The hallway was dim, the faint glow of the mana crystals lining the walls flickering as if they could sense the tension in the air. Subaru felt his legs burn as he pushed forward, Tekka's panicked voice echoing behind him.
"Why aren't these damned things under control?!" Tekka shouted, his voice cracking with stress. "This is an academy, not some Vollachian battlefield!"
"Quiet down, Tekka!" Renwald hissed, his tone sharp but betraying his own unease.
"We need to focus, not rile everyone else up."
Subaru glanced back at his friends, panting heavily. Tekka looked on the verge of breaking, his hands trembling as he waved off frightened students peeking out of their dorms. Renwald, on the other hand, was visibly more composed, though the tight grip on his staff revealed the truth of his nerves.
Subaru forced himself to keep moving. His body was screaming for rest, his mana reserves dangerously low, but there was no time for weakness. Professor Erlon's words still echoed in his mind: "Move to the third hall and don't stop for anything."
The sounds of distant battles—the clashes, bangs, and monstrous howls—filled the air, making it impossible to ignore the chaos consuming the school. The tremors of heavy impacts rumbled faintly beneath their feet. Subaru winced every time he heard something shatter in the distance.
"Why are we even moving?!" Tekka yelled again, his voice desperate. "We should just lock ourselves up like everyone else!"
"And then what?!" Renwald snapped, turning briefly to glare at him. "Wait to be cornered? The teachers gave us an order, so we're following it. Now shut up and—"
Before Renwald could finish, the ground beneath them gave a violent jolt. Subaru stumbled, catching himself against the wall as his heart leapt to his throat. Tekka grabbed onto a nearby column for support, his eyes wide in terror.
"What was that?!" Tekka stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Another tremor followed, heavier this time. The rhythmic thuds—thump-thump-thump—grew louder, shaking the floor and rattling the loose fixtures in the hall. The sound reverberated through the corridor like a drumbeat from some primal nightmare.
The boys froze in their tracks, their breath caught in their throats. Subaru's eyes darted to the far end of the eastern corridor, where the shadows seemed to warp and shift under the dim light.
And then it emerged.
A hulking figure lumbered forward, its grotesque form illuminated as it stepped into the dim light. It stood on four massive hooves, its muscular, stone-like body carved with deep cracks that glowed faintly with red energy. Its upper torso resembled a warped humanoid form, but its shoulders bulged unnaturally, and its single, massive eye in the center of its head glowed a piercing, malevolent yellow. Its monstrous hybrid appearance—a cyclops melded with the lower body of a centaur—was enough to send a shiver of pure dread down Subaru's spine.
"By the spirits…" Renwald breathed, his voice barely audible.
The creature's eye scanned the corridor, locking onto the boys with a primal hunger. It let out a guttural roar, the sound shaking the walls and sending a cold chill through the air.
Tekka took a step back, his entire body trembling. "What the hell is THAT?!"
Subaru gritted his teeth, his mind racing. He could feel the familiar tug of his mana reserves, the spirits responding to his unspoken call, but he knew he was running on fumes. Still, he had no choice. If they didn't fight, they were dead.
"We can't stop now," Subaru said, his voice firm despite the fear clawing at his chest. "Renwald, Tekka—get ready."
The cyclops-centaur beast let out another roar, its hooves cracking the floor as it began to charge. Subaru took a deep breath, summoning a cluster of fire and wind spirits to his side. The flames flickered weakly, a reflection of his depleted strength, but he forced himself to focus.
"Spirits," Subaru commanded, his voice steady despite the panic bubbling beneath the surface, "light it up!"
The fire spirits obeyed, forming orbs of flame that launched toward the oncoming beast. The wind spirits followed, amplifying the flames into searing projectiles. The fiery barrage struck the creature head-on, sending embers scattering across the hallway. For a brief moment, it staggered, letting out a bellow of pain.
But it didn't stop.
The beast barreled forward, its single eye glowing brighter as it absorbed the hits. The stone-like armor on its body seemed to deflect the worst of the damage, and its hooves pounded against the floor with relentless force.
"Damn it!" Subaru cursed, his legs shaking as he summoned more spirits. "Renwald, do something!"
Renwald snapped out of his daze, gripping his staff tightly. He raised it, focusing his mana into a precise spell. "Frost Spear!" he shouted, sending a sharp shard of ice hurtling toward the creature. The spear struck its shoulder, causing it to stumble slightly, but the beast shrugged it off with a furious roar.
