During the free period between classes, in the cafeteria…

「What?…」

Damian lets out a surprised utterance in response to Straf's explanation. The cafeteria is completely empty, and his quiet voice spreads through the entire large hall with ease.

「Clear out your fuckin' ears…」

Straf rolls his eyes with a sigh, and the girls all look at each other with large, troubled eyes.

「N- No, we heard you, it's just…」

「…It's kind of unbelievable. First a wraith, then a vampire?」

Neela and Tisha look at each other, before turning their eyes to him and fill their sentences out for each other.

「With that out of the way… Lia, no more wandering around after the last bell. Never mind grues, you might actually get eaten by something in the dark now.」

「Grue?」「Grues?」「What's a grue?」

Damian and the two girls ask, and Cycelia glances at them.

「It's some… Thing that lurks in the dark.」

She explains, shrugging her shoulders as the three blink at her. Straf stands up, and heads for the kitchen area.

「Straf? Where are you going?」

Cycelia asks, watching him nonchalantly walk up to the empty queue area, and fill a tray with food. He places a singular gem down as a payment, and returns to their table.

「Getting some food while there's a chance…」

He says, sitting down with a tray stacked full of food. He places a mug of Temurian oasis fruit juice in front of Cycelia.

「Here, I got you this too.」

「Straf, but…」

Cycelia blinks at it, visibly troubled as he nonchalantly begins eating.

「Hey! I pay through the nose for the food, and you just steal it!?」

Damian stands up in outrage, slamming his palms on the table. Straf looks at him like he's stupid.

「…I inn't steal it. I paid fo' it.」

He replies with his mouth full, chewing.

「A single gem!?」

The young man shouts, pointing at the gem on the kitchen counter.

Gulp.

「…Yeah? What's the problem?」

Straf asks, loudly swallowing the food.

「Straf… A single gem might pay for a single serving at most…」

Cycelia explains, looking at his face with a troubled expression on hers.

「…It is a single serving. I won't be coming back for seconds.」

「That's not how it works!」

Damian exclaims in exasperation, staring at Straf's pile of food on his tray.

「Well, they didn't tell me I can't do that while I was grabbing the food, so…」

Straf shrugs, grinning at him as he takes another bite of a breaded cutlet.

「That's because there's no one ther- Gahhh! You're an asshole!」

Damian gives up on arguing and sits back down, angrily crossing his arms.

「If you're too poor to afford food, maybe I can hire you as a servant. Beg like a dog, and I'll throw you some scraps-」

Tisha says with a snide smirk directed towards Damian.

「Shut up.」

「You're just jealous Straf is a man enough to take what he thinks is his… Maybe you're a lost son of the north?」

Tisha says, briefly grinning at him before turning her blue eyes to Straf. Damian huffs in frustration, turning his eyes away.

「Nah, I've got no family…」

「Wha-?」「Huh?…」

Straf nonchalantly replies, and opens his [Portable Storage] at his side, digging through it. Tisha's and Neela's heads perk up in surprise, and their expressions grow sullen, looking at him with pitying eyes. Even Damian's glare has softened, and he looks at Straf with a side glance, though his arms remain crossed.

「…Here, I got you this.」

Straf pulls a flared tube out, and the whirling vortex closes. He hands it to Cycelia, and she looks over it with curious eyes.

「This is?…」

「Magic flashlight. It's kind of useless to me, but if you need a light at some point, you can just twist the bottom and it'll turn on-」

He explains, grinning at her with a proud inventor's smug face.

Click.

「Gyah! Not the eyes!…」

Cycelia twists the bottom of the flashlight the moment he tells her how to, and a beam of bright light shines in his face. He lets out an anguished yell, wincing as he covers his eyes with his hand.

「Ah! Sorry! Sorry, sorry!」

She exclaims, waving the shining tube around as she fumbles trying to turn it off. She twists its bottom the other way, and the light dies down with another soft click.

「That was cool…」

Tisha remarks as Straf pulls his hand away, and looks back at them through heavily squinted eyes.

