[AN: I woke up with a terrible stomachache today so I took off a day from my job xD I must have got something bad in my burrito yesterday >.>

For clarification: liger is a crossbred between lion(M) and tiger (F), Mistglan is a Lion/Tiger hybrid thus I called him liger without explaining it, sorry for being confusing xD

Also about the past of the girls: here's a poll. I understand if you guys will want more of their pasts, but those will be real major spoilers when I get around on making a story about Marc's in Flow World. So decide it yourself. I'll reveal a bit more info if 70%+ will vote for yes.

Didn't have much time to check on this so forgive me if there are more mistakes than usual >.>

P.S. Fixed.

Thanks go to Miaowdom-san, Nethea-san and nf_zeta-san for correcting my mistakes!! Applause!]

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The following morning, Vorst and Mersa were still sleeping, however there were two more beings in their room. Actually, Marc already noticed their presence but since they didn't show any killing intent he let them be. In fact he could easily guess who those two were.

Mersa opened her eyes first. Vorst’s sleep was for his body to develop so he was still lying dormant. Mersa was in an excellent mood when she saw Vorst in front of her. She even gave him another squeeze before she finally turned around to leave... and then she noticed the intruders...

Mersa’s blush level made a breakthrough and entered the threshold of 400 today!

[Mersa: W-w-wawa-waw-a-w-a-aw-aaaw-awa...]

[Claire: Good morning Mersa-chan.]

When Mistglan and the Headmistress entered the room, the Liger immediately tried to start a huge uproar, but he was immediately shut down by Claire’s restricting barrier. Therefore there was a figure of a man floating right next to the elf. The Headmistress' face was brimming with an expression of ‘Ara ara, how cute.’ for a while now.

[Claire: I see you enjoyed the room arrangements to the fullest. Fufu.]

[Mersa: G-g-g-g-g-good m-morning C-claire-sensei, Mistglan-sensei.]

The White Wolf Princess was as red as she could get as she stammered through her greeting. The teachers announced that they would be entering rooms to check on students occasionally, but Mersa completely forgot about it. The Liger was finally released from the psychic bind. As he straightened his clothes his eyes were focused on the little girl.

[Mistglan: Mersa, please keep in mind that men are wolves in sheep's clothing. You need to be careful all the time.]

[Claire: Oh, please stop that Mistglan, they're just children. And Mersa-chan is a wolf herself.]

Though Claire noticed that Vorst was way more mature than children of his age she also noticed that he held no lust in his eyes when he played around with Mersa. Right now he was still wisely playing dead.

[Claire: Please wake up Vorst-chan, the four of us need to talk about some things. Ah, I also ordered breakfast to be delivered here so we can discuss some things as we eat.]

Even though Mersa was only 10 years old she quickly understood the situation. With several nudges she started gently pushing Vorst... Therefore reluctantly Marc roused his body from its slumber. His emerald-like eyes slowly opened, and showed a bright smile towards Mersa.

[Vorst: Good morning Mer-chan... and Claire-sensei, and Mistglan-sensei.]

His smile slightly froze as he saw the other two. Since he was too lazy to really think up troublesome things he let Lily work her magic.

[Mistglan: Vorst. Explain yourself. Do you have any excuses?]

[Vorst: Yes Mistglan-sensei. Since Mer-chan wanted to sleep together, I didn’t refuse.]

An innocent expression appeared on his face and any person accusing that face would feel guilt.

[Mistglan: Wha... But... You know. Y-you have to refuse sometimes.]

[Vorst: Why? If it's Mer-chan I'll do anything~~]

Scarlet color appeared on Mersa's face again.

[Mistglan: ...]

With that breakfast arrived to save the poor Liger some face.

[Claire: Fufu, Mist you need to learn that way of life from Vorst. Get a cute ranker girl and live forever together. I heard that one of the new elves in the Crimson Empire is very beautiful.]

Since the emergence of the Photon Core all diseases were cured and normal lifespan was roughly 120-130 standard years, after crossing HST it increases to 300-400 years (depends on at what age the core transformed, the earlier they cross the line, the longer they live), after reaching Circle Tier the life span increases so much that nearly no one dies from natural circumstances. Several cases indicate the limit somewhere around 2000 to 3000 years. After entering the Ranker Tier body stops aging altogether.

