12 DIVIDED

Her back was sore, her eyes burning, if not for the potions Ivan gave her on the way home she probably wouldn't even be awake at this hour. But to fulfill her duties as a maid, Claire got up and ready for work.

As far as she knew today would be a somewhat important day. Though Ivan and co succeeded in their goal, there happened to appear some disgruntled folk within the class who did not approve of their actions.

Folk who believed that every member of the class has a duty and responsibility to use their newfound powers in aiding the humanity of this world, even if it means facing demons on the battlefield.

And so these very same folk held a class meeting, as per the rules only members of the class (including Aiko-sensei) were to be allowed in this discussion. But Ivan, who didn't even want to be there, directly ignored the rules and invited Claire. He remarked that if she were going to be attending him in his best moments then she should see him during the worst.

If not for the behest of Aiko-sensei, Ivan would have spent the remainder of this day concocting elixirs. But he felt like he owed Aiko-sensei for causing this divide to happen. At least he felt responsible for it.

Claire could only laugh dryly at her master's drive to work and so she silently bowed to Aiko-sensei in her mind for giving her some time to rest. She stored the knives away Ivan gave her as a welcome present in the holsters on her leg, neatly hidden by her long gown.

She wasn't worried about their quality as she had watched him make them right in front of her. In fact she was a bit grateful with his gesture of good faith and made a note in her mind to gift him with something he'd appreciate.

The only problem being she didn't know much about him. Hell, the only reason he got her weapons as a gift was to use the excuse of making sure his bodyguard had tools to protect him in case of emergencies.

An excuse she thought of as being a way to hide his embarrassment. Aside from all that, she snickered softly to herself as she remembered the expression of annoyance he showed when receiving the rather threatening invitation to the talk late into the night.

He then promptly ordered her to destroy the letter of invitation using the new knives he gave her. Now adorning her maid cap she left her home and made her way to Ivan's Atelier.

It had only been one day and yet she felt as though she already knew her routine as his maid. All the skills she learned as a maid were thrown out the window as she summarized her newfound days of waking up, assisting Ivan with his work, and going to bed.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

She waited patiently for Ivan to open the door. And then…. Nothing. Even after knocking on the door harder or often no one ever answered. She started sweating imagining that something horrible had happened to him

CREAK

Her worries were put to rest as Ivan finally responded, without a sign of exhaustion or traces that he had spent the previous night working without sleep, he answered the door.

"Oh hey Miss Claire, I was about to head on over to your place to make sure you didn't oversleep. Now we must hurry! Let's get this over with so we can immediately start work."

Not minding the threatening aura surrounding Claire, Ivan took the lead and made his way opposite from the class' dorm building.

"Wait, where are you going?! It's the other way!" Claire chased after Ivan, who had zero familiarity with the layout of the castle.

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"Helloooo, anyone home?" Ivan knocked on the door loudly as he yelled for someone to answer.

The door to the dorm building being locked was something that had not happened in the 2+ weeks he had spent in it. So obviously he anticipated some animosity, something that made Claire ready her weapons.

Though she had no authority to harm the heroes of another world, the instructions given to her were made clear. Her duty is solely to protect Ivan from all harm. Even if it means going against the heroes, all should be fine as long as she can restrain them without harm, something she was not very confident in.

Claire eyed the two that are currently waiting alongside them, Hajime and Aiko. Hajime showed an annoyed expression followed by a yawn as the Synergist he was apprenticing under had overworked him during the night. He had also arrived under Aiko's pleas.

As for Aiko, she was busy restraining Ivan from breaking the door down. She was worried her class would tear itself apart so she arrived here hoping to be a mediator. A role Claire didn't see happening as she had already chosen a side.

CREAK

And slowly the double doors into the dorm opened widely.

Claire aligned herself behind Ivan a bit to his left as she followed him into the building. Going down the hall they were met by members of the class that stood sternly as if pretending to be guards.

And as they passed these 'guards' they relieved themselves of their positions and followed Aiko's group. Aiko attempted to talk to these students but they only brushed her off with a wry smile or telling her that they'll be at the meeting spot soon.

Ivan on the other hand ignored the directions of the students and made his own route to the lounge area, remarking that he'll get there eventually. He wasn't worried they'd attack him as he was sure to take advantage of the hesitation that'd inevitably happen should they go through with it.

After all, he and his group fought to assure the safety of students unwilling to fight. Some of the students in the class doubted their stance but under the 'hero's charisma they were compelled to believe they were doing the right thing.

It wasn't long before Claire and Ivan arrived at the lounge. They greeted Hajime and Aiko who had already made it before them.

Claire ignored the unpleasant stares directed toward her and inched closer to Ivan, ready to grab him and move if necessary. She faced forwards and eyed the class standing opposite from them.

Their meeting was followed by an awkward silence, both sides refusing to initiate the conversation. And in this silence Ivan moved a chair towards his side of the group and decided to take a seat.

A move that made the eyebrow of Kouki Amanogawa twitch.

The students were lined up in a half circle with Kouki in the middle, whether consciously or not Claire had already determined the class elected him as their leader.

Kouki's annoyance only grew as Ivan put his feet up on the table dividing the two groups. And so, not able to take the disrespect any longer, Kouki stepped forward and began the discussion.

