After class, in the Academy halls…

Cycelia is walking with her friends, heading to the entrance to study on the benches outside. Neela and Tisha chatter about the previous lectures, idly sighing and grumbling about the amount of studying to do.

「Ain't that right, Lia?」

Tisha asks with a broad grin, hugging her magic tome while Cycelia is blankly staring down at her own.

「Huh?」

Her confused emerald eyes snap to Tisha's blue ones, then they jump to Neela.

「…Sorry, I wasn't listening.」

Cycelia turns her gaze away, returning it back down to her tome.

「Come ooon, Lia. You're still feeling down about Straf not being there?」

Tisha says, and rolls her eyes with a pitying smile.

「Cheer up. You have us.」

Neela chimes in, shrugging her shoulders in her uniform blazer.

「I knoooow…」

Cycelia replies, and lets out a large, gloomy sigh. She hugs her tome closer. The three take a turn, and walk into the hallway lit by the cursed flame.

「Does he not want to come with you to classes?」

Tisha asks, side-glancing at her.

「No, it's not that he doesn't want to… He said he can't. He's doing something important.」

「Like what?」

Neela asks, tilting her head.

「…I don't know.」

Cycelia replies, and looks over her shoulder at the Cursefire Brazier levitating behind them.

「But he's probably going around and asking everyone about why we can't leave. Straf is combative like that, and he always has to get his way.」

She adds, as the trio exits the purple hallway into the foyer, and head down the stairs.

「Straf's a bad boy, huh?…」

Tisha says, smirking a little.

「He's not… Bad… He's a little rough, but he's really generous, kind, and really smart. He's from some amazing faraway land.」

「Hmmmmm… He kind of sounds like me.」

「Ehehehe… Maybe that's why we get along well.」

Cycelia giggles at Tisha softly as they approach the door.

「…What about me?」

Neela chimes in again, blinking at Cycelia from her side.

「Ah- You're nice too, Neela. You're both great…」

She beams a warm smile at Neela as well, heading through the door with them.

「…I wonder what he is up to right now.」

Cycelia says, closing the door to the Academy behind her…

…

Moments earlier, at the Academy's dueling grounds…

「…Seriously. Are you stupid, or something? Did you not catch the duels yesterday?」

Straf asks the golden-haired young man, while his two fellows orbit around him with nervous, tight-lipped expressions on their faces.

「Are you chickening out, Straf Katastrof? Or should I say… Nonoyo Biznis!?」

Aurelius asks in a scornful tone with a smug, disdainful grin full of hate.

「Your lordship…」「Aurelius…」

His followers plaintively raise their hands, trying to steer him away from a disaster.

「Quit sniveling already! I'm tired of hearing you!」

Sneering, he turns his head towards them and shouts.

「But-」「But we think duels are unjustifiably dangerous…」

「Shut up! My father is not paying you to think! He's paying you to tend to my needs! Be grateful you have an opportunity to rise out of being commoner trash by studying here, serve me, and shut up!」

Aurelius shuts his attendants down, disrespectfully poking one in the chest with his finger as he talks him down.

「Now, now… The Academy of Magic does not support discrimination on the basis of birth. Mind your tongue before the headmaster hears of this, young man.」

Aria chides the golden-haired young man, expertly veiling her distaste.

「Pft. Discrimination?… I am providing them with equal opportunity! I am treating them exactly as I would treat a noble with a magic ability like theirs… Which is unthinkable by itself!」

Aurelius scoffs, glancing at the boys his age with an amused smirk on his face. He proudly spreads his arms as he explains himself. His black mantle with a purple inner side majestically hangs off his blazer's shoulders like bat wings.

「So long as they know their place as bottom feeders, they can learn magic here. And if they don't like being treated like bottom feeders, they can always duel me and learn their place…」

He adds, pointing his hand at the greatly embarrassed young men behind him.

「…Do you!? Do you want to duel me after I grind this bastard into dust!?」

The blonde noble asks, shouting in their faces while he points his finger at Straf's bored face as he stands in front of him.

「No, Aurelius…」「No, we are content here at the bottom…」

His Academy-uniformed servants quickly shake their lowered heads. He lets out an amused, conceited huff out of his nose.

「See, Professor Aria? They don't mind.」

Aurelius smirks smugly, turning his face to the big hatted professor. The two glare at each other with two-sided masked disdain.

「…Wow, aren't you a nice guy. The peasants don't have a whole lot of opportunities for upward mobility. Bet they're grateful for a chance to be spit in the face by someone of your status.」

With his hands in his pockets, Straf breaks the silence. He is staring at Aurelius with a bored face, albeit stifling his urge to smirk.

「Yes, yes we are…」「Yes, this is a blessing…」

The two men behind Aurelius nod their lowered heads.

「That's right! If not for what you've done to me, we might have gotten along! I can tell we have the same mindset! We're alike!」

He says, grinning at Straf with his fists on his hips.

