The Imperial Lounge, where majestic marble pillars and top-tier chandeliers gleamed.
Only those who claimed absolute power at Eternoa Academy were permitted entry, and there, thick cigar smoke coiled together to create a strange atmosphere.
Arrogant smiles played on the lips of students who lounged deep in plush velvet sofas, swirling wine glasses.
"Well, I expected as much. It's not just one or two of them."
A male student with silver hair smoothly brushed it back and spoke with a twisted smile.
"The way those guys snivel and grovel because they want to join our Imperial so badly. The sight of them barking at the front just to leave an impression."
"House is… Chartoure? Where's that? I've never heard of it in my life."
"Puhaha! Don't even mention it. He must've struggled, coming from a house with zero pedigree."
The lounge was instantly filled with blatant scorn.
Lucian of House Chartoure's miserable defeat had become fodder for their amusement.
"But still, I thought he was a complete invalid since he's a human summon. I suppose he actually managed to put up a knock-down battle?"
A female student sitting askew on the armrest of a sofa asked, resting her chin on her fingertips.
Shallow interest and deep contempt intersected in her eyes.
"I heard he sent a high-class summon, a Basilisk, flying with his bare fists? A barbaric bastard."
"It's just that idiot Lucian couldn't even control his own summon properly. I heard he got trampled like a bug in front of Airex's Leviathan?"
A large male student sitting opposite snorted.
"Anyway, a human body is just a lump of meat that'll be crawling on the floor if you slap a few debuff spells on it."
"Exactly. I'm already looking forward to seeing how I'll drain that filthy blood dry."
They dismissed Taesan's overwhelming might as merely Lucian's inexperience, still treating Taesan as a worthless plaything.
The faces of the Imperial members gathered in the lounge were filled with nothing but blind faith in their unshakable power and superiority.
"Hmm…."
In the languid air, a sticky nasal sound flowed from a corner of the lounge.
It was a female student with long, flamboyant red hair draped down.
She traced the rim of her drinking glass with slender fingers and pouted her lips.
"I thought our cute Lucian was pretty strong, you know."
A peculiar interest settled on Ive's lips.
She was someone who usually doted on Lucian like her own toy.
The fact that that whelp, who freely commanded a Basilisk and had his nose in the air, was knocked out in a single blow was enough to pique her curiosity.
"Then check it out yourself, Ive."
"Hmm?"
The silver-haired male student buried himself deep in the sofa and urged her on with a lift of his chin.
"I'm saying you should personally uncover the depth of that so-called human summon yourself."
"My, why me?"
Ive smiled with her eyes and slowly rose from her seat.
The sound of her heels rang across the lounge's marble floor.
She took light steps and stood before the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
The panoramic view of the academy spread wide outside was reflected fully in her crimson irises.
"Well, if I'm truly bored, it wouldn't be bad to play with him once. Since they made such a mess of Lucian, shouldn't someone make them pay the price?"
Swish—!
In an instant, a bizarre green light flared above Ive's pale, slender palm.
Amidst an unpleasant aura that flickered as if alive, a grotesque spirit in the form of a grub—no larger than a thumb—wriggled and revealed itself.
"Isn't that right, Venom?"
Ive gazed at the squirming insect spirit on her palm with affectionate eyes and whispered low.
Contrary to its grotesque exterior, the concentrated poison aura within it made the surrounding air acrid in an instant.
She lightly rolled the insect spirit around and began to picture in her mind the deadly game that Eustia and that outsider summon would soon experience.
***
"Receiving so much attention is always tiring. Being the daughter of a prestigious house alone would draw eyes, but with you here too, Taesan…."
The quiet sound of a comb filled the room, passing through soft silver locks.
Yurika carefully combed Eustia's hair in a steady rhythm and let out a small sigh.
Outside the window, deep darkness had already fallen, and only the faint glow of a magic tool drifted through the dorm room.
I stood in a corner of the room with arms crossed, leaning against the wall, silently watching the two of them.
The gazes that had been unusual since the entrance ceremony had now turned into blatant hostility or curiosity, dogging us persistently.
The only daughter of a prominent house bearing the title of special admission, coupled with the aberrant label of a human summon.
The rumors born from these two things were enough to cause a small ripple in Eternoa Academy's rigid class society.
"Anyway, it's obvious the Imperial guys are already gearing up for something. What with the battle that happened during the day and all."
At my indifferent reply, Yurika's hands paused briefly.
"Even when I went to buy snacks at Wind Whisper, the stares were no joke. Everyone was glancing and whispering."
Yurika pouted her lips, seeming to recall the events at the campus shopping mall earlier that day.
"They'll quiet down once I prove it with skill anyway. Let them bark."
