An assassin entered Rey's room, triggering the sigil that had been set up in the ceiling. He pulled out a knife and was about to strike when suddenly a thick mist covered the entire room. He looked around in confusion and tried to quickly stab Rey, but he could see no further than a few inches in front of him. He tried to escape but then heard footsteps. Sharone walked through the mist and stood a few feet in front of him.
"I see you've come to finish your assignment," she said in a cold voice. The assailant pulled out another knife and took a fighting stance.
"Hmm," Sharone said, looking at him with an unimpressed expression.
"Let me get straight to the point. Tell me who sent you and what your goal is, and I'll spare you the pain," she said.
The assassin paid no heed and charged at her, swinging both daggers in order to stab her, but his blades went through the mist as her form dissolved. The assassin looked around for her. Sharone appeared behind him and, with a push, sent him flying some distance away. He got to his feet and made a downward swing, but Sharone caught his arm and broke it, then grabbed the other arm and broke it too as the assassin tried to stab her.
"So you won't tell me. Fine then," she said as she looked into his eyes, her eyes glowing, putting the man in a hypnotic trance as she peered into his memories.
The man's memories began to fill her brain. This man was hired by a man named Ricci at a bar within the city to assassinate the comatose Rey. Beyond that, Sharone didn't get any information beyond that. The wounded assassin tried to crawl away, but Sharone burnt him up with her flames, leaving nothing but ashes.
"I'll need to tell the others to keep an eye out for this Ricci. I wish Kojo would be more careful; he's way too reckless. Honestly, I'll give him a stern talking-to when we meet up," she said as she walked toward, disappearing into the mist as it receded.
The workers were busily finishing up the construction work on the damaged parts of the school. Kojo watched the workers as he walked down the hall, looking for the Headmistress' office. There were a few students still present on campus, even though school was out for the summer. They passed surprised glances at each other as he passed by. Kojo noticed them staring at him, but all he could do was sigh.
(Don't you think you should ask them for directions?)
"Nah, I know where I'm going." Thirty minutes passed, and Kojo had roamed the entire school without finding the headmistress' office.
"This is exhausting," Kojo said as he reached to open a door.
"Excuse me, can I help you, Master Kojo?" someone asked from behind. He was a man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties with black hair. He had a kind facial expression yet gave off a faint aura of sternness.
"Um, how do you know my name?" Kojo asked.
"Everyone knows about the kingdom's new protector, as your battles in the tournament were broadcast throughout the entire nation. I also saw you when you attended the graduation ceremony, and I must take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts to protect the students and keep the damage to the school infrastructure to a minimum," he said.
Kojo blinked. He then remembered him as one of the teachers who stood by the Headmistress.
"Oh yeah, right. Um, you're, uh..."
"I'm Maxwell Eisenhower."
"Right, Maxwell. Silly me, it slipped my mind," Kojo said, shaking his hand and laughing nervously.
"So what brings you to this esteemed institution?" Maxwell asked.
"Yeah, I wanted to speak with Miss Vanessa."
"I see. Then allow me to take you to her office," Maxwell said, turning and walking away.
"But I thought this was her office?" Kojo said.
"That door leads to the ladies' washroom."
Kojo let out a small yell and quickly jumped away from the door. He heard Maxwell chuckle.
(See, I told you to ask for directions.)
"Yeah, yeah," Kojo thought, following Maxwell.
They walked and heard someone shouting outside.
"Oh, there she is," Maxwell said, walking to the courtyard.
"You people are taking way too long with the repairs. And you! I remember the flowers on this side being blue. Why are they red? Is there a funeral?" Vanessa yelled.
"Sorry, ma'am," a worker replied.
"Hurry up and get it fixed. And you..."
"Miss Vanessa is a perfectionist who always wants things to be done down to the minutest detail," Maxwell said.
"That sounds like... a pain in the ass," Kojo said.
"You have a funny way of speaking," Maxwell said with a smile.
"It's that mindset of hers that has made this place the foremost institution for the study and research of Magic," Maxwell said in admiration.
"But it's as you said, at times she can be a real pain in the ass," Maxwell said, his expression shifting from admiration to exhaustion.
Vanessa turned and saw them coming.
"It's you again," Vanessa said. "What do you want?"
"Now, now, headmistress. Is that any way you should be talking to the man who saved our academy?"
Vanessa folded her arms and faced away.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for saving the academy and whatnot. Now answer the question: why are you here?" she asked again.
"With that attitude, it's no wonder you're still single," Kojo said under his breath.
(You're one to talk.)
"What was that?" Vanessa asked.
"Nothing," Kojo said quickly.
Vanessa walked up to him.
"Yes, I'm all ears. What is it? If you only came to stare at me, your 30 seconds are up, so leave," she said.
"Stare at you?" Kojo thought, scanning her body with his eyes. "I admit that despite your aggressive behavior, you are attractive and—" he stopped as his eyes came to rest on her voluptuous chest. Maxwell cleared his throat, bringing Kojo out of his thoughts. Kojo coughed and looked away quickly, blushing in embarrassment.
(Pervert.)
"First of all, I wanted to know more about my ring," he said.
"How the hell should I know about your ring?" Vanessa said. Kojo showed her the ring, and she stopped and stared at it.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
"I got it from a jeweler at Ekron who apparently didn't believe it was anything more than a cheap antique, but by the look on your face, it's an original belonging to your family," Kojo said. Vanessa was silent for a bit.
"Listen, I'm not a Leicester. We Winchesters are an offshoot that came from the cousin of the Hero Estelle, who was born after the war. However, my uncle made it his sole purpose to study the life of the hero as well as 'discover the secrets of the universe,'" Vanessa said.
"Where can I find him?"
"He's in the tower over there," Vanessa said, pointing at a tower at the other side of the school.
"Though I have to warn you that he's a bit of a special case," Maxwell said.
"Not unlike you," Vanessa said.
"Anyway, I have matters to attend to. Come on, Maxwell," Vanessa said, walking away with Maxwell.
"Wait, what did you mean by that?" Kojo thought about her comment about him being a 'special case.'
(Let it go, Kojo. It's not like she's wrong.)
Kojo grumbled.
(Hurry up and meet up with the others; otherwise, it's off with your head.)
Kojo sighed and walked toward the tower.