「Yeah… So that's a flashlight. Don't wave it around and make sound effects, or we'll get lawyers on our ass… Though I bet I'd win that one, actually…」

He adds, rubbing his irritated eyes with the tips of his fingers, grimacing heavily. Cycelia awkwardly lowers the tube down to her lap with a mildly guilty look on her face.

「Did you make that?」

Neela asks, tilting her head.

「Yeah… In my spare time, while I was thinking about stuff… Anyway, like I said, walk around at night at your own peril, but don't drag Lia into it.」

Straf replies with a shrug, and resumes eating his pile of food again.

「You'd have to be insane to walk around at night when there's a vampire around-」

Damian chimes in, scoffing as he shakes his head.

「Yeah, that's why leave it to me. I'll find it and kick its fucking ass. In return, you three help Lia pass the term.」

He swallows and cuts in, pointing at Damian. Straf then quickly takes another bite.

「Are you really going to be alright?… I mean, it's a vampire…」

Tisha asks with her blue eyes staring at Straf full of concern.

「Meh. If it bleeds, I can kill it. If it doesn't, explosives should do the trick.」

He nonchalantly shrugs, causing all four to exchange concerned glances between each other.

「…Are you not going to drink that?」

Straf points at the mug in front of Cycelia, and she anxiously takes a quick small sip…

…

Gonnnnnnngggggggggg… Donnnnnnnnnnggggggg… Gonnnnnnngggg…

The heavy bell tolls above, marking the end of today's lectures. Straf approaches the demonology study, and nonchalantly walks in.

「Guess who's back!…」

「Youuuu!…」

The old man inside the study seethes through his teeth, stomping up to Straf, fuming.

「Yeah, how'd you guess?」

Straf asks in an amused tone, grinning back at him with his hands in his pockets.

「You are ignoring the headmaster's explicit orders to leave me alone now!? I'll have you expelled!」

The man shouts, threatening Straf as he points at his face.

「Uh, actually… I'm here because of him.」「What-!?」

Straf replies, and the mage's eyes widen as he takes a step back.

「Yeah. Haven't you heard?… Are you hiding a vampire in here?…」

Straf shrugs, and begins slowly pacing around the room, idly looking around again. The old man's robes sway when he blocks his path.

Cracklecracklecrackle…

A trickle of sandy dust noisily drops down nearby one of the pillars in the tall, dark room. Straf looks up high at its source, and only finds shadows.

「…Guess not. You missed out your chance to have someone suck you dry… But hey, there's still time…」

He nonchalantly adds, shrugging again with a tilt of his head and a bored grimace. It quickly twists into a snide smirk again while he stares at the old mage's face.

「…You can always magic away a pair of ribs. Or y'know, the ribcage…」

Straf says, and chuckles lightly, then turns for the door.

「I was going to bring Lia here and do some good cop, bad cop stuff, but I guess we don't have the time for that… If you turn up dead, let me know. I'm off to check on the others…」

Spreading his arms as he looks over his shoulder, Straf grins at the man. He grabs onto the door handle, and opens it.

「Oh, by the way… You might not be a vampire, but I know you did it. Come on man, just admit it. Everyone already knows.」

He takes a second to point at the old man, smugly grinning at him, before shrugging his arms and closing the door behind himself as he leaves.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Thud…

An uneasy silence fills the room, and the old mage gulps nervously. He briefly glances upwards at one of the pillars before turning his eyes back to the door.

「…What is he talking about?」

He says, and wipes sweat off his forehead as he turns back to his desk, warily watching the door over his shoulder…

…

Around the same time, outside one of the classrooms…

Damian and the girls emerge along with the flow of the students, all heading in the general direction of the dormitories.

「So, no ghost hunt today?」

Tisha asks, looking at Damian from behind. He silently glances at her over his shoulder.

「…No. It's too dangerous.」

He turns his face forward, and replies after a moment.

「Straf will be okay, right?…」

Neela asks, looking at Cycelia with worried eyes. She smiles back, nodding her chestnut head.

「Don't worry, a vampire is nothing for Straf.」

Cycelia says with a warm tone, though her brows furrow gently when she looks at Damian's back.

