Midterm Results and a Midnight Summons

"Cielian's first place, as expected."

Each of us held our midterm report cards. A few points' difference on the paper was enough to send the class's moods soaring or crashing.

We were no different as we compared scores among ourselves—though the swings were milder for us than for the rest. Yuri already knew her practical scores lagged behind, and Anne knew her written scores did the same. Neither had expected a high ranking to begin with. The practicals simply carried more weight, so Anne sat a little higher than Yuri.

And Cielian? She was the perfect student—proficient in both academics and combat—acknowledged by classmates and professors alike. She had taken first in both written and practical exams, securing the top spot for the entire Swordsmanship Department.

As for me?

With Cielian around, I had given up on first place halfway through the term. But grades still mattered if I wanted that scholarship. Rankings varied a little by subject, yet when everything was tallied, I sat right behind her in second place overall.

Finals still loomed, but this was more than enough to aim for a solid scholarship—if not a full ride.

"By the way, what's with the cat?"

"Mm... no idea? I don't really know much about Meow either."

Anne asked about the cat perched on my lap. Meow had grown friendly enough that she now padded over the moment she spotted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me and claimed my thighs as her throne. Still, I knew nothing about her true identity—who kept her, where she lived. All I could guess from her glossy coat was that she ate well.

Her wariness of me had almost vanished, which meant it was time to try again. The forbidden technique no cat could resist. Last time I failed because of her lingering caution and my own rusty strength control after so long without a cat to pet.

I stroked her slowly, carefully, from head to the tip of her tail. She must never sense my true goal.

I am an assassin. An assassin must be able to hold still for days on end, and never miss the single, fleeting chance when it comes. So I waited for that one perfect opening.

And at last it arrived.

"Prrrr..."

A low, quiet, utterly helpless purr. My technical touch had melted every last bit of tension from her body. I did not waste the instant.

Pat.

I gave her rear a light, crisp smack.

Startled, Meow shot her tail straight up and tried to leap free—but I was a former assassin and an aspiring Sword Master. A cat's physical gifts were nowhere near enough to escape my hands.

Pat.

Before she could bolt from my arms I smacked her rear again. Then another, and another, and another.

Quick enough that she never found an opening, yet gentle—power drained from my hands, only the snap of my wrists delivering soft, rapid pats.

Her resistance was adorable. The first smack made her try to flee my lap. The second drew a sharp "Myaa!" The third earned me a light nibble on the thigh.

But on the fourth, even feline instinct surrendered. She could no longer fight back; she only kneaded my thighs with soft, clawless paws, completely out of it.

Yes. This is it!

Thrilled, I switched to both hands and unleashed a full barrage of rear pats.

I only stopped when I noticed my friends staring at me in silent, bone-deep disgust.

I wanted more, but today this would have to do. I was satisfied, and the limp, sprawled Meow looked satisfied too.

See? She was gazing up at me with a contented face—

Smack!

—and then she slapped me across the cheek and fled into the distance.

Why?! You were enjoying it too!

"Well... El did go a little overboard."

Yuri comforted me as I stretched a hand toward the direction Meow had vanished, tasting the fresh sting of heartbreak. Only Yuri truly understood me.

Meanwhile Cielian was looking at me... and if her gaze seemed to linger on my own rear, that was surely just my imagination. Yes. Definitely.

"Ugh... Ian scored higher than me... This is humiliation."

Anne seemed far more crushed by ranking below her little brother than by my getting slapped by a cat.

For the record, Ian's scores put him near the top of the class. His practical marks were a touch lower than Anne's, but his written scores crushed hers. Almost no one scored lower than Anne on the written exams to begin with.

"Come to think of it, Ian and Anne are twins, yet they barely look alike."

The mention of Ian reminded me how hard it was to find any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resemblance between them. Red hair, maybe? Their weapons, fighting styles, Aura, even body types were completely different. Their faces shared some features, but the sheer difference in build made it hard to notice.

"You think so? Well, we are fraternal twins."

"I have an older brother too... but we're nothing alike. Unlike me, my brother is..."

Yuri's voice grew a little heavy. With a Sword Master for a father, she had surely been compared to her brother from every direction.

Yuri trained hard—every day she swung her sword, and she never hesitated to ask questions or seek guidance from professors and even from us. Yet despite all that effort, her skill simply refused to grow. It pained me to think it, but she truly had not inherited her father's talent. If she had received even a fraction of it, she would have long since surpassed her current level.

"Cielian! What about you? You have an older brother too, right?"

Anne quickly turned to Cielian to lift the gloomy mood. From the intel I had seen during that assassination attempt, the Deretia family had one older brother above Cielian. As a Hero lineage he was a decent swordsman, but nothing that made waves. That was why the family's hopes rested on Cielian—the strongest candidate for Hero.

