House of Amarin

When the last month of the year came, the whole floating island was quickly coated in white. The temperature rarely went above 0 celsius, and the rainy days turned into snowy ones. Luckily the main streets were enchanted, and all that snow was cleared away, swept to the sides by invisible hands, keeping them neat and easily traversable, unlike around the Misfits' tower.

"Come on, once more!" Lia laughed, encouraging Keily, who was standing there, trying to prop himself up, gasping for air. He was made to cast fire spell after fire spell, melting the snow around their tower every day. On top of that, Lia did not let him dress up in winter clothing, making him either endure the cold or circulate his mana to battle against it.

"I'm spent, Boss!" He stood back up finally, his legs wobbling like jello, "I need to meditate to regain my mana!"

"No, you don't!" She tapped her holdingbag, summoning a vial with a sparkling, blue potion in it, throwing it at him. "Drink that!"

Keily's body reacted reflexively, pulling out the cork and gulping it down without asking a question. A moment later, he felt rejuvenated and looking at his bracelet; his mana was back to half already.

"Mana potion?"

"Mid-tier." Lia nodded, "Lorin brought over the new batch I ordered. All of us will take 20 potions of each kind when we go into battle! Besides the basic mana and health potions, I also order some that provide resistance against other elements!"

"I don't want to know how much money you spent, Boss." Keily smiled at her, turning towards the huge pile of snow, pressing his hands out, summoning two magic circles around his wrist, and blasting it with twin columns of flame. 

"I look at it as an investment~!" She giggled, watching him play the role of a living flamethrower. "I want us to win and do it with fashion! I bet people will watch it; let them see we have everything! Talent, power, and money!"

In the past month and a half, Lia was spending an amount of CP that made Keily's head spin whenever he heard her talking with Opparu or Lorin. The latest news being they would receive special vests for the occasion. The old artificer took their measurements and was currently making it, tuning the enchantments to their respective elements. It should provide enough defensive boost to its wearer to withstand their opposing elements for a fight. Yet it was considered consumable as it would crumble away after activation and a certain period of time or after too much damage. 

"Done!" Keily said, taking a sharp breath, lowering his hands, and watching the cleared path to their tower. 

"Good job!" Lia approached him, slapping his shoulders, leaning forward, and watching his crotch. "Oh... No flags are being raised today?"

"Ugh… stop it, Boss!" He flinched, turning red as a tomato, looking away while fidgeting in place. "Lady Aurora was… scary! I don't want to see her like that again!"

"Lady?" Lia giggled, "She? A lady? That is new… don't be intimidated by her! You need a strong backbone if you want to become a man!" She slapped his back again, "My dad wasn't afraid to talk back to my mom! She told me that when they first met, they were enemies!"

"Huh?" Keily flinched, his eyes growing twice their size as he turned towards her, facing Lia. 

"Yep! Mom ran into him early on and fought with him over some treasure! After beating dad down, he returned multiple times for revenge, and they were always fighting! Ultimately, Mom recruited him and… well, she had chosen him to be her husband!"

"Weird." Keily said, twitching his mouth, "My dad and mom were childhood lovers. Dad always told me how they grew up together. I didn't know enemies could become lovers…."

"It happens!" Lia said, opening her arms wide, "Love is the least predictable force in the Realm, as my mom used to say!" 

"I don't know how love works; I never felt it before," Keily replied after a brief thought.

"Me neither!" Lia shrugged, "I asked Koa, too, but she said she doesn't know; she wasn't in love before. She just likes feeling good. What about when it stands up? That isn't love, then?" She asked, making the young bunny boy panic again.

"It's… not! It's just… you know, a… body thing! It gets… excited and all, but it just wants to feel… happy… and... that is it!"

"Wanting to be happy is good!" Lia giggled, hugging him suddenly, "Good boy, good boy~ You worked hard! You will do just fine in the competition!" She whispered into his long, floppy ears. Lia's sweet scent and gentle, caressing voice made him shiver, and suddenly, Lia recognized the poking feeling assaulting her down below. "Ahahaha! I see, I see~ Now you are happy!"

