Lakshman warped into his room and groaned. He still has not gotten used to the sensation of warping in and out of places. Then he straightened up and looked around.

“Hmm?”

He was surprised to find that his room door was open. Quickly walking over, he swung it open and looked out. The corroder in the boy’s dormitory was empty. He was the only male student within the academy and the only boy to occupy one of the many rooms.

“Ah!” he suddenly said when he remembered.

Yesterday, he was eager to test out how the Warp system inside the academy worked. Because of that, he had forgotten to lock the door before warping out. So his room door had been left open for almost a day.

He quickly closed the door and walked over to the cupboards. Swinging them open, he began checking his clothes and belongings. It took him a few minutes, but he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Everything’s in place…” he muttered and he walked over to his bed.

As he fell on it, he heard the clutter of books from nearby. He sat up and looked around to see a pile of books, pens and several other stationary equipment.

“Wow…!” Lakshman exclaimed in astonishment.

He went through each of them and was amazed that they had everything he needed for his education. The text book Magic Theory, Sword Specialist and the Energy Controller. He quickly breezed through each of them and was

As he put them away, he noticed a letter lying underneath all of it. He picked it up and straightened the letter before reading it.

“Dear Lucky,

Please forgive my lapse of memory, but it seems I have forgotten to give you your equipment. The textbooks, the writing utensils and some other things you might need.

I had received a report stating the equipment were given to Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia. It made me wonder why you were not in the report. As it turned out, I had completely forgotten to give the order to get you your stuff.

I give you my deepest apologies so do not hate me. I have been very busy with reports coming in concerning things happening down at Mardana Kingdom, but do not concern yourself over it. As the Phoenix Emperor and the ruler of the Phoenix Clan, it is my duty to get to the bottom of this.

Additionally, I was called by Carmila Chaikin. She is Astral Academy’s principal which means that she is your principal. She also happens to a King ranked magician. On top of being highly ranked magician, she is also skilled in the art of sword, but not the physical sword. She wields the Magic Sword because she believes warrior swords are for men only and loathes to wield one.

So I will most likely be seeing you tomorrow and see how you are liking Astral Academy. See if I can show you around if my busy schedule does not hamper me down. Maybe I could get you to join the security guards a few times to start earning money.

You are growing up and you cannot always rely on other people for help. Try standing up on your own two feet and you will shine brightly. I might get you to go on a mission soon, but I have to sort out this Mardana Kingdom issue.

Sincerely,

Felix,

Phoenix Emperor”

Lakshman reached the end of the letter and he softly said “Felix…”

He smiled fondly at the letter and was full of respect and empathy for Felix. Just from the letter, Lakshman could tell how busy Felix had been. It explains why the equipment arrived when he was hospitalised because, by then, he had left for the forest through the use of Warp.

“Maybe they came a while after I left. Felix might’ve received news about me being attacked later in the day. Mmm… Makes sense,” Lakshman muttered to himself and nodded in satisfaction.

Lakshman began to separate the books and their equipment into categories; Magic, Weapon and Energy. Then he carried them over to the cupboard and stacked them neatly and shut the door again. Then he pulled out the timetable and placed it on the bed side table.

Finally, with nothing left to do, he fell back into bed and sighed heavily. His body was finally beginning to act the way he wanted it to. Occasionally, his fingers often twitched or moved inaccurately.

He found this out during that day’s lesson. While he was resting his chin on his hand, he yawned while covering mouth to hide it. He did not want to anger the teacher, but his arm suddenly twitched and it suddenly lost strength and he almost hit the desk with his face.

Sighing heavily from the memory, he closed his eyes and lay in bed in silence. The silence stretched for a moment as sleep began to cover him like a moody cloud.

“Hold on! This isn’t the time to sleep!” he exclaimed and he sat upright. Then he looked at the cocked “I wonder if this is a good time to use Connect to talk with Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia… Hmm…”

He pondered for a moment, but he was feeling impatient and worried. So far, the treat of the female students has been very severe towards him. He did not know what he should do and wanted to consult the girls.

The reason he chose to talk to the girls first instead of the Decisive Player was because he was asleep. During class, he closed his eyes and entered the deep part of his mind. There he found the Decisive Player floating around with his eyes closed.

“Hey, Decisive Player! Can you help me out? Decisive Player?” he asked him constantly.

Then he heard the sound of snoring coming from the Decisive Player. Walking around, he was startled to find the Decisive Player fast asleep while snoring smoothly.

“No way! You’re sleeping at a time like this?! Unbelievable!” Felix exclaimed in a shocked voice.

With no alternatives, he decided his best choice of contact and comfort are his companions. So he faced the problem of whether he should call now or later. Then he wondered if they will be busy or not to want to talk to him. The biggest thing worrying him was what their treatment will be towards him.

“Ah! I’m not getting anywhere by worrying!” he burst out in an extremely frustrated voice.

