For Veridia, "normalcy" at Zenith Academy was a concept that had died, been cremated, and had its ashes scattered at sea. What took its place was a parody of normalcy that she clung to so tightly one could almost hear her knuckles cracking.
Three days had passed since the title of "Silver Supreme Boss" had crushed her like a safe full of misunderstandings. And, contrary to her prayers, the three third-year delinquents hadn't grown bored of following her.
Worse yet. They were now Professionals.
"Clear the hallway!" Toro announced, spreading his arms and pushing—gently, by his standards—a group of second-years against the walls. "Make way for the Supreme Boss!"
Veridia walked behind him, her face burning and her eyes narrowed in pure resignation, trying to shrink inside her uniform. Beside her, Nalia walked while checking a task list, imperturbable, while Kenji carried both his and Veridia's backpacks with an intimidating posture.
"This is ridiculous," Veridia whispered, covering her face with one hand. "Kenji, please, give me my backpack. I can carry it. Besides, your classes are in the East Building. You're going to be late because of me."
"Negative, Boss!" Kenji responded with a brilliant smile. "The Manual of the Perfect Subordinate, Chapter 1, Verse 3: 'The escort is a priority until the classroom door is reached.' We will not allow any potential hostile entities to approach you before your morning instruction."
Veridia turned her head slowly toward Nalia.
"'Potential hostile entities'?" she whispered, staring at her. "You wrote that manual, didn't you?"
Nalia didn't even look up from her list, but a small, smug smile curved the corner of her lips.
"Someone had to organize the chaos. They are valuable resources, Veri. They just needed... structure."
Veridia looked toward the ceiling. Rizo, the thin and silent boy, was moving by jumping along the hallway rafters, watching from above like a ninja.
Did someone tell him this is a mage novel? Veridia thought.
◆◆◆
They arrived at the door of Classroom 1-B: Foundations of Magical Catalysts. Kenji stopped dead and handed her the backpack with an excessive bow.
"Our jurisdiction ends here, Boss," Kenji said with regret. "Academic laws forbid us from entering lower-level classes. But Toro will stand guard in the north hallway, and I will patrol the courtyard."
No, thank you. Don't you guys have your own classes? Veridia thought desperately. She opened her mouth to plead again but stopped. She looked at the faces of fanatical determination on the three of them. She realized that normal logic didn't work with them; any sign of kindness was interpreted as a test or a simple act of goodness. If she wanted them to leave, she had to speak their language. She had to be the "Supreme Boss."
She straightened her back and narrowed her eyes, channeling all the haughtiness she had seen in Kaelen.
"Is this a joke?" she snapped with rehearsed coldness. "Such protection is an insult. Do you truly believe the 'Silver Supreme Boss' cannot look after herself in a first-year classroom? Do you intend to stain my honor by implying I am so weak that I require constant surveillance?" She looked at them with disdain. "Your lack of faith is disappointing. Go to your classes and do not embarrass me by failing because you were standing in a hallway like garden gnomes."
"F-forgive our insolence, Boss!" Kenji shouted, turning pale and giving a ninety-degree bow. "We did not mean to doubt your power! We shall withdraw to reflect on our error!"
The three vanished in a cloud of dust, fleeing toward their classes as if the devil himself were chasing them. Nalia closed her notebook with a soft click and gave Veridia a slow, sarcastic round of applause.
"Brilliant," Nalia commented. "You've learned to speak their language. Advanced manipulation."
◆◆◆
Veridia let out a sigh that emptied her lungs and entered the classroom. Silence fell instantly. Thirty pairs of eyes stared at her. Some with fear, others—like the group of nobles in the back row—with contempt.
She sat at her desk by the window. Kaelen, in his compact lynx form, stepped down from her shoulder with liquid elegance and settled onto the table, ignoring the stares of the others as if they were insects unworthy of his attention. The professor, a thin man with thick glasses named Professor Vane, cleared his throat nervously upon seeing the "familiar," but decided to continue.
"W-well... today we shall continue with the Theory of Mana Conductivity," Vane said, lifting an oak wand. "Remember, students: mana is like a volatile fluid. The human body is a vessel, but it is imperfect for projection."
The professor drew a diagram in the air with dim light.
"Mana is generated in the core," he pointed to the figure's chest. "It must flow through the arm's meridians to the hand. This is where the novice's error occurs: attempting to release it raw. That is dangerous and inefficient. You must inject the mana into the wand. The wand, talisman, or your catalyst of choice acts as a lens, refining the energy while your lips pronounce the incantation or your mind visualizes the circle. Without the catalyst, mana disperses like water without a pipe."
Kaelen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, let out a sound through his nose. It wasn't an animal snort; it was a hmph loaded with aristocratic and icy arrogance.
