The Four Trainers' Chaotic Compromise
So this was a romance fantasy after all. In the end, Seria's training helpers had been decided: Flam? Portus? Kalligo? Or maybe Rel?
"Look, Seria. It might look like butterflies, but at its core, it's still flames. You either make them blaze fiercely from the outside or gather the heat from within."
"We need to figure out why it took the form of butterflies first, Miss Seria. Only after understanding that can we address the elemental aspects."
"If the form has changed once, perhaps you can change it into something else entirely, Miss Seria. Forget pyrokinesis or butterflies. You might even break free of forms altogether, like me."
"The potential for growth is limitless, Seria. If you treat the butterflies not just as summons but as living beings, you could assign them as your main attackers while honing your body for other strike methods."
All four of them. This was the compromise those four guys had settled on. Thanks to them, Seria's expression grew more and more tangled as she listened to four completely different opinions.
At least if they'd shared some common ground, she could have pieced them together into a direction. But with everyone saying something different, she had no clue where to start.
And the funny part? Even as they spouted this nonsense, the four were eyeing each other warily. If one said this was right, another would claim it was wrong. If one praised this approach, moments later they'd flip and say that one was better instead.
Seria was kind-hearted by nature. But that didn't make her stupid. Within a day of this mess, she declared to the four men:
"Just drop it, all of you."
"Miss Seria?"
"You all say different things! You're so busy watching each other that we've wasted a whole day for nothing! We need to get serious starting tomorrow!"
In a way, it was predictable. None of them had ever actually taught anyone before. Their enthusiasm was running way ahead of them. Alone, they might have taken it slow, but with four piling on, even that was impossible.
Facing Seria's anger head-on for the first time left all four stunned. Was it mere surprise, or the shock of seeing fury from someone they absolutely couldn't afford to disappoint? Either way, it must have hit them hard in all sorts of ways.
I absolutely can't get tangled up in that.
The moment those guys saw him as a rival, nothing could be more exhausting. That side was a romance fantasy. He wanted to keep this side at least in the ability-user genre. Even if that proved impossible, as long as he didn't fit just into their mold, Abel figured that would be fine.
No—he was convinced of it.
"Hi, Abel."
"Abel. Hello."
"Hey."
In the midst of that, the sudden arrival of the twin duchesses spiked Abel's sense of foreboding.
"What brings you two here?"
"We told you. Abel's joining the fight."
"We told you. We're going too."
At the twin duchesses' words, Abel recalled a recent conversation. Sure enough, the sisters had invited him to go together. He'd assumed it had fizzled out since nothing more had come of it afterward.
And understandably so. These weren't ordinary noble ladies—they were duchesses from the Winter Duchy. By imperial standards, they were princesses; by kingdom standards, even higher. Direct descendants of the ruling elite. No way their homeland would allow it.
It wasn't unreasonable to expect their resolve would be quashed.
"You're really going? You got permission?"
"Yeah. We did."
"The duchy didn't try to stop you?"
"We told them about you, Abel."
"...Pardon?"
He'd asked about permission, so why was he suddenly part of the story? A vague unease surged, but before he could dwell, someone else jumped in.
"Abel? Who are those two over there?"
Seria, having just chewed out the four men, approached Abel but stopped short upon spotting them first.
"Oh, Miss Seria. These two are from the Winter Duchy... Wait a second—what are you two doing right now?"
"..."
"..."
Sure enough, as Seria drew near, Irshu and Tarshu ducked behind Abel. No—upon closer look, it wasn't hiding so much as intense wariness. Like young snow leopards guarding their prey. Each had latched onto one of Abel's hands, glaring daggers at Seria from behind him.
Seria seemed to sense it wasn't mere shyness. She didn't approach further but kept trying to continue the conversation with Abel—that was proof enough.
"Are you from the Winter Duchy?"
"They're the duchesses. New students like us, apparently."
"Huh... That's weird. I hadn't heard anything about that."
"That's because they haven't shown their faces much outside of lectures!"
In the midst of it, Kalligo shot his hand up like he was making an announcement, then flashed a smug grin—as if boasting to Flam, Portus, and Rel, I've got the lead on you guys.
Romance fantasy indeed. Even a proper prince turns into an idiot in the blink of an eye.
Abel shook his head and continued the introductions.
"You two—this is Miss Seria. She's from the Ascal Kingdom with me. Miss Seria? These are... uh."
Irshu or Tarshu? How the hell was he supposed to tell them apart? With their auras identical too, it was hopeless.
As Abel hemmed and hawed, the twins took the initiative.
"Irshu."
"Tarshu."
The duchesses on either side of Abel stated their names in turn. To Seria, they looked identical, sounded identical—even their auras matched. It felt like staring into a mirror.
"Hold on, Abel. Are the Winter Duchy duchesses joining us too?"
"That's the plan."
"But it's dangerous."
"And those guys aren't heading into the same danger?"
One was an imperial prince. One the son of the southern republic's prime minister. The other two were practically heirs to heads of state. If they were set on fighting the Ability Supremacists, what right did he have to tell the duchesses no?
Seria scratched her cheek, realizing her question sounded off now that she'd asked it. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure why she felt this way.
"...Nice to meet you both. I'm Seria."
She offered her hand first, but Irshu and Tarshu stayed on high alert. They eyed her suspiciously, glancing back and forth between her and Abel.
Finally, fed up, Abel stepped aside—and only then did Irshu grasp Seria's hand. Well, "grasp" was generous; she just barely hooked fingers and shook.
No mistaking it—they were definitely wary of each other. Why, when they'd just met today? The Ascal Kingdom and Winter Duchy had zero overlap. Even a Ragem Kingdom native might react that way, but this? Bizarre.
Ah. Maybe because they have opposing ability types?
It was the only explanation that fit. Same with Flam and Portus. Seria wielded pyrokinesis—flame-based, even if evolved into butterflies. Irshu and Tarshu had cryokinesis. Abel recalled hearing that wielders of opposing elements tended to clash unless they were close friends.
If they ended up working together later, best to keep those three apart. No synergy—just mutual weakening, a straight-up debuff.
And that thought would prove decisive in the team assignments decided an hour later.
A big group charging in en masse would just scream "we're coming for you" to the enemy. So the academy instructed participants to form teams of four to five. Small enough for stealth, tough enough to withstand ambushes. The faculty's foresight in mandating balanced compositions—offense, defense, support—was spot-on.
Students grouped with like-minded allies for the battle. Abel, who'd considered going solo, found it regrettable. But facing another powerhouse like Jureung alone would be idiotic.
So he added the twin duchesses—who'd insisted on joining from the start—to his team list first. Quiet, no ego clashes, and a massive boost to firepower. Perfect teammates. And he got two for one.
Who for the last spot?
Lumine would have fit perfectly, but she wasn't joining. As Abel pondered, an unexpected issue dropped in his lap.
"I want in on your team too, Abel."
"Miss Seria?"
Seria—who should've naturally joined the four guys—boldly made her demand. Abel was surprised enough, but the other four? Total pandemonium.
"Miss Seria! Abel's team already has cryokinesis users! It'll be zero help to each other!"
"Kalligo's right. Water and fire can cover each other somewhat, but pyrokinesis and cryokinesis? Worst matchup possible."
It was a bolt from the blue for them, who'd assumed she'd stick with their group. Abel couldn't decide if her joining meant good or bad for the romance-fantasy flow.
In the end, on the day the ability users slipped out of the academy in secret...
What the hell is this now?
Abel endured the four men's glares as he set out with Seria and the two duchesses.