What nobody expected was that Rinzen wasn't playing around. She left without looking at the council members or at her mother, going with the Amarins. By night, she was at their castle, sitting at the table, having dinner with not just Lia, Aurora, and the still-stunned Sion but with Reyra and Kawu, who both looked completely unperturbed by it.
"6th Tier, eh?" Reyra chuckled, watching Rinzen, who nodded, looking a bit shy. "You are good! Kiddo!" She glanced at her daughter, "You are lagging behind! You are already 14 and only in the 4th Tier!"
"Most 14-year-olds are only just old enough to start learning magic…." Sion murmured without thinking, making Kawu laugh.
"Yeah, but they are not part of the Six! And you also started young, no?"
"That is the exception. The whole Institute is a collection of exceptions to the rules!" Sion said with a sigh.
"You chose your group's name well." Reyra giggled, winking at her daughter. "Still! I expect you to reach the 5th Tier before graduating!"
"Me too!" Lia nodded rapidly, happily eating her steak, while Rinzen was glancing back and forth between them.
"Good!" Kawu and Reyra said in unison. "Also," Reyra continued, looking into Rinzen's eyes, "Now that you are here, I'll need to teach you some things."
"Yes!" She answered, already wanting to ask so many things… only she probably had different questions in mind than Reyra expected.
"Mhm!" The head of the Amarins nodded with satisfaction, "You are good; if you break my record in stepping into the Realm of Three Ri, I will be happy. Our Houses were very close in the past! The fact that two idiots can't step over their old grievances is nuts!" She complained, without holding back, calling out both Parthorn and Ayashi. "So, we are going to ignore them! You will spend the summer here, and I will work you like a horse!"
"Um…" Rinzen blinked her blue eyes with a bit of fright but couldn't really complain now.
"Me too, me too!" Lia raised her hand, volunteering, and Reyra was not about to refuse; she just smiled like a demon, making Sion shiver.
"I feel-" He whispered to Aurora but then froze in place as Reyra's twinkling eyes glanced at him.
"You too!"
"EH?!" He jumped in place.
"You need a quick catch-up course before joining the 4th Branch!" Reyra explained in a menacing tone, turning Sion a shade paler, "Especially as my son-in-law!"
"Wait, what?" He dropped her fork and knife while Aurora just silently laughed.
"You may have graduated from the Institute, but that means jack shit around here!"
"Dear… language," Kawu murmured, but Reyra just rolled her eyes as she learned it from him.
"Fufufufu… I wanted to do this for so long…." She giggled to herself, making even Lia a bit nervous. Now, she regretted jumping in so eagerly, not even thinking about it.
…
…..
……
It was the day before the start of their 3rd year when Lia and the rest of the Misfits from the Amarins' territory were returning to the Academy. Surprisingly, the former was exhausted, lying on the ship's floor, watching the passing clouds above and around them without blinking.
"Are you okay?" Koa asked, looking at her worriedly. She was exceptionally unmoving, which was surprising and scary at the same time. "Lia? Are you there?" She leaned over her, waving her hand before Lia's blank stare.
"Let her rest." Aurora wrote, standing at the railings while Kawu stood behind the wheel of the medium-sized ship, flying the Amarin's black and gold colors.
"What happened? I heard that everything went smoothly, so much so that we had that Rinzen girl stay over all summer! Grandfather received around five messages daily from the Berisons! He was so stressed he started to hide from the messengers! He even went on an underwater expedition just to escape!" She explained, giggling uncontrollably.
"She spent the summer under Mother's special care." Aurora wrote, "I watched, and it was nostalgic. I did that training too when I left for the 4th!"
"Was it really that hard?" Koa asked, looking worriedly at Lia, who looked completely out of it. She should have been surfing behind the ship, but no, she was just lying there like a statue.