"Boss… don't tease me, please!" He moaned but had no strength to escape Lia's embrace, who enjoyed regularly pushing him to the edge. 

…

….

……

"Are your people ready?" A calm, even voice asked, jolting Heliett out of her thoughts. She was standing in a garden, looking towards the sky, immersing herself in the falling snow. Turning towards the voice, she saw a thin, small-framed girl walking towards her. She wore the summer uniform of the 3rd-year students and had the emblem of fire and metal stitched to her vest. Her bright, orange-colored, curly hair was jumping up and down around her head like springs. As she looked at Heliett with her emerald-like eyes, she looked bigger for a moment than she really was. That feeling... always scared Heliett.

"Yes." She responded, turning towards her, gently bowing as a greeting.

"I doubt it," Palvina answered, walking through the snow that melted around her fair, white legs. "They are doubting you and, worse, themselves. But I'm not here to tell you how to lead your group." She continued with an unbothered even voice.

"I appreciate it if you would not," Heliett answered in the same tone but inside she was a bit annoyed. When Olivia approached her to offer help in ensuring their victory, she gladly accepted it. She was welcoming towards Palvina's presence as she was a strong fighter and someone who was a loyal follower of Olivia. She expected this to be a great way to connect with the strongest student in the Academy. To build bridges and get a truly powerful supporter. But then Palvina arrived. Her indifferent attitude and sharp tongue, criticizing Heliett's leadership qualities in the past weeks, were getting on her nerves. Especially because she did it before the others right out of the bat.

"Did you check on them yet?"

"Do you mean my sisters or our opponent?" Heliett asked, crossing her hands behind her back, facing the girl who was half a head shorter than she. 

"Both." Palvina tilted her head, unbothered by the cold air emanating from Heliett's eyes. 

"Why should I? On the one hand, they are my sisters. On the other hand, our opponents are 1st-year newbies. Except one. But we have greater numbers to tie him down."

"Sion was a proficient member of the Disciplinary Committee. He had the most strikes dealt out consistently while being a part of it. Plus, the System held them up when his targets tried to appeal against them. You could've easily found some people who would be glad to get a payback yet you did not make any steps towards it." 

"Are you worried we will lose?" Heliett asked, her icy look failing a little, furrowing her brows.

"I like nudging the odds to my side. I am here because my Lady asked me to come and lend you a hand. This is against the established rules of the Student Council. You are lucky there are some… special circumstances allowing it."

"I heard about it. But you won't tell me." Heliett snorted quietly, "But I can guess. Some of those idiots stepped on Olivia's toe. That is clear from one glance!"

"Something like that." Palvina nodded, "But I warned you many times already. Do not take them lightly! It won't be an easy fight! I am excited to go against them and have confidence in my strength. Unlike in yours..." She quickly added but continued before Heliett could speak, "They are a tricky bunch… and I am worried about you and your group's inadequacy in facing them."

"Your worries are noted; thank you very much," Heliett answered, and she would have blown her top if not for Palvina being who she was. 

"That is the problem. They are only noted down. You never looked them up, their strengths, weaknesses, nothing. You are too relaxed!"

"Strengths? What strengths? They are attending the Academy for only four months!" She laughed. "One of them is a complete newbie! The only one I would be worried about is their Overseer, but she won't be allowed to participate! Even if that Koa girl advanced, that means nothing!"

"Haaah…" Palvina simply shook her head after hearing her and turned around, "Well… if you fail, that is also good. Olivia will finally realize what I always told her." She walked away with firm steps, and even though Heliett couldn't see her face, she felt Palvina grinning with a savage aura coming off her body, "The best way to deal with people like that group of stuck-up snobs is to stomp their faces into the curb personally before everyone's eyes…."

