Divide and Conquer
"Why the hell should I?"
If you thought she was some benevolent sage who couldn't ignore others' suffering, you'd be dead wrong. Sena was a thorough ice-cold realist, the type who clearly distinguished profit from loss in any fight or conflict. Nagisa's request was nothing but a losing battle that offered Sena zero gains—just wounds.
There was no reason for the Michele family to pick a fight with the Savin family.
"That's your problem, not mine."
"Hah, but..."
"Don't give me 'but.' Your sob story disguised as revenge is just a plea for me to be your shield."
Her tangled backstory had clouded the truth, but in the end, all Nagisa wanted was a powerful family to rip into the Savins on her behalf. Shockingly, Sena had seen right through what even we had missed.
"N-no, that's not it. My family and I will definitely get involved in this fight. I won't hide myself and push others out front."
"Which is exactly why I have no reason to fight for you."
Some might call her a ruthless ice-blooded bitch. Someone who coldly mocks others' pain and turns away. Others would counter that she's realistic and smart. Why dive into someone else's swampy mess when you can stay out?
I was right in the middle. I got Nagisa's situation, and yeah, she was pitiful. The tough woman I'd thought unbreakable was actually torn to shreds inside. But dragging Sena into her personal war was a whole other issue. Sena had no obligation to help.
Igneel, who'd been quietly following along, cleared his throat with a loud cough to loosen up.
"Sorry to butt in, but I wanna help this musclehead."
"......"
Nagisa shot Igneel a complex look—surprise mixed with a blatant you?.
They might be sworn enemies, but their end goals aligned. It wasn't weird for Igneel to want to help.
"I don't like the musclehead, but our goals match. Right now, I'm laser-focused on Ios Savin, but taking down the whole Savin family? No reason to pass that up."
"And what can you do to help?"
At my question, Igneel ground his teeth, looking ready to breathe fire in rage.
"Yeah... my family has no power to offer. If my damn femdom-obsessed dad hadn't been such a wastrel, I'd be nobility too!"
"Please stop with the TMI."
"Anyway, if there's anything I can do, I wanna help. We're just a ragtag bunch of commoners, so we can't offer much."
Sena, who'd been leaning on me while listening, let out a short, dismissive hmpf.
"Dwarves banding together to topple a giant, huh."
Igneel glared fiercely.
"If you're not helping, then shut your ice witch trap."
He bared his teeth pretty aggressively, but halfway through, he started faltering on his own. Even bulldog-tough Igneel lacked the guts to fully defy Sena.
"Y-you should straighten out your thinking too. You can't play bystander forever."
"Bystander? It's not my fight."
"You sure about that? Think Ios Savin will leave you alone?"
Sena's eyes fixed on Igneel with a piercing stare. Those cold blue irises overpowered the fierce gaze of a blazing dragon. Igneel tucked tail at just a look, but he still spat it out.
"That woman's not the type to let future threats live. She might seem to tolerate you now, but someday she'll unsheathe those hidden claws."
"Me?"
Sena crossed her legs. That arrogant posture was reserved solely for her in this room. The confidence that came from true power.
"Ios, of all people, against me?"
No one could argue with Sena's haughty self-assurance. She gave Nagisa and Igneel one last icy glance, then stood as if done with them.
"Do whatever you want. I'm just not getting involved in your fight."
"...Damn it."
Nagisa clenched her fist, her voice heavy with defeat. She desperately wanted Sena's help but couldn't find a way to sway her.
I watched her pitiful fist for a moment, then a sudden question hit me.
"Sena."
"Yeah?"
She turned at my call.
"The Michele and Savin families both have huge influence, right?"
"They do."
"So, who else has that kind of power?"
Sena tilted her head, wondering what I was getting at.
"A few. The royals, or families with massive stakes in the magic academy world."
"They wouldn't help us, huh?"
"Even less than me. They have too much to lose."
"What about the Quinnel family?"
Nagisa and Igneel both stared at me in shock. Even Sena looked surprised.
"The Quinnels have serious pull too. In kingdom politics, they actually hold way more sway than the Savins."
"How about pulling in the Quinnels?"
"Hold up, pervert."
Igneel shot to his feet. Standing next to Sena, she edged him out in height.
"Pull in the Quinnels? How? Our views don't align with that woman's."
"We don't need to deal with Eri directly."
Yeah, no need to get tangled with her. And we didn't need to fight Ios ourselves either. Just let those two tear into each other until they collapsed.
"Who'd Ios kill again?"
"...A kingdom envoy."
"And who was that envoy close to?"
"Elias Quinnel."
"Then tell that envoy."
Nagisa looked baffled at first but soon nodded silently.
"We've caught wind that a woman named Ios is plotting to assassinate you. We can't let that bitch slide, so here's what we know."
"They won't believe us."
I shook my head at Igneel's worry.
