“Um… Principal, Lou-sensei, are you okay?”
“I’m sorry. Because of us…”
After the furious Giselle Carpantier walked away…
Michelle and Olga spoke timidly.
They were completely wilted, as if Giselle was an utterly scary senior.
Fran looked at them, looking more tormented by guilt.
“I’m the worst, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
Fran approached Michelle and Olga and hugged them with a squeeze.
“Whaaat?!”
“Ah?”
Michelle and Olga stuttered as they were hugged out of the blue.
They glanced at Lou, as if asking for help, but he only shook his head.
His eyes told them, “You’ll have to put up with Fran until she lets go.”
Fran was…
She had tried her best to be a teacher so far.
However, the students didn’t like her, and their communication was rather rough.
In addition, Giselle, the Student Council President, chided her, and it was clear that she felt responsible.
After a while, Fran released them…
The two were finally released, but Lou asked again.
“What is Giselle’s coaching approach?”
Michelle and Olga hesitated to answer for a moment, but then looked at each other and began to speak after some deliberation.
“First, an hour of instruction, then an hour of meditation, followed by an hour of sword swinging, and then…”
“Oh, that’s great.”
Lou nodded in approval.
The spartan style surprised Fran.
With a dull expression, she asked Michelle.
“Whoa! Are there…more?”
“Yes, there will be an hour of bare-knuckle fighting and a mock sword fight at the end.”
But neither Michelle nor Olga seemed to be in the mood for harsh coaching.
“Leader…she is always serious about us.”
“Yes, she never cuts corners.”
Neither of them disliked Giselle.
They felt that Giselle, who was also the Student Council President, was too busy to keep up with them.
They defended her, saying, “It’s not every day you get a senior who is as good as her.”
When Fran heard what they said, she deeply regretted that she had been an inadequate teacher.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Michelle and Olga waved as they left to return to the student dormitory.
On the other hand, Fran complained non-stop as they were returning to the main school building.
“Ahhhh, I hate myself…”
She sounded so depressed that Lou called out to her.
“I think you were just a little tired and took a break. It’s perfectly fine now that you’re thinking of picking up the pace again.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They, Giselle and all the others, will be treated with kindness from now on.”
“Well…you’re right, Lou! I’ll do my best, Lou!”
Lou’s warm comfort brought back Fran’s energy and smile.
“Now let’s continue with tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Of course!”
Fully rejuvenated, Fran returned to the main school building with Lou.
Meanwhile…
Giselle headed for the dorm, bristling with anger.
“Good day, Bazin-san.”
“Good day, Miss Giselle.”
Giselle greeted Bazin without sparing her a glance and entered the dormitory.
Bazin shrugged with a wry smile.
The mood of this grumpy duke’s daughter would change drastically depending on her mood of the day.
Giselle couldn’t forgive that person.
No one had ever addressed her “You” so rudely before.
Even her relatives called her by her first name!
What was more!
A commoner like him!
How dare he!
Absolutely!
She would never forgive him!
This outrage would…
On the demon hunting this weekend, she would beat Francesca’s servant to a pulp.
The only way to quell him was to let him taste the humiliation of defeat.
Also…
As a penalty to the loser, she would humiliate him to the fullest.
Forcing down her boiling anger like a magma, Giselle knocked roughly on the door of a room.
Then a chuckling, mischievous girl’s voice answered.
“Hahaha, you look so upset you’re ruining the image of the most talented girl in the school.”
“Nadia! I need a favor! You’re the only one I can ask!”
When the door opened, Giselle was greeted by…
Nadia Charlois, the vice president of the Student Council in the same class, 3A, opened and welcomed Giselle in.
She was a beautiful, intelligent young lady with smooth chestnut hair in a ponytail and long-slit chocolate eyes.
“Okay-okay-okay! Calm down, Giselle! Why don’t you tell me what’s going on from the very start?”
30 minutes later …
“Hahaha, I understand what you’re saying. I guess I can help you out with your weekend demon hunting competition.”
After Giselle explained about the demon hunting game, Nadia nodded and patted Giselle on the shoulder.
When Giselle received her agreement, she unconsciously clasped her hands together and bowed to Nadia.
“Nadia! Thank you! I owe you! T-Thank you!”
“Don’t call it a favor. We are friends.”
Nadia maintained her smile from earlier.
She was an excellent wizard who was always second to Giselle in terms of school grades.
Her father, Ernest Charlois, was a Viscount, and her family were an esteemed pedigree for generations in the Kingdom of Valentine.
However, because Giselle was in the same grade as Nadia and had higher grades, better appearance, and status, Nadia could not shake the image of being number two.
One day, I’ll get my revenge! She thought inwardly.
But on the surface…
She’d make sure not to embarrass herself in front of the proud Giselle.
She wanted to casually show that she was more capable than her!
Then Giselle brought this event to her attention…
Nadia thought it would be a great opportunity for her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you”.
Nadia quickly plotted as she rubbed Giselle’s back, who hugged her with tears of joy.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
Principal’s Office, Main Building…
Lou and Fran were sitting on a chaise lounge with armrests.
Fran related her ‘confrontation with Giselle’ to Adelaide.
“I just talked to Mother, and she said she’ll give you permission to use the forest for hunting. It sounds fun, so she said she’s going to be a witness…but.”
Fran’s face clouded a little.
“I’m sorry for bringing this up, but I’m worried I’ll be pulling your leg, Lou. Giselle will definitely recruit Nadia, the Vice President of the Student Council, out of the woodwork. They make a great team.”
Hearing her sigh, Lou comforted her.
“It’s going to be okay. As I said before, you still have the untapped potential of a wizard.”
“Really?”
According to Lou, Fran still had a lot of room to grow.
Can I…
Could I really count on that?
Despite this uneasiness, Fran’s heart lightened when she saw Lou, looking at her with a calm expression.
“Yeah, of course! Little by little…I can enhance your strength, Fran. Alright, just leave it to me.”
When Fran heard that, she was so happy that she jumped into Lou’s chest.