543 Chapter 543: High School Drama

"Your sister isn't joining us?" I asked when Rossetti led Kufa and me to a room, whereas Roselia ran off somewhere else.

Rossetti shook her head. "She goes to a different school. Holy Saint Francesan Girl's School – it is an all girl's school, so she might find you guys interesting."

"I didn't know you have a sister," Kufa remarked, amazed. Rossetti shrugged.

"Yeah, I never told anyone. Didn't seem relevant, especially since she doesn't attend the same school as me."

"Anyway, let's begin." I pushed my glasses up my nose and leaned back in my seat. "What's the plan?"

Rossetti leaned over and conjured a holographic map of the school. She began tracing her finger along the perimeter.

"We are thinking of reestablishing a barrier here, here and here." She sat back in her seat. "The cross barriers that the Guang Zhi Yi Sect set up the last time proved to be effective, so if we are to replicate that…"

"Where are we going to get those silver crosses from?" I asked. "We are not from the Hunter Association. I don't suppose we can simply buy them from a store or order them online from Amazon, can we?"

"Unfortunately, no," Kufa admitted. "Even if I use my contacts, I don't think they can help me requisition an entire crate of silver crosses."

"We'll have to figure something out…maybe find an alternative." Rossetti sighed and folded her arms. "Most types of barriers are usually temporary, so we can't set one up for an extended period of time. The only barrier that is permanent is the one constructed by the silver crosses."

"They are very limited, though," Kufa warned. "They only keep out zombies and give trouble to vampires. They don't work against other mages or monsters."

"Then we should set up sentries. Patrol the school." Rossetti considered her options. "Maybe we'll form a club, and have students volunteer to patrol the school after classes.���

"Who would do that?" I asked, trying not to sound too negative. Rossetti shrugged.

"I…don't know."

We spent the next couple of hours drawing up plans and writing proposals, hoping to submit them to Headmistress Taylor. Whether she would accept them or not was one thing, but at least we tried. Truthfully, I didn't care. I was more concerned over joining the Midnight Order to hunt down the vampires.

"Thanks for coming, guys." Rossetti smiled, despite our lack of progress. "We didn't achieve much, but at least we have some proposals. That has to be better than nothing."

"Yeah. I'll keep you guys updated when I get more news."

"Oh? You are leaving now?" Roselia appeared, giggling mischievously. "You should stay for dinner. I would like to get to know my future brother-in-law more."

"What…brother-in-law?!" Rossetti spluttered.

"Which one do you prefer, Sis?"

"Heh…" Roselia approached me with a wicked smile. "I say this one. He's the only outsider who can tell us apart."

"So what?" Rossetti demanded, her hands on her hips. Roselia raised an eyebrow as she glanced back at her twin.

"Have you forgotten? Didn't we agree that the only guys worth marrying are the ones able to distinguish us from each other?"

Rossetti turned bright red. "That…that's just a childish game we played back when we were kids! Why are you bringing that up now!?"

She then turned toward us and shooed us away.

"Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Tch." Roselia clicked her tongue. "You're no fun at all."

As we left, Kufa turned toward me, amazed.

"You were able to tell those twins apart? I couldn't tell at all."

"Uh, well…I watch too much anime, so when I noticed that the ponytail was on the wrong side…"

"…seriously?"

"Yeah. Oh, and the air they give off is different. Rossetti is more innocent and bubbly. Her sister seems more mischievous and scheming."

"Now that you mention it…" Kufa scratched his head. Then he shrugged and grinned. "Or it could be love."

"Not you too…" Rolling my eyes, I sighed and increased my pace.

*

The next day, I ran into Nan Gong Yue Jian, Lin Xuan Chi and Ling Xue Xiao, and brought them to the staff room. From there, Teacher Lao Shi took over and led the three of them to their new classes. I left them to her because, quite frankly, it wasn't my job to take care of them. The teachers could handle that. I had more important things to worry about.

Besides, my homeroom teacher was Teacher Einsberg, not Teacher Lao Shi. I would rather not join the same class as Yue Jian and the rest.

I didn't want to get involved in some sort of shoujo drama where Yue Jian got picked on by her new classmates for no reason other than because she was the main heroine, attracted the attention of a bishounen character and ended up incurring the wrath of her jealous female classmates. Nope. This was supposed to be a world of magic battle academies, not sappy shoujo romance. I could do without the drama in my life.

While I was in the classroom, I checked my smartphone for news and updates regarding the rescue mission.

"Still nothing, huh? Even though it's over a week since then?"

I couldn't help but feel anxious at the complete lack of updates. Were they going to save Nan Gong Zhao Yan and the missing students or not?

Well, as long as we had no idea where the Crimson Blood Demonic Night Sect was, there was nothing I could do except wait. My specialty lay in summoning and blowing things up, not reconnaissance and gathering intelligence.

"Good morning, everyone."

As always, Teacher Einsberg greeted everyone with a smile when he walked into the classroom, a folder under his arm. To my utmost surprise, he wasn't alone. He glanced behind him and gestured. Turning back to us, he brightly delivered an announcement.

"We have a new student joining our class today!"

My jaw dropped when I saw Yue Jian shyly tiptoeing into the classroom. Wasn't she supposed to be in Teacher Lao Shi's class? Why was she here? She wasn't an ice mage, was she? In any event, poor Yue Jian quailed when she saw twenty-odd students staring at her, and she almost fainted.

"Are you all right, Yue Jian?"

"A…ah, yes!"

Swallowing, Yue Jian mustered her courage and stayed on both feet. Teacher Einsberg smiled encouragingly at her and gave her a pat on the back.

