After a long training session with Fran, Cecil… and Theo watching us from the stands… we finally sat down in the arena seats.
We were all exhausted from the fighting—except for the blonde prince, who just lounged there reading a book.
"Any of you ready for one more match?" Cecil asked with a calm expression. Even though he was just as dirty and sweaty as both Fran and I, he still looked like he could go a few more rounds.
"Don't even dream about it, bodyguard—you'd just lose again," Fran replied in a cold yet cocky tone. She had her reasons; after all, she had won the most matches.
"That's why I want to try again, Princess." His gentle smile barely hid the fighting-obsessed monster beneath.
"No. Not after what he did." She crossed her arms and looked away with a pout.
She was obviously talking about me.
"I already said I'm sorry." She had wanted to fight against my so-called "incantationless" magic. "But it takes time to prepare, and these fights were more intense than I thought."
"Don't care. I'm not forgiving you easily this time." She kept her face turned away, refusing to look at me.
"Please forgive me, Fran." I knelt before her and lowered my head. "What can I do to regain my friend's trust?"
She stole a few sidelong glances at me through narrowed eyes.
"Mmmh…" The white-haired princess kept alternating between avoiding my gaze and peeking at me.
A slight rosy tint crept into her cheeks before she finally looked at me. "I guess… I could forgive you… if you want it that much…" she murmured almost in a whisper. Then her tone rose sharply: "But next time you'll fight using it, got it?!"
"Next time, I'll fight with it." I raised my head and smiled at her.
"I-I wasn't asking you… I was ordering you!" She poked my chest several times, growing more flustered. I just laughed—her little outbursts like this were, honestly, pretty cute.
"And when's that next time?" the bodyguard asked, earning a blank look from Fran.
"It's only going to be me and him…" She stood next to Cecil, her eyes sharp enough to cut. "What makes you think you're invited?"
"I know from our fights that we truly became friends, Princess." He placed a hand over his chest, unfazed by her threatening aura.
"Only that guy is my friend." She pointed at me.
"That guy!?"
"And that guy is also my friend, which makes us friends."
"That's not how it works, Cecil." Theo shook his head and sighed.
"Isn't that how the saying goes? A friend of my friend is also my friend?"
"The saying is 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,'" the prince corrected.
"I think that's a different saying, my liege."
"Pff, whatever you say, Cecil." The blonde gave up with a sigh and returned to his book.
"Either way, you're not coming with us," Fran said, sitting beside me.
"I wouldn't mind them training with us." I chuckled, glancing at her.
"Hmph. Consider yourselves lucky, peasants." She huffed and crossed her arms.
"Thanks, Mr. Alen." Cecil chuckled, clearly pleased to have found permanent sparring partners. "I also thank you on behalf of my liege."
"What are you saying!?" The prince leapt up from his seat.
"He may act like this, but he truly wants to be friends with both of you."
"T-That's not true!" The blushing blonde shook his bodyguard by the shoulders. "I don't want to be friends with this barbarian and nobody!"
"We also don't want to be your friends, crybaby prince," Fran snapped, glaring at Theo, who promptly hid behind Cecil.
"Shut up, you troglodyte! I want to be friends with you the least!" He pointed a trembling finger at her.
Fran clicked her tongue, making Theo flinch.
Cecil and I just laughed at our bickering companions.
---
"Ahem!"
The sound of a girl clearing her throat cut through the chatter.
We all turned to see who had interrupted.
"Tch." Fran took one look at the group that approached and turned away with a scowl, crossing her arms.
The group consisted of a smiling red-haired girl, a tall brown-haired guy, an angry-looking black-haired guy, and… a yellow-eyed, pink-haired girl.
When I looked at the pink-haired one, her face turned red and she looked down.
"I'm sorry if we're bothering you, but we wanted to ask you something," the redhead said confidently, smiling.
"We don't want anything you're selling, so leave immediately," Fran said in a cold tone, still not looking at them.