"The pipsqueak can't and won't hold back," Kawu said, drawing their attention. "If she could be that strict while raising them-" But then he stopped, looking around as if expecting Reyra to pop out of nowhere, "Anyway! Lucky that we have good healers because my poor little baby girl would be a cripple now!"
"Ah…" Koa flinched, twitching her mouth, looking at Aurora questioningly.
"He is being dramatic." She wrote, "She was never in mortal danger. She was comatose a few times but never longer than a few days!"
"What… kind of training… is that?" Koa grimaced, happy that she was not part of the 1st Branch.
"Military." Kawu shrugged. "Reyra's line was always the most radical. They inherited Erias's trait of never dropping vigilance and the drive to eradicate all Undead. They are focused on individual strength, and their methods are seen as… extreme. Even inside the family."
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"No, Ma'am, Yes, Ma'am!" Lia shouted, suddenly sitting up, blinking her mismatched eyes slowly, and looking around, confused.
"Wait…" Koa swirled around when hearing her cry out. "You were sleeping? With your eyes open?"
"Mhm… hm? What… happened? Where am I?" She moaned, rubbing her bloodshot eyes that were stinging like hell.
"Yeah." Aurora nodded, looking really impressed, "She was."
"Oh… Koa… Hi…” Lia murmured, slowly standing up, wobbling in place.
"We already met." She replied, walking up to her and hugging her. "You've grown again!" She murmured, and she did not only mean about her height.
"Soon, she will be an adult!" Kawu said proudly, "Maybe we should start thinking about-"
"No," Koa said, surprisingly, alongside Aurora, who was signing it with her hands.
"O-okay…" Kawu murmured, falling silent as Reyra reacted the same when he brought it up.
…
….
……
Settling back into the Tower of Misfits, it was a bit different as Sion was no longer there. Still, meeting with everyone after the break quickly lifted Lia's spirits, and when their first day came, and everyone was in the vast classroom of theirs, waiting for Dayen's usual welcoming speech when she entered, everyone fell silent.
"..." Even Lia was speechless as Dayen was closely followed by another figure, Rinzen.
Every student was awestruck as she was dressed in business-like, formal attire, her hair held in a high ponytail, and her pale blue eyes were looking around, searching for Lia. She had a solemn, strict look, amplified by the black bags under her eyes as she underwent the same training as Lia, leaving still visible marks on her. Her expression only softened a little when her eyes met Lia's, and Dayen started explaining to the class.
"Welcome back!" She said happily, "This year is going to be really important as you will learn about Undead and craft your own artifacts! This will be the first step towards turning yourselves into a proper mage!" She continued with a tone that clearly warned everybody to pay attention to this year's events with all they got. "Also, let me introduce you to the Respected House of Berison's current head, Rinzen Berison!"
It immediately sent a loud hubbub around the classroom, as everyone knew the names of the leading figures of the Six Houses. Rinzen was touted as someone who was possibly the Realm's second Reyra. The fact that someone from the Six, a leader of one of them nonetheless, came here was like meeting a legendary figure out of the blue.
"She is going to stay at our Academy for the next two years!" Dayen continued, dropping another bombshell, coughing loudly, letting her bells, connecting her horns ring, silencing the class. "She will mostly look after you, 3rd-year students, overseeing your lessons about the Undead! She will also hold special lessons about Ice Magic, but only for 4th-year students and for those who are to graduate with honorary! So work extra, EXTRA hard this year, so when your 4th year comes, you will have a chance to study under one of the Heads of the Six Houses! Now… Lady Rinzen, if you want to say some words." Dayen bowed towards her, making Lia giggle as she noticed the sudden flash in Rinzen's eyes, already reading that she was caught off-guard and turned deeply nervous. Yet to the others, she looked just as calm as always.
"Hello." She spoke, her voice not just sounding cold but also decreasing the temperature in the classroom by a few degrees for real.
"She can't control her powers when nervous…." Lia whispered to Keily and the rest, who looked at her, guessing this had to do something with their Boss. "What?"