"Great, that just pissed it off more!" Tekka yelled, panic evident in his voice.
"We're out of options!" Subaru shouted back, his mind racing. His gaze flickered to the faintly glowing cracks on the beast's body. An idea formed, reckless but their only chance. "Aim for the cracks! That's its weak point!"
Renwald nodded, raising his staff again. Subaru summoned more spirits, pouring what little mana he had left into a concentrated attack. Together, they launched a coordinated assault, fire and ice converging on the creature's vulnerable points.
The beast roared in pain as the attacks struck true, its movements slowing. But it wasn't enough to bring it down. It charged again, its massive form bearing down on them.
Just as Subaru braced for impact, a deafening BOOM echoed through the hallway. A bolt of lightning struck the creature, sending it crashing to the ground with a guttural howl. Smoke rose from its charred body as the air crackled with residual energy.
The boys turned, their eyes wide with disbelief. Standing at the far end of the hallway was Professor Erlon, his wild hair glowing faintly from the magic he had just unleashed.
"Didn't I tell you boys to stay put?" Erlon said, his voice carrying a mix of exasperation and relief. He adjusted his glasses, his expression softening slightly. "You're lucky I'm such a light sleeper."
Subaru collapsed to his knees, his exhaustion finally catching up to him. "You're… late, Professor," he muttered, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Erlon sighed, shaking his head. "And you're reckless. But we'll talk about that later. For now, let's get you out of here."
The air in Principal Reginald Harrow's office was heavy with disappointment and authority. The man himself sat behind his grand oak desk, his massive mustache twitching as he studied the three boys standing before him. His sharp eyes scrutinized each of them, making them shift uncomfortably under his piercing gaze.
Renwald, standing the straightest of the three, had his arms crossed and his mouth set in a firm line. Tekka, on the other hand, had his head slightly bowed, clearly trying to look as regretful as possible—though Subaru suspected he was still just mad about getting caught. As for Subaru himself, he simply sighed, adjusting his posture and staring at the floor with an air of reluctance.
"You boys are lucky," Harrow finally said, his deep voice rumbling through the room. "Had it not been for Professor Erlon, this conversation would be happening over your graves."
Tekka swallowed hard. "Uh... well, sir, we thought we could take on a minor mabeast—"
"A minor mabeast?" Harrow interrupted, his thick eyebrows rising in disbelief. "A grotesque, mutated, centaur-like cyclops charging through the school, and you thought you could handle it?"
Tekka winced. "I mean, we were doin' okay… kinda."
"Kinda," Renwald repeated, deadpan, shaking his head. "We were about to be trampled."
Harrow exhaled through his nose, clearly unimpressed. "Let me make one thing very clear: disobeying direct orders during a crisis is not bravery, nor is it some grand feat of heroism. It is stupidity. You put yourselves in unnecessary danger, and had you failed, you would not only be dead, but you would have left others to clean up your mess. You were not special cases, nor are you exempt from the rules. That being said—"
Subaru muttered under his breath, "Had it not been for Erlon, I'd have had to use my Divine Protection."
He immediately clamped his mouth shut as he realized his mistake. His hand shot to the pendant around his neck, hastily placing it back against his skin. He hoped Harrow hadn't heard that. He hoped no one had.
But Harrow's gaze snapped toward him with an unnatural sharpness.
"What did you say?" the principal asked, his tone suddenly far more interested.
Subaru forced a casual smile, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, nothing! Just mumbling. You know, I do that when I'm nervous. Something about divine—uh, divine luck! Like, y'know, fate and all that."
Harrow didn't seem convinced, but he let it go—for now.
"Regardless," Harrow continued, "since the three of you failed to follow the most basic of instructions, you will all be punished accordingly. You are hereby assigned to cleaning duty for the next month. Furthermore, you will be barred from participating in any sports or competitive events until further notice."
Tekka groaned. "Oh, c'mon! Cleanin' duty? And no sports? That's cruel and unusual punishment!"
"It is a merciful punishment," Harrow corrected, his tone unwavering. "Consider yourselves fortunate that I do not believe in harsher disciplinary action."
Renwald sighed, rubbing his temples. "Understood, sir."
Subaru just slumped, accepting his fate. It wasn't like he'd been too excited for sports anyway, but the cleaning part… yeah, that was going to be annoying.
Harrow straightened his back and gave them all one last hard look. "Now, get out of my office. And I better not hear about you breaking protocol again."
