When the boy woke up, the first thing he noticed was the bright light streaming from the crevice of the closed curtains covering a window.

With a groan, he turned his face away from the light. His unconscious self had no plan to wake up right away.

However, his conscious self said otherwise. He jolted upwards once he realized where he was in right now.

R-right, I am now her servant. I should start acting like one.

And he intended to start his new occupation by waking his employer from her slumber.

However, that plan went astray when he saw the state of her form sleeping on her bed.

Due to her sleeping position where she slept sideways while hugging her pillow, the hem of her knee-length dress at the back had risen far past the safety line, exposing the bottom article of her undergarment to the world, and in turn, to him.

Fortunately, she was wearing a pair of drawers, instead of a pair of panties girls more commonly wore nowadays. If she had been wearing panties, that image would be burned into his mind forever. He would never be able to speak or look her in the eye ever again without remembering the shameful view.

But they were still a girl's underwear, which was why they still brought a blush on his face.

To his shock however, the girl stirred and opened her eyes.

"Ooh, Tom. Is it morning already?" She groggily yawned.

"Y-yeah, I was just about to wake you up," he replied awkwardly, trying to pretend he wasn't checking out her undergarments while she was sleeping.

Unfortunately for him, she was a sharp girl. She instantly noticed his odd expression, before realizing the state her dress was in. Without even a second wasted, she put the two and two together.

"My, Tom," she grinned. "You like what you saw, seeing a girl in her drawers?"

"N-n-n-n-no! N-not at all! I-it's not what you think!" His face turned beet red as he waved his arms, furiously denying her accusation.

"Teehee, you're so innocent, Tom!" She giggled as she rose into a sitting position. "If I was wearing my cute tiny white panties,"-the boy turned even redder from this statement as he inadvertently started to imagine it-"I would understand your reaction. But I was wearing my drawers, quite a conservative underwear in this day and age."

"B-but, it's still a girl's underwear, so..." his voice trailed off with embarrassment.

"Hmm, you're right." She put up her thinking expression. "It is still a girl's underwear you're seeing after all."

"So-"

"Ah, I know!" She interrupted him before he could apologize. "How about this? For this day forward, I, Princess Alicia Thorton, grant you the permission to see my drawers, as long as they were visible through circumstances not caused intentionally. So you are allowed to view them if my dress are lifted by the wind or my own movements, but not when it was lifted by your own hands."

"E-eeeeh?" He could only say that in reply.

"This way, you won't have to feel embarrassed or guilty if something like this happens again." She clapped her hands happily.

"A-are you sure?" The boy didn't quite believe the fact that she had allowed him to peek at her undergarments... even though that wasn't the main point of her proclamation but it was all he could hear from her statement.

"Of course, Tom! Have more faith in your princess!" She giggled.

"A-ah, s-sorry! I didn't mean to offend!" He quickly bowed apologetically.

"Oh, but this rule doesn't apply when I am wearing my panties though, not that you should worry about that. I would never wear it while you are around."

"Why not?" he asked, before shutting his mouth after he realized the implication of that question.

"Why, Tom, you want to see me in my panties that badly?" She wore her mischievous smile once more.

"N-n-n-no! It was just a slip on the tongue! A slip of the tongue!"

"Hehe, if you want to, then you have to become my husband first."

"E-eh, what do you mean?" He didn't see the connection between the two.

"It means exactly what it means. I am only going to wear panties if my future husband asks for it. And I would even be willing to wear a short dress along with it," she said with a hint of redness across her cheeks, causing his heart to skip a beat since he didn't expect he would ever get to see her blushing. He couldn't help but think just how cute she was when she did.

"S-so, are you already engaged? W-with a prince from another country perhaps?" he asked, surmising that something like that was a common thing for princesses to do.

"Oh, no no, not at all," she answered, back to her usual self, "My parents were not big in the whole idea. They wished for me to choose my own partner in life. Besides, only weak countries would use their princesses as bargaining chips for political marriages."

Now he was reminded of the fact that she hailed from Rem, one of the strongest and most influential country in the world. If you were that strong, you didn't need to forcibly make political alliances, he thought.

