Nagisa's Revenge
Leden noticed us glancing his way. I told him to ignore us and focus on his paper, but it seemed to bother him quite a bit anyway. Ignoring the furtive stares prickling the back of my neck, I gestured for the two in front of me to sit.
"Sit."
From my view, Igneel plopped down on the right chair. Her red hair and vertical-pupiled yellow eyes made a fierce impression, and Volga's scales on her cheek sparkled in the light. On the left sat the tall, muscular athletic girl. Nagisa. Her tanned skin exuded healthy vitality, and the black hair she'd recently grown swayed prettily against her shoulders. She looked a bit different now that she'd switched from the boys' uniform to the girls'.
Igneel hopped onto her chair and shot a look not at me, but at Nagisa.
"Long time no see, flat-face muscle freak."
"Instructor. Why'd you call this lizard here?"
"That's what I want to know. How come a guy who couldn't care less about fights sticks his mug in?"
"Now I get why the instructor wants info on that senior. Still dragging other people's lives into your personal beef?"
"It's not like we can afford to lose any more. A few sacrifices are unavoidable."
"Then why not stake your own life?"
"Someone's gotta take the leader spot!"
"Blah blah blah. Instructor? This lizard's a masochist too. Shall we develop her?"
"W-what? You cheeky human! And aren't you the one with something going on?"
Igneel's face flushed as red as her hair, and she suddenly grabbed Nagisa's skirt, flapping it wildly. Nagisa's white panties flashed from under the fluttering hem. Nagisa flinched and pressed her skirt down hard.
"W-what the hell, doing that in front of guys."
"What's with this skirt you never wore before? Struttin' around like a dude, then suddenly wanna be a girl?"
"Let go! My panties are showing!"
Ahem—Leden hurriedly averted his eyes, looking like he wanted to bolt but couldn't find the timing. Meanwhile, Igneel yanked Nagisa's hair too.
"And what's with this hair? Ditching your old style to grow it out? Think that makes you a girl?"
"I said let go! Before I roast you into lizard kebab."
"Ha! Now I get it. You wanna look girly for that pervert human, huh?"
This time Nagisa's face turned beet red. She shoved Igneel's head and chest. Nagisa looked stronger by build, but dragon blood apparently packed extra punch—they were evenly matched.
"W-what do you mean 'look girly'? I just tried a new image!"
"Nailed it! This girl's totally fallen for the pervert human!"
"I said no! You gum-stuck pest."
"W-what? G-gum-stuck? I got stuff if I strip too! Quit groping my tits!"
Argh, damn it. My head throbbed. I hadn't said a word yet, and they were already this noisy. I stood and pulled them apart.
"Enough! I figured you two were strangers, but you're not just acquaintances—you're sworn enemies."
"Instructor. This lizard's the type to ditch her tail if things go south. Don't get close."
"It was a shitty choice. Can't lose the whole group saving one."
"Then how do you think the survivors feel? More pain than anyone."
"Who doesn't know that! Then help us out!"
"I said both of you, stop!"
In the end, the best move was shoving their chairs apart. With them on either side of me, I finally continued the talk.
"Your old beef's your business, not mine. But no yelling fights in front of me. Do it again, and I'll spank both your asses."
"Tch."
"Hmph."
At least they calmed a bit, so I could steer the conversation. Before it flared up again, I signaled Nagisa.
"Nagisa. I've kept my promise to protect you. Your turn."
Several items floated up from the bag Nagisa had brought. They drifted lazily into the air, then slowly toward me, settling lightly in my hand. A small, crumpled note and a wand snapped nearly in half.
I eyed the wand suspiciously, then read the note.
"Melmes. Killed by runaway carriage. 20:35."
It was a terse note with just the essentials, but far from ordinary. I glanced at Nagisa and handed the note to Igneel.
"What's this?"
"Exactly what it looks like. An assassination request note."
"I figured that much. What's it got to do with Ios?"
"That note went to Ios and a few under her."
"...Sorry, but no Ios on it, and that's not enough to pin—"
"That wand."
I looked down at the wand in my hand. Snapped halfway, dangling uselessly.
"That's Melmes's wand."
"Wait... Who's Melmes...?"
"Melmes was a high-ranking diplomat. From a magician background, maintaining ties and peace between the kingdom and the magic world." The answer came from inside Leden's lab. Sena hopped down from the rocking chair facing away from us. I'd noticed her sitting silently, reading without a sound, but Igneel and Nagisa jumped up in shock.
"I-Ice Witch!"
Igneel bared her teeth like a reptile facing its predator, crouching low. Nagisa instinctively reached for her wand at her waist. Sena ignored them completely, toddling over to me and plopping right onto my lap out of nowhere.