「…I wonder. You seem confident about it, and I'm inclined to believe you… But it's still a vampire. You've seen his uniform… It might not be a close shave next time.」

Damian replies after another moment of silence.

「So you're saying we should go with him?」

Tisha asks, but Damian shakes his head.

「No…」

He says, and lets out a large, troubled sigh.

「…I will. Tomorrow. You three stay in your-」

「Huh!? As if! If you're going, I'm coming with you!」

Tisha protests, angrily clenching her fist.

「Stupid! This isn't a joke, you could seriously die! You don't take the Academy seriously, so at least treat this different!」

Damian turns around on his heel, shouting angrily at her.

「Shut up! You could die too! You think I'm going to back away because it's a little dangerous!? I'd never rule the north in that case!-」

She shouts back, glaring into his eyes while Neela and Cycelia look at each other with troubled expressions on their faces.

「You can't rule the north if you're dead, idiot! I have to learn how to face danger sooner or later, I might as well do it while I have someone strong at my side!」

「Huh!? What are you saying!? You're an Academy student too, why would you need to get yourself into dangerous situations!?」

「Because reasons!」

Damian shouts, leaning in. The two continue arguing as Neela and Cycelia wait for them to finish with tight-lipped grimaces.

「Like what!?」

「None of your business! Just do as I say!…」

He replies, and Tisha clicks her tongue in response. The two stare at each other in a brief moment of silence, staring one another in the eyes.

「You want someone strong at your side… Why not me, huh!?」

Tisha angrily asks with a frigid expression and a glare, crossing her arms.

「That's-! Because…」

Damian's head perks up, and the question visibly trips him up.

「Well!?」

The northern princess doesn't allow him even a second to collect his thoughts as he grimaces heavily.

「…Because you're too weak, idiot!」

He barks back and turns around, stomping his way towards the dormitories. The girls continue following.

「As if! I might have failed to pass multiple terms, but that just means I have more knowledge than you!」

Tisha huffs out of her nose with her golden head held high, smirking at him with conceit.

「If you try to come with me, I'll just go straight back to my room!」

Damian says, glancing over his shoulder at her.

「Fine by me! Cower in your room, coward!」

Tisha mocks him as he takes a turn and walks towards the male dormitories in a rushed step.

「Tsk… You're so fucking annoying!…」

He says, grumbling as he shakes his head. Tisha scoffs, and the girls take the opposite turn.

A few moments of silence pass as the three walk side by side with each other.

「…Tisha, you're being really aggressive with Damian, even by your standards. What's going on?」

Neela asks, furrowing her brows at her.

「Nothing. He's just so sad and pathetic that it's pissing me off.」

Tisha nonchalantly replies with a smug smile on her face, not even glancing at Neela as they make their way to their dormitories…

…

A few hours later, late at night…

Straf is walking around the halls, hands in his pockets, whistling a whimsical tune without a care in the world while he looks left and right every now and then.

「…Oh yeah, why was that door locked again back then?」

He remarks to himself as a random thought regarding the door across from demonology enters his mind. He continues walking down the hallway, heading towards the general direction of the foyer.

「…Should I just kick it in and check what's inside-? Tsk…」

Straf mumbles to himself, rubbing his chin, but then he abruptly clicks his tongue and his expression sours.

「…The fucking old man would get upset. And I bet the other one would write another letter.」

He sighs, and shrugs his shoulders. Straf continues looking around, looking both ways as he passes by hallway crossings, or takes turns. He eventually reaches the Cursefire hallway, now lit by plain, regular magic lamps levitating above. He passes underneath them, only briefly turning his bored eyes to the portraits at the sides before descending the foyer stairs to the entrance. He walks out through the front door, and continues outside down the path towards the side of the building. He moves past a fountain littered by a handful of leaves.

Straf passes by, heading towards the rear of the building, retracing his steps from the wraith's chase. He continues looking around, though his eyes remain disinterested, and his face bored. He reaches the auxiliary building's entrance and walks past it by its side, continuing onward towards the back.

Thud.

He hears the noise of someone tumbling to the ground when he's about to cross a corner. When he emerges into a narrow pathway between the buildings, he notices a man on the ground.