Pathetic, his voice resonated in Veridia's mind. The tone was soft, yet sharp and cold.
Veridia tensed, glancing sideways at the lynx.
What? she asked mentally.
Kaelen opened one eye, revealing the molten gold of his iris.
Depending on a dead branch to channel one's own power... Kaelen continued, his voice dripping with contempt. Injecting, reciting, drawing... So many unnecessary steps for such a mediocre result. It is like asking the air for permission to breathe.
"It's... it's the standard technique, Kaelen," Veridia defended. "That's how we learn to control the flow."
Primitive and toothless, he decreed.
For the first time, his voice didn't sound meant to be heard by anyone else. It was a low, introspective thought that faded into the back of Veridia's mind. The class ended without Veridia being able to concentrate, with Kaelen's critique echoing in her head.
"You are dismissed," Professor Vane said. "And for next week, I want your report on types of catalysts."
◆◆◆
Veridia packed her things with slow movements, still processing the class.
"Veri, I'll go ahead to reserve the lunch table," Nalia said as she finished organizing her notes.
"I'll leave it to you, and please buy me tw—"
"Two Star Meat Pastries. You always ask for the same thing," Nalia stated, interrupting her as she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the exit with a firm stride.
"Thanks, you're the best!" Veridia called out, hurrying to zip up her backpack.
Left alone in the classroom, with only the echo of the last students fading down the hall, Veridia seized the opportunity. She looked at the compact lynx still on the table, observing her with his usual disdain.
"Kaelen... the only thing you didn't complain about was the core," she commented, lowering her voice. "Ryumu mentioned you were an archdemon. Does that mean you're a strong mage?"
Hmph. He let out a snort, and his voice resonated in Veridia's mind. You have become a prisoner of the human perspective.
"You're the one who complained the whole class and didn't let me pay attention," Veridia retorted, leaning her hands on the table to meet his eye level. "You... could you teach me?"
No. It was a dry, icy response that left no room for discussion. The lynx closed his eyes, signaling that the conversation was over.
However, Veridia wouldn't settle for that. She frowned and crossed her arms.
"Please, grumpy cat. You've caused me a lot of trouble; at least teach me something." Her tone fluctuated between faked pleading and a poorly disguised demand. "Besides, it seems to me that for such a proud demon, being so uncooperative with your hostess lacks 'class' on your part. Isn't it bad manners to let your anchor to this world be so incompetent?"
Kaelen's eyes snapped open. His vertical pupils dilated. The girl's wit and audacity, questioning his "class" and his honor as a superior entity, completely caught the archdemon off guard. A dense silence followed where the air seemed to vibrate.
Incompetent? Kaelen thought, genuinely irritated by the girl's circular logic. She is provoking me... and she knows it.
◆◆◆
When she finally stepped out into the hallway, Veridia still felt the hum of Kaelen's silent indignation on the back of her neck. The corridor was strangely empty.
"Well, well."
Veridia stopped. A third-year youth stepped away from the opposite wall—Rolf Blackwood, known for organizing "honor duels" that no one remembered accepting. He looked at her with contempt. He was accompanied by two other third-year students who blocked the way to the stairs, and Jarek, who watched from the back with a smug smile.
Veridia felt the instinct to back away, but Kaelen remained on her shoulder, motionless, heavy, and silent.
"Let me pass," Veridia said. Her voice trembled a bit, but she forced herself to maintain eye contact.
"Or what?" the leader of the third-years pulled out his wand. It was ebony, polished, and quite expensive. "Are you going to scream? Are you going to ask those weirdos in your retinue for help? I heard those delinquents protect you because they feel sorry for you. A commoner with a defective familiar that doesn't even obey orders."
Jarek approached the leader.
"Rolf, three third-years is a bit much for a commoner," Jarek said with an uncertain tone.
Rolf stared at him. "Ha," he let out with a smile. "You're right, little Jarek. Three third-years is too much for a first-year commoner. However—" after saying that, Rolf's expression filled with rage, and he struck Jarek, knocking him to the floor, "—it will be necessary because you haven't handled the situation. It's a shame you even drag Aegis into your misery; she's a commoner but at least she has talent, and she wastes it..."
The third-year student began to wave his wand, murmuring the start of an ignition chant.
"Ignis sphaera..."
Veridia saw the orange glow forming at the tip of the wand. She remembered the professor's explanation: body, arm, hand, wand, chant... But then she heard Kaelen's voice.
Are you going to let that insect threaten you with a splinter? It wasn't a question of encouragement. It was a cold challenge. Kaelen hadn't even bristled. His calm was that of one who knows they are above the situation. Do you want me to teach you? The archdemon's frozen thought bounced hard in Veridia's mind.
This shall be your first lesson: power imposes itself, Veridia, the demon whispered.
