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[TWS] Chapter 11 - A Wager
🕑 Added 2020-10-23 13:27:29 +0000 UTC“First, you can’t just kick Ast out because he jumped in to save his partner! Second, why is that jerk Roz still allowed to do whatever he—OW!”
As Tina was venting her annoyance on the Principal, Ast walked behind her and chopped the slightly too aggressive girl on the head.
“Stop shouting at the person who had the least to do with this,” he berated her.
“But as the Principal, she could—”
“—Couldn’t do anything.” Ast turned to the woman in robes. “Please, excuse her rudeness, we just stumbled on a quite unfortunate encounter on the way here. As I was instructed, I’m returning my belongings, but… one of the uniforms got completely shredded recently…”
He placed the paper bag on the desk and bowed slightly. Madam Teireshia was observing the duo attentively. Tina was the quiet student type, focused on getting better rather than whining at little annoyances or obstacles, yet somehow she got really invested in this case.
“Ekhm… It’s fine, we all get emotional from time to time. I’m sorry Tina, but I had no say in the decision of the Council.” She glanced at the blue-haired girl.
“But…”
“Let it go. You can’t fight the whole academy.” Ast placed a hand on Tina’s shoulder.
“Why are you fine with this? Isn’t this your dream? To learn more about magical beasts and summoning? They are robbing you out of it! How can you be so calm?”
Tina turned to him and began questioning Asterios. While she spoke about his plans, deep down, she was much more anxious about the fact that he would leave. She was preparing herself for a long time to finally confess and suddenly everything went to hell in the span of a day. They were supposed to graduate together.
Asterios shook his head. “This academy isn’t the only place in the world where I can improve myself. The resources were convenient, but I can find another way to acquire them myself.”
“Like what?”
“Adventuring for example.”
Tina’s lips trembled a little and her mouth froze while opened. She furrowed her brows.
“Adventuring? With how weak yo—”
*GROOOOWL*
A soundly, low growl reverberated through the room. Tina looked back at the majestic black panther lying on the floor near the door and licking its side. She somehow felt like she understood the meaning behind that sound. It seemed to warn her to watch her words.
“By the Great Kargalan the Brave… what dense spiritual energy…”
The Principal finally noticed the third guest in her office after Tina and Asterios turned their sides to her. She stood up and leaned over the desk to get a better view of the huge cat. Her eyes widened in surprise and she shivered a bit after locking gazes with the proud beast.
Asterios mentally asked Miria to come to his side. She rose from the ground and lazily approached him. Seeing the beast come closer, Madam Teireshia sat back down. With Miria on all fours, she was pretty much on the same level as the sitting Principal.
Miria stared at the woman for a moment and then turned her head closer to Asterios, nudging it against his hand. He began brushing her fur with affection. Madam Teireshia moved her eyes from him to the panther in turns.
“Wait… You don’t mean this is…”
“It’s as Principal thinks. This is Miria, my new partner.” She purred happily. “I apologize in advance, we caused quite the scene on the campus. The Richtenstein family might come to pester you about that.” He smiled wryly.
“I don’t care about those passive nobles with inflated egos now! You managed to summon your second beast? And it looks like it’s incredibly strong! I’ve never seen or heard about such pure feline beast so rich in spiritual essence and of this size!”
The Principal got a bit excited and she noticed her slightly unusual behaviour, quickly correcting herself. Even the best students rarely formed contracts with entities like this. The beast might have looked plain, but years of experience was screaming at her that it was unimaginably powerful and with astronomical potential. And the fact that Asterios was the one who called it also added to her delight.
Tina also was curious about the beast so she withdrew her case for a moment, hoping that Asterios would explain more now that it caught the attention of the Principal. She started thinking that she might be able to force them to take him back if Miria was somehow special.
Ast’s expression turned a bit dark and both of the women noticed that change. Miria could feel it.
“Not really. Miria is currently my only partner…” he spoke and sighed.
