Maria P.O.V
Grim, Deuce and I were inside the mine while Ace was at the entrance of the mine 'I hope the plan will go smoothly' I thought to myself
"Hey beasty! O-o-o-over here!" Grim shouted at the monster to gain it attention
"Grrrrrrr.... LeaAAAAAAAAAAVEE!!!" The monster yelled
"Gah! It's coming!" Grim said in a frighten tone
"Don't worry Grim, Ace and I are with you. Hey beasty! Over here!" I shouted
"Grrr!? There... thief... too. Won't give... Mine... Mine!!!" The monster yelled again while heading towards us and almost land a punch at us
"Pyah! That punch looks like a knockout if it lands" Grim said
"Everything will alright Grim, just keep following the plan and we'll be okay" I said to Grim and we started to lead it away from the tunnel where the magic crystal is
"Go away! Go away!" The monster yelled as it chased after us and away from the tunnel
"It's pretty far from the tunnel now!" Grim said
"Ace! Now!" I shouted
"Ok, I got this! Let's go, Extra Large Tempest!" Ace said as he cast his spell
"And the Great Grim's Fire Special! Ffgnaaaaaaaaa!!!!" Grim said he unleashed his flames towards the monster
"Guaaaaaaaah!!?" The attack worked effectively
"How's this! I can even fan Grim's shoddy flames into an inferno!" Ace said with a smirk
"It's not shoddy! Ugh, every word out from your mouth ticks me off!" Grim said with anger
'Sigh... Can't they just get along for a couple of minutes?' I thought to myself
"Anyway, now's our chance! Deuce! You know what to do!" I said to Deuce and he nods
"Calm down... Take aim... The biggest, heaviest... thing I know... Come forth, cauldron!" Deuce said as a giant cauldron fell on the monster
"Guaaaa!" The monster is now being squashed
"Got it! Nice work everyone! Hey look! The monster looks flat as a pancake just like Ace was earlier!" Grim said and that made Ace angry
"You don't need to bring that up again! Jeez, today just isn't my day." Ace said
"Grim, don't be rude to Ace" I said to Grim
"He teased me earlier at Main street, so that's my pay back for that" Grim said and I smacked the back of his head again
"Let's go get the magic crystal while that thing can't move." Deuce said and we started heading towards the tunnel where the monster keeps guarding
"!? Waaaaaaaaaaiiitt!!!!" The monster screamed at us but we continued walking through the tunnel
We were walking for a while, when we saw something shining on the wall
"There! A magic crystal!" Deuce said
"Hands oooooooooofffff!" The monster said in the distance
"Shoot! That thing is almost free!" Deuce said while I was trying to remove the crystal from the wall but it's a lot harder than I expected
"Well you guys better do something, I'm trying to remove the crystal from the wall, so in other words I need time, so keep it busy in the mean time" I said to the guys
"Okay, we'll try to keep the monster busy, hopefully enough time for you to remove the crystal" Ace said
"C-come forth! Cauldron! And uuummmm, ummmmmm, cauldron!? One more cauldron?" Deuce said as 3 cauldron appeared and fell on the monster but it wasn't enough to hold it down
"Do you have nothing but cauldrons in your repertoire!?" Ace asked Deuce in anger
"Shut up! I'm at my wits' end over here!" Deuce shouted at Ace
After some time, I finally got the crystal removed from the wall
"Hey guys! I got the crystal!" I said and they turned around to look
"Alright! We got the magic crystal! Let's skadaddle!" Grim said and we nodded
"Roger!" Ace said and we started to run
"That. Is... MIIIIIINNNNNNEE!!!!" The monster yelled as it started to chase after us all the way out of the mine
"You're kidding!? It knocked off all that stuff and came after us!" Ace said in a scared tone
"Uuuh... uuughhh...! Give... it... ba..ck!!" The monster yelled once again
"Shoot, it's gonna catch up to us!" Deuce said
"But you guys, it looks pretty weak right now, so we might have a chance to beat it" I said to the guys
"Aaah... Fine! Let's finish it! Don't let me down Mr. Serious!" Ace said to Deuce
"You, too!" Deuce said
"I'll show off my true power!" Grim said
"I'm helping you guys too! So don't count me out" I said and without thinking I said these words "Killiter Ichaival Tron" Then my pendant started to glow and my whole body was surrounded by a bright light
"Maria!" The guys shouted in union
After the light dimmed down, my appearance changed
