A couple of hours had gone by since the troublesome group had departed for the Dwarfs' Mine.
Finding a magestone wasn't easy, especially in a place where there weren't supposed to be anymore. So it wasn't surprising for them to take a while...
You fiddled with the seashell on your necklace as you felt an ominous weight press on your chest. You felt something wrong, although you couldn't pinpoint what.
"How about we wait in the Mirror Chamber? I'd feel more at ease, that way." You suggested and the headmage thought about it for a moment before agreeing.
"If that is what you wish, I have no reason to refuse. I really am gracious, after all!" He gloated and offered his hand. You let him help you up from your seat and both exited the man's office.
Briefly after reaching the mirror, its surface lit up white and three figures, plus a smaller one, stumbled out.
Your eyes went wide at the scene. All of them were covered in dirt, scratches, soot and a little bit of a black, slimy substance. Deuce specifically was also bleeding from an arm.
"What happened?" They all seemed overall okay so you were at least glad of that. Still, you had to ask.
"We got into a bad situation at the mines, but we still managed to get the magestone..." Yuu panted slightly and you sighed.
"Pardon? You're telling me you actually went to the Dwarfs' Mine in search of a magestone?" Crowley said with a surprise tone and you brought a hand to your forehead.
"Uh...? Yes?"
"I didn't expect that you'd seriously do it. And never in my wildest imaginings did I think you would actually return with a magestone!" The man continued and then pinched his chin in thought.
"And here I intended to spend all evening preparing your expulsion documents. If not for our esteemed professor's imput I would've already done so." He said and Grim jumped up.
"Are you serious?! While we were fightin' some crazy monster for you, you were expellin' us?!" The creature complained and you frowned at his words.
"A monster you say?" You said and gave Crowley a side-eye, he awkwardly cleared his throat. He had said there wasn't anything dangerous at the mines, no?
"Yeah. There was a monster, all right. A big, nasty one that nearly killed us!" Ace, instead, openly glared at the man.
"W-would you kindly relate this story in full?" The headmage ignored your disappointed eyes and tried to act professionally.
"Before that, we need to take care of their injuries. Deuce, you seem to be in the worst shape compared to the others." You said and the boy embarrassedly nodded.
"I can care for your scratches with magic but I'm not able to stop an open wound from bleeding." You said and carefully pushed the blue haired boy, toward the infirmary, possibly.
"Ah, I'll take care of that, not to worry! Follow me." Crowley sweatdropped a bit while smiling and accompanied Deuce.
While a nurse ghost bandaged his arm, you and the masked man healed the others' scratches. As you did, they began with their explanation.
You learned that the monster, a big creature with a glass head full of a black goo and armed of a pickaxe, had hit Deuce, throwing him back and making him take quite the impact. Hence, his bleeding arm.
It was apparently guarding the last remaining magestone in the mine, that Yuu currently held, attacking everyone who came close to it.
After some struggles, Yuu managed to get the two students and the fiery beast to work together. They used themselves as bait and brought the monster outside of the mines. The others used their magic- Grim his fire, Ace with wind magic and Deuce with- cauldrons...?- to attack it at the same time, immobilizing it in a flaming tornado and cracking its glass head till its breaking point.
"So the four of you worked together to destroy the monster and then brought its magestone back to me?" The headmage showed a pensive expression.
At a certain point, you had gone back to Crowley's office.
"I wouldn't call it 'working together'." Ace denied while scratching his head.
"It was more like we just happened to share the same goal at the same time..." Deuce mumbled, looking away and picking at his bandages.
"Oh, gracious... Ohhh... Ohhhhhhhhh! Sob, sob..." Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Crowley began to sob uncontrollably, tightly clinging to you.
"Wh-" You confusedly patted his back as his mask's beak poked your neck.
"What is this guy's deal?! Burstin' into tears in public? At his age?!" Grim exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"In all the decades I've worked at this school... the day has finally come when the students of Night Raven College have joined hands together to defeat a common foe!" The man continued and the blue haired boy flinched.
"Whoa! No! No way I'd join hands with that guy!" He shrieked, pointing at Ace, and the other student grimaced.
"Okay, one, there was no joining of hands. Gross. And two, exactly HOW old are you, Headmage?" He asked. Good question actually.
"At this moment, I am moved beyond words... Yuu, my doubts are allayed! For you... you possess the talents of a beastmaster!" Crowley finally detached himself from you and turned to the utterly confused fellow, who just furrowed their eyebrows.
"My students have all been selected by the Dark Mirror for their exceptional talent and potential. But great talent begets great pride and big egos."
After that, the man proceeded with openly insulting his students for not having an ounce of a cooperating bone in their beings and saying that Yuu's "mediocrity" of not having magic was what made them capable of making them cooperate. Since they were magicless, they needed to bring it out of others.