「Huh? What makes you say that? We're nothing alike.」

Straf asks, narrowing his eyes at him. The disdainful look in his gaze, the slight disgusted sneer and his lightly furrowed brows almost tangibly distance him from the young man he is speaking to.

「Why, we can both recognize the bottom feeders, and treat them appropriately… I've heard you've flawlessly won duels, but not so fast! You're mistaken if you think I'm the same as some random scum!」

「Like I said, we are nothing alike. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, unlike you.」

「Oh, but I know we are different…」

Aurelius begins chuckling with a smug grin on his face.

「…I said we're alike, and not the same! Don't get ahead of yourself! You are beneath me! I'll admit, you're not a bottom feeder if you won a few duels against real bottom feeders… But know your place!」

He points at Straf, glaring at him. Meanwhile, Straf listens in silence as he's staring back at Aurelius with a lightly amused, tight-lipped grimace.

「When you're groveling before me and begging for mercy, perhaps then I will allow you to be in my presence with your head lowered!」

The golden-haired young man declares, placing his hands on his hips.

「…Doesn't your neck hurt?」

Straf asks, looking at him with an almost pitying gaze.

「Huh? From what?」

The question appears to take Aurelius aback, and he furrows his brows greatly.

「From looking down on people so much, you little shitstain. You're about to find out what a wedgie is.」

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Straf scoffs with a smug grin, glaring down at him with his eyes narrow, no longer hiding his disdain for Aurelius.

「Y- You dare insult me further!? After everything you've done!?」

He asks, shocked and appalled.

「Hey, what are you going to do? Duel me? Sorry, can't right now. I'm busy tearing apart some blondie asshole.」

Straf chuckles, grinning in his face.

「Okay, that's enough. You, to the blue obelisk…」

Aria halts the verbal fight, and instructs Aurelius, expertly suppressing her smirk. He huffs angrily out of his nose, stomping towards the stone pillar with a blue painted strip around it.

「…I suppose I should feel bad about using you to chop down middling, but loudmouthed students to their size.」

She says, side-glancing at Straf while the nobleman's attendants join the sparse spectator crowd off to the side.

「Using me? You're now coming up with flash fiction to feel like you have control over me?」

Straf scoffs at the professor with, a ridiculing grin on his face.

「Tsk… Like it or not, I decide if the duel requests are valid. Someone with my authority can say that looking at someone the wrong way is grounds for a duel.」

Aria clicks her tongue, crossing her arms.

「…And?」

「And, let's say more than a few students fell through the cracks, and didn't get theirs. Even those that I thought had valid grievances with you… Because I wanted you to humble some of the bigheaded ones.」

She replies, looking at Straf with a falsely expressionless face.

「If I say I'm doing this out of my own free will, I bet you'll say free will doesn't exist… But I really am. I can't stand the fucking guy. I'll wedge his undies so far up his ass, that he'll taste what he ate a few hours ago.」

Straf says, and walks towards the red obelisk.

「…Use magic this time, or I'll get mad!」

Aria shouts across the distance towards Straf's back after a brief moment, as if she forgot to say that while they were standing next to each other.

「…Are you willing to take responsibility for what might happen if I do?」

He ominously replies, looking over his shoulder.

「What do you mean by that?…」

The professor asks loudly, narrowing her eyes at Straf within the stone barriers' perimeter.

「Isn't it obvious? I'm holding back pretty hard. Are you sure you want me to stop?」

「…Straf, this is a magic duel. You may be a guest, but you agreed to this. Play by the rules.」

Aria dodges the question, after much visible hesitation whether she should answer at all.

「Last time you said there are no rules, and I don't have to do anything…」

Straf turns around, and spreads his hands in exasperation.

「Play by the Academy's rules. Listen, I just want you to cast something. Show everyone what you've got… And remember the rules of the duel. You remember, right?」

She asks, nodding her hat a little as she expects to receive acknowledgment of some form.

「Tsk… Fine. I'll do something flashy that'll wow everyone.」

He throws his hands up, turns around, and continues towards the red obelisk with his hands in his pockets while shaking his head.

「Duelists, ready yourselves!」

Aria shouts, placing her black-gloved hand on one of the obelisks when Straf makes it to his position.

「Aurelius, are you ready!?」

She asks the golden-haired young man.

「Of course I am!」

Aurelius lets out an amused scoff, grinning at Straf from across the arena.

「Straf!?」

「Yup!」

With his hands in his pockets, Straf shrugs his shoulders.

「…How about you pull your hands out!?」

Aria asks in a frustrated tone.

「Look, do you want to come in here and join him? My hands in my pockets didn't stop me the last time, did they?」

「Tsk… Suit yourself…」

She grumbles shaking her head. She looks at both duelists for a short moment.

「…Begin!」

Aria exclaims, and raises the dueling barrier above them.

「You're done for!」

Aurelius shouts, and points his palm at Straf, and begins casting something quietly. Straf calmly approaches, completely unbothered by his opponent.

