Assassin's Target

The room felt tense, as if the tension was choking Arnes's throat. The pressure he felt was greater than that of engaging in battle.

"Arnes, your rank is..."

Time slowed, and everything felt like a feverish dream. If Rebecca discovered he was a cursed mage user, he would probably be executed or sent back to the cell like before. He owed a debt to the principal, feeling offended when he was coerced into enrolling in the academy. Yet, it didn't feel as bad as he had thought. He became attached to the place, making new friends, and experiencing a normal academy life—something he had always dreamed of.

"--your rank is unpredictable. More accurately, I don't know what category this falls into. I need to discuss this with the principal before informing you of your rank. I'm sure the principal understands this better, so I won't disclose it to the institute. It's a matter to be discussed personally with the principal. For now, just consider yourself an A rank, and your Academy ID is in process."

I sighed as she finished speaking and crouched, sweating. Rebecca, thinking I was sad about my rank, tried to cheer me up.

"D-don't worry, Arnes. I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like it's measured on a whim."

"I'm sorry, I just felt drowsy, that's all."

"I-I see. Well, that's fine then."

She relaxed after I reassured her. She handed over the maid ID to Imeki. It was no different than a student ID, except the maid ID was yellow and the student ID was red. The master's name was also inscribed, along with her rank - AA, clearly embedded on her ID. We left the room, and the blue-haired guy I had spoken to earlier ran towards me, holding my hands with a worried look.

"Don't worry, I'm A-rank, but Imeki is AA-rank." I replied to Kerfern who was looking at me worried for my rank.

The line erupted in disbelief, unable to understand how it was possible. How could a maid be more powerful than her master? It was hilarious. Even the blue-haired guy, Kerfern Karshatsuha, laughed after hearing that.

"Haha, this is hilarious, Arnes. You're the first guy we've seen who is weaker than his own maid." He was happy that Arnes wasn't placed in the B-rank. B-ranked people were put in different classes, unlike A - SS ranks, because they engaged in combat, unlike B-ranked mages, who sat in the same class.

"Stop making fun of me, geez. Also, isn't it your turn to measure? Why are you wasting time, Kerf?" Kerfern Karshatsuha's name was indeed hard for Arnes to pronounce, so he shortened it to "Kerf."

"O-oh, I forgot! Dammit! I was so worried about your rank that I forgot it was my turn." He ran off hurriedly, waving to me and Imeki as we left the infirmary.

***

We went straight to the ground after the measurements instead of attending class."Imeki, we're bunking classes on the second day... Honestly, I hate lectures, but from tomorrow, I'll definitely join them." I said, feeling oddly proud of my procrastination. As always, Imeki nodded like an inhuman puppet.

We sat on a garden bench, relaxing in the sunshine while everyone else attended their classes."I wonder if Kerf is attending classes too." As I mumbled, thinking about my new friend, a familiar voice reached my ears.

"Who is Kerf?"

"Huh? What are you doing in the garden at a time like this? Go back to your class."It was Tsuki Ernie, making her presence known.

"Like you, I'm wandering around without attending class, and it's boring anyway." She gave a valid reason, but it felt like she was hiding something.

"Don't tell me you missed me and were searching for me around the academy." Arnes couldn't resist teasing.

"Huh? No way I could ever miss you. I just missed Imeki... Imeki, come to your sister's lap.""Hey, stop treating my maid like a pet."

As we continued our odd interactions, Tsuki suddenly collapsed.

"H-hey Tsuki, did you get a heatstroke? Are you okay?" Arnes was worried about how a healthy person who was just bantering with him suddenly passed out. As he stood up to help, Tsuki got up as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, don't scare me like that, you weirdo. I thought you really got heatstroke... Don't pull a prank like that ever again."

"Arnes Hyouki, look into my eyes. Do you recall it?" The girl addressed him by his full name, making him think it was serious. Though he was worried about her collapse, he followed her command to look into her eyes.

"Master, look at her eyes." Imeki noticed something was wrong and spoke in a serious, robotic tone. Arnes couldn't ignore Imeki because he knew she wouldn't joke like Tsuki.