"Huh? What the...?" I opened my eyes and looked at my clothes "My clothes..." I said with amazement in my tone but I didn't notice Ace and Deuce's red face along with a nosebleed
'Holy damn... She looks hot!' Ace thought to himself
'She looks beautiful...' Deuce thought to himself
"Well whatever happened, let's focus on beating that thing!" Grim said and we went to battle positions
After the battle, we finally defeated the monster and we were exhausted but I didn't notice that my clothes changed back
"Huff... Huff..." Deuce was catching his breath
"We... did it?" Ace asked
W-we won... We actually won!" Grim said with excitement
"Hooray!" Deuce said with a happy tone
"We did it!" Ace said with a happy tone too
"Victory high-five!" Grim said as we high-fived each other
"Yay!" We all said
"I'm proud of you guys! I'm happy we worked together! Also, I can see you guys are starting to get along now" I said with a smile
"...Ah. N-no. This is nothing like that!" Deuce said with a blush look
"Y-yeah, yeah! Could you stop saying weird things?" Ace said covering his face
"W-we won, thanks to my genius! It's not because we pooled our strength!" Grim said
"...I guess making excuses is pretty lame. I hate to admit but we won thanks to your plan." Ace said to me
"...True. We got our magic crystal because you gave us level headed instructions, we can prevent our expulsion this way... I'm so relieved." Deuce said with a light blush on his face
"I'm just glad that everyone is alright." I said
"Yeah, yeah. We're all relieved and seriously worn-out and battered. Let's go home" Ace said
"I'm starving from using so much magic..." Grim said and he started sniffing "Hmm? What this?" Grim asked as he picked a dark gem from the ground
"Remnents from that monster? A magic crystal...? But I've never seen one pitch-black like coal before" Deuce said
"Sniff... Sniff... This thing smells really good..." Grim said as he started to drool
"No way!" Ace said with disgust
"This has to be candy the monster was hiding! Ooooh! I can't hold back! Time to dig in!" Grim said as he started to eat the dark crystal
"Grim! No! Spit that out!" I said to Grim but he already shallowed it
"Uuhh!!!"
"Hey, are you alright?" Deuce asked in a concern tone
"Aaah. That's why you don't eat things from the ground" Ace said
"D... D-d-d-d-d... DELICIOUS!!!" Grim said happliy
"What?!" Ace and Deuce said at the same time
"It's full-bodied, but also rich with an aromatic sweetness that blooms in my mouth... Like a whole field of flowers" Grim described
"Bleeeeegh! Monsters really do have different tastes than us" Ace said with a disgust tone
"...I guess so. But more than that... Most people wouldn't even put a mystery object in their mouth without a thought" Deuce said
"Are you feeling alright? Maybe it was poison and it already spread to your brain, making you lose your sense of thought and taste" I said in a concern tone
"Don't worry, my stomach isn't weak like yours" Grim said and he earned another smack on the head
"Don't come crawling to me when you get sick later" Ace said
"Switching gears, let's get this magic crystal to the headmaster!" Deuce said and we all nodded in agreement and we started heading back
Mirror Chamber~
"Eh!? You really went to Dwarfs' Mine to find the magic crystal?" Crowley said
"Eeeh!?" The four of us said
"What do you mean by that Headmaster Crowley?" I asked in murderous tone which scared him and the trio
"I really didn't think... You'd not only got but then come back with a crystal in hand. I quietly completed the paperwork for your expulsion" Crowley said and I felt my anger surrounding again
"Oh, really? I never knew a teacher would do that behind students' back even after risking our lives on getting that crystal" I said very angry
"Yeah! What she said! We were even fighting some crazy beast!" Grim said and that surprised Crowley
"Beast?" Crowley asked
"There was a monster there! It was super gross and crazy strong, it was awful!" Ace yelled
"Could you explain in more detail? But let's talk about this in my office" Crowley said as we started heading to his office
No One P.O.V Headmaster's Office~
When we arrived at his office, each of us explained about what happened at the Dwarfs' Mine
"A mysterious monster living in the coal mine and the four of you worked together to defeat it and bring back a magic crystal" Crowley said as he tried to understand