「…Great, he just completely ignored me. Tsk… He'll never learn his lesson if he's beaten with-」「『Heat Ray』!」

Aria grumbles, shaking her head with her hat, but her grumbling is interrupted by a sudden spell from Aurelius. The space before his palm blurs, and extends forward in a squashed, mostly horizontal cone.

「Heat Ray? Vicious little-」

She doesn't to finish her comment, before a wave of shimmering air emanating from Straf collides with the blurry space stretching towards him. A mist-like apparition colored like a rainbow rises a little into the air from the blur, and dissolve into nothing. The blonde man's jaw drops, Aria lets out an amused scoff, and Straf stops in the center of the arena.

「…But how?」

Aurelius mouths, and Straf can see it, even without any lip-reading proficiency.

「Okay, listen… Since you think you're so high and mighty, and you are the challenger, how about this?…」

Straf exclaims, pulling his hand out of his pocket, and extends his index finger out.

「…If you hit me, I'll concede your supposed superiority. I'll give you a few attempts. Let's see…」

He rubs his chin intensely, thinking.

「…Do you think you can do it in the next hundred spells?」

Straf asks, chuckling with disdain at his opponent, grinning broadly with his hands in his pockets.

「A hundred!? Stop insulting me already, you worm! The next one will end your pathetic life!」

「It better. I just blurted a random number out, but then I remembered how long it takes you people to cast…」

He shrugs, spreading his hands in response, then lets out a frustrated, sighful groan. Aurelius begins casting something, chanting its incantation too far for Straf to hear.

「『Fireball』!」

The golden-haired young man shouts, and a basketball-sized flame forms at his palm. It shoots forward towards Straf in a large and heavy arc.

「Seriously? That's not even new…」

Pfffwooooooooom!…

He grumbles, shaking his head. Despite the fireball crossing half the arena in mere seconds, Straf casually walks out of the way. The fireball splashes against the sandy loam, spreading wildly into a pool of fire, but as there is nothing to burn aside from sparsely growing singular blades of grass, it dies down very quickly. Aurelius clenches his teeth, and begins casting another spell…

…

Roughly one and a half hour later…

《Why… Why can't I hit him!?…》

「Nngh… Haaa… Haaaa… Khaah… Haaa…」

Aurelius gasps and pants, breathing heavily, swallowing his extremely dry throat, feeling lightheaded and fatigued. Straf is casually standing with his hands in his pockets, not even paying attention to him anymore.

「『Windbolt』!…」

The golden haired noble's out of breath shout pulls Straf's attention back to himself. Straf clicks his tongue, and gently leans away.

FWOOShm!…

It flies past Straf with a terrible noise, and dissipates into nothing after crossing another quarter of the arena behind him.

Clap. Clap.

「Okay, okay!… That was the spell number one hundred!-」

With a pause between them, Straf claps his hands twice.

「Straf! Aurelius! Isn't this enough!? It's been far! Much! Longer!… Than five minutes! You both said you know the rules!」

Aria shouts with her arms crossed and an audibly frustrated voice, no longer even maintaining the barrier, as all but a handful of spectators have already left out of boredom.

「Enough!? But we're both not satisfied, are we not, blondie!?」

Straf replies, grinning and chuckling at his opponent.

「It's no longer a Federation-sanctioned duel! If something happens to either of you, it will be considered maiming, or worse! That's enough!」

The professor shouts, while Straf's opponent is gasping for air and barely on his feet.

「But I didn't use my spell on him yet? Let me show you that real quick, and I'll be satisfied!…」

Straf spreads his arms, looking at Aria and her big hat with a huge grin on his face.

「Tsk… Fine! One spell!」

She sighs, and shouts back. She then places her gloved hand on the obelisk again, and raises the barrier.

「…Actually, make that two, for this little shit's benefit!」

Straf says, showing two fingers on his hand to Aria. He quickly places his hand back in his pocket, and turns his eyes to his opponent.

「Haah… Don't you dare call me-」

Aurelius tries to bark back, but his response is cut short by a bright, very narrow beam of blue light impacting his chest.

Psssssssshtzzzzttttt…

「Ow fuck!- What the fuck!?」

With the sound of sizzling flesh, as if wet meat thrown onto a hot frying pan, he winces and cringes from the searing pain at the point of impact.

「…What the fuck?」

He says again, with his voice sinking into ever deeper confusion. His blazer and shirt both have a perfectly circular, charred hole burned through them, and the skin beneath has a bad burn, as if someone pressed branding iron into it for a few seconds. He looks at Aria with a panicked gaze, and his expression cracks her visage of neutrality. She visibly scoffs, smirking a little. His eyes return to Straf's bored face.

「That was a little courtesy warning, just so you know what's coming. With that out of the way…」

Straf says with a massive, malicious grin on his handsome face, pointing his hand at the hole in the blonde student's blazer.

「…Dodge.」

Like a dog being made to perform tricks, he commands Aurelius. A large blue orb forms in front of Straf, rapidly fluctuating in size and growing blindingly bright…