Lakshman finally made up his mind and placed his forefinger on his temple. He was just about to use the command when he suddenly realised that he did not know whom he should talk to first. At that moment, he wanted to talk to all of his companions, but wondered how that was achievable.

At that moment, a sudden voice said “Where there is will, there is a way.”

“Huh?” Lakshman said and he reacted in surprised while looking around.

There was no one and his Elemental Sense did not show anyone inside or near his room. Then he wondered if it was the Decisive Player giving him advice without waking up, but that was unlikely since he was fast asleep. Whatever it was, it certainly gave him a sudden idea which he used without hesitation.

“Group Connect to Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia,” he said clearly.

At that moment, he suddenly felt pain in his mind and he instantly clutched his head. The pain lasted a few seconds before fading away. Then he began to hear the familiar voices of his companions. He was surprised by what they were thinking.

“I wonder what master is doing…”

“I hope he is doing fine…”

“I didn’t get to see him when he left the hospital…”

“I wonder if I could probably go and see him at the boy’s dorm…”

Lakshman felt a rush of affection towards his companions. They were worriedly thinking about his wellbeing and he was worrying they were taking in the stuff the females were passing each other. He cursed himself for ever thinking like that in the first place.

Suddenly, he heard them panic suddenly when they heard voices in their heads. It must have freaked them out, but Lakshman did not hear their exclaimed shouts which did not transmit through their minds.

“W-Wow! All these voices…!”

“W-Why the hell are there voices in my head? Am I finally going insane?!”

“Eh? That voice…!”

“Huh?! This voice is?”

“Hey! These voices!”

“Wow! Don’t tell me…!”

“Tetra? Is that you?”

“This voice… Ondine?”

“Ondine and Tetra! Wow! I can hear you two!”

“Cantia, don’t be stupid. We can hear each other thinking… somehow…”

“Come on, Emilia! This is amazing!”

Lakshman chuckled at how surprised Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia were. He found it amusing he wanted to listen for a while, but he had something to ask them.

“Girls…”

At that moment, he heard them gasp and instantly heard a loud scream of “MASTER!!!”

It was so loud, it caused Lakshman to jump violently and clutch his head. Then he began hearing them speak to him in rushed voices.

“How are you?

“Are you feeling better?”

“Are you doing okay?”

“Is there anything we can help you with?”

Lakshman sighed and said in his mind “I’m fine so stop bombarding me with questions, haha.”

“Seriously, master! You’re a real worry! You know that?”

Hearing Emilia’s words made Lakshman laugh out loud. He always knew Emilia was the only one who worried about him more than anything. Her feelings were honest and she always got worried whenever he got into trouble. Even the times when he got sick, she was the one who always stayed with him to help him through the pain of sickness.

Then he heard

“How did you manage to contact all of us?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Oh yeah! I thought it was for only one person…”

“Master, did you do pull some sort of crazy stunt to speak to us all?”

Lakshman laughed and thought “I guess you could say that, but I have some things to discuss with you girls and I need your help with it.”

At his words, the girls went silent. Lakshman wondered if he lost his telepathically communication with when he heard Tetra’s voice.

“Is this concerning about yesterday’s incident?”

Lakshman was surprised by her words. Then he chuckled as he realised how sharp Tetra was.

“Yes. It’s about the thing where all the girls in school are saying I’m a pervert, a leach and stuff like that. Do you believe it?”

There was a moment of silence as he waited for a response. Then he heard them all tell him in loud voices.

“There’s no way I would believe that rubbish!” Ondine said firmly.

“Master wouldn’t do such a thing!” Emilia said firmly.

“If master wanted to, he’d have asked us first!” Cantia said which made Lakshman groan.

“Cantia… Seriously…!” Tetra said in an annoyed voice. Then she sighed and said “You might not remember this, master, but we were there when you fought those two attacks.”

“Eh? You girls were there?”

“Yes, we were. I think we were on our way to see you at the boy’s dormitory. Isn’t that right, girls?”

“That’s right, master! We were on our way when we saw you about to be killed by those two bloodthirsty brutes!”

“I panicked when I saw master was about to be killed and I transformed into my humanoid form!”

“Still… We reflexively screamed at you, master. I think you heard us and then you took them out with a cool show of strength!”

“Yeah! Master was amazing! The doctor said master was shocked pretty badly.”

“That’s right. The doctor was impressed you managed to use your strength to fight in that shocked up condition.”

Lakshman laughed and thought “I… I was feeling really weak and thought I had no strength. Then I think I heard someone screaming. Looking in that direction, I vaguely remember seeing you there. That’s when I felt this sudden urge to live and not die like that! I want to fulfil my promise to protect you before I die!”

At his passionate words, the girls were left speechless. Their brain functions got halted from hearing his words. He had no idea that, at that moment, Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia were blushing brightly.

“Anyway, I have a problem that I want your help in, girls. Will you help me?” he asked them politely.