「Uh oh…」

Straf utters out as he walks up to him with his hands in his pockets. To his surprise, after a moment of stillness, the man begins to feebly move.

「Oh shit. You're not dead?」

He asks with his brows raised, and squats down near the man as his shaky hand attempts to grab at his ankle.

「Vahh… Vammm…」

The man gasps out, clutching weakly at Straf's boot.

「Yeah, I know.」

Straf replies with a sigh, looking at the torn, jagged wound on the man's neck. A telltale sign of a vampire bite, but completely devoid of grace and gentleness like Lily's. He stands up, and lets out a large sigh.

「Man… Another long talk with the headmaster, huh?…」

He says, and reluctantly begins pick the man up to carry him, shaking his head…

…

The next morning, in the headmaster's office…

Knock knock.

「Enter.」

Corvus says in a markedly nervous tone, focused in deep thought with his eyes on his desk, and fingers tightly interlocked. Damian peeks his head in, and walks in.

「Mr. Damian… What is it?」

He asks, looking as the handsome young man approaches.

「Headmaster… The vampire is real, right? It's not a cover story?」

Damian asks with a serious face, standing in front of the oaken desk. The headmaster looks into his eyes, and begins to lightly nod.

「…I am afraid it is, Mr. Damian. Straf has just found another victim…」

「What? When?」

「Last night. Luckily, he survived. Likely due to Straf's quick intervention… Another worker. He ignored my order to only work during the daylight… But I am to blame for this as well.」

The headmaster replies with a grim expression on his face, and brushes through his beard.

「How so?…」

Damian asks, furrowing his brows.

「…Only a tiny minority knows the truth. The reason for the curfew, officially, is thefts and vandalism. If he'd know, it's likely he'd be too afraid to remain outside at night…」

Corvus says, and lets out a large sigh, looking at the desk.

「…But if everyone was informed, a panic could break out. We were on the verge of a panic during the incident with the wraith… Luckily, that was quickly resolved, and we could sweep that under a rug.」

The old mage turns his eyes back to the handsome student, looking at him intently.

「…You are not asking because you want to wander around at night again, are you?」

He asks with a deeply concerned tone.

「Actually, headmaster… My plan was to help Straf. I thought that it's pretty dangerous to have him patrol the Academy alone-」

Damian winces, and hesitantly explains his intent.

「Straf will be fine, young man…」

Corvus cuts in with an insistent tone, staring at him with a gaze that is attempting to bore a hole through him.

「…That's what I keep hearing. But I don't feel good leaving him alone like this.」

The student shrugs his arms, grimacing a little.

「Me neither. You very well know what's it like to be a mage, Mr. Damian, we take calculated risks. The risk of Straf dying is real, but much smaller than the risk of you dying. Simply put, he has better chances.」

The old mage nods, speaking with a gravely serious face and voice.

「…I understand that. I just don't want to sit idle.」

Damian nods back, once again spreading his arms, before placing his hands in his pockets with a displeased, frustrated expression.

「I know you want to fight… To make a difference. There is a way you can make a difference, Mr. Damian. Don't die an early death. You do what you can do, and let Straf handle the rest…」

Corvus says, adjusting his glasses as he leans back. His serious expression softens as he begins smiling a little.

「…With that being said, I will ask of you the same thing that I have asked of Straf… Please keep the students safe. That includes you.」

The headmaster forces his smile a little more, before it quickly returns back to its regular upward curl. Damian looks around, pacing on the spot, grimacing in frustration, before turning his eyes back to him.

「…Understood, headmaster.」

Damian nods, and begins to turn around.

「Ah-ah-ah! Wait…」

Corvus quickly sticks his palm out towards him, halting Damian. He reaches for a nearby drawer, and pulls an envelope from within.

「…If you would be so kind, please deliver this letter of explanation and apology to Professor Arkeis… During daylight hours. He has been a little out of the loop, but we are not in a rush.」

He says, holding the envelope out for Damian with a gentle smile on his face.

Damian takes it with a light bow of his head, and heads for the exit. At the door, he nods at Corvus once again, and departs without an added word…