"Sena?"
"Mind if I?"
"Why my lap of all places...?"
Ignoring my fluster, Sena took the broken wand. She pulled out her own, tapped the broken one a couple times, and grayish-white smoke billowed from the break. It flowed to the empty center, piling up before shaping into a human form. A noble-dressed elderly woman with neatly pinned-up hair and a monocle over one eye thrust her wand forward fiercely. She seemed to shout something, but no sound came—just a vague hum from the smoky figure.
"Melmes was a diplomat from a magician lineage, bridging the kingdom and magic society for exchange and peace."
Melmes swung her wand as if battling someone ahead, dodging attacks. After a few exchanges, the opponent's thrust snapped her wand—just like the one in Sena's hand.
"Her attacker was skilled enough to kill her barehanded."
The wand rolled forward; Melmes's outer form faded into smoke. As her mouth, hands, and lower body blurred, a figure appeared opposite her.
"That's... Ios?"
Clinging clothes for easy movement, hood over the face—a dead ringer for Ios. Build, height, gait: the elegant yet aggressive witch herself. Anyone not knowing her might miss it, but to us, the disguise was pointless.
She aimed not a wand, but a sword, at Melmes.
"Why a sword?"
"To make it look like the attacker wasn't a magician."
Melmes had backed away, her form fading. Moments later, Ios stabbed her dead. She rummaged the body briefly, glanced around. Her eyes hit the broken wand. She reached for it but startled and fled. Kingdom knights arrived next, bustling to check Melmes. One pocketed the wand as the scene ended. The grayish-white smoke dissipated into the air.
"Two years ago. Melmes was attacked by an unidentified assailant near the palace road."
Sena pocketed her wand and handed the broken one to Igneel, who hesitantly took it. Even Sena treated it as legit evidence, so no fakes here. Now I got why Nagisa brought this as proof.
"...So, they tried passing it as an accident like the note said, but failed and killed her directly?"
"Yes."
"Then why do you have this crucial evidence? Shouldn't you report it now?"
Nagisa gave a bitter smile.
"My family handles diplomacy between the kingdom and magic world. Melmes was a distant relative I met as a kid."
"Ah..."
"We gathered evidence and accused the Savin family, but they're scarier than imagined."
Igneel nodded in agreement.
"A house that assassinates high officials for goals—think they'd fear accusations? They killed my maternal and paternal kin alike; my father died that day too."
"...Sorry."
"They're pros at tail-shedding. They framed some involved lowlifes, clearing Ios."
The Savin family wielded influence not just in magic circles but kingdom politics. Evidence got buried, scapegoats took the fall. Nagisa's family, gutted by retaliation, curled up to protect survivors.
Nagisa sighed, taking the note and wand back from Igneel and stowing them.
"Auntie-Grandma Melmes died to the kingdom's complacency."
Word spread that a magician died to a sword-wielder near the palace—not magic. Magic society slammed the kingdom, widening the rift. Now I saw why the kingdom clung to the academy over magic society: if society wouldn't help, at least Luna might.
"The feeling of entering the academy without my dad, then meeting Ios... that goddamn feeling..."
Ios never knew Nagisa's background.
"I feared she'd find out someday. But I wanted revenge. I tailed her, gathered intel, trained like hell to get stronger."
Not just her buff body—magic power to match Ios. That's when I realized Nagisa was a skilled magician, near the top ranks in the academy.
"But how to use evidence that's already lost power?"
"Instructor. Watching you taught me: if I lack power, stick to someone who has it."
Nagisa's eyes flicked to Sena.
"Within a month, Ios will assassinate a kingdom envoy at the academy."
"What?"
"The Savins killed Auntie-Grandma Melmes to prolong the war. The kingdom wants to end it with the elves."
Igneel leaned forward, glaring fiercely at Nagisa.
"End it? This war's dragging on forever."
"Quinnels and Savins are pulling strings. Boosts their position and influence."
Nagisa eyed Sena, words bursting to spill. She hesitated, then dropped to her knees.
"Only the Michele family can stand against Savins. Senior Sena Michele, please help."
"......"
"The envoy Ios targets is close to Elias Senior. Killing him will wreck Eri's ties with the kingdom too."
Ios wasn't just warring on the headmaster—she'd declared on Eri too. Wipe out all threats at once.
"......"
"I don't just want revenge on Ios. I want the whole Savin house ruined. Thwart her hit, grab proof, and use Michele power to expose them."
Sena stayed silent. She gazed coldly down at Nagisa in icy quiet, finally opening her mouth after a long pause.