With that, the three boys turned and shuffled out, Tekka muttering about unfairness the entire way. Subaru, still fiddling with his pendant, let out a long breath, relieved that he had managed to dodge any further suspicion.
But as they exited the office and the heavy doors shut behind them, a thought nagged at the back of his mind—something was still very wrong. The mabeasts, the disappearances, the mana fluctuations…
And now? The principal looking at him like that?
This was far from over.
As the boys trudged down the academy hallway, their boots clacking against the polished stone floor, the weight of their punishment still lingered. Cleaning duty for a month was going to be a pain, but the real issue gnawing at Subaru wasn't the punishment—it was the damn mabeasts.
They weren't normal.
"So…" Subaru finally broke the silence, looking over at Renwald and Tekka. "Where the hell did those mabeasts even come from?"
Renwald adjusted his uniform, his brows furrowing. "That's the real question, isn't it? The academy has protective barriers. And this is Glacia—mabeasts don't naturally roam around here, especially not inside an institution like this."
Tekka, who had been grumbling about his fate up until now, perked up slightly. "Yeah, man, they don't just appear outta nowhere! They're usually found in the wilds or in places where witchbeast tamers set 'em loose. Not exactly a school environment."
Subaru crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the chaos from earlier. "Then that means someone must've brought them here."
Renwald nodded, his expression serious. "That's the most logical conclusion. Either they were smuggled in, or—" he hesitated before lowering his voice, "someone inside the academy let them in."
A chill ran down Subaru's spine at that thought.
"You're saying this could be an inside job?" he asked.
Renwald sighed. "I'm saying it's a possibility we can't ignore. You know the academy's security is tight. Something like this doesn't just happen."
Tekka clenched his fists. "So what? We got some shady guy in the academy who's letting in freaky one-eyed horse monsters? To do what? Wreck the halls and eat a bunch of students?"
"Could be a test," Subaru mused. "Like, someone trying to see how people here react, how strong the defenses are. Or maybe—" his voice dropped slightly, his mind flashing back to Algol, to Jonah's suspicions, to that weird encounter with her at the library, "someone is looking for something."
Renwald shot him a look. "Are you suggesting a student is involved?"
Subaru hesitated. It sounded ridiculous when he thought about it. But… Algol was new. She was quiet, reserved, and that conversation Jonah had overheard made her seem like she was communicating with someone outside the academy.
No. That was crazy. Right?
"I don't know," Subaru admitted. "But if it is a person, that means this isn't over."
Tekka groaned. "Great, so not only do we have to clean the school, but now we gotta worry about some lunatic dropping more monsters on our heads?"
"Pretty much," Subaru deadpanned.
Renwald exhaled through his nose, his analytical mind already trying to piece everything together. "The academy is on lockdown now. They'll be investigating. If we start poking around too much, we might get dragged into something deeper than we can handle."
Subaru gave a cocky grin. "We're already in deep. Might as well swim the rest of the way."
Tekka and Renwald exchanged glances.
"You're insane," Renwald muttered.
"Yeah, yeah," Subaru waved him off. "Let's just make sure we don't die before our next test."
Hours later...
Subaru wandered through the academy's halls, hands shoved into his pockets, his brow furrowed in thought. The events of the past few weeks were weighing heavily on his mind—students vanishing, the mabeast attack, and the strange tension that seemed to linger in the air. It all felt wrong, like pieces of a puzzle he couldn't quite fit together. But as he retraced the things he'd witnessed, only one interaction stood out in his memory: Jonah's encounter with Algol.
It had been weeks ago, but the details still nagged at him. Jonah had mentioned catching Algol speaking in some strange, foreign language through a metia—something that didn't belong to any magic Subaru had ever heard of. Jonah might be a pompous jerk most of the time, but he wasn't stupid, and his reaction to the incident had been genuine. Subaru frowned, shaking his head. Was Algol just shy and a little odd, or was there something more to her? He couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something, even if she seemed perfectly normal around him.
"Guess I'm going to have to talk to Jonah again," Subaru muttered under his breath, already dreading the encounter. He wasn't exactly in the mood for Jonah's snide remarks, but if there was even the smallest chance that he was right, Subaru needed to know.
With that decision made, Subaru headed for the café. It didn't take long to spot Jonah lounging in the corner with his usual entourage. The sight made Subaru sigh. Of course, he wasn't alone. Jonah always had his lackeys hanging around like moths to a flame, feeding off his arrogance.