There is one exception to that rule, no matter how fast the person's power progresses the aging only slows down after 15 (that's why it's considered a mature state) and if a person wishes for it, it continues at a normal pace as long as they allow it. Rankers can even slowly reverse their age (though it's 10 times slower than the normal rate, and they can become no younger than 15).

[Mistglan: Getting together with the enemy is too much!!]

[Claire: What do you think about it Vorst?]

[Vorst: ... I think that we just need to pull them to our side which resolves the problem... or just defeat the Crimson Empire I guess?]

[Claire: Fufu, what a smart kid. Anyways.]

The atmosphere turned slightly more serious. Only slightly because Mersa was still continuously going 'Aaan~', because when she's with Vorst she completely forgets about her surroundings.

[Claire: Vorst, do you know what your current power level is?]

[Vorst: 1st HST.]

[Claire: Do you know what level the opponents were yesterday?]

[Vorst: Higher than me, but they were still weaker.]

His confident gaze was disrupted with a 'nom nom nom'.

[Claire: Do you know what you did yesterday?]

[Vorst: I protected Mer-chan.]

[Mersa: Hehe.. *blush*]

[Claire: You totally crushed 500 opponents, most of them were suppose to be out of your league.]

[Mistglan: Not everyone understands the true nature of a fight. Not everyone knows what wins duels. And not everyone knows what wins battles.]

[Claire: To win a duel you just need to strike down your opponent faster than they strike you. With your mobility most of them can't even dream of hitting you, and those techniques, you are certainly incredibly gifted in what we call 'battle sense', but I guess you know that right?]

Lily glanced at Marc who was sitting on the throne as he's playing with Calla's black feathers.

[Vorst: *nods* Yes.]

Mersa who couldn't follow the conversation understood only one thing. That Vorst was amazing, to be able to keep up with grown up talk.

[Claire: Towards you, who stands right next to Mersa... before there were only envious stares, but now as you showed incredible capabilities, from now on there might be dangers that will be directed towards you as well.]

Vorst nodded again.

[Claire: But not everything is bad you know. Now that we know about your enormous talent, you'll definitely be valued way more than in the past. Athena's Institute recognizes your talent and grants you a promotion to HST A Class. I guess you don't have anything against being in the same class with Mersa right?]

[Vorst: Of course not, I'd love to join that class.]

[Claire: Now that official procedures are completed I think we can talk a bit more intimately. Vorst, why did you hide your power?]

[Vorst: I wasn't hiding it. You simply didn't notice it.]

[Claire: Haha, I guess that's right, we certainly didn't pay you too much attention, for that I'll apologize on behalf of our institute. What about the Emergency Signal in your normal armor?]

[Vorst: ... It-it broke...]

Boy averted his green eyes slightly. To lie and show that it's a lie -courtesy by Lily.

[Claire: Still, your ability to control the Controlled Bots, it shows that you are a Mind Psychic right? When you were tested for psychic abilities before you had none.]

[Vorst: I don't remember anything before 'that' accident.]

[Claire: I guess... Then you woke up, and then found out that you can use Mind Psychics huh? Any others?]

[Vorst: All of them. I'm probably something close to a Psion.]

[Mersa: R-really?! Wow! Vorst, we can take Psychic lessons together now! Aaan~]

While the White Wolf Princess was excited by that small detail, the two adults in the room squinted. A Psion. Why were elves valued so much? It was because of that ability, every single elf was naturally a Psion, a master of Psychic abilities such as Telekinesis and Barrier.

[Claire: ... You didn't show them in that battle.]

[Vorst: *nom nom nom* It wasn't necessary.]

The Elf nodded her head approvingly.

[Claire: From now on I'll instruct you two personally, also Mersa, please don't tell anyone that Vorst can use Psychic abilities.]

[Mersa: Oh? Why?]

[Vorst: They might target me.]

He quickly interjected, and in response the Headmistress was very pleased. In her eyes the boy's value was growing and growing.

