Muse Sirel jumped up and went to meet the students, while the Principal shook his head slowly, “Chujitsuna was right in one thing; Muse is nuts.”
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When the students heard her clapping to call for attention, they all looked at the serious Dwarf woman.
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She faced Chujitsuna and made a slight bow. “That was a good fight, Chujitsuna. I was not expecting to be fooled or defeated like that.”
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In return, Chujitsuna made a slight bow to her and answered, “Thank you, Teacher, and I apologize for insulting you. I only wanted to make you angry. I didn’t mean any of that.”
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“Well, it sure worked. I must also congratulate you on the way you tricked me yesterday during class. I have been underestimating you until now, but that is mostly your fault, because you are always fooling around, and I couldn’t take you seriously.”
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“That is because I prefer to laugh and joke rather than be angry and serious all the time. But you are indeed the fastest Dwarf I ever fought, and I have faced many. My uncle has three sons about my age and a few Dwarf friends, and none of them is as fast as you. Or such a great fighter, I might add. None of them ever lasted so long against me that I had to resort to using my hair holder.”
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Muse smirked and asked, “Yeah, you got me with that one. I wasn’t expecting that last weapon.”
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Chujitsuna made a slight frown and asked while pointing at the tip of her tail, “Who said that was my last weapon? See my spiked ball? I can use the tip of my tail to activate the release of each of those spikes, and they fly as fast as an arrow. And my last weapon is not my hair holders, it is my fingernails.”
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She then raised both hands and showed to the surprise Teacher her lightly painted nails as she explained, “They are coated with a Sleeping Potion as well. Actually, all the scales on my lower body are coated. If I gave you even a slight scratch, you would be sleeping seconds after. I didn’t underestimate you for even a moment, Teacher. I was told how dangerous and how good of a fighter you are. You might not know, but you are a celebrity among the Dwarfs because you are the first Dwarf that ever worked as a fighting Teacher in this Academy. Or in any other Academy.”
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Muse rubbed her cheek, smiling awkwardly, “I am not sure of that…”
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“But you are! When I told my uncle your name, he couldn’t stop bragging about you! My mother had to give him a poisoned cookie to get him to shut up! He tried to kill her when he woke up, and she had to flee, but that is another story. Heheheh!”
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Hearing that, Nozomu crouched and touched one scale of Chujitsuna’s tail that was near him and mumbled, “This is poisoned? It doesn’t look like it has anything on it, it seems-”
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Inadvertently, he pressed the tip of one scale with more strength than he should and pierced his finger. In seconds, he felt his arm going numb. He tried to say something, but his tongue didn’t move. Draiky noticed what was happening and raised the alarm by slapping the tail away from him, making Chujitsuna look down.
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She shook her head and said, “Nozomu, did you just poison yourself? Damn, you sure are dumb! Didn’t you hear me say all my scales are coated with a Sleeping Potion?”
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Nozomu blinked once, twice, and fell on the ground, making everyone around him laugh. All except Taisetsuna, who rushed to him to see if he was alright.
To her surprise, Tomiga Yurao arrived at the same time as she did, and he helped her carry the sleeping Nozomu.
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They sat him on the floor with his back against the wall of the Academy, and Taisetsuna opened a small vial of a Healing Potion as she said. “Thanks. For helping, I mean.”
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“No problem. You need to tell your friend to be more careful. I kind of noticed that sometimes he does things without thinking first. Why did he touch the scale after what Chujitsuna said? That was kind of stupid.”
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“Yeah, he was probably curious. He tends to be like that when he hears about something new. More than once, it got him in trouble. Last time, he looked through the hole of an ‘Ergy’ hive and one of them exploded against his forehead to make him go away. When he was told what they were, you know what he did? He kicked a bush of ‘Fool’s Death’ and the explosion almost killed him!”
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Tomiga laughed, and Taisetsuna soon joined him. Nozomu opened his eyes and asked, “What happened? Did I faint?”
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His question only made the laughing duo laugh harder. A few metres away, Robert Keskula was frowning. Hinen was right next to him, and he mumbled, “Great, another one after Taisetsuna… This is getting better every day...”
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They spent the rest of the morning in another round of practice fights, with Muse Sirel and Teacher Egar Gage doing demonstrations of fighting styles and uses of weapons.
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Hinotsume was peacefully seated next to Mizukonta, watching everything, and he said with a smile, “You know, it has been some centuries since I had so much fun. Not that you are not fun to be with, but these meat sacs are rather entertaining!”
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“They have names, lizard…”
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“Hey! What did you call me?”
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“You heard me. Nozomu already told you, learn their names, or you will be known as ‘lizard’. I wonder how funny you would look like, as a tiny version of you. He said that lizards are similar to Dragons, but he could squash them with his boots when he was little. I never heard of an animal like that, but it sure sounds funny! You little, running around, trying to flee from a Human toddler that was trying to step on you! Hehehe!”
