Chapter 35 - She is our master!

I dispersed my sword and walked back towards the general students. Achil flew up towards Emilia, who was still fighting the serpent. Since the serpent’s master was still encapsulated in ice, she couldn’t command her summon, so the battle was over.

When I arrived, I made a bed out of mana and collapsed. With my tense nerves finally relaxed, the injuries I’d sustained from experimenting with lightning caused me to faint. Before I lost consciousness, I instructed Emilia to handle the rest. Seeing her nod, I drifted off to sleep while the Vertical Rolls stood beside me.

* * * *

Following Lumina-sama’s order, I left the serpent to Achil and flew in front of Principal Gabriel.

“Since my master is resting, I, Emilia Sluga Chem, will negotiate on her behalf.”

Principal Gabriel looked at me with a mystified expression. In response, I bowed to him.

“Principal Gabriel, now that we have won the duel, any further persecution against my master is unwarranted.”

His face reddened, and he turned away without a word. Pax-sama, Ciel-sama, and Maxwell-sama flew towards Carlos-sama and began conversing.

I looked at George-sensei and made a mana screen appear in front of him.

“George-sensei, are there no more announcements to be made?”

“No. The only reason Principal Gabriel summoned all of you was to humiliate your master.”

“Is that so?”

I tilted my head, a habit I picked up from spending so much time with Lumina-sama.

“He’s the one who forced all the primary general students’ teachers to resign... though I think you already know about it.”

“Yes, I’ve heard the rumors.”

George-sensei nodded.

“Are you going to stay here, George-sensei?”

“Yes, I’ll stay in touch with you from here. I have a feeling he’ll make another announcement that won’t include the general students. I’ll stay to relay any information to you.”

“Thank you very much, George-sensei.”

George-sensei smiled broadly and said, “It’s nothing. Like the others, I became her servant the day Lumina-sama decided to teach her classmates magic. Since you’ve been serving her from day one, this makes me your subordinate too. So don’t worry.”

I gave a wry smile in response and headed to Lumina-sama. As I walked, I felt the Elite Magic Students staring at me. Since I was Lumina-sama’s servant, I ignored their glares and walked on.

“Ummm… Emilia, what should we do now?”

When I reached Lumina-sama, who was still asleep, Liza approached me.

“Well, I honestly don’t know. Normally, Lumina-sama would give me an order on what to do next. However…”

I glanced at Lumina-sama, and Liza, understanding my look, nodded.

“For now, let’s return to the sky and set up a temporary canteen there. If the Principal makes an announcement, George-sensei will relay the information to me.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Liza nod meekly, I felt an urge to pat her head. However, given her noble status, it would be rude. The only reason I could speak to her as an equal was because I was their senior as a servant. Patting her head would be pushing it. Though, when I saw Lumina-sama pat her head, I felt a pang of jealousy.

I pushed those thoughts aside and instructed the general students to return to the sky. They nodded and one by one flew up. As I was about to leave, Eclara approached me.

“Are you going back?”

“Yes. We’ll be in the same place as last night.”

As I answered, I noticed her eyes darting nervously. It seemed she wanted to say something, so I waited.

“Then… umm… since I’m also her servant… should I come with you?”

I pondered before answering.

“No, I don’t think you should.”

“… Why?”

“It’s because you are a Magic Student, Eclara. You still need to stay here, unlike us. Don’t worry about Lumina-sama; she’ll understand why you didn’t follow her.”

“… but…”

“It’s okay. Since you’re her servant, she wouldn’t want you to get into trouble because of her. So, it’s fine if you stay here with Michael and Shin.”

With a reluctant air, she accepted my explanation and bowed. Seeing her bow felt complicated, but as she was my junior, it was normal.

As a result of her bow, the Magic Students’ glares intensified. However, thanks to my time with Lumina-sama, my ability to ignore them was second only to hers.

I, along with Liza and Achil, who returned after Liza’s younger twin sister recalled her serpent, was about to fly away when another person stopped us. This time, it was Shin.

“Hey, is Lumina okay?”

His informal address made me frown.

“Lumina-sama is fine. You don’t need to worry about her.”

“Really? Then, just to make sure, I’ll go with you and help with the healers.”

“… No.”

Having him help with the healing would benefit Lumina-sama greatly due to his immense mana. If I compared my mana to his, mine would be a cup while his was a great lake. Moreover, he attended the magic students’ classes, implying he could cast high-level spells. Still, my answer was no. His casual address felt too relaxed, despite being an acquaintance.