[Mersa: I see. I won't tell anyone about Vor-chan.]

Vorst nodded as his hand reached out to pet her ears, Mersa closed her eyes as she radiated happiness.

[Claire: There is also other good news, you have definitely caught the eye of many people, including mine. Athena's Institute wants to formally recruit you, how about it? We certainly know how to treat our people, I promise you will be treated with the right value you deserve.]

From the beginning Marc chose to stay in the Alliance because of Mistglan. From a glance he understood his straightforward but good character, then when he came across Claire he understood most of the 'Kollos Alliance' structure. That's because Claire's character was somewhat similar to current Lily's, she would play around a lot, but when problems arose, she would definitely do what's right.

[Vorst: I see, what about Mersa?]

[Claire: I thought you two come as a pair? Was I mistaken?]

[Vorst: Then we'll require quite a lot of things.]

[Claire: Fufu, I love to waste credits anyway.]

[Vorst: I guess I'll agree on my part, what about you Mersa?]

[Mersa: If Vorst wants to, then I'll do it too.]

They couldn't have this conversation yesterday because the teachers were completely overrun by thousands of calls about the sudden appearance of the "powerless" and his incredible display of prowess. To be honest everyone besides these two Rankers were completely exhausted.

[Claire: Then I guess that's it? That's right, because a lot of people do not believe that your power is real, I'd like to ask you to enter the 'Single Tournament - Lower Division' that starts next week. People need confirmation your power.]

[Vorst: I don't really want to.]

[Claire: Fufu, there is a prize for 1st place. Besides credits, there is also a highest class Small Energy Core, with it your bots output can be improved a lot. The academy will also add two more if you win without using 'Psychic' and 'Runes'. How about it?]

...

[Vorst: Runes?]

[Claire: The power you used when you threw those two punches of course. Did you think I didn't notice? I'm the Athena's Institute Headmaster after all. So do you agree?]

[Vorst: ... *nods*]

That settled it.

***

[Mistglan: How was it?]

[Claire: ... I'm not sure... He's incredibly difficult to read.]

[Mistglan: ... That's first time I heard that from you.]

[Claire: It can't be helped. It's first time that i encountered this too. Reading him is like wandering through a maze, it's hard to find a way through..]

[Mistglan: ... Power of that degree... Psychic and Runes... If it's misused...]

[Claire: ...]

[Mistglan: What now?]

[Claire: Power, Glory and Respect are coming go to him now. Let's observe him for a while, let's see how he reacts to it.]

[Mistglan: Understood.]

***

Vorst and Mersa still continued the breakfast after the other two left. Vorst ate a lot after all...

[Mersa: Vor-chan is strong now right?]

[Vorst: Mhm. *nom nom nom*]

[Mersa: T-then if I were to fight Vor-chan right now I'd probably lose right?]

[Vorst: No, Mer-chan will probably win.]

[Mersa: W-wha? B-but Vor-chan beat that Red Bear so fast...]

[Vorst: That's because I'm bad with hitting Mer-chan. I'll beat everyone else but Mer-chan.]

[Mersa: Hehe~]

[Vorst: Mer-chan, after this, do you want to come hunt together with me?]

[Mersa: Hunt? Monsters?]

[Vorst: Yeah.]

[Mersa: But I thought that Vor-chan had to give your M-Armor away yesterday for inspection.]

[Vorst: Yeah, but they should have finished by now.]

[Mersa: I see, then lets go!]

And thus the two of them went towards a cave full of monsters as if they were going there for a picnic.

***

[Mersa: Wow! Vor-chan's bots are amazing! Why didn't you use them yesterday?]

Two spheres were floating around them, right now there were four blades protruding out from each one. The Neo-Aris shook his head.

[Vorst: I didn't need to, besides those spheres are moody, sometimes they don't want to fight.]

[Mersa: Moody? Wow. But they're so cute! *hugs*]

Wolf Princess didn't understand everything, but the lines on the spheres made them very beautiful. As she hugged the ball her fingers traced the mysterious patterns. She didn't know that once those lines lit up, that meant either Calla or Lily were controlling the bots.

