Chapter 31: People Control

"You know it's stupid to try using ice on a fire mage."

Before the ice could spread to his ice joint, it began to melt off and now it looked like the first-year student was in trouble as her hand was slowly taking a red glow and this was because Arsha was intentionally heating it up.

She tried to keep it cool with her ability but she couldn't even maintain a cold aura because Arsha's heat would clear it the moment it appeared.

The heat was getting quite unbearable for her and it was evident in her face, if she wasn't an ice mage, her hand would have been burnt by now.

"Okay, okay, you've made your point, just let go of me." She uttered in a whispering tone.

She pulled her hand back as hard as she could but Arsha just wasn't letting go.

It didn't even look like he was trying and he still had that poker face on.

"Hey, you're going to burn my hand."'

"I think that statement is missing one important word." He responded.

"Alright, please let go of my hand." She said abruptly.

Arsha slowly let go of her hand at that moment and the first thing she did was quickly take two steps backward.

"Geez, you really don't like messing around."

Arsha seemed to have burnt her hand a little in the end so she quickly encased it in ice but that wasn't the main reason why she did that.

Three seconds later and the ice covering her hand melted off to reveal a clean hand with no burn marks.

Arsha had his gaze on her hand the whole time to see that happen and it sure piqued his interest.

"I can't believe you tried to turn the hands of a pretty girl like me into charcoal." She remarked as she opened and folded her right hand a couple of times.

"No pretty girl calls herself pretty."

"Oh, is that so?" She responded with a smirk as she took a step closer to him.

"Yeah, now go find someone else to bother." He uttered before slowly turning away from her.

"I could do that…"

The next thing he knew, she was right in front of him and she was quite close this time, the only thing preventing their faces from being close was her height.

"But that just won't do because you're the one I want to bother." She stated.

Arsha didn't exactly respond to that, he just kept his gaze on her for a while before slowly turning away but it took her less than a second to be right in front of him once again.

"Where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself."

"I don't really care," Arsha muttered.

"My name is Chloe Stratos, I was born and raised here in Elevor City and I am an ice mage as you have already seen." She disclosed.

"Stratos? Isn't that the last name of the President?"

He wasn't really planning on paying attention to her introduction until he heard that name.

"Mhm, you got that right." She responded with a nod.

"Then does that mean….."

"Yes, I'm the daughter of the President, the second daughter to be precise." She disclosed with a smile.

"I see."

'It makes sense that the high-ranking officials send their children here but I've never met one till today and to think that it would be the daughter of the president.' He said subconsciously as he scanned her from head to toe with his eyes.

"So, what do you want with me?"

"Huh? Are you saying that I can't approach someone just because I found them interesting?"

"I highly doubt that." He retorted.

"Hmm."

She got the idea that he was already aware of what was going on and because of that, she wasn't quick to respond.

"I guess you're not particularly wrong in this current situation." She muttered.

"Current situation?"

"Well, being the president's daughter while also being stunningly beautiful tends to garner me a lot of attention and while I do enjoy the attention most of the time, there are certain times when I just want to be left alone."

"So, you're using me to deescalate that attention," Arsha concluded.

He had already theorized that the moment she walked up to him and now it had just been confirmed. There were a lot of students staring at them, mostly first-year students, and while most of the boys were staring daggers at him, some of the girls were wondering why she was talking to him.

"Yes, I want to stay beside you until the instructor gets here at least."

"And what are you offering?"

"Huh?"

"If you're going to use me as people control then it's definitely not going to be for free." He clarified.

"Oh, I see, that makes sense." She nodded. "How about I allow you to serve me for free, becoming the exclusive servant of a beauty like me will surely suffice for your service."

"I honestly don't find that amusing."

"Okay, fine." She sighed. "I'll pay you with money and if you want another form of payment…"

"I'll take the money."

"Then it's settled." She said before locking arms with him. "I have my very own people control now, I guess being a mean loner has its merits after all."

"Buying services doesn't equate to buying me, you'll have to sell this city to afford me." He retorted.

"You think you're worth that much, huh?"

"Yes. Also, you know holding onto me like that is going to cause the circulation of unsavory rumors."

"I'm aware of that and I don't really care, I mean the girl behind me in class talks about how much she hates me a lot and tries to spread unpleasant rumors about me but it doesn't bother me, I'm used to people saying terrible things about me." She articulated. "Besides, I think it will be more effective this way, and make sure to keep that cold look on your face."

"Hmmm," Arsha muttered before slowly turning away from her. "If you're sure that it doesn't bother you then there's no problem."

"Great." She said before slowly bringing her gaze down. "Hey." Her voice seemed to have softened up there.

"Huh?"

"Do you remember what I said earlier?" She inquired.

"Are you talking about the part where you lied to me?"

"That wasn't completely a lie, I think you're a very interesting person Arsha Logan and naturally, I like to be acquainted with interesting people." She smiled before pulling him along. "Now come along, I need you to help me find what type of weapon is compatible with me."