"So,"-her voice brought him back from his meditations-"how long would you stand there? I'm going to take my bath now. And I thought you didn't want to see me in my towels."

"A-ah, s-sorry! I-I'll leave the room right away!"

=====================================================================

He sighed in relief after he was outside. He was starting to think he would never get used to living one roof (and room) with a girl.

Deciding he would take a walk outside while waiting for her to finish her bath, he began descending the nearby staircase since her room was on the third floor of the dormitory and he would need to go to the first floor first before getting to the exit.

When he exited the building, thankfully without any hiccups in the way like a girl walking out wearing only her underwear (it was the girls' dormitory after all), the first thing he noticed was that there were two people standing against each other in the middle of the field across him. One was a boy and one was a girl.

The boy seemed to be somewhat older than him, though most likely not by much. He was wearing a long white blazer with a pair of black trousers underneath. He had unremarkable brown hair and black eyes. Tom noticed how he had a sword of some sorts sheathed on his right hand. He said "some sorts" because the sword was curved, unlike normal swords where they were as straight as a needle.

The girl, on the other hand, was much more striking, what with her blazing long red hair and red eyes. She wore one of those newly trending school uniforms, with a black sweater over the white shirt and a short black skirt for the bottom part. He had seen those types of clothing before, but they were worn by girls not because they had to as their school uniforms but simply because it was fashionable. Personally, he wasn't fond of it, since they had a tendency to make him blush, due to the tightness of the sweater that emphasized the girl's breasts and the shortness of the skirt that could easily reveal the panties hidden underneath. It had happened before. Thrice, in fact. Lacy white, striped green, and dark yellow.

...He blushed after realizing he remembered all those perverted details flawlessly.

I'm sorry, ma. I cannot become the good man that you wish for me to be after all.

Back on Earth, he discreetly walked closer to the two, until he could hear their conversation.

"I challenge you to a duel!" the girl said spiritedly, "The winner shall do whatever the loser asks them to do. If I win, you shall leave this school right away!"

"And if I win?" the boy asked back with a calm voice.

"Then you can do whatever you want with me! Not that you'll ever win, of course, seeing how you're a failure who cannot even pass the beginner level class!"

Without warning, she began chanting her spell. Near instantaneously, fire appeared around her; wall of flames jutted out from the ground and fireballs manifested on the air.

Tom was awed by the amount of magic she could use. For him, three palm-sized fireballs were already the limit but she summoned all of those like it was the same as waving her hand. Watching this made him understand more and more of the gap between him and actual mages.

The fireballs flew from her towards the boy. But the boy didn't show a sign of fear or panic whatsoever. He merely unsheathed his sword. And, as they came close to him, with an unbelievable speed he cut through them all, making them vanish without even singing a single hair on his body.

"H-how did you...?!"

Tom had the same reaction as the girl. How could a sword dispel the fireballs like that? Was it a water element sword? No, it didn't have the usual bluish tinge water elemental swords had. Then how was it that he could do it? Not to mention the inhuman speed he had with that thing.

"It's my turn now, princess."

When Tom blinked, he was gone from his sight.

No, not gone, he had leaped forward at such a speed that Tom's eyes couldn't keep up.

Sharing the same amazement with Tom, the girl haphazardly sent her flame walls towards him. And, like the fireballs, they were rendered useless by a single swing of his sword.

"Y-you! What are you?!"

Panicking, the girl tried to put some distance from him. She even used her fire spell to produce a rocket boost effect, increasing her speed considerably. With it, she could keep up with his demonic speed. However, each time she used it, it took a toll on her mana. Even her couldn't keep using it over and over again without rest.

"I-I can't believe it! A-am I going to lose against this-this man who can't even use magic?" the girl thought to herself.

"No! I refuse to lose! I won't let all those hardwork go to waste!"

Gathering all her remaining strength, she channeled her mana towards the flames she was emitting.

And then, a peculiar thing happened.

Her flames, once red now all turn blazing white.