Both of them were leisurely chatting amid the number of corpses of monsters. Collection bots were busily working. Vorst had to agree that having another person with him increased the clearing speed tremendously, especially if that person was an energetic Mer-chan.

In the middle there was a campfire and they were roasting some monster meat because it was lunchtime.

[Mersa: I-I also brought a lunch for Vor-chan.]

With that she took out the package from her PSpace. It was clumsily made, as expected from an 10 year old, but it was the feelings that counted, so Vorst finished everything. There was no poison in it! Compared to a death-like cuisine made by Calla (after destroying 2 kitchens), it was heaven.

[--Calla--: I think m'lord just thought about something very offensive.]

[--Marc--: Not at all...]

***

A storm came.

There was a special party for both of the most prominent Cadet Schools after every Inter-school Battle Tournament. The participants from both schools would gather in one place to get to know their opponents a little better.

After this one, the most outstanding was obviously the Golden Knight (that's how public started calling the Neo-Aris). A monster that was capable of completely reversing the whole flow of the battle.

[AN: I'll use English names for months because memorizing and typing the new ones will be both bothersome for me and you guys haha. 1 standard year = 12 standard months, 1 month = 35 days, 1 day = 24h]

A crowd of onlookers was gathered to look at one place where the two rumored children were sitting. To be included in the 1000 participants all of them were considered to be elite even among elites, but right now both girls and boys were gossiping, not daring to disrupt the two 'lovebirds'.

[Oi, aren't they...?]

[It's the princess and her knight.]

[Yeah, did you see how he did us all in? Though it hurt I'm a fan now.]

[Athena claims that he made that M-Armor by himself!]

[Isn't that amazing?]

[Damnit, not only an incredible knight, but also a great engineer.]

[The White Wolf Princess sure knows how to pick her knights.]

[Kyaaa~ they're so affectionate.]

[I'm so jealous but I can't say anything... *sob*]

Just as they were half-way through the meal another person appeared. It was the blond haired Celina. In the past no one wanted to have to do anything with the 'powerless', but now nobody dared to disrupt the time between White Wolf Princess and her Golden Knight.

[Mersa: ...]

[Celina: ...]

[Vorst: ... Hello.]

[Celina: ... H-Hello.]

[Mersa: Hello Celina-senpai. Do you need something?

[Celina: W-well I just thought that I would you guys...]

Vorst was silent, in this landmine like development it was a wise decision.

[Mersa: I see..]

After that the situation continued normally with Celina there as a third wheel... Then...

[Celina: T-that looks fun can I try? Aaan?]

With that she brought a bit of meat towards the Neo-Aris...

The air turned ice cold in a split second...

That was an obvious landmine, Vorst didn't dare to step on it.

[Mersa: N-NO!]

With an outburst Mersa suddenly stood up as she slammed the table with her little hands. That was the first time for her to act like this. Quickly regaining her composure she looked at Vorst, then Celina, then turned back to Vorst. Then she ran away.

Leaving the two stunned she ran with all her might.

Back at the table while Celina was still stunned, Vorst immediately stood up to chase after Mersa.

[Celina: S-sorry!]

Vorst only responded with a wave of his hand and disappeared from sight.

On the second floor, a pair of elvish eyes saw the scene very clearly.

[Claire: Haha, being popular sure is tough, it's so nice to be young.]

[Mistglan: Are you sure that it'll be fine to leave it like this?]

[Claire: Young ones need to experience all kinds of troubles. We can't just put them on the shelf and lock them away to protect them.]

[Mistglan: What if by any chance he chooses Celina?]

[Claire: Are you saying we should restrict him and make him only be able to choose Mersa?]

[Mistglan: ... *sigh* The Tournament is tomorrow]

[Claire: Mhm, I'm looking forward to it.]

***

Two girls in his soul were having tea while watching the situation with amusement in their eyes.

[--Lily--: Well, she had Marc all to herself so far...]

[--Calla--: *Nods*]

[--Lily--: She needs to get used to him being surrounded by other girls.]

[--Calla--: *Nods*]

[--Lily--: After all that's Marc we are talking about.]

[--Calla--: *Nods*]

Meanwhile storm clouds were continuously gathering on the horizon...