Subaru squared his shoulders and walked over, bracing himself for what was sure to be an annoying conversation.
"Well, look who it is," one of Jonah's lackeys sneered as Subaru approached. "The spirit boy who thinks he's a hero."
The other lackey laughed, pointing a thumb at Subaru. "Come to embarrass yourself again, or did you get lost on your way to detention?"
Subaru rolled his eyes, ignoring them entirely. "Jonah," he said flatly, "I need to talk to you."
Jonah raised an eyebrow, setting down his teacup with exaggerated care. "Talk to me?" he repeated, his tone dripping with condescension. "About what? Here to ask me to bail you out with my influence and power? You know my family has connections to the kin-"
"No," Subaru snapped. "It's about Algol."
The sneering stopped. Jonah's smirk faded slightly as he exchanged a glance with his lackeys. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he dismissed them. The two boys left reluctantly, throwing Subaru wary glances as they went.
Now alone, Jonah folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, his sharp gray eyes narrowing. "What's this about?" he asked, his tone still laced with arrogance but carrying an undercurrent of curiosity.
Subaru sat down across from him, meeting his gaze. "I want you to tell me everything about your interaction with Algol. What you saw, what you heard—everything."
Jonah tilted his head, his lips curling into a sly grin. "Finally seeing things my way, are we?"
"Don't push it," Subaru muttered. "Just tell me what happened."
Jonah straightened, his tone shifting to something more serious. "Fine. Like I told you before, I saw her in the courtyard late one night. She was holding some kind of metia—a magical device. It looked ancient, something you wouldn't just find lying around. She was speaking into it, but the language she was using… it wasn't anything I recognized."
Subaru frowned. "Not even a regional dialect?"
Jonah shook his head. "No. It wasn't from this region—or any region, as far as I can tell. It sounded… unnatural. Like it didn't belong to this world at all."
Subaru's stomach twisted. That didn't sound good.
"And then," Jonah continued, leaning forward slightly, "when I tried to walk away, she was suddenly right behind me. I didn't even hear her move. One second she was across the courtyard, and the next she was standing there, staring at me."
Subaru's eyes widened. "What did she do?"
"Nothing," Jonah said, his voice dropping. "She just gave me this deadpan look and said, 'Smart.' Then she walked off like nothing happened."
Subaru leaned back in his chair, processing the information. A strange language, an ancient metia, and movements that defied logic. None of it made sense, but it was enough to send a chill down his spine.
"So," Jonah said, breaking the silence, "what do you think now? Still think she's just a quiet little girl?"
Subaru hesitated before shaking his head. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
Jonah smirked. "Good luck with that, spirit boy. You're going to need it."
Subaru hadn't seen Algol in some time. The thought lingered in his mind like an itch he couldn't scratch, persistent but just out of reach. At first, he figured it was just a coincidence—students at the academy had their own routines, their own study sessions, and their own little worlds to live in. But after a while, he began to wonder if she was avoiding him, or worse, if someone was making sure she stayed out of sight.
The mabeast incident had shaken the entire academy, but the way the staff handled it didn't sit right with Subaru. Everything about it screamed cover-up. The teachers hushed their discussions whenever students were near, and there were no public updates about the investigation, no explanations about how the creatures got into the school in the first place. The lockdown had been lifted, but the unease still lingered in the air.
And if there was even the slightest chance that Algol was involved—either as the cause or just another victim—it wasn't something Subaru could ignore.
Which was why he found himself in the library that evening, stepping onto the enchanted red rug. The metia embedded in it pulsed faintly with blue light, channeling wind magic to lift it into the air. The feeling of floating was familiar but still a little unsettling, and Subaru kept a steady grip on the railing as the rug carried him up to the third floor of the massive archive.
As the rug gently landed on the top floor, Subaru stepped off carefully, his boots clicking against the polished wooden floor. He took a slow breath, adjusting his uniform as he scanned the shelves before him. The section he needed was just ahead—the collection on demon beasts, their origins, behavior, and known taming methods.
His fingers ran along the spines of the books as he searched for something specific. He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for, but he had a gut feeling that there had to be a connection. The mabeasts appearing in the academy, the eerie silence from the faculty, Algol's strange behavior… it all felt too deliberate. Too unnatural.
Subaru pulled a thick, leather-bound tome from the shelf, dust scattering from its surface. He opened it carefully, flipping through its brittle pages. If the school won't give answers, he thought, then I'll just have to find them myself.
