4-2: Threat

“Cut her…from my life?”

I was so confused that all I could do was repeat what he had just said. Leonard understood that I wasn’t getting it, so elaborated a little more.

“You see, after that evolution she was able to modify her mana and even develop her own techniques, but all of them were tied to one thing.”

“...Me, right?”

“Exactly. She can't do anything that isn't related to defeating you. If she's capable of being the future of magic I seek, she needs to forget you.”

“Aren’t you exaggerating?”

“Maybe at first. But the results in the familiar summon class showed to me that she is actually limited by your fault. She needs someone that helps her to visualize new paths.”

“Why didn’t you ask her?”

“I tried, but she denies her own talent in front of people that aren't you. Deep inside, she cares about her image.”

“...”

From all the things I could say in that moment, I chose what I considered the best.

“...What makes you think that I’m gonna accept?”

“...Hehe, it’s true that we prodigies are stubborn.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“Well, let me tell you something, everyone in this academy and even people from outside consider me the future of magic thanks to my talent. In these three years, I got a lot of influence and people who owe me favors. I could easily make everyone stop to avoid you, or even ensure a future for you after your graduation.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Mary, please give me that.”

The girl handed him a weird badge and he just put that on the desk. It was a weird hammer surrounded by swords that simulated to be a weird belt. The most interesting part was that it was golden, but not some kind of fake gold like the buttons of the advanced class, it looked like it was made of gold.

“What is that?”

“Some nobles tell me that if I show this in any weapon store I will be allowed to take anything without paying.”

“What?”

“I’ve never used it before, I feel better using my own sword. If that isn’t enough, I also have a lot of offers from people who want me as a bodyguard after my graduation or even offered to pay for my studies if I protect them during my free time."

He put the badge on his pocket and looked straight into my eyes. He was expectant

“Now that you confirmed that I’m not lying, what is your answer?”

I would be lying if I say that I wasn’t interested, but above all that, I had a more important question.

“What makes you think she’s gonna accept this? Even if I accept your offer, she is my friend.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. You can just try to avoid her and I’m gonna do the rest. If that isn’t enough, we can create a situation together where she starts to hate you. In fact, that will make everything easier.”

The way he was saying that was scary. He clearly wasn’t talking about her as a person, he was only thinking about how useful she was. That helped me to make my final decision.

“No.”

“...And may I know the reason?”

His tone changed and his smile disappeared. He wasn’t happy with my answer, but I didn’t care.

“I can’t do something that implies hurting her or going against her desires. If you want her to help you, convince her on your own. And if you can’t do it, then it must be your fault.”

“...That’s a shame…”

“I’m not gonna continue with this conversation.”

“I see…”

I stood up and walked to the door.

“I have something else you’d like to hear.”

“Do you think I care about that?”

I was waiting for another offer, but he clearly surrendered with that method.

“After a long investigation, I concluded that student Thomas Creiter could be someone very unusual, we could even say that he’s not from this world.”

“...”

When I looked behind me to confirm that I heard well, he was smiling while reading a long document.

“Teaching about unknown weapons, talking in a language unknown in the world, and showing a way to see the world totally different from the others. His origins are not precise, but with a prudent investigation, we could know even more.”

“...”

“You know, being the first to have information makes manipulation easier. It could skew the narrative to make everything negative or positive. Some would be happy to have someone with special knowledge with them, and others would be scared by the risks involved in letting that person live.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“It’s a little rude to consider this a threat. As I say, we are stubborn.”

”You..”

“I also have information about Cloe. Just a few words would be needed to create the narrative I want”.

“This is so low.”

“...Yeah, it is. That’s why I’m gonna give you a chance.”

“Do you mean…”

“I'm going to wait for a challenge until the end of the month.. If you win I will forget about this. If you lose, I’m gonna be gentle and let you choose between abandoning her or sharing this information.”

“...You know I can’t win against you.”

“I trust in you. I know you have the creativity for making a way to win.”

“...Can I go now?”

“You can. I hope to see you again.”

I abandoned the classroom, really shocked. How am I supposed to defeat him in literally any circumstance? There’s no way.

“Maybe I could tell them…”

Cloe should know this…But nothing will change…I could tell Fran so he can stop relating with me before things end bad…But what if he doesn’t abandon me?…

“...”

At that moment I only thought of one thing.

“I’m causing trouble for being their friend, I must fix it on my own.”

Losing wasn’t an option, I must win in whatever we’re gonna do. And if I don’t win…I will choose the option that doesn’t ruin their lives.

“I must do this…”

After settling on that idea, my world became gray.