And, when the boy tried to cut them down with his sword, they wouldn't disappear like they used too. They simply turned back into ordinary red, still packed with their burning power.

Stolen story; please report.

Noticing this, the boy quickly moved his body to dodge. But it was too late. As he retreated, some of the flames connected, giving him burns all over his body.

"Ha..." The girl panted. "Take that... That was my... trump card... my own creation... [Plasma Fire]... it was hotter many, many times more than ordinary red fire..."

The boy was forced to stand with the help of his sword as his legs gave out. He was also panting heavily.

"I know... your trick! That sword... it has the properties to dissipate mana! An anti-magic sword! How cowardly... to bring such a thing to a fight between magicians..."

An anti-magic sword? Of course! Why didn't I think up that sooner? - Tom chastised himself.

"Now... time to finish this!"

The girl moved both of her hands to her front. And then, she put every single drop of mana she had remaining into her palms.

The result?

A massive pure white flame was created. It widened and widened as it went towards the boy.

Oh crap she is not holding back! She really intends to kill him! - Tom panicked. He wanted to help the boy but he had no idea how. With the flame that wide, he would only end up burning alongside him.

But then, something he would have never seen coming happened.

The boy vanished from his place.

And he appeared right where the girl was.

Before she could react, he pressed his sword right onto her throat.

"Your... lost..."

And then, he fell into the ground.

Both the girl and Tom had no idea what just happened.

But the girl knew that she had lost the match, before she too fell to the ground.

However, even without its master, the white flame kept going.

Going right to the place where he was hiding.

He had been foolish. He had not paid attention to his own safety.

But he couldn't help it. Seeing all that fantastic magic thrown around, it was like a dream to him.

But now, he had to wake up burning from that dream.

"Barrier."

Like an angel from the heavens, a graceful figure landed in front of him. It was a figure he had known well.

"P-princess..." Tom said weakly.

Alicia didn't respond or even glance backwards. She focused all her attention to the flames raging in front of her.

Her barrier had protected him from the flames by preventing it to go anywhere near him. However, it still raged outside. And he could feel the heat suffocating him.

After what seemed to be an eternity or more, the flames slowly petered out, turning into red before disappearing thoroughly.

"Seriously, casting a spell with such intensity in the academy? Is she mad, that princess? I'll have to have a few words with her after she wakes up."

"W-whew, that was close!" Tom wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"And you, Tom," Alicia turned around to face him, "You are a fool to stay so close while a magic battle is happening. You can't cast any defensive magic. What will you do if a stray spell wanders off to you?"

He was being scolded but for some reason it felt nice to him. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the way she spoke somehow reminded him of his mother.

And just like his mother, she smiled after she had finished scolding him.

"Oh well, I suppose your interest for magic is so great that it overrides your sense of self-preservation. You really are a piece of work, Tom."

She grabbed my hand and helped me rise from the ground. After that, she instructed me to go back to her room and take a rest while she would take care of those two, who were still unconscious right on the middle of the field.

"One more thing," she said just when I was about to leave, "I give you permission to sleep on my bed. Just make sure it's in good form once I get back from my studies."

Tom didn't think he would be able to sleep in a bed that had been used by a girl.

==============================================================

The two duelers were brought to Miss Pross, who were quite mad that they had done an unsanctioned duel. She was even madder at the girl for burning down the trees near the Dormitory. Just a little more and the flames would have reached the actual building. And she was absolutely livid that she had cast a lethal spell in that magnitude just for a duel. She was about to send her back until the boy protested, saying it was him that should be blamed since he started the whole conflict. But the girl, instead of being grateful to him, lashed at him instead, saying how she didn't need her pity.

"Yes, yes, you two, go argue on your own," Miss Pross said while rubbing her forehead, feeling a migraine coming. "In fact, I just thought of a perfect punishment for you. You two shall be obligated to stay near each other as long as you are students in this academy. I will cast a detection magic on you. If any of you breaks the rules, I will send both of you home. Yes, that includes you, Princess Guinevere. Even if you're a princess, you are still a student in our academy. Yes, this also means you will share the same room. I trust you two are mature enough for not having anything... untoward to happen."