"Did you invite her?" Raufon asked in a hushed voice.
"No. I didn't know she would come! I thought she went back home!" Lia said, excited, watching Rinzen, who was continuing to speak.
"My name is Rinzen. Good to meet you. That is all." Then she stepped back, remaining silent, only watching them.
"Well… thank you!" Dayen scratched her throat as she was also nervous, but hiding it very well, only slipping now with how cold Rinzen looked.
As their homeroom teacher continued to speak, Lia could hear some murmurs, guessing if Rinzen was doing something simply out of duty as she looked highly frustrated to be here. Maybe she looked down upon their talents? Well… she had to be used to even better students back at the capital of one of the Six.
"Hmmm…" Lia leaned back, crossing her arms, drawing attention to herself from the Misfits sitting around her. "What do you think, would she move into our tower?"
"...?!" The rest trembled as that sounded incredible… and highly unlikely. Those who were not in the know and not members of the now-famous Misfits thought she was being full of herself. They may be one not the strongest group in the Academy, but still… it was one of the Heads of the Six.
Yet, only the next day, the news spread that Rinzen was seen leaving the Misfits' Tower the very next morning, accompanying them to class and talking with Lia, surrounded by more than a dozen other Misfits, looking as if they were taking notes, including Opparu, scurrying behind time like an old perverted monk, to be able to glance at one of the most beautiful women he ever saw… or at least, that is how he called Rinzen when she was introduced to them by Lia. The only one who looked to avoid her was Stumpy, making Ceiline sigh multiple times, explaining it to Lia that evening.
"He is a salamander; just by being close to Lady Rinzen makes him uncomfortable. They love hot and warm places; her aura is anything but that.
"It is Rinzen. No 'lady'." She herself interjected, sitting down at their table, repeating the same word to everyone from the group who called her a lady.
“Egh… that still sounds weird…” Raufon murmured, making Keily nod rapidly, sitting beside him, looking at her.
"I don't like it." Rinzen said simply and then sighed a little, "No animals like me… I never had a friend…."
"You do now!" Lia interjected, grinning happily, then suddenly standing up, rushing out, and when she returned, she was holding the struggling Stumpy. "Sit!" She ordered, pushing him into Rinzen's surprised lap.
"That-!" Ceiline stood up, but it was too late. The next moment Stumpy went utterly stiff and moved no more.
"Ah… It wasn't me!" Lia cried out, sounding panicked, while Rinzen also looked at Ceiline, opening and closing her mouth in panic.
"It is nothing…" She moaned, rubbing her forehead, walking closer, picking the stiff Stumpy out of her lap, and putting him into the fireplace.
"I'll help!" Keily laughed, lighting up the fire with a quick spell.
"Cremating…?" Rinzen asked sadly and guiltily, thinking it was an instant funeral for the poor lizard.
"No, it isn't!" Ceiline chuckled a little, "As I said, he is a salamander! When his body temperature falls too low, he goes into a shock, and he simply hibernates. They sleep in lava, so this is nothing! This will slowly reinvigorate him! But please, be careful, okay? He is sensitive!"
"Is he?" Raufon asked, snorting, knowing full well, previously, the little green bastard stole multiple slabs of meat from him at their celebration.
"Sorry…" Both Lia and Rinzen said simultaneously.
"No worries!" Ceiline chuckled, clapping while Stumpy was slowly regaining consciousness, starting to move once again inside the fire. "By the way, are you all ready for tomorrow?"
"Why?" Keily asked, looking puzzled.
"Oh… they did not tell you?" Ceiline asked, looking now a bit flustered.
"What is it?" Lia asked directly from Rinzen, who answered immediately.
"Tomorrow, you will be studying an Undead. Dissecting it. I will be there as a supervisor."
"Oh…" Everyone present spoke up, gulping and looking at each other… the last time they saw one, it was a very unpleasant feeling… It seemed they were really amping up the lessons this year…