“Ask away, master! Ask away! I’ll always be available to help you whether it be as your strength or as your weapon!” Ondine told him confidently.

“I’ll do my best to help in whatever you ask for, master!” Emilia said tentatively, but she sounded firm.

“What help do you need, master? I’ll do my best to be of useful to you!” Cantia told him brightly.

Lakshman smiled and asked “The girls all around, including in my class, are treating me like I’m some sort of pervert. Right now, the opinions are clashing due to the princess’s efforts, but I feel I need to do something, but I’m clueless. Can you girls think of what I can do to make them think better of me?”

At that moment, Ondine confidently said “Just ignore them and move on, master! Why should you care what they think about you?”

Lakshman was surprised by her words and so were the other girls.

Tetra moaned sadly and said “Ondine… Why do you suggest that?”

“Everyone in my Water Spirit Tribe tend to look down on me because I couldn’t use water magic as easily they could. I just ignored everything they told me and concentrated on perfecting the sword! Now I’m a lot more powerful than what my clan spirits would ever be!” Ondine said proudly.

“Ondine… Although that is wonderful for you, I don’t believe it will help master at all…” Emilia said in a reasonable voice.

“What?!” Ondine exclaimed in a thunderstruck voice.

There was a short silence which was broken when Emilia said “I think you need to prove them wrong, master.”

“Eh? Prove them wrong?” Lakshman asked in a surprised voice.

“That’s right and you do this by simply showing them how good you can be. How you treat them, how you act around them and so on.”

“Emilia is right, master. Girls of our age usually like boys who are confident, cool, handsome, nice and always try their best,” Tetra told him.

“Um…” Lakshman said hesitantly as he was not sure how to behave in such a way.

Then he heard Tetra laughed as she said “Don’t worry, master. Just behave the way you always do around us. I’m sure the girls will soon start understanding you and will change their opinion of you for the better.”

“Eh?” Lakshman said and he was surprised by her words. “R-Really?”

“That’s right, master. We didn’t love you because of your power.”

“No, we didn’t! I didn’t love you because of the money you earned by your achievements!” Emilia told him.

“Yes. I didn’t love you because I was destined to be with you,” Cantia said happily.

“And I certainly love you because you because you defeated me,” Ondine said.

“Eh? Um… What are you getting at?” Lakshman asked in confusion.

“You see, master… We love you, not because you are the Phoenix Titan or the soon to be strongest warrior in the world! We love you because of who you are,” Tetra said in a happy voice. Then she said “We love Lakshman Reddy, not the Phoenix Titan or the Voice of the Phoenix. We… love… you!”

Lakshman could not believe what he just heard from the girls. His eyes widened in shock and he began to grin uncontrollably. Then he started to laugh while waving his arms above him energetically. He had just found out the reason why they truly love him and it made him so happy, he could no longer contain it.

“So master!” Tetra told him and Lakshman struggled to calm down as he listened to her.

“Be yourself and act like yourself. Girls hate boys who pretend to be someone they are not and utterly despise them if they dare to trick them in any way!”

“Make sure you show them that you are not a harmful bug or anything! You are Lakshman Reddy and the future Phoenix Titan!” Ondine told him bracingly.

“Thanks, girls…! I really appreciate your wisdom!” Lakshman thought happily

He was glad they were with him and were able to cheer him up. Now he knew what he has to do and he reflexively clenched his fists with renewed energy.

At that moment, he heard Tetra say “Master… I, Ondine, Cantia and Emilia won’t mind if you get more lovers, but… If you go looking for them… We will seriously get angry at you.”

Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock when he heard her cold voice and the seriousness of her words.

Then Ondine said “Seriously, master. If you ever come to do that, I will personally see to it that you receive the hand of justice!”

Lakshman widened his eyes in horror and he thought “Seriously calm down, you two! There’s no way I’m planning on doing that! Honestly!”

“We know, but it doesn’t hurt to give you a fair warning in case you breach that line…” Ondine said ominously.

Her words made his hair stand on end and he jerked his head violently due to shock. Then he gulped nervously as sweat began to form on his face.

“Um… I have to go eat now. So I’ll see you girls later… I guess.”

“Sure, master! Please take care!” Emilia told him.

“Be well, master!” Cantia wished him brightly.

Lakshman sighed and said “Disconnect.”

There was a moment pause as he remembered Ondine’s and Tetra’s warning. He shuddered in shock and fear.

“I think its best I tread cautiously from here on…” he muttered and he nodded his head in agreement.

Just then, his stomach grumbled and he smiled. He rose to his feet and quickly walked over to the door. As he walked out, he threw one glance at the room behind him. Then, just before he closed the door, he said “I’ll be back later.”

For a few seconds, the room continued to remain lit. Then the energy crystals began to flicker and soon went out which caused the room to go dark. Then, all of a sudden, white glowing eyes materialised in the dark and looked towards the closed door.

“See you later,” the voice of a girl said before chuckling darkly.