Soul of a Human

Now, while the teachers were on edge, the students were mostly oblivious. Some new rumors had sprouted because some students claimed to have witnessed the whole thing but, in reality, peacefully slept through the whole commotion. Also, the teachers, in accordance with the headmaster, were not inclined to tell the whole truth because the appearance of a Shadow-kin would lead to panic.

Instead, the teachers would not outright deny the more popular rumors of an attempted kidnapping from a commoner that was stopped by the celebrity commoner Mor or a nightly rendezvous between the princess and the commoner. This rumor of forbidden love was very popular with the female students.

Mor, on his part, continued to stay overly nervous and often jumped at shadows, the regular kind. Still, life and lessons had to go on, and while most were the usual things every Soul-kin had to know to be a functioning part of society, one lesson was very interesting to Mor. The lesson revolved around measuring your reservoir capacity accurately.

°That one would have been great to have earlier…° The human complained, and Mor agreed.

°I mean, we had a good workaround.° He answered.

°Yeah, but constantly draining your reservoir and wasting time… Nothing against practice, but after using the same spell over and over again, there's no possible further improvement.° The human continued.

°True enough. Then we better pay attention.° Mor said, needlessly, because they had to pay attention even if they wouldn't want to because this was a test-relevant subject.

The technique itself was ridiculously easy, and both Mor and the human lamented how they didn't think of it. You had to "move" your magic inside your body and "feel" how much you can move versus how much stays dormant. Then, a bit of calculating, and you get an almost perfect knowledge of which spell you can use how often—at least if you know the magic consumption of said spell.

While Mor was paranoid about the Shadow-kin, he was also under "attack" from a wholly different direction, which often led the human to laugh. This "attack" came from Tiara and Saphine, who both tried to garner more of his attention and possibly affection. However, they underestimated Mor's dense defenses.

It was also not helpful that both girls chose different tactics but did not state their intentions directly. Saphine chose to support Mor and often dragged him to study with her, though she quickly had to accept that he was much more intelligent than her. Therefore, instead of learning together, Mor often tutored Saphine. Still, she used her charms to the best of her ability and tried to win Mor's affection by supplying self-made snacks.

Tiara, on the other hand, wasn't big on academic betterment. Instead, he preferred to chat with Mor about his "adventures" and brainstorm interesting uses of magic and new spells. She also had the distinct advantage of spending more time with Mor because he was still her bodyguard, which she took full advantage of.

Still, no matter how sweet or cute the gestures were, their advances seemingly went over Mors's head. For him, they were only opening up and being better friends without the whole "status thing" standing between them. This was also the reason for Clare's new rule, as Tiara had once been annoyed enough at a "failed" attempt to try handling things more directly.

The school year went on without further hiccups, just as the Shadow-kin had promised. No attempts at capturing the princess were made, but every day they got closer to the end of the school year, Mor's paranoia rose, as did the girls' clinginess and the human's annoyance at missed opportunities to tease Mor.

°Come on! You can't be that dense!° The human complained.

°What do you mean?° Mor asked with a sigh.

°I mean, the girls! Tiara and Saphine.° The human lamented.

°What about them?° Mor continued his questioning.

°Holy shit! Are you retarded? Do I have to spell it out for you?° The human grumbled. °I feel sorry for them both.°

Mor let out another sigh. °I know, I know. I was just annoying you. As a little revenge for your usual pranks.°

°Wait what? I didn't do nuthin!° The human said.

°And what about last week? Because of you, I drank some ink. It wasn't funny taking control of my hand while I was distracted.° Mor grumbled.

°Come on, that was funny. Saphines look was priceless when she noticed that you drank from the inkwell instead of your water.° The human giggled at the memory.

°And what about the tree incident? Some people are still calling me a failed lumberjack!° Mor continued.

°Oh, yeah. That was also a good one, but you must admit, Tiara's worrying care after you ran against that tree was pretty nice.° The human stated.

°I didn't run against the tree! You fucking squatter made me!° Mor ranted.

°Yeah, yeah. But we're missing the point! Are you saying you understand the girls' advances? It doesn't go over your head?° The human questioned.

°I might be slow in romantic things, but even I could not miss those blatant attempts. How stupid do you think I am?° Mor stated.

°Do you really, really want an answer to that?° The human asked, challenging.

°No, shut it parasite.° Mor grumbled.

°Then back to the girls, why aren't you reciprocating their advances? Don't you want to give them a chance?° The human asked.