"Well... there's quite an age gap between me and my older brother. When I was little I always tried to copy everything he did."

If I remembered right, her brother was about five years older. An Academy graduate as well.

"Come to think of it, everyone here has a brother..."

Anne had a younger brother; Yuri and Cielian had older ones. Sisters would not have been strange, yet every one of them only had brothers.

"El has a little brother too—ah...!"

Yuri started to say something, then froze and clapped both cute hands over her mouth in shock.

"S-sorry..."

?

I tilted my head, then the pieces clicked. The fabricated background of Elicia Frentz.

The Frentz family had been wiped out in a demon raid years ago. The sole survivor of that attack was supposed to be me—Elicia Frentz. That was the cover story the assassin guild had crafted.

In other words, every Frentz except Elicia was dead—including her younger brother, Jeno Frentz.

Yuri had been close to Elicia since childhood, so she would have known Jeno as well. The words she had bitten back just now must have been about him.

"It's fine. That was more than ten years ago, and I barely remember any of it now."

If the topic dragged on I might slip up. So I brushed it aside with a vague answer.

Anne and Cielian already knew the Frentz tragedy; they had caught Yuri's slip. Whether out of consideration or not, Anne took my hand.

"El! How about coming to my house over summer break? It'll be fun, I promise!"

Unlike them, who had homes to return to, I would be left alone in the dorms. The invitation was thoughtful. A little awkward, but I had no real reason to refuse.

"Sounds good? I'm already looking forward to it."

"Um... please come to my house as well."

Cielian took my other hand. Having accepted Anne's invitation, I had no grounds to turn her down either.

"Sure. I'd be grateful for the invite."

"Then how about we split the break and stay at everyone's houses in turn? If El comes to mine, maybe some old memories will come back?"

Yuri piled on with her own idea. I felt a little sorry, but visiting her house would not magically summon memories that never existed.

And so, having only just finished midterms, we were already making summer-break plans.

We were still noisily debating whose house to visit first when I spotted a paper airplane gliding toward us from far down the corridor. Whoever had thrown it, the thing flew with uncanny steadiness—never wobbling, never dipping toward the floor. In fact it flew so perfectly that the complete lack of descent felt unnatural.

Tap.

After its long flight the paper airplane bonked lightly against my forehead, lost its power, and fluttered to the ground.

It did not hurt, but I rubbed my brow anyway and picked up the fallen plane.

I glanced around; no owner came looking for it.

The moment it settled in my hand, however, the paper airplane unfolded itself of its own accord.

What had been a plane was now a letter.

Before midterms I had helped with several experiments, starting with the first acceleration-magic trial. During the exam period she had left me alone—consideration, perhaps. Now that midterms were over, the boss was summoning me again after the long break.

Until now every magic experiment had been scheduled no later than evening. Tonight she wanted me at night. She had even cleared it with the school... Between that and the way she had skipped class for a nap last time, our boss was clearly no ordinary Magic Department student. Roughly the Magic Department's version of Cielian, maybe?

"What is it? What is it?"

"Ah, someone I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know is calling for me."

"Do you have to go right now?"

"No. She wants me around ten, so there's no rush."

"Ten? That's right when dorm curfew hits. Who on earth is calling you at that hour?"

I could have told them the truth without real trouble, yet somehow I hesitated to say "my boss." If I admitted I was working because I needed meal money, my kind friends would only fuss over me. Nothing wrong with that, but it was not a topic I wanted to open first. So I scrambled for a way to introduce Freesia without the word "boss."

"Huh? Who? Who is it?"

Anne peppered me with questions, determined to hear the answer. Under the pressure of her relentless prodding, one of the titles I had been mulling over slipped out of my mouth.

"My master...?"

Crack.

Cielian, who had been trying to restrain Anne from shaking me, snapped her head toward me with terrifying speed. Had I just heard something frightening?

"Eh..."

Yuri's face had gone bright ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠red. Why was she reacting like that?

"Wh-what? M-master?!"

Anne's hands clamped on my shoulders again and shook me harder than before. Ah. Hearing the word "master" spoken aloud finally let me grasp exactly what they were imagining.

Better to reveal my finances than leave that misunderstanding standing. So I explained "master" to my friends.

"It's not what you're thinking. I'm just getting paid a little, that's all."

My clarification only made Anne thrash my shoulders more violently. Yuri's face turned so red it looked ready to burst; she buried her head completely. Cielian stared at me with eyes so round they could not possibly open any wider.

Uh... Cielian? Your eyes are completely unfocused and it's a little scary. Could you make some kind of expression? No, wait—if you smile with those eyes it'll be even scarier. Just stay like that. No, please stay exactly like that. I'm begging you.

In the end it took more than an hour of persuasion before I finally managed to clear up their misunderstanding.