“Why!?”

He exclaimed in surprise.

I pointed to Michael and said, “You’re not her servant; you’re his ‘servant’. As a servant, you need to stay with your master as much as possible. Since he can’t leave this place, you can’t come with us.”

He widened his eyes and reluctantly nodded. Slouching, he returned to his master.

Feeling he would be the last, I started walking up to the sky when…

“Wait!”

On my third step, I heard a loud shout from behind. I turned to see Carlos-sama and Liza’s younger twin sisters flying towards us. Given his status as the heir to one of the most influential families in the kingdom, I resolved to be respectful.

I, Liza, and Achil bowed to Carlos-sama when he arrived. He looked at the three of us before speaking.

“All of you are her followers, right?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and said, “Then, can you tell me what her surname is? From our duel, I surmised her family must be quite famous. So, what is her last name?”

I hesitated to answer and looked back at Liza and then at Achil. Both were equally unsure.

“Hurry up and tell me!” Carlos-sama urged, becoming agitated.

Liza took a deep breath, flew in front of me, and placed her left hand on her chest. Her face showed resolve.

“Carlos-sama, I am Liza Sluga Chem, and like her, I am a follower of the person you dueled against.”

He raised an eyebrow as one of the twins whispered to him.

“So, you’re the elder sister of these two. Since you’re their elder sister, why didn’t you become my follower?”

Liza bowed deeply and said, “I was abandoned by my father when he learned my mana capacity was low, Carlos-sama. As evidence, the uniform I wear isn’t the same as yours.”

“Since you’re able to fly, this means you managed to increase your mana capacity while staying here at the academy, right? If so, why didn’t you go to the Principal and show him you can now perform spells beyond the basic level?”

“You are mistaken, Carlos-sama. We didn’t increase our mana capacity. Lumina-sama taught us magic, and because of that, we became her servants. It’s not just me; even Achil, Anthony, Mary, and Victoria became her servants in gratitude for what she did.”

Carlos-sama furrowed his brows and asked, “Tell me what she taught you.”

Since Lumina-sama didn’t instruct us to keep it secret, I decided to explain.

“She taught us how to control our mana and enhance it with the mana in the environment. She also taught us how to apply it to our spells. Even in battle, the spells she used were only basic.”

“….”

“The weapons we wield are made of mana. Victoria discovered them, and the general students learned about them. We call this ‘Ethereal Shift’, Carlos-sama.”

“….”

“She has given us so much, and for that, she deserves our loyalty.”

Carlos-sama closed his eyes and said, “I see…”

When he opened his eyes again, he asked Liza, “Then tell me, what is her surname?”

“Her surname is Chis Chiem. According to her, she’s from a low-ranking noble family that lives near the border, Carlos-sama.”

“What!?”

Carlos-sama’s exclamation was loud and shocked.

“You’re lying. Tell me the truth.”

“I’m not lying. What I told you is the truth.”

Carlos-sama fell silent and then turned his back to us.

“Then tell her this: Because she’s from a low-ranking noble family, we will meet again in the near future. However, our relationship will be different.”

“… What do you mean?”

As Liza tried to get clarification, he quickly descended without answering. The twins waved at Liza before following him. She waved back.

Once their silhouettes disappeared, she sighed heavily.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “I’m pretty sure Lumina-sama wouldn’t want to meet him again.”

“That’s true… but still, he said ‘near future’.”

“Yeah…”

“Is there something wrong with the near future?”

Liza looked at

Achil with sympathetic eyes and said, “It’s because Lumina-sama is bad with names. I’m sure she’ll forget who Carlos-sama is.”

“… So, the reason why she doesn’t call Anthony by his name is because….”

“She has trouble remembering names. Also…”

Seeing Liza struggle, I added, “If she doesn’t see you for even a day, she might forget who you are too, Achil.”

Achil’s face turned pale as he understood what I meant.

“Then I shall do my best to see her every day so she won’t forget me!”

“That’s too bad…”

“Why!?”

“Did you forget what Lumina-sama said?”

Achil closed his eyes, trying to remember. Then he gave up and urged me.

“She said the Principal would announce the suspension of school.”

“Emilia’s right. Didn’t we tell her this morning that we’d go to her house? At most, I think we’ll see her in about a month.”

“Then….”

I walked up to Achil and rubbed his back.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to make Lumina-sama remember your names.”

“Thanks…”