The boy sat down at a nearby desk and began his studies...
When Subaru groggily lifted his head from the desk, he blinked a few times as his surroundings came into focus. The first thing he noticed was the sticky patch of drool plastered across the page of an old, worn book. With a groan, he wiped his mouth and grimaced at the mess he'd left behind. The sun outside had already begun to set, bathing the library in a soft orange glow, casting long shadows that stretched across the floor.
Books, notes, and loose papers were scattered everywhere in front of him, a chaotic display of his earlier research. His brain was foggy, but fragments of what he had read lingered faintly in his memory—something about the Witch of Envy and her connection to the creation of mabeasts, an area in the desert of Lugnica where it was an all-out war zone for the creatures, and vague mentions of a mysterious "Big Three." None of it felt immediately useful. Subaru sighed, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.
"Yikes... I really fell asleep, huh?" he muttered to himself, glancing at the clock on the far wall.
He stacked the books and shuffled his notes into a manageable pile, returning everything to its rightful place on the shelves. There wasn't much he could do with what he'd found so far. The answers he was looking for were either buried deeper than he could dig in one sitting or didn't exist in these archives at all.
As Subaru made his way out of the library, the evening breeze hit him as soon as he stepped into the open courtyard. It was refreshing, cutting through the stuffiness of the hours he'd spent cooped up inside. He stretched, letting out a yawn, and glanced around.
That's when he heard it—a commotion coming from nearby.
Subaru paused, tilting his head toward the noise. It wasn't uncommon to hear groups of students laughing or chatting at this hour, but this was different. The voices carried a sharpness, a sense of urgency that made him furrow his brow.
Curiosity prickling at the back of his mind, Subaru adjusted his uniform and followed the sound. The fading sunlight painted the walls of the academy in fiery hues as he walked, the echoes of hurried footsteps and muffled shouting guiding him toward the source of the disturbance.
Stolling closer to the source of the commotion, his ears picking up the sharp sound of fists colliding against flesh and the wild roar of the crowd surrounding the spectacle. As he turned the corner into the courtyard, the scene became clear—two older students, third-years, were in the middle of a brutal brawl.
He sighed, crossing his arms as he took in the sight.
Right, he was a second-year now. Fourteen years old, one year older, and supposedly wiser. It didn't feel much different, honestly. Subaru briefly pondered how birthdays even worked in this world. No one ever seemed to celebrate them—was that just not a thing here? Or was it just something people didn't care about? Before he could dwell on it further, the crowd erupted into cheers again, drawing his attention back to the fight.
A large red-headed student was absolutely pulverizing a scrawnier, pale green-haired kid. The green-haired boy's weird, slicked-back loops of hair bounced with every hit as his long, narrow face contorted in pain. The redhead was muttering furiously, something about how the green-haired kid should "never talk to Eiris again."
Eiris? His girlfriend, maybe? That explained the aggression.
Subaru winced as another heavy punch sent the green-haired boy sprawling into the dirt. The match—or rather, the one-sided beatdown—was over. The redhead shook out his fist, scoffing before turning and walking away. The gathered students murmured among themselves before slowly dispersing, the excitement fading now that the entertainment had come to an end.
Soon enough, the courtyard emptied. The fight was over.
Except, not entirely.
The green-haired boy was still on the ground, unmoving except for his shallow, ragged breathing.
Subaru sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stood there, watching the guy groan in pain. He really should just walk away. This wasn't his problem.
And yet, for some reason, he didn't move.
It was just Subaru and the beaten-up student now, the silence of the courtyard settling around them.
Subaru stared at the scene unfolding in front of him, his expression blank and unimpressed. The green-haired boy was still sprawled in the dirt, groaning pathetically, but Subaru felt neither urgency nor genuine concern. Honestly, this was a waste of time.
Still, the pitiful sight got to him in the smallest way. With a bored sigh, Subaru lazily raised his hands. Three water spirits swirled into existence, floating gracefully around the boy's battered body. The shimmering orbs of light began to glow softly, their healing properties at work. Slowly, the boy's bruises faded, his shallow breathing steadied, and the once-bloodied mess of a face returned to some semblance of normalcy.
When the spirits had done their job, they hovered briefly, as if looking to Subaru for further instruction. "That's enough," Subaru muttered. The spirits winked out of existence, leaving only the now-healed boy, who suddenly stirred.