"Bitch," the black-haired guy muttered.
That made Fran finally turn toward them, her glare sharp enough to kill.
"Tirino!" The tall guy elbowed him sharply.
"We're sorry for that, Princess… He actually said 'pinch'…" The redhead flailed her hands, trying to salvage the situation. "Which is the situation we're in right now."
I could feel Kaida's eyes on me.
"We came here to ask for your help," the tall guy said.
"And what makes you think we'll help you?" Theo and Fran said in perfect unison.
The brown-haired guy flinched.
"Actually, we didn't come for your help, Princess Von Themys and Third Prince Der Botcam…" the redhead explained nervously. "Right, Kaida?"
"Ah, um… mhm." She nodded, blushing.
"Come on, Kaida, tell him," the redhead whispered in her ear.
"I-I… n-no… W-we wanted to ask you to help us, A-Alen…" she said my name so quietly it was almost inaudible. Her friend smiled encouragingly at her.
"Yes, we wanted to ask you to help us with ou—"
Fran stepped right up to Kaida, her expression dark.
"What makes you think you can ask him to help you, sinner?" Her tone was venomous.
"Fran, wai—"
"Don't say another word, Alen!" she shouted, freezing everyone in place. "You're not helping her no matter what!" Her fist tightened as she glared down at the terrified girl.
"Whatever self-made trouble you have doesn't concern me or Alen, understand?" She looked ready to attack at any moment.
I stepped between them.
A tense second stretched into what felt like minutes.
I held Fran's gaze.
She was furious—but not at me. All of it was aimed at the pink-haired girl.
"I know you hate her, but I want to hear what the whole group has to say."
"Fine. As long as she keeps her filthy mouth shut, you can listen to them." Fran retreated to her seat.
"Thanks for understanding." I smiled at her as she sat, arms and legs crossed, looking away.
Behind me, Kaida was clinging to my shirt, trembling. When she finally looked up, her face was flushed, her eyes teary.
I gave her a faint smile before sitting back down next to Fran.
"You'll give me that shirt later so I can burn it," she said.
"I'm not letting you burn my shirt!"
"It's been stained by that sinner. Keeping it will be the death of you."
"I'm not taking it off, and you're not burning it—it's my academy-issued sports uniform!"
"I'll buy you another one."
"...Fine." I sighed and slouched in defeat.
---
"Ahem… w-well…" The redhead cleared her throat, stuttered, then regained her composure. "We wanted to ask you to help us, Alen. You see, bandits have appeared recently and set up bases in the poorest parts of the city."
"We've been trying to fight them off, but it's harder than we thought," the tall guy added.
"Why don't you call the authorities instead of fighting them yourselves?" Theo asked with a frown. "Actually… don't answer. I already know."
Students of Aurum Academy can help around the city to earn extra points. Any kind of help is accepted, from cleaning the streets, rescuing a cat, helping knights and adventurers solve crime problems inside the city.
Going up in the ranks is the single most important thing for a student. The better your rank is, the better your actual and future life will become.
A reason I haven't complained about my current living style is exactly because the S class students are really spoiled with very luxurious stuff... stuff I don't really find all that interesting.
"As expected from losers who don't know their place. So weak they need help from someone who actually knows what they're doing." Fran scoffed. Her indirect compliment didn't go unnoticed.
"Well, Alen? What do you think?"
I did want to see how Kaida handled her enemies—it would give me an idea of how much I'd need to worry in the future. But it was only the second week, and I had my own plans.
"I can help you for one night. That's the most I can do."
"D—" The black-haired guy got another elbow to the ribs.
"That's more than enough, Alen. Thank you."
"We'll tell you the details later."
They all turned to leave—except Kaida, who bowed her head before walking away.
"Hmph. Don't think I'll help you."
"Yeah, don't count us in."
"I'd actually like it if w—" Theo clamped a hand over Cecil's mouth, smiling awkwardly.