Hearing her, Heliett flinched a little. Her aggressiveness was surprising, quick, and came from nowhere like a dormant volcano blowing its top. Heliett quickly realized she didn't really know her. She only knew that Palvina was someone who joined the Student Council after Olivia became its leader in name. She was close to her; some even said Palvina was either Olivia's lover or her student in the background. Maybe both. Not that it mattered anymore. The battle was coming soon, and she returned to focus on the falling snow. It was the best time to ponder on theories and collect energy for their showdown. She felt that Master Lauron pointed out this date to help them out. He was probably disgusted with how that… Koadriana acted before everyone, and they were given a chance to punish them. Everything was ready, and they would not fail.

…

….

…..

The day of their battle came very quickly. It was set to happen around noon, and by the time the Misfits arrived, Heliett's group was already standing nearby, huddled together, talking amongst themselves. 

"Um… isn't this a problem?" Raufon asked silently, "They are numbering… 23… no… 25?"

"And?" Lia chuckled, but Keily was already white in the face, counting, but he remained silent. "Some will stand to the side. The rest? Shrug it off!" She winked.

"I'll deal with them in groups." Aurora wrote, sending over her message, "Keep to our strategy. We reviewed all of their styles and recorded duels multiple times. It will be fine!"

"Yep." Sion added, confident and relaxed, "Aurora and I will pick off their numbers quickly, trust us! Just keep them from combining spells!"

"I know." Raufon sighed, "I'll be the bulldozer, running wild around them… I hope I'll be able to bear it!"

"We outfitted you with the most artifacts!" Koa grinned, slapping his arms, and it was true. 

Under his winter coat, Raufon was wearing multiple enchanted pieces of equipment: rings, bracelets, a vest, a belt, a pair of rugged boots, and even his underwear was enchanted. When they left their tower this morning, Lia said that Raufon was wearing around 20.000 CP worth of items. She considered if they should simply sell him as a whole instead of letting him go to battle. He was not the only one who was kitted out, of course; every one of them had a few rings on their fingers, hid behind an enchanted glove and other trinkets, covered by their coats or thick clothes and their enchanted vests. Surprisingly, Opparu was not against forging these 'toys,' as he called them, and he wasn't even charging them an astronomical price. But he did ask for some… photos of Koa. To nail them onto his workshop's wall. 

"I'll do my best!" Keily added, gulping, as this would be not just his first duel but his first ever battle in his whole life.

"Keep covering my back, and all will be fine!" Lia hugged him, encouraging the bunny boy, "Koa and I will deal with Heliett and that Palvina girl! You protect my buttocks from- Owie! Hey!" She flinched as Aurora pricked her bottom. 

"You spend too much time with Koa. Stop it." She wrote.

After finding out how cheeky Lia became, she exercised much stricter control over Lia and Keily's training, especially on the former, who turned out to be increasingly mischievous as the days went by. She was getting a sense of why Parthorn and his branch always said, Reyra was a tornado back then, wrecking everything around herself.

"I see everyone is punctual and came on time!" A laugh arrived as Lauron appeared in a bright flash, shaking up the snow around him. "I'm not a fan of making cute girls wait either~!" He said, looking at Heliett's group, enjoying the shy giggles coming from them, "Let's enter the arena! As the judge of this battle, I'll determine the playing field!" He clapped, his voice turning righteous, and he emanated a regal aura that formed heart-shaped lights in many of the girls present. "I expect a lovely show~" He smiled, increasing his charming presence.

"I'm surprised he wasn't fired as a teacher yet." Aurora wrote while Ceiline was the one who replied, her voice surprisingly shy, and a tinge of longing was palpable in it, making the others turn towards her with wonder.

"Why would he be…? He is an excellent teacher, and all who went for him asking for help received it unconditionally… He is brimming with the element of light. I would be happy to bask in it myself…."

"We need to get her a boyfriend." Koa whispered, "If not, we will lose her soon enough!"

"I can introduce you to brother Lala!" Lia laughed, already having plans, making Ceiline flinch, "After this is done, I'll arrange a date for you, nyahahaha! Let's go!" She stormed forward, entering the arena before Ceiline could reply, leaving a shy, stunned girl behind who wanted nothing more but to bury herself under the thick snow piles nearby.