“Eh? But what about Mii? She seemed fine after the exam!” Tina couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this.
“Mii… is gone. She sacrificed herself to protect me… and returned to her world as a spirit.”
Madam Teireshia felt sorry for Asterios. She knew how much he valued his beasts. Tina’s expression also turned sorrowful. But there was another thing to focus on, more than the death of his rabbit.
“What do you mean by sacrificed herself? Barely a day has passed since our last conversation. Asterios, what happened?” the Principal inquired.
“I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happened shortly after I left. It’s also connected to the issue with the torn uniform.”
He reached into the paper bag and brought out both jacket and pants and unrolled them, showing the women countless little cuts and the three big openings in the chest area of the top. Tina gasped and felt her chest tighten while Madam Teireshia’s eyes went wide.
“I’ve gotten rid of the blood, but—”
“Blood?! Ast! What did you do!” Tina jumped at him and clutched his vest with a concerned expression.
He patted her head. “Calm down. I’m fine, as you can see. I’ve stumbled on a frenzied, matured Brown Bear, hurt by the hunters. Mii covered for me against my orders and lost her life in my arms. Then Miria appeared and saved me.”
Tina slowly got ahold of herself, still being too distressed to even think about getting embarrassed from having her head patted by the man she loved. She quickly turned to the Principal.
“It dealt with a matured Brown Bear! It must be amazingly strong! You can’t force out someone with a beast like this! What even is she?”
“Tina.” Ast brushed through her hair a bit more forcefully. “I’ve already made up my mind. I’m even already registered in the guild.” He showed them his shoulder plate. “And Miria is a Werepanther. I don’t think there are any records about them even in the academy.”
The Principal listened to his words curiously. “That’s true. I have no memory of something like that. Amazing… How intelligent is she?”
“She understood every single word we said since the beginning. Rather than a beast… she’s more like a person.”
“Incredible…” She stared at the panther and Miria glanced back. The Principal felt Ast’s words to be true. “If I reached out to all my old contacts then maybe…”
“That’s not necessary. I don’t mean to sound rude, but a single summon won’t suddenly change everyone’s opinion of me completely. In fact, I can bet they would just get even more ferocious. I’d rather not deal with that and have Miria experience it. As we promised, I will be back, but this is not the time yet.”
Madam Teireshia sighed. As much as she wanted to have him stay, Ast’s words were on point. She regretted losing the chance to study Miria more, but she respected the boy’s resolve.
“Then, I quit! I will register as an adventurer too and go with you!”
Tina shouted and began taking off her blazer. Asterios grabbed her by both shoulders and stopped the girl.
“No, you don’t.”
“Don’t tell me what to do! This is my own decision!”
“It’s a bad decision made under the influence of emotions. You are just half a year short of finishing the academy. Don’t ruin this for yourself just because of some injustice.”
She tried to free herself but Asterios wasn’t letting go. He didn’t want to let Tina waste all this effort she put into studying. She had great aptitude and good scores. It was unwise to drop everything almost near the end. He pressed on her shoulders with more force.
“Tina. Tina. Look at me.” She stopped struggling and moved her frustrated gaze up at his face. “Weren’t you aiming to get into the Royal Division after graduating? They don’t accept dropouts.”
It was one of her dreams to be able to join the ranks of the famous Royal Division which gathered best of the best, but right now, it was nothing in front of being separated with Ast for who knows how long.
“I’ll find a way! And if it proves impossible, then I’ll just come up with another one! You don’t understand! I… I…”
Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to follow the momentum and speak the words. Ast moved his hand from her shoulder to her head and brushed through her hair again while sighing.
“Just six months. Your mother is rooting for you. You are a really amazing Summoner and you should better yourself with every chance you have. Stay. See through this. I promise to be here when you graduate. If you will still insist on coming with me then, so be it. Deal?”
She dropped her gaze, understanding that this really was the better choice, yet her heart was telling Tina otherwise.
“But…”
“If not for yourself, then do it for me.” Ast felt bad to be responsible for ruining Tina’s potential future she worked really hard to achieve.