At my words, Eustia turned her head slightly and looked at me.
Worry and trust were intertwined, flickering in her clear eyes.
"Taesan is right, Yurika. It's not like their stares will go away just because we worry about them. We just have to show them clearly on the Grand Final stage."
"Please go to sleep now, my lady. You have to wake up early tomorrow as well."
Yurika soothed Eustia with a gentle voice.
She turned off the light by the bedside, and her hands carefully pulling the blanket up to Eustia's shoulders were steeped in familiar tenderness.
Eustia nodded slightly and closed her eyes.
The tension she had felt during the daytime battle with Lucian now seemed to fully release, and her breathing quickly became regular.
"Let's go, Taesan."
Yurika whispered as she carefully closed the door.
I silently followed her out of the dormitory.
The academy's night air was chilly, and the brilliantly shining campus lights had died down one by one, leaving only a serene silence.
We left the students' residential area and headed toward the outskirts of the academy, where separate lodgings were provided for summons and caretaker maids.
While walking along the sparsely populated promenade, Yurika kept her mouth firmly shut for quite a long time.
It was a heavy silence uncharacteristic of her, who usually enjoyed chattering.
Only the regular sound of her heels striking the stone path cut through the night air.
"Worried?"
I was the one to break the silence first.
At my question, Yurika's steps halted abruptly.
She turned around and looked up at me.
Her face, illuminated by the streetlamp, was etched with deep worry.
"How could I not be worried? After what you did to Lucian today... the Imperial guys won't stay still."
She stared at me with anxious eyes, her hands clenched tightly.
"They don't care about means or methods. No matter how strong you are, Taesan, if they all target my lady as a group, the story changes completely."
"I know."
I answered indifferently and started walking again.
Yurika walked right beside me with quick steps.
What happened during the day was only the beginning.
To survive in this otherworld academy, I had to break their arrogance.
"No matter what tricks they pull, as long as I'm here, they won't be able to lay a single finger on a hair on Eustia's head."
At my firm voice, Yurika's expression seemed to soften slightly.
Before we knew it, we had arrived at a quiet park on the outskirts.
Swish—!
Just then, an alien magical wave flowed from the center of a park shrouded in deep darkness along the path toward the summon residential area.
I reflexively stopped and threw my gaze toward the source of the wave.
"My, your control over mana still seems clumsy. Relax, and try breathing slowly."
A smooth, sticky voice tickled my ears.
Near a bench beyond the streetlamp's reach, a female student with long, flamboyant red hair stood facing a youthful boy who appeared to be a freshman.
"Y-yes! Senior…."
The boy was frozen stiff, cold sweat trickling down his face.
On the palm of the female student bending toward him, a thumb-sized spirit in the form of a grotesque, glowing green grub wriggled.
"Now, watch carefully the direction my Venom moves. Sharpen your mana like this—thin and sharp. It's not hard, is it?"
The female student whispered in an incredibly gentle and kind tone, as if trying to ease the young freshman's tension.
However, in her crimson irises, a strangely flickering, sadistic pleasure dwelled instead of care for the other party.
"L-like this...?"
Faint mana flared at the freshman's fingertips, but the moment it touched the poisonous aura emanating from her insect spirit, it scattered powerlessly.
"Ah, what a shame. Your barrier deployment speed was too slow. If only it were a little faster, it would've been perfect."
The female student pouted her lips and shook her head as if truly disappointed.
"If this were a real battle, it would have already bitten into your pretty nape. You should be careful."
At that moment, the insect spirit that had been quietly rolling on her palm twisted its body grotesquely toward the empty air.
Swish!
A thick green light split the air in an instant, grazing the boy's cheek.
"Eek!"
Along with the scream escaping the boy's mouth, the green light that had cut through the air ricocheted along an unexpected trajectory.
Swoosh—!
That grotesque streak of light, laden with acrid poison, split the darkness and flew straight toward me.
I furrowed my brows and tracked the incoming poison's trajectory with my eyes.
A shallow attack that wasn't even worth dodging.
I raised my hand nonchalantly and lightly swatted away the incoming streak of light.
Crackle!
The deadly poison energy at my fingertips flared like sparks before scattering futilely.
"My."
A low exclamation flowed from the darkness.
"Oh my, whatever shall I do? I'm so sorry. It seems my Venom got a little excited."
The female student approached me lightly without erasing the smile hanging on her lips.
Her flamboyant red locks glowed softly in the darkness.
"You aren't hurt, are you? It's because I'm still clumsy at handling this child."
She asked gently, the corners of her eyes curving as if truly sorry.
"I'm Ive. A third-year. What just happened really wasn't on purpose. Are you okay?"
Her voice was wrapped in a softness and kindness so complete that not a trace of malice could be found.