Interlude

The morning of the class duels was one of fair weather; numerous clouds lay suspended high in the sunny, pale blue sky.

—Truly, it was an exceptionally unremarkable forenoon, boasting nothing noteworthy in particular.

Ryuuhei glanced at occasional passing students as he sat atop a chilly, stone bench overlooking Lingua Magi’s campus plaza. In his right hand rested a fancy scepter with a rich reddish-brown shaft topped with a large ruby—around the scepter’s shaft coiled a large, white snake decoration. The snake’s mouth hung open in a menacing pose, and from its vacant eyes came a cold and lifeless gaze.

“......So, this is my kotoki. It’s surprisingly lightweight,” he said, shifting his focus to the scepter he was holding. He started to toss it from hand to hand before pausing to observe its design more closely. As he did so, a voice sounded from directly in front of him.

“A fine kotoki you ended up getting there, Ryuuhei.”

“—Wah!,” he cried out, startled.

He looked up in time to find Ryouko appear out of thin air.

“Jesus, don’t scare me like that!,” he said, patting his chest several times with his free hand. “You trying to give me a heart attack or something?”

Ryouko closed her eyes and flashed a peace sign along with a bright, beaming smile.

“—Hmhmm~, sorry about that,” she said with a laugh. “I saw you sitting here and thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to try out that invisibility spell that guy used last night! Well, how’d I do?”

“Why, you......,” he responded vexingly. Before he could say anything else, she leaned in toward him, bringing her face close to his. He felt his cheeks flush slightly with embarrassment.

“......Oh? A snake, huh?,” she remarking, curiously studying the scepter in his hand. “What gorgeous craftsmanship. As expected of a magic school, I suppose.”

“Do you know what type of snake it is, Ryouko-san?,” asked Ryuuhei in response.

“Dendroaspis polylepis—the Black Mamba. You can tell by that long head and dark, glossy mouth,” she said with an authoritative tone. “Wouldn’t take more than a single bite from one of those to kill a man in just a few hours.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable, aren’t you?” he muttered, impressed by her ability to identify not only the species but also its binomial name.

“Hmph. Don’t underestimate a writer, young man,” she said with a prideful smirk. “If you do—”

She thrust her kotoki, which sat neatly folded in her hand, straight in his face. It stopped dangerously close to his forehead, causing his eyes to widen.

“—You’ll get burnt.”

Ryuuhei frowned slightly, his expression turning from surprise to annoyance.

......Um, could you please stop pointing that thing at me? he thought to himself. And what was that about a ‘young man’? I’m actually older than you, thank you very much.

“—By the way, where’s that Yuumi girl? She’s not with you today?” he asked, deciding to change the topic.

“Huh? Yuumi?” asked Ryouko, her gaze softening as she withdrew her kotoki.

“......Who even knows? She does what she wants, that one,” she said, closing her eyes and shrugging in resignation. “Say—”

“W-what is it, all of a sudden?” Ryuuhei stuttered. For reasons unknown, Ryouko had begun leering at him, triggering in him a mild sense of discomfort.

“You’re looking a bit pale there, Ryuuhei—are you alright?” she inquired. There was a legitimate concern in her voice.

“—Oh, um, yeah. I’m totally fine,” he said, brushing off her remark with a thin smile. “Just went to bed a bit late last night, that’s all.”

Ryouko shot him a worried look, raising her eyebrows slightly.

“In that case, you might want to grab a bite to eat or something,” she advised. “You’re not going to last long on an empty stomach after a poor night’s sleep.”

“I appreciate the concern,” he said wearily. “—But I need my mind to be razor sharp during the class duels. If I eat too much before then, it might mess with my concentration.”

“What you’re referring to is something called postprandial somnolence—that foggy feeling you get after a big meal. That happens because of how strenuous the digestion process is on the body,” she responded, pausing slightly before continuing to speak. “However......”

Ryuuhei narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“......However?”

Ryouko took a moment to slowly inhale a deep breath of air before blowing her top.

“We’ve still got five whole hours before the matches start!” she shouted loudly, her voice fussy and alive with aggression. “That’s not something you need to worry about!”

She pointed a finger at Ryuuhei in a belligerent manner.

“Listen—make sure you eat up and get some rest, okay? If you happen to be my opponent in today’s duels, I don’t want to fight some half-baked version of you—I want to beat you at your best!”

Ryuuhei sighed and shook his head.

“Judging by how many students there were at yesterday’s convocation, the odds of that happening are slim to none,” he said with assurance. “I fail to believe someone as sharp as you would’ve overlooked that detail. ......Could it be that you’re just worried about me?”

“Na—!”

Ryouko could feel her face turn bright red with embarrassment.

“N-no, I wasn’t—! I didn’t—!” she said, grasping for words. “Who said anything about being worried about you, you moron!? D-don’t go jumping to false conclusions!”

She turned around with a loud ‘hmph,’ eyes clamped shut as her twin tails swung behind her. Still seated, Ryuuhei watched her back figure slowly grow distant from him; she had abruptly started to walk away toward a large collegiate gothic-style building that resembled a cathedral.

The building was one of slate-colored stone, and its clerestory windows glowed with an amber-embedded hue that matched the color of Ryuuhei’s eyes.

“I’m off to the library—still got some stuff to take care of,” she informed him, stopping to stand still momentarily. “You take care now, and I’ll see you at the big event.”

“Y-yeah, catch you later,” replied Ryuuhei. “Also......thanks for looking out for me.”

She waved without turning back around and promptly resumed her stroll toward the library. In moments, Ryouko had disappeared into the building, its doors creaking shut behind her—leaving Ryuuhei alone to ponder his thoughts.