With surprising energy, the boy sprang to his feet, striking an exaggerated, almost theatrical pose. He placed a hand dramatically on his chest and scanned the courtyard with wide eyes, as if searching for someone.
"Could it be... Eiris?!" the boy exclaimed, his voice trembling with emotion. "Oh, my beloved Eiris! Has she finally come to her senses and shown pity for me?!"
He spun around frantically, his eyes darting in every direction, but found nothing but the empty courtyard. After a few moments of silence, his posture deflated slightly, and his gaze lowered—until his eyes locked onto Subaru.
There was a pause.
"Who's this brat?" the green-haired older boy asked bluntly, squinting at Subaru as though trying to piece something together.
Subaru raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I'm the one who healed you," he replied flatly.
Another long pause.
The boy's face twisted into an exaggerated mask of emotion, tears streaming dramatically down his cheeks—though Subaru was pretty sure they were fake. The next moment, the boy dropped to his knees before Subaru, arms outstretched.
"Oh, great savior! My most noble healer! I, Farfin, am eternally indebted to you!" he proclaimed loudly, his voice echoing through the courtyard. "From this day forth, I shall dedicate my very existence to serving you, my master!"
Subaru took a step back, his hands raised as if warding off the sheer absurdity of the moment. "What?! Master?! No, no, no, hold on!"
Farfin's head shot up, his green hair glinting in the fading sunlight. "Yes, my master! I shall follow you to the ends of the earth! Just say the word, and I, your loyal servant, shall obey!"
Subaru groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't even know your name," he muttered, clearly regretting his decision to get involved.
The boy leaped to his feet, standing at attention like a soldier. "Farfin of the glorious Farfin lineage! But you, my master, may simply call me Farfin!"
Subaru stared at him, completely bewildered. "...Great," he muttered sarcastically, already exhausted by whatever this was turning into. "This is just what I needed..."
As the raven youth raised an eyebrow, staring down at the overly dramatic Farfin, who was still on his knees like he was about to beg for Subaru to knight him. Farfin clasped his hands together and sighed, his voice dripping with exaggerated sorrow.
"You don't understand, Master!" Farfin exclaimed. "I was so alone, so sad, so utterly lonely! And then—like a goddess descending from the heavens—she came into my life."
Subaru's skepticism hit its peak. He crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly. "She?" he asked hesitantly, already regretting opening this door.
Farfin's face lit up with newfound theatrics. He placed a hand dramatically over his heart and whispered as though invoking a sacred name. "Eiris!" He paused, looking off into the distance like some romantic tragic hero. "She glanced at me once. Once! It was enough to awaken my purpose, my soul's calling!"
Subaru stared, the disbelief practically etched onto his face. "You're telling me," Subaru began slowly, "that you've dedicated your life to a girl who glanced at you... once?"
"Yes!" Farfin declared proudly, his arms thrown wide as if Subaru had finally understood. "At that moment, I vowed to watch over her, to protect her from harm, to ensure her eternal happiness! Even if I must crawl on my knees across broken glass, I shall—"
Subaru cut him off with a sigh, waving his hand. "Yeah, yeah, great devotion, and all that. You do realize that's called stalking, right?"
Farfin froze, blinking rapidly as though the concept had never even crossed his mind. "Nonsense!" he said, shaking his head. "It's guardianship! Eiris's greatest enemy, Vlad—her so-called boyfriend—is the true danger! He's nothing but a brute who wants to use her for his own selfish ends!"
Subaru frowned. "Vlad... You mean the guy who just beat the crap out of you?"
Farfin stiffened, his expression growing darker. "Yes," he said, clenching his fists. "That beast doesn't deserve her. He sees her as a trophy. But me?" Farfin thumped his chest proudly. "I am her one true protector!"
Subaru sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Right," he muttered. "Well, uh, good luck with that, because this isn't my problem."
With that, Subaru did a swift turn and started walking away.
"Wait! Master, don't leave me!" Farfin shouted, scrambling to his feet and running after Subaru.
"Nope, not happening!" Subaru shot back, waving dismissively behind him. "You're worse than Professor Erlon in fanatics and more insufferable than Jonah's arrogance. I am not getting involved in your melodrama."
Farfin didn't give up, practically pleading as he followed Subaru step for step. "Wait, wait, wait! I have valuable knowledge!"
Subaru stopped in his tracks, turning his head slightly. "...What kind of knowledge?"