"Yuu... I am convinced that people like you are necessary for the future of this school." The headmage stated, opening his arms.
"Trappola, Spade- I hereby revoke your pending expulsions! Furthermore..." He briefly spoke to the two students before going back on Yuu, once again.
"I am granting you the qualifications necessary to attend school at Night Raven College!" He exclaimed and everyone widened their eyes.
"What?!"
"B-but, I don't even have magic. I'm not qualified, nor I have any knowledge on this world!" Yuu became frantic and Crowley simply crossed his arms, giving you a brief look.
"Your inability to use magic is, for a mage, unacceptable. You would not be able to adequately pursue the school's curriculum! For that reason, Grim..." The little monster's fur slightly stood up when called, his pupils shrinking.
"Your actions today have made it clear that you possess sufficient talent to become a mage." The masked man continued and you perked up, predicting his next words.
"In light of the total sum of your respective circumstances, you and Yuu will share a single enrollment at Night Raven College." He concluded.
"As for your lack of knowledge, I'm sure our esteemed professor would be willing to assist you on your day-to-day." Was also added and you just shrugged and nodded with a smile.
"Myah... I... I'll get to go to this school...? As an actual student? Not a janitor?!" Grim's voice cracked as it became higher.
"Correct. However, there must be no further incidents like the one that occurred today. Are we clear?" The man tried to contain the monster's excitement.
"Myah... Myaaah... Yuu, I... I finally...!" But the latter didn't listen and began to cry from joy as he reached out to the, now, magicless student.
"I'm happy for you, buddy..." They softly smiled, momentarily putting away their tiredness and picking up the weeping creature, raising him high up from his armpits.
"MYAAAAAH! I FINALLY DID IT!" Grim didn't seem to mind as he thew his little arms up in celebration.
As he did, Crowley took out a purple gem and presented it to the monster. "These are typically attached to the 'magic pens' that each student uses. But I suspect your paws cannot handle implements. Therefore, I have a custom solution for you." He gleefully said and passed it to Yuu, who attached it on Grim's ribbon, right over his chest.
"Is it possible that I am, in fact, too kind?" The man gloated but was promptly ignored by the cat-like beast.
"Ah, sweet! I look awesome! A magestone collar, to be worn only by the legendary archmage, Grim!" The latter cheered, making the headmage deadpan.
"You're not listening to anything I say, are you?" He spoke plainly and you laughed, softly hitting his side with your elbow as if saying to let them have it, at least for now.
"Yuu, as you can plainly see, Grim remains oblivious to the customs of human society. So, you are to keep a tight rein on him and ensure there are no further incidents!" The man said to the dark blonde, who quietly nodded.
"Wow, that's quite the promotion. From janitor to student to prefect, all in the span of a day." Said Ace with an ironic smirk.
"Oh, I see. If in your dorm is just you two and the headmage is putting you in charge of Grim... that makes you... the dorm prefect." Added Deuce with a smile.
You slightly snorted, holding a chuckle and the boy blinked confusedly your way.
"Oh, ahah! You see, the professor currently resides in our dorm as well." The spotted skin fellow quietly giggled as they looked at the other's expression.
"E-eh?! Oh, I'm sorry then! I'm guessing you're in charge...?" He blushed from the embarrassment and meekly asked you.
"Not really. I also think our dear Yuu would be better for the spot." You laughed sweetly and put your hands over the magicless human's shoulders from behind them.
"Huh? Wouldn't it be better for you to be in charge...?" They tilted their head and quietly inquired but you just shrugged.
"I'm not a student. If it'd make you feel better, I could always be your vice housewarden though." You reassured with a smile.
"Well, that's gotta be a Night Raven first! A magicless student and a non-student as prefect and vice? But sure, why not? Whatever works!" Ace huffed a laugh and smirked.
"Prefect you say...? I just so happen to have a job for you, and that title will make it all the easier to foist..." Crowley mumbled and you sent him a look.
He cleared his throat and reached for something under his desk, before giving it to Yuu.
"Here, this is called a ghost camera." He said as he passed the object.
"Ghost camera...?" The dark blonde student tilted it in their hands, trying to figure out what made it different from normal cameras.
"Ooh, my grandma's told me about those. Those are, like, super old magic items, right?" Ace leaned over Yuu's shoulder and peeked at it.
"I would hardly consider them super old... Ahem." The man seemed to have his pride get hit as he cleared his throat and began with his explanation.
"You see, it's a camera enchanted with a special kind of magic..."
~~~~~//$\\~~~~~
You already knew a bit about this tool as it used to be pretty popular through people with no or low magic. Hence, your older family members were familiar with it.
To put it simply: it was a magic-infused item that was able to string together the person taking the picture and the subject of said picture by capturing parts of their souls and memories. If the two had any sort of connection, the photo would become able to move. The stronger the connection, the bigger the magic in the picture. If the situation permits, the subjects taken will actually come out as some sort of hologram, appearing in their actually size, most realistically.