"N-no! No! I'd rather die than to sleep with him!" The princess was outraged.

"I can sleep on the floor," the boy interjected.

"B-but, how about when I change my clothes? A pervert like you must want to-"

"I'll go out and stand outside."

"T-then, when I go to the bathroom-"

"Same principle. I will stand outside your stall."

"N-no! T-then you can hear-you can hear when I'm-"

"I don't mind. Everyone does it after all. And you can hear mine when I do my business."

"WHO WANTS TO HEAR YOURS?!"

And thus, it was decided. The two of them would be together as long as they were students in this academy.

"Oh, one more thing," Miss Pross said before they left the room.

"Alicia wishes to speak with you, Guinevere. She's waiting at her room. Third floor, room number 312."

"Alicia?" she asked, not exactly familiar with the common name.

"The princess whose servant you almost burnt to crisp."

===================================================================

"You wait outside! I'll talk to her alone!"

The boy just shrugged as she knocked on the room.

After merely the second knock, the door opened, and behind it, a smiling Alicia appeared.

"Please, come in."

Doing as she told, but still eyeing Alicia suspiciously, Guinevere entered the room.

"W-who-who is he?"

Guinevere pointed at Tom's sleeping figure on Alicia's bed. Apparently he could sleep on a girl's bed after all.

"S-such a perverted expression..." she said as she looked at Tom's opened mouth as he hugged the body pillow tightly.

"Oh? He's just smiling because the pillow smells nice."

"S-smells nice? It's your smell, isn't it?"

"Not just mine. There's the smell from the soap, too."

"That's not the point! A-and why do you have a man sleeping on your bed in the first place?"

"He's my servant. The one you almost burned. I told him to take a rest there because as you can see, I only have one bed here."

As Guinevere tried to process what Alicia was saying, and failing, Alicia herself was pouring some tea. She offered a cup to Guinevere and she quickly snagged it from her hand, drinking it in the hopes that it would somehow help her make sense of Alicia's logic.

"Anyway," Alicia took a seat on the carpeted floor, with Guinevere soon followed. "I brought you here just to ask this one question. Why did you use that spell?"

"That spell? You mean my white flame spell?"

"Yes, particularly how you unleashed an uncontrollable, wide-sized one. I don't believe you're ignorant enough to not know that using such a spell is extremely dangerous, especially in a friendly match."

Guinevere looked down as if she was ashamed of her deeds.

"No, I think I know why you did it," Alicia continued, "You really didn't want to lose to him, did you?"

Guinevere slowly nodded in response.

Alicia sighed. "I knew it. I was watching your battle and he was indeed outclassing you."

"I know," she responded, her voice shaking, "Even with... with all the training I did since I was little, I am still not strong enough. To be defeated by someone with no magic..." Guinevere crunched her fists.

Alicia raised her eyebrows. "Indeed, he didn't use any magic. But he had that anti-magic sword. Not to mention the fact that he had a physical ability far beyond a normal human. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself."

Guinevere sat silent. She didn't know whether or not she should take heed of her words.

"Oh, how about this?" Alicia broke the silence. "I shall teach you how to win against him."

Guinevere looked up. "R-really?"

"Yes," Alicia answered calmly. "Looking at his performance at your battle, I am confident I can defeat him. In fact, tell him I wish to have a duel against him. Tomorrow would be fine, if he has recovered."

Guinevere told her that he was waiting just outside the room and she could tell him herself.

"Oh, that would be even better."

==================================================================

After that, Alicia met with the boy, whose name was Akihiko. His exotic name was the most obvious indication that he hailed from a distant country. And apparently, that country didn't have mages like the countries here. They instead have swordsmen, warriors capable of going toe-to-toe with mages just because of their intense training since they were little kids.

"Tomorrow morning it is," Alicia said after he agreed to fight her, "Of course, I will inform Miss Pross about this first so rest easy. You wouldn't be breaking any more rules."

And thus the day finally ended. When Alicia met Miss Pross to ask for her permission, she readily agreed. She would be there to watch over the battle.