Farfin grinned, tapping his temple. "I know things, Master. Secrets. Valuable insights about the academy, the students, and the faculty."
Subaru sighed, rubbing his temple. "Why does it sound like you're about to drag me into some massive headache?"
Farfin puffed up his chest, looking incredibly smug. "Because, Master, with me by your side, there's no mystery we can't uncover!"
Subaru groaned, realizing he'd probably just gained the most annoying "ally" imaginable.
Subaru's tired eyes suddenly sharpened as he grabbed Farfin by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Wait—really?! You saw something?!"
Farfin blinked, startled at the sudden intensity before puffing his chest. "Yes, of course! Your loyal servant sees everything, Master!" He dramatically waved his hands through the air, as if recounting a tale of grand espionage.
Subaru narrowed his eyes. "Alright, spill it. What did you see?"
Farfin smirked, waggling a finger. "Last night, while I was making sure my beloved Eiris got home safe—"
Subaru immediately cut in. "So, you were stalking her."
Farfin scoffed. "Guarding, Master! Guardianship! There's a difference!" He coughed into his hand before continuing. "As I was saying, I was keeping watch from afar, near the training field, when I saw something odd. A small, cloaked figure—suspicious, I might add—opened up the back gate of the academy and left."
Subaru's grip on Farfin's shoulders tightened. "And you're sure about this?"
"As sure as I am devoted to Eiris!" Farfin boasted.
Subaru immediately frowned. "Not very reassuring…"
"Master, you wound me," Farfin clutched his chest dramatically.
Subaru waved him off. "Never mind that—did you get a good look at them? Could you tell who it was?"
Farfin tapped his chin, deep in thought. "Hmm… I can't say for certain. The cloak hid most of them, and I was at a very professional distance."
Subaru twitched. "Just say you were too far away."
Farfin ignored him. "However, I can say that the figure was small, definitely not a full-grown adult."
Subaru's eyes darted slightly to the side as he recalled a certain white-haired, red-eyed girl. "Did you catch a glimpse of their eyes? Their hair?"
Farfin furrowed his brow before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no. They moved too fast, and I didn't want to call attention to myself."
Subaru clicked his tongue in frustration. "Damn it. That could be something—or it could be nothing. But it's too big of a coincidence..."
Farfin leaned in, suddenly intrigued. "Master, do you suspect someone?"
Subaru kept his face neutral, but his mind was already racing. Could it really be Algol? It was the only sketchy thing he could think of, and Jonah had already made such a fuss about her.
"I don't know yet," Subaru admitted. "But if what you're saying is true, then this changes things."
Farfin grinned. "Oho? So, are we forming an investigative duo now, Master?"
Subaru groaned, rubbing his temple. "I can already tell this was a bad idea."
Subaru sighed, rubbing the back of his head. The race was on, the roles were assigned, and somehow, I got stuck playing the lead.
Farfin beamed, completely missing the reluctant expression on Subaru's face. "Oh, this is exhilarating! A grand mystery, a shadowy figure, and us—the brilliant sleuths who will crack the case!" He twirled dramatically before pointing a finger to the sky. "This shall be our legend, Master!"
Subaru deadpanned. "No, this is going to be a headache."
But as much as he hated to admit it, Farfin had given him a lead, and it was more than he'd had this morning. If someone had left the academy gates right before the mabeasts appeared, then there was definitely a connection. The school was trying to sweep the whole incident under the rug, but Subaru couldn't let it go. He had his own reasons for wanting answers.
Maybe it was just curiosity, maybe it was concern for the students, but deep down, Subaru knew—he needed to know.
Taking a deep breath, Subaru squared his shoulders. "Alright. Let's do this properly. First, we need to confirm the academy's security logs. There's gotta be some kind of record of who goes in and out."
Farfin's grin widened. "And how, pray tell, do we get access to those?"
Subaru sighed. "That's where the fun part comes in." He cracked his knuckles. "We're gonna have to steal a look at them."
Farfin gasped dramatically, his hands flying to his mouth. "Master! Are you suggesting illegal activities?!"
Subaru gave him a flat look. "You just admitted to stalking a girl yesterday, Farfin."
"Guarding!"
Subaru ignored him, already strategizing. If there was any place that would have records of students leaving, it would be in the faculty office or the main security archive. He just needed to figure out how to get a peek at those logs without getting thrown into detention again.
But one thing was clear—this wasn't just some random beast attack. Someone had let them in.
And Subaru was going to find out who.