"We didn't really work together..." Ace said as he avoid eye contact
"It was more like our goals were aligned..." Deuce said
Then Crowley started crying for some reason, which made us confused
"What's with this guy? Why is an adult bursting in tears!?" Grim asked and this time Maria pinched Grim's cheeks
"For the record Grim, adults can shed tears if they want to" Maria said as she released his cheeks
"In all these years that I've been headmaster... For the day to come that students from Night Raven College to go hand-in-hand to face and defeat their enemy!" Crowley said with happiness in his voice
"What!? I did not hold this guy's hand!" Deuce said
"I would never do that, gross! But Headmaster, how old are you!?" Ace said and asked
"I am overwhelmed with emotion. This incident confirms it, Maria" Crowley called my name and I looked at him "Without a doubt, you have a talent as a beast tamer!" Crowley told me which surprised me
"A beast tamer? Never been called that before but I'm not sure if I take it as a compliment or an insult" Maria said
"It's a compliment! Students of Night Raven College are budding wizards called here by the Dark Mirror. However, they are of a superior class that makes them prideful and egotistical people that have not even the slightest inkling to work with others. Making many of them selfish and self-centered" Crowley said
'Probably it's due to your lack of discipline...' Maria thought to myself
"You're really not saying anything good" Grim said
"You cannot use magic. But maybe, precisely because you cannot use magic or maybe you do have magic means you can give instructions to wizards and get them to cooperate. Perhaps that mediocrity is exactly what this school needs right now!" Crowley said but to me it sounds like he's complaining about his students and their behaviors
"He's not saying anything nice is he!?" Ace complained
"Maria, I have no doubt that your existence is essential to the future of this school. So says my educator-senses. Trappola, Spade and along rescinding your expulsion, I shall give you the qualifications to attend Night Raven College as a student!" Crowley said
"Eeeh!?" Ace, Deuce and Grim said at the same time even I was surprised
"Me as student here?" Maria asked looking surprised
"Yes. For I am exceedingly gracious. But there is one condition, you must keep an eye on Grim here since he'll be attending classes with you as well. You have proven to me that you possess enough talent to become a wizardress. Therefore, I shall allow the two of you to enroll together as one student" Crowley said which made Grim very happy
"Ffgna!? I... I can go to this academy too...? Not as a handyman, but as a student?" Grim asked in disbelief
"Yes. Provided that! You don't ever let an incident like yesterday occur again! Do we have an agreement?" Crowley said and asked
"Ffgnaa... Fffnnaaa.... We can." Grim answered
"Hey Grim, let's do our best" Maria said to Grim
"Yes! Ffggnnnnnaa!! I did it!" Grim did a little celebration for himself
"Well then, I shall give you the symbol of your status as a student of Night Raven College, a magic crystal, to Grim" Crowley said as he placed the magic crystal around Grim's neck
"Whoa! A magic crystal!" Grim said excitedly
"It is normal for students to have their magic crystals in the form of a 'magic pen' but, you would be able to grip it in your paws right? It's a special custom. Aaah... I pay attention to even the smallest details! Aren't I too gracious?" Crowley said and asked
"I did it!! I'm so cool! I got my own special magic crystal~~" Grim said to himself, completely ignoring Headmaster Crowley
"He isn't listening at all... Do you understand? As you can see, Grim is not accustomed to human society. It's up to you to take the rein and supervise him to prevent from causing any more trouble!" Headmaster Crowley said to me
"Aha! Look at you. School's just started, but you're already a supervisor?" Ace said
"I see. There's only the two of you in your dorm... So if you've been entrusted with supervising Grim, that makes you a supervisor" Deuce said
"Pufft... Isn't that unheard of? For there to be a supervisor student who's been in coffin for who knows how many years. Nice. It's cool. A supervisor student also known as the coffin girl!" Ace said
"I understand. I'll try my best and I won't let you down" Maria said
"Ahaha. Good luck, Supervisor!" Ace wished me luck