"Ivan, I remember that we clearly stated in the invitation that only members of the class are to attend this meeting. And yet you went ahead and brought an outsider, couldn't you have at least respected our decision?" Dropping his usual warm smile, Kouki instead opted for a stern expression in hopes of admonishing Ivan.

"Firstly, I don't remember agreeing to such a rule. And secondly, she has been appointed by the King himself to attend to me at all times, it can't be helped that she followed me here." Ivan brushed off Kouki's admonishing gaze and glanced at Claire, signaling her to follow along with his story.

Though the part of her attending him at all times was not exactly false.

"Even so, I don't want to involve others in our troubles. Miss Claire is it? Sorry I overheard the name from Aiko-sensei while we were waiting for you two. I apologize for Ivan involving you in our class' troubles." Kouki recomposed his warm smile and directed to Claire, it was his gesture of good faith.

"Your apologies are unnecessary, hero. Sir Ivan is my master, as employed by the King. In fact it is an honor to serve a hero such as him." Claire remained unfazed and instead opted to bow so as to not offend him.

"Hero huh…" Kouki frowned and redirected his gaze to Aiko-sensei's group. In his mind this newcomer to their class misled Hajime and Aiko into neglecting their duties as heroes from another world.

And to him this 'hero' who plotted to avoid having to leave the comfort of the kingdom was not worthy of being called a hero, just the thought of it made his blood boil.

Ivan remained pensive to Kouki's murmuring. He glanced at Aiko-sensei to take the lead of the conversation. He himself had no interest in this conversation as everyone in the opposition saw Kouki too highly to disagree with him.

Aside from the two in the class who were actually friends with Hajime, he held no hope that anyone would side with them.

Aiko-sensei stepped forward nervously, once she stood directly in front of her opposing students she took a deep breath and exhaled softly. Moments later it was as if her entire aura had changed. Instead of the meek and weak looking teacher that usually stood before them, what had appeared was someone of resolute stature and unbreakable will.

All signs of nervousness were erased as she stared into Kouki's eyes, directly inquiring the meaning of the meeting. "Now, Kouki-kun. Do you mind explaining why you and the class have invited us here?"

But she wasn't a complete idiot, she saw the way Kouki reacted when Claire mentioned Ivan as a hero. All she could hope for is that none of her students get hurt from this discussion, as it was her duty as a teacher to make sure of that.

"..." Her question was met by momentary quiet, as Kouki had no idea how to react against this new sensei in front of him. That's when his best friend, Ryutarou, walked forward and shook his shoulder.

",,,Hm? Oh yes." Kouki awoke from his stupor and coughed gently into his fist, taking away his gaze from Aiko-sensei and once again directing it towards Ivan. Though his question was more directed to the rest of the opposition as well. "Hey, how could you guys sit back in the castle while there are people out there that need our help!"

Aiko-sensei and her group looked on silently, hinting at Kouki for him to continue.

"We were brought here because these people need our help. These new powers of ours are just perfect for that. Instead of remaining in the castle we should be training with all our might so we can help as many people as we can–!" Kouki spoke fervently, arousing the excitement of his fellow idealists, the very same people who thought highly of their newfound power.

Aiko-sensei finally had enough of his speech and interjected. "We are not heroes! Yes, while I'm glad you and the rest of this class desire to help those in need, but you are all just students. You all have families and people who care about you on the other side. How would they feel if you all died somewhere they can't even see your body?"

She felt a bit guilty for tripping the students by bringing up their loved ones, but for her this was a matter of giving up on playing hero to protect their lives.

The class looked at each other unsure of their decision, the murmuring only grew incessantly as their doubts became desperate.

Then, slowly but surely, a few members of the opposition moved on over to Aiko-sensei's side. All the while facing away from Kouki's group.

"You guys!" Kouki shouted in disbelief at what he saw as betrayal, he had originally thought that they were all aligned together in their goals.

"The offer to join us stands with the rest of you all, you don't need to feel ashamed. As kids you should all be enjoying life, not fearing the end of it from another civilization." Aiko-sensei left those words with a warm smile on her face as she led the students of her faction out of the room, ignoring the stupor of Kouki.

Ivan on the other hand clapped inwardly at the swiftness in which this couple was solved.

"!" A chill went up his spine as he felt a malicious gaze focused on him. He turned his eyes to the figure in the room that looked angrily at him.

'Hiyama Daisuke' Ivan responded to that malicious intent with an equally insidious smile. After his deal with the King, the discovery of his super efficient healing potions were made. And as such he was asked to heal his fellow hero as he was a part of the fighting force.

Though reluctantly, Ivan went ahead and did as he was told. Either way it seemed he succeeded in attracting the animosity in one of his classmates.

Hiyama flinched under Ivan's eyes and swiftly scurried out the door opposite from the way Aiko-sensei and co were headed.

"Sir Ivan?" Claire questioned Ivan who stood looking at Hiyama's fleeing figure all the while snickering to himself.

"It's nothing, Miss Claire. Now, let us hurry to our lab. New discoveries await us!" Ivan responded fervently to her concerns and made a dash for the exit.

Claire only sighed as she made haste alongside him, knowing that today would be another long day.