As I looked into her eyes, I saw a white magic circle circulating around her pupil. This triggered a flashback to the entrance ceremony, where the person next to me had the same magic circle around her eye—the woman with red hair.

"Aren't you the lady I met yesterday during the ceremony?" I glared at Tsuki with a sharp eye. It was indeed Tsuki's body, but the person inside wasn't Tsuki herself. Someone else was controlling her. The mark in her eyes made me recall the person I met yesterday who was behind her control.

"Don't worry, I took over her body temporarily to deliver a message from the principal.""Report to me?" Arnes sensed the seriousness and let his guard down, understanding she wasn't an enemy.

"Yes. I don't know what kind of VIP you are, but the principal personally mentioned to pass this message. There's an assassin targeting you. I'm sure the principal sensed the danger with her fatal sense magic. Be on guard. Now, I must leave. Don't disappoint the principal."Tsuki snapped back to reality but didn't collapse this time.

"W-what just happened? My body suddenly felt numb." Tsuki came back to her senses, holding her head in confusion.

It seemed Tsuki didn't remember what happened earlier, not even realizing her body was controlled by someone else. But that wasn't my main concern. It was about the assassin she mentioned.

"Imeki, stay on guard... you too, Tsuki."

"Oi Arnes, answer me, what's going on?"

*Bang* *Clank*

Imeki deflected something with her sword in an instant, protecting Tsuki, but none of us could tell what it was or where it came from.

"Thanks, Imeki, you saved us... but did someone throw something at us at that unbelievable speed?" Tsuki questioned defensively.

"Only Imeki can use her sword arts for defense. None of our magic is suitable for long range. Everyone, take cover behind that tree."

The three of us ran towards the tree for cover, but it was pointless. Whoever was aiming for us knew we were there.

*Bang* *Crash*

The huge tree we used for cover broke in half, showing the immense power of the magic attack. We crouched behind the broken tree, knowing we had nowhere to run.

"Master, I'll act as a decoy and try to deflect another attack. We will run towards the building. If I deflect the attack this time, I'll focus on the attacker and try to point out their location." Imeki proposed.

"That's an insane bet, but I don't want you to get hurt. I'm worried." Arnes warns in intense tone.

She was right... she could probably do it, but I couldn't let one of my summons be a shield. She was a lich, a former human. If it were a monster, I wouldn't hesitate, but if I summoned a new creature now, Tsuki would find out I was a necromancer.

"Yes, Arnes is right, Imeki. Don't act stubborn just because you won the first match. Don't let your guard down." Tsuki reasoned, not wanting to use her as a decoy.

Imeki was oddly human despite being a lich. She had no memories, yet possessed marvelous battle skills and instantly knew how to take measures during combat. Instead of a puppet, she felt like a supporter, even without human-like feelings.

"Imeki, what's your success rate of detecting the mage?" I asked for her approximate chances of success.

*Bang* *Crash* The tree broke down in half as it got attack by the attacker.

"It's 68%, master." As she answered, she leapt out from behind the broken tree, taking her stance with her sword towards the sky, ready to take the attack head-on.

Tsuki and I, both useless in battle, took cover behind the next tree. The plan was to run towards the female dorm building when we heard the next bang.

*Bang* *Slash* *Clank*

As she deflected the attack, her sword flew away from the impact. She was unarmed, but instantly created a magic circle around her wrist, summoning a new sword, just like during the battle with Urn Berthold.

"Master, the attacker is on that rooftop over there, towards the left near the metal rod." She pointed to the building top, but it was too late. Imeki wasn't ready for the next attack.

*Bang*

"IMEKI!!!!!!!" I cried out as the sound of terror echoed through the academy. I didn't want to lose Imeki. With the sound, we knew the attack was aimed at Imeki.

*KABOOM*

"Huh? An explosion?" I mumbled in shock, my legs paralyzed, looking at Tsuki who had taken an unpredictable, risky step.

To Be Continued...