"Then rephrase it. Who would Eri trust more—Ios, or us?"
"......"
"Ios and Eri hate each other's guts, right? Enemy word or venomous ant from the sidelines—which sounds more believable?"
"Better the ant than the enemy..."
"Exactly."
They call this maneuvering, or sowing discord. Stirring their feud straight to ruin. But we weren't lying, right? We just planned to wipe out both, not just one.
Late into the night, around dawn when everyone should be asleep, the academy's side gate creaked open for some reason.
Heading out at this hour would trigger the academy's barrier magic, slaughtering anyone who tried. But one of the group emerging from the side gate raised a broad ivory plaque toward the sky.
As moonlight hit the plaque's intricate patterns, zzzuuuu. A faint aurora-like light streaked from the academy gate straight ahead, forming a path that lit the way. The intruders slipped out along it.
"An ivory plaque that bypasses the academy's barrier? Impressive!"
"Quit yapping and follow them."
Nagisa and I tailed them from hiding. When we reached the plateau road, a prepped carriage waited for the group. They boarded silently and rolled out. We dashed to the road too.
"Wha—how do we follow that?"
"The instructor isn't skilled with magic yet, huh?"
Nagisa pulled out her staff—far larger than most witches', nearly as long as my gladius. She swung it lightly, and earth surged up, shaping into a horse.
"Hop on."
She mounted smoothly and offered a hand. I climbed on behind with her help, then pursued the carriage.
They stopped in a nearby village, dead quiet at dawn. They entered a shuttered tavern.
"Around the back, to the window."
We slipped into the alley beside it, pressed against the wall, and cracked the window to listen.
"Ooh, it's been ages, Ios."
A stranger's voice welcomed her. Low and gravelly, like a middle-aged man's rusty scrape.
"Cut it. We're not that close."
"Tsk tsk, really? I thought we'd bonded over all those achievements."
She ignored his greeting, her tone laced with forced patience. He clicked his tongue bitterly.
Chairs scraped as they sat.
"Academy treating you well?"
"Get to the point. And quit grinning like a pedo creep."
"Heh heh heh, such a mouth on you today. Watch your tone. We're partners, but we've seen each other's ugly sides."
"What the hell? Gross."
"What I'm saying is, let's keep it smooth so your fiancé never learns about your wicked true self and cowardly past."
Fiancé? Ios was engaged? From the talk, she played the saint around him—totally out of character. Then, a chair crashed back. She'd kicked it, standing up.
"Spout crap to him, and I'll kill you first."
"Kill me? Ha ha, think your daddy would love that? Lose a sponsor like me, and can your family stay solid?"
"Get. To. The. Point."
Chair scraped again as she sat. The self-proclaimed sponsor coughed, lowering his voice.
"Before we start, one thing. How's your academy plan going?"
"...Fine. It's going well."
"Really? Word I got says it's not."
Thud. Fist on table.
"You've been tailing me?"
"Tailing? I just have one informant inside. So, who's messing with you? The great Ios Savin, no less."
"...Hoo, there's this new instructor guy. He's been cockblocking my ops lately, making funding tight."
I locked eyes with Nagisa as I suddenly came up.
"Instructor? Oh right, that punishment instructor or whatever. The one spanking girls' asses."
The sponsor leaned forward with a pervy chuckle, chair creaking.
"One question. Did the instructor spank your ass too?"
"You fucking perv—!"
"Hey, watch the mouth."
They clearly despised each other. He belittled her; she loathed him. And one key takeaway: he wasn't dependent on her. If anything, she needed him. From his attitude, he'd drop her in a heartbeat if things soured.
Much better. A shallow tie like that would isolate Ios later.
"So, tough on the job I gave you?"
"Not easy. A student might be one thing, but a kingdom envoy? That's real danger."
Kingdom envoy—matched what Nagisa told me. We exchanged glances again.
"Can't screw up like two years ago."
"Argh, I know."
"Know? And left evidence behind, causing all this hassle?"
Probably the staff Nagisa had as proof.
"Ios, this mission's more critical than any. One slip, and it's not just you—your whole family crumbles."
"......"
"Chance to save face from that screw-up two years ago. Repay the favor you owe me."
From what Nagisa said, the Savins seemed to clean up Ios's mess easily. Reality differed. The sponsor harping on it meant they'd pulled serious strings to protect her.
"One slip, and Savins get swallowed by Quinnels."
"......"
"Kill the kingdom envoy clean. Kingdom'll side with us—Savin family holding the academy too. Quinnels end there."
"......"
"When Elias slips... don't miss. Kill her. And the academy director too."
Nagisa clamped a hand over her mouth. We knew the director was a target, but hearing it from the sponsor meant Ios's war on her wasn't just ambition—it was personal.
"Then kingdom backs Savins, academy in hand. Quinnels are done."