"Go on, introduce yourself!"

"Umm…um…I'm Nan Gong Yue Jian, nice to meet you! I'm from the countryside, and this is my first time coming to school, so…so…please take care of me!"

Everyone nodded in understanding. Homeschooled children were not rare, especially when they had rich and highly educated parents.

"Her father is the famous Nan Gong Jiao Shou," Teacher Einsberg added affably, which drew a series of impressed gasps from the class.

"Wait…Nan Gong…are you related to Nan Gong Zhao Yan and Nan Gong Ji Yan?" one of the classmates, a chap named Tong Xue, asked.

"They…they are my sisters."

"EH?!"

I suppressed a sigh at the astonished murmurs that buzzed throughout the classroom. Even though both Nan Gong sisters had been abducted, they remained a hot topic, having been popular before the attack. Neither of them had mentioned a third sister. Well, Zhao Yan did. At least to me, anyway, but unfortunately she wasn't the type to coverse with too many people. So I doubted most of the other students knew about their third sister.

And I didn't think it was right of me to gossip about other people's families. I wasn't going to betray Zhao Yan's trust in me and tell everyone else about what she told me.

As it turned out, the reason why Yue Jian ended up in my class instead of Teacher Lao Shi's was because the student population had been reduced after the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan's assault. She was here to make up the numbers in our otherwise understrength class.

"You can sit over there. Take care of her, Richard. You're her friend, right?"

Apparently, Teacher Einsberg had seen me bringing Yue Jian and the two "hunters" into the staff room earlier this morning, and he directed Yue Jian to an empty seat beside me. I muttered an affirmation but I honestly didn't think there was much I could do now except show Yue Jian around. At least nobody would bully her if she was next to me.

Speaking of which, Lin Xuan Chi and Ling Xue Xiao were in the senior classes. Xuan Chi, I could understand, but I never thought that Xue Xiao was older than me. Looks could be deceiving. That didn't account for her childish attitude, though. In any event, that explained why they were in Teacher Lao Shi's class and why Yue Jian was sent to a different class.

We spent the rest of the day going through the theoretical applications of ice magic before Teacher Einsberg led us to practical combat lessons and drills. After the assault last week, the teachers intended to be stricter with their training regimens, probably in the hopes of getting us combat ready if we were attacked by vampires or the Dark Church again in future. The sessions were brutal but mercifully short. In just two hours, Teacher Einsberg ran us ragged under the sweltering, hot sun.

"Huff…huf…"

"I can't do this!"

"I can't take it anymore!"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

All around us, my classmates lay sprawled on the track, panting from the exertion. Yue Jian, probably because this was her first day in school and she wasn't used to the Spartan training, was on the verge of collapse. As I had promised Teacher Einsberg that I would take care of her, I caught her before she could stumble and faint.

"T…thank you."

"No problem."

Yue Jian stared at me in wonder. "How are you able to stand after such a torturous lesson?"

"Because I can stand it."

"…"

"Okay!"

While I was helping Yue Jian up and she was glaring at me because of my stupid pun joke, Teacher Einsberg clapped his hands to draw our attention. Aware that he had pushed the majority of the class past their limits and that it was fruitless to torment us further, he decided to be lenient.

"That's it for today. Rest up, revise and make sure you keep up your individual training! We're not going to let those bastards catch us with our pants down again!"

"Yes!"

The spirited response was more from relief that the merciless lesson was finally at an end than because of our determination to repel the enemy. I sighed, somewhat weary.

"Let's go."

I supported Yue Jian as we moved toward the showers. Obviously I wasn't going to bring her all the way. The moment we reached the ladies, I would leave her to her own devices and head to the gentlemen's. I wasn't that much of a pervert.

However, before we could get that far, a voice stopped us in our tracks.

"Heh…who is this?"

Turning around, I caught sight of Rossetti. She was standing behind us, her hands on her hips. Even though she was smiling brightly, for some reason her expression looked ominous.

Realizing that I was still helping Yue Jian up, I let go of her. Yue Jian stumbled a little, and as kind and gentle as she was, Rossetti stepped forward ahd grabbed her before she could fall.

"Hey! Are you all right?"

"Y…yes. Sorry."

"Geez!" Rossetti rolled her eyes and then glared at me. "Richard, if you're going to help, help properly! Don't just let go of her like that!"

"Sorry."

"A…are you…Richard's friend?" Yue Jian was peering at Rossetti curiously. She seemed to have realized something and flinched, recalling Rossetti's expression from earlier. "Ah, sorry…are you perhaps his girlfriend?"

"What…you…huh?" Rossetti's mouth dropped open and words tumbled out incoherently.

"Not exactly," I cut in quickly. "This is Rossetti Picket. She's a close friend of mine. Rossetti, this is Nan Gong Yue Jian. She is Zhao Yan's sister."

"Eh?! Zhao Yan has a third sister!? No wonder you look so familiar…you really are sisters."

"Triplets, actually."

"Heh?!"

Rossetti was staring at Yue Jian in wonder. The shy girl shrank back, her head lowered.

"S…sorry for the misunderstanding. I t…thought you were maybe Richard's girlfriend." She glanced at me, and then seemed to realize something again. "Oh, no…wait. But then Richard and Zhao Yan are…"

"Heh…" Rossetti's tone dropped to a dangerous level. "What's this about Richard and Zhao Yan? Is there something about their relationship that I should be informed of?"

"Eh? No, that…"

"Please, Yue Jian…" I sighed heavily as I buried my face in my palm. "Just…stop for now, okay?"