°I don't know, this is so surreal. I mean, I'm a commoner, and now two of the most influential girls of Soul-kin society want to have a relationship with me? I can't believe it! I think it's a crush, from high excitement situations and nothing more.° Mor admitted.

°Maybe, but isn't it unfair to lead them on like this? You should tell them about your concerns or shut them down if you don't like any of them.° The human recommended.

°That's not it. I mean, they are both putting in so much effort and honestly are both cute, though Saphine has an advantage in her looks, ° Mor confessed.

°Yeah, a few pounds more, and she's a real beauty, but seeing her progress outside of the students' robes and in more body-fitting leisure clothes is something else. I can understand your sentiment.° The human agreed. °More the reason, to talk with them, before your attitude straines your friendship.°

°I guess you're right.° Mor agreed, then stumbled over his own feet and landed face-first on the ground.

°Why did you do that?° He cussed at the human.

°Revenge for trying to trick me into thinking you're the king of denseness, ° the human retorted smugly.

Grumbling and cursing his "partner," Mor went to search for the girls, starting at their shared room and getting lucky. Clare opened the door after Mor knocked and invited him in, where Mor noticed Tiara and Saphine were sitting at the common desk, working on their respective homework.

°Shit! We forgot that!° The human stated, after looking at Saphines work.

°I didn't, and we still have time.° Mor said calmly.

When Mor entered and got closer, the two girls stopped and looked at him.

"Hi Mor!" Tiara greeted him first. "Are you here to visit me?"

"Don't you think he would have asked Clare to get you if he wanted to spend time with you alone?" Saphine sighed.

"Mor, could you help me with this?" Saphine added, patting invitingly on the chair next to her.

°Round one! Fight!° The human chuckled, slightly confusing Mor, as he didn't plan to fight with the girls.

Mor sat down next to Saphine, and instantly, Tiara scooted over, trapping him between the girls. Mor took a quick glance at the question, then sighed as Tiara stretched her upper body and arms, taking a deep breath in the process, and pushing out her chest with obvious intent.

°Yup, she just wanted to show off, that not only Saphine's body had changed, even if her progress isn't as big.° The human agreed with Mor's assessment.

"This won't work," Mor said, and Saphine, surprised, looked at the answer to the homework question.

"Why? I have to start with that formula, don't I?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm not talking about the homework," Mor stated.

"I'm talking about both of you. I appreciate your effort, and you're both adorable. Every man could be happy to have you by his side." Mor began.

°Whatever you want to say next… don’t!° The human shouted alarmed.

"But are you sure? Isn't your infatuation with me only a short-lived crush?"

°No. No. No. Shut up! You can still salvage this!° The human tried and was again ignored.

"I mean, I don't want you to regret a relationship that would condemn you to a life as commoners. You're both noble ladies, and I'm just a commoner… and will stay one." Mor stated, and there was a short silence, followed by a smack and a groan, as Clare had facepalmed with quite a bit of force.

°Dear passengers, Flight M.O.R-Id-10T has experienced a catastrophic engine failure. Please get ready for a crash landing.° The human lamented, and at first, Mor didn't understand.

He waited for an answer from the girls, but their faces went through many emotions until both settled on the same one. Outrage.

"Do you think so little of us!?" Tiara started.

"I thought better of you!" Saphine added.

"You think we are so shallow and give in to a crush because big hero Mor saved us?" Tiara continued, and Mor got defensive.

"Of course not, I…" He started and was interrupted.

"You only thought about our future and how it would be impacted if we chose a commoner!" Saphine shouted. "Aren't you thoughtful? Get off your entitlement! This is our decision!"

"Yes! Saphine is right. You're an idiot!" Tiara added.

°Told ya.° The human sighed.

"Wait! Let me expl…" Mor tried to get an explanation in.

"You want to explain yourself?! Then firstly, think about what you said!" Tiara continued, interrupting Mor.

"But!" Mor tried again.

"Nothing, "but" you're a barbaric, stupid, tactless commoner!" Saphine shouted, and now Clare intervened.

She grabbed Mor by the scruff of his robe and hauled him outside the room.

"You all need to calm down," she said, then looked at Mor disapprovingly and growled. And you idiot, think about what you have done!"

After that, she violently closed the door.

°What did I do?° Mor asked, confused.

°You, my dear piece of osmium, are an idiot.° The human lamented.