The leader smiled, ready to release the spell.
Aegis... The mention of her friend in Rolf's mouth burned more than any fire spell.
"Enough!" she shouted. There was no chant, only a strike fueled by the frustration of Nalia's name being used. An emerald-green shockwave exploded from her open palm. It was brutal, raw, and loud. It ignored the laws of magical conductivity and struck the air with the subtlety of an avalanche. The ignition spell dissolved before it was even born. The impact wave hit the group head-on, lifting the three third-years off the ground like rags. They flew ten feet forward, slamming violently against the wall and collapsing in a heap of limbs and robes.
Jarek could only watch from the floor as Veridia threw three third-year students without using her wand. "What... was that?" he whispered, trembling.
On her shoulder, Kaelen opened his eyes. There was no pride in his gaze; that would be too human. But there was a slight, almost imperceptible satisfaction. Your power, resonated in her mind. Crude, he judged coldly. Loud. You wasted enough energy to kill three men just to push them. But... at least you didn't use the splinter.
The attackers struggled to their feet, pale as paper. They looked at Veridia with pure terror.
"M-monster..." they babbled and ran away, tripping over each other.
◆◆◆
Veridia lowered her hand. Her heart was racing, but she didn't feel weak. In that moment, a thundering of steps made the ground shake.
"BOSS!"
Kenji, Toro, and Rizo appeared skidding around the corner, sweating and with their uniforms disheveled.
"We felt a disturbance in the mana!" Kenji shouted, pulling out his toothpick. "Who was it?! Who needs to die?!"
His gaze met Jarek's, who was barely standing up.
Veridia looked at them. Then she looked at Jarek. A small smile, tired but genuine, crossed her face. "No one, Kenji. Everything is fine."
"Hey," Veridia said, stopping suddenly and turning to Kenji. "I need to coordinate some things alone with the Sub-Boss. Wait five minutes before catching up to us, okay?"
"Understood, Boss!" Kenji replied with a bow. "We shall secure the perimeter and the best table!"
The three saluted and trotted away.
"Are you okay?" Veridia asked, approaching Jarek.
"Mind your own business," Jarek replied sharply as he walked away. Though Veridia didn't notice, his eyes held a glimmer of guilt.
Meanwhile, as soon as Kenji, Rizo, and Toro rounded the corner and were out of Veridia's sight, they stopped dead, leaning against the cold stone wall.
"Hmmm..." Kenji murmured, closing his eyes.
The leader took a deep breath, as if savoring the air. It smelled of residual mana. The hallway still vibrated with the echo of Veridia's push, a chaotic emerald magical signature slowly dissipating.
"What is it... Big bro?" Rizo asked, stopping beside him and wiping a soot smudge from his cheek.
Kenji opened his eyes. His gaze was serious, analytical—an unusual depth that contrasted with his noisy gang-leader appearance.
"I have the impression the Supreme Boss is under the effects of the Anti-Anomaly Seal."
Silence fell over the group like a heavy slab. Toro and Rizo stood open-mouthed, exchanging looks of disbelief and concern.
"The Seal?" Toro whispered, his deep voice trembling slightly. "The one they wanted to put on us in first year?"
"Exactly," Kenji confirmed, bringing his hand to his chin, thoughtful. "But... she managed to use her mana without a catalyst when she pushed the third-years. That shouldn't be possible if the seal is active and functioning correctly. The suppression should have burned her magical circuits or at least prevented her from manifesting something so dense."
"The Boss is amazing," Toro said with pure reverence, his eyes shining with admiration. "But if that were the case... how did she face Ryumu in the tower?"
"Hmmm..." Kenji let out, a new idea taking shape in his mind. "What if it was her familiar?"
He looked toward the hallway they had come from, imagining the silver compact lynx on Veridia's shoulder.
"Kaelen's gaze is not the common gaze of a familiar," Kenji continued, narrowing his eyes. "His eyes have a spark of consciousness... of a different intelligence... He isn't a pet. He's a partner. Or a guardian."
Rizo frowned, connecting the invisible dots Kenji was drawing. "If that's the case, then did Ryumu fight Kaelen? Not the Boss?"
Kenji smiled knowingly. "I think he wants us to help her. Ryumu knows about the seal. He knows that we are... different." Kenji clenched his fist, feeling his own mana flow free and wild, without the chains that bound the other students. "The best thing is for us to continue as always. The Boss has true potential, seal or no seal. And we shall be her shield until she can fully release it."
The trio nodded in unison. They needed no more words. Their devotion was no longer just for Veridia's perceived strength, but for the injustice they sensed and the potential they swore to protect.
"Let's go!" Kenji ordered, regaining his usual energy. "The Boss needs her table and her dessert! Charge!"