Okay, Sunday afternoon. Time to think about who to ask for help. Darius is a possibility, as he's strong and sure to be up for it. However, if he finds out that Catrina has taken me to a special place in a remote village to train... oof. I don't think he'd take it very well since he, who far surpasses me in sword combat, hasn't been offered the same. He's going to be miffed and maybe even angry because, as he doesn't know about my other elements, he won't be able to understand the reason. That's not counting that he'll go straight to the professor to demand that they also allow him to train and he won't understand when they deny him permission.

A pity. Darius, whether alone or with the prince and the other two boys and Mary, would have been a great help. What if I ask Mary? I don't attend light magic classes, but everyone says she's very good, plus in the otome it didn't take her too many months to raise her healing spells to a high level. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

But no... It can't be. Even if she wants to keep the secret for me, they'll easily coax it out of her. She has no malice, she'd have a hard time if they asked her directly because I can't imagine her lying.

I rule out the guard soldiers too, as they can't discover there are goblins in the woods or they'd exterminate them.

Well, I don't have many options left... The pup barks inside the pocket of my jacket.

"Yes, I know," I whisper to him as if he understands me, which isn't true. "It has to be Ronan."

And I really don't want to. It's going to end up seeming like I'm the one harassing him. Let's be clear, the boy has finally left me alone. Maybe that's all he wanted, to swear loyalty to me. Who knows, maybe having such a high dark affinity was something he felt he had to do, like an urge that wouldn't leave him alone until he achieved it. And now I, in bully mode, am going to ask him to help me and since he's my servant... well, he won't be able to say no.

Seriously, I feel bad, poor guy!

I have to make it very clear to him that it's not an order, that it's okay if he tells me no.

"Woof."

"You keep quiet, cutie, or I'm going to start thinking you're in tune with my emotions."

Talking to Ronan is easier said than done. I look for him in the gardens, the hallways, and the library. Nothing. With no more idea of where he might be, I even knock on the door of his room. His roommate opens it, another first-year boy with an affinity for darkness, albeit average.

I know this because I heard some students comment on it. It seems that the professors had a hard time finding Ronan a roommate, because everyone they sent ended up asking for a change. Some even begged, they were so desperate. I imagine there's a lot of exaggeration in the latter.

"Hello," he greets me through the half-open door, letting me see only his head and part of his body.

"Hello, is Ronan here?"

"Who's looking for him?"

His expression changes, he looks at me with a malicious interest, as if he could take advantage of that information, which I don't like at all.

"Is he here or not?" I repeat, annoyed.

"Tell me who you are and I'll tell you where he is."

"Bianca L'Crom."

He smiles at me as if he just won a prize. I shudder.

Do I really react like this to a boy with an average affinity for darkness? And why then am I not running away disgusted from Ronan?

"The one from the marriage proposal... He's in the gym."

I give him a dry thanks, pivot on my heels, and get out of there. What bad vibes his roommate gives me... He seems like a creep ready to take advantage of anything he can. I shake my head as if that's going to get rid of the feeling and stride to the gym. There, on one of the courts, is the boy fighting a skeleton hand-to-hand.

And to say fighting is an understatement, because all he's doing is taking hits.

If he's trying to raise his constitution, I'd say he's a bit of a masochist by the choice of method.

"Ronan, what are you doing?" I say worriedly.

Too abrupt, too much shouting.

The entire gym goes silent and Ronan, bewildered, takes a hit from the skeleton on a shoulder that must have hurt for sure.

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"Stop," he tells the creature.

Then, while dropping the sword to massage his shoulder, he walks towards me.

"My lady, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Damn, here we go again. And this place is full of students from the other courts, who are watching most attentively.

"I'd like to talk to you. But not here, somewhere quieter."

I almost say "discreet". Thank goodness I rectified in time or all those people would be thinking I want to hook up with him or something. If they don't already think so...

"Of course, my lady."

I look at his life bar. He's missing a third.

"Wait a minute."

I approach, place my hand on his shoulder. I don't know if the life he's missing is from that hit or from another one he may have taken previously. It doesn't matter, if I touch him and apply my healing spell, it will go to the corresponding area.

"Minor healing," I say.

A faint white light comes out of my palm and penetrates his skin through his clothes. The life bar fills up completely. He must have 3 HP in total. Oh my gosh... he's very fragile, I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to ask for his help, I don't want him to die on me...

He thanks me and I take him out of there. The respectful way he addresses me... he doesn't do it with others. Since the other day, I'm sure we're the gossip of the week. I don't want to fuel it any more.

