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“Magical fluctuations…” Shura muttered from beside me.

I was holding the twins by their hands, because Lucinda was being very rowdy and Lucas wouldn’t let go of my hand, ever since we came out of the restaurant. “What?” I asked, turning my head to Shura.

He didn’t reply, but instead, waved his hand all around in front of him, shimmering energy trailed every movement of his. It seemed he was making runes, if I remember. I had fought with rune-makers before, but the speed in which he was creating, and the complexity of the runes, was astounding.

“Is dat a fewie?” Lucinda asked, pointing her free hand in front of her.

I looked at the direction, she was pointing, and I panicked. A fireball the size of a boulder was heading towards us. “That’s no fairy!” Instinctively, I pulled the twins down, and covered them with my body, while Kidlat started charging up.

After a few seconds, nothing happened, except for the slight heat I felt. I turned around, and saw a petite, young girl – wearing a white, fuzzy jacket, black, skinny jeans and strappy heels – stomping her feet, as she made her way to our direction. I turned to Shura, he was sighing, and he looked to me. “Profound apologies.”

“SHURA POLZIN-WAKAHISA,” a voice bellowed from the young girl’s mouth, when she came close, “where the hell have you been? Did you know? I had to endure Ma’am Ursa’s nagging for five hours!” then, the girl grabbed Shura by the collar, and for a moment she glared at him with her mouth quivering, while he looked at her with his default face, then the girl cried, still holding Shura by the collar.

I would’ve sympathized with her plight, but she threw a fucking fireball at our faces! I stood up, assured the twins that everything was alright, and made Kidlat discharge his electricity into air. It looked like a lightning bolt had struck him.

A few minutes passed, and the girl had calmed down. “So…” the girl said, coldly, “is this why you were out? You’ve started a family? Moreover, you have twins?” she was pointing at me, and the twins.

“You’re gravely, horrifyingly mistaken,” I shouted, “I mean… nothing wrong with having such preferences, but I don’t swing that way!” I don’t really care what you like, as long as you don’t be a dick about it, but to be paired up with Shura, is a bit saddening to the heart.

The girl stared at me, relief creeping on her face, and then she glared back at Shura. “He’s not even my type, really,” he said, making the girl palm her face in frustration.

Now that I looked at her closely, she was a beauty with long, golden hair, braided into a scorpion’s tail, which reached the back of her knees. A face like a Nordic fairy, and purplish-grey skin—wait, what? I looked at her, again, and noticed that she had long ears, that ended with tiny, feather-like fur, and glowing, silver eyes. She was a dark elf, if I am correct. I would ask, but it felt rude, and I was still irked that she threw a fireball at us.

“I guess, correctly, that you are not here, only, to tell me of your lovely conversation with Ursa?” Shura asked. His voice was still as impassive as always, “but first,” he gestured to the twins, Kidlat and me. “They’re new students. Lucinda and Lucas Ruiz, both Filipino citizens. Kidlat, Filipino thunderhound. Juan Xavier Lee, Filipino citizen,” he turned to the girl, and made a slight movement with his head.

The girl made a slight bow. “I am Signy Sorskygge,” she sighed, “…secre—colleague of Shura Polzin-Wakahisa, as pitiful as that position sounds, I must thank you for giving your time to him…” it sounded like she was still pissed, very much so.

After that Signy apologized, saying she had to take Shura back to the offices, but not before letting Shura conjure up a spirit guide.

The spirit guide was similar to the santelmo, a small, floating sphere of mana, but docile and friendlier. It led us to the teleportation circle, where an attendant instructed us on what to do, while she poured mana into the formation. The feeling was like when Lola Leona teleported us, but less surreal. It must be because of the distance made, or of the mastery of the magic.

The guide led us to the dormitory, and to our room, which was on the second floor and numbered 127. The guide also told me that, we just had to put our hand on a sensor, so we could get in. I pressed my hand on the sensor, and it glowed blue, then the door to our room opened, by itself. The guide then dissipated. It’s gone back to Shura, I guess.

We went in, and I took a good look at the room, a large space, larger than the living room in Lola Leona’s house. The bed was very large, occupying about a fifth of the room and was placed on the far side of the room, near the window and away from the door. Beside the bed was a chair, two cabinets were lined up beside it and drawers were placed on the opposite wall. Honestly, it looked more like a hotel room than a student’s dorm-room, but then again it’s free, so I have no qualms about it.

Immediately, the twins went to the bed, and jumped and down, before tiring themselves out and falling asleep, while Kidlat slept underneath the bed. Meanwhile, I checked everything in the room, and, surprisingly, our stuff was now stored properly in the cabinets, and the drawers. I opened what I had claimed as my cabinet – since it had my stuff in it –, and took out a black suitcase with the engraving of a stylized leaf.

“Time to play alchemist for a moment…”

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