking about the most polite way to shoo the distraction away.

"But really, personal guides are awesome!"

"... The only place I'm guiding you to is hell."

"What?"

"Nothing."

She faces the goddess, and her attitude does a one hundred eighty degree turn.

"Forgive me, but I am only tasked to guide people from the Special Class. You see, we simply don't have enough personnel to deal with the multitude of students who apply here every year. So if you please, sho— kindly tell your sister to head for the student dorms."

"He he he, you'd be surprised. Actually, it is I who is in need of guiding!"

"EEHHH!?"

The elegant Fraulein promptly knocked her sister in the head.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"I'm so very sorry, my twin sister isn't one for jokes. Indeed, I am the one from the Special Class."

Lila sighed in relied. That almost gave her a heart attack. She wouldn't know what to do if she was separated from this goddess and was made to guide that... whatever that is. For once, she was glad that all was right with the world.

"But doesn't that how it usually goes? Shouldn't I be the unexpected dark horse in this school? Shouldn’t I be the special one?"

"Apparently not. Well then, Miss Lila, shall we?"

"Y—yes! Let's go! This is my first date, so please be gentle with me!"

"Ha... Well then. I'll come visit you in your room when I'm done, Fräulein. Until then."

"Yeah, yeah, see you then. You'll see, I'll make a hundred friends and successfully pin you down one day."

Both Lila and Fraulein went inside while dragging her luggage, leaving the sulking Fräulein alone in her thoughts.

Part 2

"I was supposed to be special..."

Fräulein Floret had a big secret that only she knew:

She was from another world.

Fräulein came from a world where science was the greatest weapon humanity held, not magic. She arrived here two years ago, when she was still at the young age of thirteen, thanks to her accidental (or was it?) death together with her brother back at her original world. It was then when she met her alternate universe self. Her twin sister, Fraulein, wasn't really her twin 'sister', but rather her twin 'self'. It's the truth.

"So why? Why is she the only one with overflowing talent?"

It was unfair. Two years ago, that Fraulein was a lost kid who was as weak as a stick, looking for her older sister who was supposedly lost as well.

But after a few days, that Fraulein came looking for her, bawling her eyes out. Ever since Fräulein took her to her care, she began to bury herself in a mountain of magic books, studying everything with suicide-like diligence, muttering how she would the greatest to protect her 'twin sister'. Fräulein wanted a companion anyways, so she didn't mind it. But in just two years... in just two years, she grew up to be a monster. She had Mana Potential unlike ever seen before. That bundle of talent would cast spells even graduates of the Magical Academy couldn't.

"So why? Why? Why did you abandon me, moon voice?"

The problem was with her. Her Mana Potential—the amount of Mana she could process at a time—was even lower than an average person. If the average was one hundred, she was somewhere around sixty. Her twin sister? Probably around three thousand. That cheat!

"Stupid world! Stupid twin! Stupid academy! Stupid... whoever you are staring at me!"

"H—ho!? You noticed me? I was sure I had an Invisibility spell in effect..."

Ever since her twin sister and that teacher left, Fräulein has never moved from her spot, frozen in place from the unfairness of this world. It was then when she noticed some mass of invisibility creeping up behind her, thanks to the movement of the dust on the pathway. Fräulein was good at noticing her surroundings, but it was probably just an occupational disease.

And as if visibility paint was thrown on her, she appeared. A girl around her age stood proudly in front of her, regality overflowing from her stance, donning the same uniform-cloak combo her sister wore. But that most blatant thing about her was her hair... Hahaha! She tied her red hair in a... in a twin tail. A twin tail! Who does that at her age?

"Ha ha ha! What a riot! Really, a twin tail? Are you lost? Want me to lead you to pre-school? What's with that childish hairstyle? HAHAHA! Ha... thanks. I was kind of depresses back there. Thanks for bringing me out of the dumps."

"You... you did NOT just mock my hair style, did you?"

"Oh yes I did! I mean, seriously, are you a kid? Even my little sister can't top you!"

The twin tail girl was visibly shaken, but Fräulein was too busy laughing to even notice anything. Maybe, just maybe, if she did, she would've stopped, and fate might've been kind to her. But no, she just had to laugh. To forget the fact that her own situation was more laughable.

"... duel me."

"Ha ha ha ha... ha?"

"Duel me."

"W—what's that dangerous-sounding word?"

"Duel me! You... I don't know who you are, but I will not allow you to mock the royal hairstyle of Elia Seli Da Coruscanta Lara! This Princess Clementine da Coruscanta Lara hereby challenges you to a duel, and I will not take no for an answer!"

"... Crap."

Part 3

It has been a while since Lila presented Fraulein the many facilities the academy boasted, all while talking with her about many things. It was almost as if she forgot her position as a teacher, and acted like a young girl experiencing her first love all along the way.

Now they were just walking idly around the academy grounds, as Lila wanted to spill everything she had in her mind to her poor ward. Fraulein, being the exemplary student she was, went along with her wiles.

After Lila said everything she could, there was still something lingering on her mind.

"Fraulein, it may be rude to ask, but... was that really your twin sister? She seemed so different from you."

On Fraulein's face bloomed a smile, brighter than the many others she has given.

"Yes, we get that a lot. But truly, she is my twin sister in every sense. And I love her so much that I'm willing to drag myself to the top, to attain the power to protect her."

"I'm jealous... I mean, how noble! In order to protect your weak sister from the great dangers of this country, you'll even aim to be an Arch Mage! This Lila shall support you in every step along the way!"

"Weak sister...? Ah, there seems to be a misunderstanding."

"Eh?"

"Rather, I'm gathering enough strength to surpass her, and the only way to do that is to be on the top."

What? Lila couldn't accept such a weak-looking twin sister defeating this goddess.

"Eehhh!? No way, no way. She's not even in the Special Class, probably not even in the A Class!"

"Of course, she somehow landed in the F Class, luckily. If I remember correctly, she took the second to the last place in the examinations the academy gave."

"See? Aren't you the one on top? And, and even she said she'd need a hundred friends just to pin you down. But even before that, I bet she wouldn't get a single friend."

"True, true. Well, when it comes to a duel, I'm sure to win a hundred times out of a hundred. But..."

"But?"

"Nothing. Oh, Miss Lila, can you please guide me to the cafeteria? Worry not, I'll be sure to treat you."

"Treat me well... Ma'am, yes ma'am! Right these way please. Treat me well~ treat me well~"

And with that, Fräulein became the last of Lila's worries.

But Fraulein knew. When it came to a duel, she was sure to win a hundred times out of a hundred. She had unparalleled magic, after all. But when it was a fight to the death, Fraulein would never stand against her crazy twin sister, against that lofty being who bathed in moonlight two years ago.

Because her twin sister was an assassin.