“It’s not fair asking like that…” she muttered very quietly.
“Listen to Asterios, Tina. You are almost at the finish line. And you are still a young girl. Six months will pass like the wind. I’ll do my best to support you till the end, for yours and his sake.”
Tina sighed dejectedly. “Fine… I’ll do it… But you better keep your promise...”
“I will.” Ast smiled at the pouting girl. “Well then, only the case of us running into Roz is left to discuss.”
“I’ve never seen him wet his pants before.” Tina giggled.
Asterios briefly explained the recent situation, making the Principal rub her forehead in disappointment. She thanked them for reporting this so she could prepare beforehand. Richtensteins would definitely not leave the issue untouched. She told them to leave dealing with the family to her.
He made Madam Teireshia promise to watch over Tina since he expected them to target her in their spite. The person in question stepped back to hide the blush on her face from hearing how much Ast cared for her. Shivers ran down her spine and she noticed Miria staring at her intently. She could swear that the panther was squinting its eyes at her.
They bid farewell, with the Principal assuring Asterios that he was always welcome in her office and asked him to pay her a visit if he would be around. She couldn’t hide the thrill of spending more time with a completely new beast.
Tina insisted on escorting Asterios to the gate and they rode on Miria's back together. They didn’t go as fast as before and Tina took place behind Ast. She inconspicuously used that chance to hug him tightly without having to face the man. She still was hesitating in her mind to let Ast go.
The sudden appearance of an unknown beast spooked the guards a little, but they kept their cool seeing that it was accompanied by two people, one in the academy’s uniform. They both jumped off and faced each other.
Tina had a hard time looking straight at Asterios. She felt like she would start crying at any moment. She mustered whatever courage she had inside and spoke first.
“Take care of yourself. And don’t slack off.”
Ast smiled. “You better not slack off. I want to see your name on the Obelisk of Wisdom the next time they update it.”
“I would need perfect scores for that!”
“Is that a problem for someone so talented?”
Her cheeks got a little rosy from the unexpected compliment.
“That would require a lot of work, even from me…”
Asterios got an idea that could help Tina preserve her motivation after he left.
“Let’s make a wager then. The goal is for you to get your name carved into the stone. You manage it, you win, you don’t, I win. Simple.”
“But what would the reward be?” she asked curiously.
“Hmmm… I don’t know… I’m fine with whatever you suggest… Oh. A wish. The winner gets a wish from the loser. They can ask for whatever they want.” Ast smiled again at his own idea.
Tina’s heart started beating faster as her mind went into overdrive with possibilities. If she won, he would have to do or give her anything she asked for. The images of countless little presents and gifts flashed in front of her eyes. From more materialistic ones to things like holding hands, going for a date, or… a kiss…
“Hello? Tina?” Ast’s voice brought her back from her daydreaming and she frantically shook her head to get rid of the increasingly dangerous imagery.
“Yes! Let’s do that! I’m going to win, just you wait!” she exclaimed with a newfound passion.
“Great. Better start running back then or you will miss your first class of the day. Or you can stay and let me win.” He pointed at the tower with the clock.
“AH!” she gasped seeing the hour. Just 5 minutes were left until her class began. Tina instantly broke into a run, but stopped for a moment and turned back. “I will not let you go back on that!” she shouted and resumed the sprint.
Ast chuckled at how effective his idea was. Miria nudged his arm and he started stroking her fur.
~That girl seems to like you, Master.~
~Perhaps a little bit. She deserves much better than ending with someone like me though.~
~I don’t think there’s anyone better than Master in this world.~ Miria sent him appreciative thoughts.
~You haven’t seen much of it yet.~
~I’ve seen enough.~
~Hate to break it to you, but me taking a bath can’t be considered enough.~
He could feel Miria getting all embarrassed over their connection and she didn’t talk back. He chuckled at her mentally.
~Let’s go. Time to pick up our first job.~