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Hinotsume snorted with a frown, “Yeah, you are hilarious, no doubt about it…”
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At the ‘Ifranluan Empire’, the Emperor’s family was seated at the dining table, waiting for him.
Not only his wife was there but also his son and heir, Ahmed Khan, and his five daughters, Asma Khan, Sumina Khan, Asiya Khan, Aysha Khan, and Zohara Khan.
Although only his son could inherit his crown and Empire after his death, the Emperor’s daughters were also useful to him and his plans of conquest.
His Ministers advised him years ago that after conquering neighbouring countries, it would be better if one of his daughters could marry a Prince of the conquered countries, to calm their people and reassure them that with one of his daughters in those countries’ thrones, it was a clear sign that the country belonged to the Empire and was under the Emperor’s protection.
That was why he had so many daughters. One for each country he intended to conquer.
No one knew for sure why, but between his daughters’ births, his wife also had two sons, but both died when they were weeks old in mysterious circumstances while the older son was playing with them and a nanny was nearby.
The nanny was distracted for a few minutes on both occasions, and when she returned, the baby boy was dead, suffocated, while his older brother was playing with a toy a few metres away.
The older son was not accused of anything, but the nannies were sentenced to death for leaving the kids unattended.
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As soon as the Emperor sat, his son asked, “You seem displeased with something, father. Do you mind telling me what is ruining your mood?”
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“My plans are destroyed, that is why, and I have a bunch of useless Ministers that still can’t think of a plan to fulfil my wishes! Choose your Ministers wisely when it comes your time to rule, my son. You can’t do everything alone, and you need to have the right people near you, not only to advise you, but to make sure your orders are fulfilled!”
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A servant approached with a bottle of purple juice and announced, “My Emperor, this is the juice that was selected for this meal. Shall I pour in the glasses?”
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The Emperor waved his hand without even looking at it, and the servant started with his glass and went to the Prince next. To him, he opened his eyes slightly and disguisedly shook his head, and the Prince understood immediately.
After filling the glasses of the Emperor’s wife and his daughters, the servant left the room. The food arrived, and they all waited for the Emperor to approve. After he started to eat, they all joined him.
During their meal, the Emperor remained silent while his daughters, wife, and son were talking among them. Despite everyone else, including the Emperor, were sipping the juice while eating, the Prince didn’t even touch his glass.
When the servants arrived with the deserts, the Emperor blinked a few times, trying to focus his sight. He looked around the table and noticed that his wife and daughters were also shaking their heads, trying to get rid of the dizziness they were feeling.
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All, except the Prince, who asked his father, a little puzzled, “Is everything alright, father? You look pale.”
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“I… I am not sure…”
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Those were his last words, because, in the next second, his head fell over the table, followed by his wife and daughters. The Prince got up with a jump and went to him, and touched his neck to sense his heartbeat. He shouted for help as he was feeling the necks of his sisters and mother.
Servants, guards, and then the Ministers arrived.
While the guards went in search of the servant that brought the juice and the ones that brought the food, the Ministers were trying to console the sad and crying Prince, who was screaming in sadness.
Between his cries, he glanced at his tutor and made a slight grin that was greeted with a disguised nod by the Minister. Everything went according to plan.
…
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In the middle of the afternoon at the Academy of Adventurers, Nozomu was walking down the main corridor that led to the rooms while reading a message that Ardo Jogi, the Academy assistant, gave him.
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Taisetsuna saw him frowning a little and asked, “Is something wrong?”
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“I am not sure. Princess Mere invited me to have dinner in her Castle. Only me. Says she wants to introduce me to her court? I don’t get it, they already know me!”
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“Maybe she has a hidden plan for your future?”
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Nozomu understood what she meant and pretended not to pay much attention to it. He put the message in one pocket as he announced, “Better not to keep her waiting, then. I am going with Rampage. Do you mind warning the Principal? I think I can return after dinner. Or maybe I can sleep there so that I don’t need to worry about returning before the doors close for the night.”
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“Sure. Take care then.”
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As he left, Robert Keskula wondered, “What do you think the Princess wants with him, Taisetsuna?”
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“I don’t know, but it could be related to our recent title? She said we would get some of her lands.”
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“But in that case, why she didn’t call you as well?”
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“Maybe because she likes him more? He will tell us when he returns. So, since we still have time before dinner, shall we go see what Hinotsume is doing? I saw him peeking through the window when we were in the Potions class. Maybe he is still outside.”
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As they were walking along the main corridor, Tresuria asked, “Do you guys know if he and Mizukonta used to come to this Academy and check on the students? Or are they staying here more often because of us?”
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Chujitsuna answered while the others were still thinking, “From what my mother told me when she came for the Princess’ speech, they normally left after the Princess spoke, and never returned during that year, so I am pretty sure it is because of us.”
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“Then that is kind of cool. It means they like us.”
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Chujitsuna gulped when she saw the cute smile Tresuria was making while she walked with her hands behind her back. It was becoming harder and harder for her as the days went by not to grab the shy Gailie and kiss her. Especially when she smiled like that.
…
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