At the time it was created, people not accustomed to technology would believe the camera was able to trap inside the souls of the subjects, then making the latters come out as spirits- hence, "Ghost Camera".
"Yuu, I would like you to photograph Grim and the other students with this camera, and make a record of your campus life... make especially certain to capture the mischief caused by certain students who struggle with impulse control." Crowley told the magicless student, frowning a bit at the last sentence.
"As a prefect, consider it your duty to maintain a sharp eye on your surroundings and record them." He said and the dual skinned fellow nodded.
"Note how generous I'm being in providing a rare magical item that even someone like yourself can use... isn't my kindness beyond all reckoning?" The man fake weeped in joy as you and the magicless human both sighed in unison.
Despite of that, Yuu quietly bowed their head and mumbled: "Thank you, sir. I'll do my best."
"The hour has grown late, so you're all dismissed. Return to your dorms." Crowley smiled and gestured to the door but Yuu quickly spoke up.
"If I'm going to be a student starting tomorrow, could I know my class?" They asked and the headmage eyed you briefly before responding.
"You'll be in class 1A. I'm sure our esteemed professor would be happy to have you there." He said gleefully.
"Huh?" The three students and the monster all seemed confused.
"But they aren't a student, no? What do they have to do with class 1A specifically?" Ace pouted in confusion and raised a brow.
"I actually advanced a request." You started with a smile.
"I don't have particular strong magic, nor I've gone to a mages' school during my studies. So I proposed to let me follow a freshmen class' lessons to also learn from the basics." You explained and Crowley added to your words.
"With them there, you'll have someone to help you out in regard of our foreign knowledge." He said to Yuu who seemed really glad to hear that.
"So we'll actually all be together! We're both from 1A as well." Deuce exclaimed and you briefly made a surprised expression before nodding with a sweet smile, making the boy quickly look down from shyness.
"That's enough of that, though. We should get back and prepare for tomorrow." You said and everyone obliged.
~~~~~//$\\~~~~~
"Phew... We managed to avoid expulsion. That was a close one!"
"Yeah, no kidding!"
You five were walking through the hallways as Deuce and Ace spoke to each other. Grim simply hummed a happy tune while jumping around.
"I guess we're schoolmates now. Grim, Yuu- welcome to Night Raven. It's also an honor to meet you, professor." The blue haired boy smiled and bowed, making the ginger roll his eyes.
"Thank you, let's hope things go well..." Yuu responded with an exhausted smile in return.
"The way you squared off against that monster even when you didn't have one bit of magic showed a whole lot of guts." The boy soon retorted and then seemed to switch up personality, smirking and bumping his fist into his palm.
"With steel nerves like that, you'll be fine. Even in this school." He said and the ginger blinked confusedly, commenting on how he was suddenly acting like a punk.
Deuce immediately snapped back to reality and nervously said that it wasn't the case.
"...but yeah. As much as I'd like to deny it, those sick moves of yours were really awesome, back there." The red eyed boy told Yuu while scratching the back of his head.
"Right! You were really cool!" The other student nodded vehemently and the dark blonde shrinked slightly while turning red, looking around in embarrassment.
You already knew from their fight against Ghost-Crowley... but Yuu seemed to be quite athletic.
"Yawn... Whatever. Let's just get back to the dorm." Ace yawned and nudged Deuce.
You found out that they both resided at the same dorm: Heartslabyul. The dorm representing the Queen of Hearts, marked by the red and black armband.
The duo started bickering on how they would've had to deal with each other for the rest of their NRC days, all while they walked away toward the mirrors hall, which connected all the dorms.
"Man, those two are made for each other. Maybe they're the type who bonds through squabbling?" Grim grinned in amusement before turning to you and the dark blonde.
"Oh well! Yuu, Teach'! Let's get back to the dorm!" The magical creature said in glee and jumped into Yuu's arms.
"My glorious education as a proper Night Raven College student is about to begin!" He exclaimed happily.
And with that, the three of you started walking toward your dorm... Ramshackle.
"Oh, Grim?" You called out to the beast, who tilted his head.
"I brought some tuna for you, back to our dorm." You gave a closed-eye smile and the fiery creature's eyes sparkled.
"Myah-ah! Ya really aren't bad, human!"
You chuckled and patted his head. You and the newfound prefect exchanged a look and both smiled softly.
~~~~~//$\\~~~~~
I'm back~!^^
We're now finally over with the prologue and, as I've said, at the end of every book, I'll do a Q&A!
This is your last chance to leave a question before needing to wait for the end of the Heartslabyul book!
You can ask anything you want about the story. You can also leave a question to a character or to me!
I'll be happy to answer any of your curiosities. ^^
See you in the next update and thank you for reaching this point of the story.♡