I tell him to follow me and I take him to a secluded area of the gardens, hopefully safe from curious ears. Too bad I don't have any magic that prevents eavesdropping.

"Do you have any spell that can prevent this conversation from reaching prying ears?" I ask him.

"No, my lady. The silence barrier is from the air school."

Well, it doesn't hurt to ask. I don't know the spells each school has, who knows if there's one in the darkness school.

"Alright, let's get to the point," I lower my voice to a whisper, so soft that he has to bring his head closer to hear me. "I need you to keep secret what I'm about to tell you."

"Of course, my l-"

"And you don't have to accept my request," I cut him off. "I'd like you to help me but I'm asking you as a friend, not as a lady. Is that clear?"

"Your wishes are my commands, whether you are my lady or I have the great honor of being able to call you my friend."

I give him a bad look. Can't he speak any other way?

"My wishes are not your commands. But it is true that I need help." I get serious. He's listening to me attentively. "Let's say I'm receiving special treatment from the academy for those other elements I have. Let's say I go to a remote village to train and while looking for something to hunt in the forest I came across a goblin. Let's say..." I pause. Here comes the hard part, I hope I haven't misjudged him. "Let's say I felt sorry for it and saved it and then it asked me to help its people and took me to its village." So far, he hasn't been scandalized, he hasn't moralized against me, nor has he backed away to denounce me. I relax a little. "I want to help them. They're the remnants of a people that had to flee from the neighboring kingdom and there are very few left, among which there are many women and children. They're in a cave, in the territory of a large bear. I've told them I'll help them defeat it. Moreover, I was going to go alone before to do a reconnaissance of the terrain and locate its lair bu-"

"My lady, you can't do that," he interrupts me somewhat agitated. "Do you know how dangerous one of those bears is? Okay, the divine beast protects you, but it can only do it once and that creature is easily surrounded by other bears."

"That's why I didn't go. Don't worry, I have no desire to take risks. That's why I'm asking for your help."

Ronan remains thoughtful for a while before answering me. I can't stop thinking about how he knows that the shadow wolf, due to its cooldown time, only protects me once; maybe this is something that is part of the properties of a divine beast.

And by the way, I don't know anything about Ronan from the otome. There was no one at the academy with his affinity for darkness. A student like that would have stood out. So, either he didn't take the exam or he didn't pass it. In the second case, it only occurs to me that he would have failed it on purpose.

"My lady, I think I understand what you intend. You have my full support for such a noble cause."

I don't know what he's talking about. I don't think killing a bear or helping some goblins survive is noble.

"Thank you."

"Could I ask how do you get to that remote village?"

"I have some teleportation stones in my room."

"I understand it's not a military village, that there are citizens."

"Yes. Also a military barracks."

"Is the teleportation platform in the barracks?"

"No, in the square."

"Good, then I can go with you. Travelers come and go freely to a civilian village; it does not have the control and security of a military fort. Take me to the goblin cave, my lady. Allow us to gather some of their warriors and see if we can provoke the bear, luring it to the human barracks. Let the soldiers handle the task."

"No way!" I give him a bad look. "I'm not going to risk the lives of the people in the village."

"Does it not have defenses?"

"A palisade and the soldiers. But I refuse, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to someone."

Okay, if I don't involve them there may be goblin casualties, but the goblins are already in the problem. The humans in the village are not.

Ronan stares at me disappointed, as if I had just taken away a toy.

"Very well, we shall devise a trap. We can depart at your earliest convenience, even immediately if you so desire. My plan is to speak with the goblins and have them begin excavating."

He details me his idea. A friend did something similar in survival games to finish off the biggest and strongest enemies. Why didn't I think of that?

Along with the enthusiasm of having a plan, I feel something else inside me. A warmth that tells me I'm no longer alone in this mission to help some monsters. Because if the goblins were really that, monsters, they wouldn't care about their women and children as they do and they would try to use me and then kill me and make me a roast. I know it's not like that, because I've talked to them and I've seen their emotions reflected on their faces. I don't know what magic their totem will have, but in the game, goblins usually had an affinity for earth and water. You know, what amounts to nature. Honestly, Ronan and I, with his dark affinity and my contract with the seed, are scarier than some poor goblins.

Damien.

Bianca and Ronan separate. They don't suspect that someone has been following her. Someone who went to the gym a few minutes after her and who, without being seen, stalked them from a distance to the gardens. The boy with average affinity for darkness couldn't hear what they were saying, except for a "no way" from Bianca. He could see that they were talking very close together.

He smiled wickedly. He had just come up with a new idea that improved his plan.