"I see, a supervisor. I do have a work request and having a title makes it very convenient... This is wonderful! Supervisor, I entrust you with this" Headmaster Crowley said as he showed me an old camera "...This is nicknamed the Ghost Camera"
"A ghost camera...?" Maria asked while inspecting the camera
"Ah, I think my grandma told me about that. It's a super old magic tool right?" Ace asked
"It is not "super old" ...Ahem. It's true this may have been invented during your great grandmother's or great-great grandmother's time. There is a very special spell cast on it. It not only captures the subjects' form, but also a part of their soul." Headmaster Crowley said
"A part of their soul...?" Deuce asked in confusion
"We call this Memory: A Fragment of Remembrance. Furthermore, the most interesting part of this magic camera is that the souls of the photographer and the photographed become deeply connected and the Memory in the photo comes jumping out!" Headmaster Crowley explained
"That's very interesting." Maria said
"Depending on how close the subject and the photographer are, the picture could move like a video or bring to life the situation in the photo. Fascinating right?" Headmaster Crowley said
"Bring the photo to life? It's like a ghost photograph!" Deuce said with excitement in his voice
"Yes. Therefore, it is called a ghost camera. They say it was made before the time of videos for when people wanted to leave behind vivid memories... Spade is correct though, in the past, people would scream "Ghost!" in surprise when the memory came jumping out. They were paralyzed with fear at the thought of having a photo taken with this camera" Headmaster Crowley said
'I see but... what on Earth is a video that they're talking about?' Maria thought to herself
"A camera for freaking people out..." Ace said in a nervous tone
"Supervisor. Please take photos of Grim and the other students to leave behind many memories of your lives in this academy" Headmaster Crowley asked me as he handed me the Ghost Camera
"La~ Lalala. Take lots of cool photos for me~" Grim said in his happy tone and Headmaster started whispering by my ear
"...Especially, always make sure to get "Memories" when someone steps out of line. It's a most suitable way to report to me right? Keep an eye on your surroundings and take memories as the supervisor. Does my graciousness know no bounds?" Headmaster Crowley said but to me it feels like he's dumping his responsibly on me
"I'll try it out when I get the chance" Maria said
"It's already late. Let's save the detailed conversation for tomorrow. Return to your dormitories everyone" Headmaster Crowley said
"Pardon our intrusion" Deuce said but before we leave
"Excuse us, Headmaster" Maria said as they left the room
Exterior Hallway 2F
"Haaaaaaaah.... Expulsion rescinded... I'm beat" Deuce said in a tired tone
"Oh my, oh my..." Ace said who was also exhausted
"La~ Lalala~ I start as a student of Night Raven College tomorrow! I'm gonna leave you all in the dust and take the top spot!" Grim declared
"You talk for someone who is only a half student... Anyway, it's fine" Ace said
"We're classmates starting tomorrow, Supervisor, Grim." Deuce said with a hint joy in his voice
"Ace and Deuce, I looking forward on getting to know you both as classmates and friends" Maria said with a smile and their faces turned red
"Saying that again is really embarrassing, will you stop?" Ace asked as he looked away
"Pff, that's true. Even if we don't want to, we're going to see each other everyday. I'm even in Heartlabyul with this jerk" Deuce said
"Thinking about seeing your serious mug every day, no thanks" Ace argued
"That's my line, truant Ace." Deuce argued back
So to make them stop arguing or fighting, she kissed their cheeks to shut them up
"C'mon you guys, it's late so save all that arguing tomorrow. Okay?" Maria said and they both nodded as their faces turned bright red as they went back to their dorm
"These guys might make a good combo. They're the 'fight because they're so close' type. We better get back to the dorm. Tomorrow, we aren't the handyman! Finally... Finally! Our bright and shiny academy life at Night Raven College begins!" Grim shouted happily and I smiled
'I wonder how this school life will be?' Maria thought to herself as Grim and Maria started heading back to our dorm
Prologue end