The Two "Prodigies"

Unlike the first two free birds, Juno was the sound one out of the trio, and probably the only sound one in the entire team. Out of everyone in the team, she utilized her studies the best.

Her ability relied on being a Scholar, after all.

[STUDENT FILE #21104]

Full Name: Juno Ullrich

Age: 17 years old

Birthdate: February 11

Gender: Female

Height: 176cm

Literary Element: Scholiast

Rank: 2nd Year Student (Luxsworth Academy)

Note: High deductive skills

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The fine young lady stood atop the rooftop of an apartment building, in a neighborhood about two miles away from the marketplace, gazing, and carefully studying her target. The rooftop perfectly overlooked the alleyway in which the little bizarre creature took shelter.

The little creature muddled around the dumpster, probably searching for food. It amused Juno in the way it behaved as if it were a normal stray dog or cat. Being the animal fanatic she was, she would have been fine with adopting the little creature and keeping it safe with her, that was to say if the little creature remained “the little creature,” but she knew better.

That was the gift and curse of a Scholar: she always knew better.

Never once in her life did she take a reckless step like any average human would accidentally take at least once in their life. That, in itself, wasn’t a bad thing. But to her, it was. Among some of the names she had all over school (mostly from perverted “admirers” about her body), she earned the nickname “The Icy Purist,” which came from both facts about her stone-cold personality toward others and the perfectionist image she maintained.

She didn’t mind the name though. It was better and more popular than the others anyway.

— Heart rate is approximately 125.2 beats per minute.

Through the monocle she wrote into the world, Juno observed the creature carefully. The monocle had the ability to magnify whatever scene the user tried to see. It wasn’t her specialty, creating tools such as this, but she came to learn those simple tricks as anyone could, even if it wasn’t their specialty.

As she keenly scrutinized the little creature, she used a normal pencil with her left hand (she was ambidextrous) to write down and record all information she could gather from the creature in a notebook. Call it a bestiary. Call it a book of spells. Her notebook had all her studies since the day she first became a writer. Earlier, she tried rummaging through the pages of her notebook, looking to suppress the creature without any need for hostility. But most of her spells were summoning circles, which were not too kind to their intended target. Unless she identified the creature’s breathing nature, there was no current method to safely secure the creature.

— If only you weren’t from Wonderland…

Neverland was essentially a bridge between the reality that existed on planet Earth and the world of Wonderland, where the age of fairy tales dwelled on its own. It was a bizarre, yet beautiful, world, packed with whatever a child’s imagination could muster, and housed all the mysterious outworld creatures such as the little Dragooun.

However, that world was not made up of said imagination. It naturally existed long before the first hundred authors realized the dream of writers and brought upon Coletaria, the country of Neverland (in which Pontemus lied a capital in).

It had a government of its own, rules of its own, separate, yet similar, to reality’s. And then there was the Association, from Wonderland. Together with the Committee of the One Hundred (the founding fathers of Neverland, sort to speak), they established the Laws of Bastion, intercontinental laws that held the rights of both worlds’ inhabitants, especially for Wonderland’s creatures, who had no words to speak their rights with.

With all that in place, the Laws of Bastion ensured that no Wonderland creature (non-humans), either friend or foe, was to cross the borders without an official license from either themselves or their caretakers. Even then, there was a limit to how long they could stay in Coletaria. So, of course, adopting such creatures was out of the question.

— Maybe in another lifetime, little guy.

Juno believed that lie.

All of a sudden, she felt a clump of feathers stroking her head, before leisurely moving on to her side. Next to her stood a gigantic creature sheltered in a brown feather. It was an owl the size of a lion. Instead of cowering away as any person would in a situation like that, Juno caressed her hand against the owl’s feather, comforting it. There was no need to be afraid. That owl was her pet familiar — it wasn’t a demon in a literal sense, but it was still close.

A chuckle escaped Juno’s breath, “I’m sorry, Starry!”

Starry was the name that she gave it. Even if it was a familiar, it had to have a name. What it did a few moments before was a plea for attention. It must have gotten jealous of Juno watching over another creature for a while, she thought.

“But you shouldn’t do that…”

It twisted its head to the side, lowering it just enough to reach Juno’s hand, it was plainly asking her to pet it. For a familiar, it behaved quite like a normal pet, more so like a loyal dog. After all, it had been with Juno since it was but a mere small owl with no distinctive powers or anything.

Juno rested her hand on its head, “I’m working right now. We can go for a flight once this is all over. And just so you know…,” unlike how she talked with her teammates earlier, her voice was soothing, “If I do a good enough job on this mission, we can get some coins and buy you your favorite snack, how’s that?”

A merry smile, not often seen, was drawn on her face.

“Now that’s something you don’t see every day.” A young man spoke out in a mundane tone.

Juno retracted her expression and turned to where the voice came from.

On the other side of the building stood a young man, dressed completely in the academy’s basic uniform.

It was Nathan Cross, the boy with no dreams.

[STUDENT FILE #20514]

Full Name: Nathan Cross

Age: 17 years old

Birthdate: August 7

Gender: Male

Height: 178cm

Literary Element: Environmental Manipulator

Rank: 2nd Year Student (Luxsworth Academy)

Note: Potential Leadership Skills

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At a second glance, Nathan appeared to have been standing on a long bent street light. With a swift motion from the pen he carried, the street light’s pole extended further toward the rooftop, ultimately dropping him there, before suddenly being pulled away and shifted back to a normal object.

“You could’ve used the stairs?” Juno turned away and focused back on the little creature, which was still there.

“Yeah, I’d rather not take the one where our little friend’s at.” Nathan walked towards her, “And it’s no fun.”

“Since when did you know what fun is?”

He passed Starry, the owl, greeting it with a wave of a hand and stood beside Juno, “Not like you’re one to talk.”

“Touche.”

Upon closer inspection, it was painfully obvious how normal his appearance was.

But it wasn’t like Juno was any better. Her attire was almost just like his: the patterned blazer and the shirt, coupled with a skirt (instead of pants), white leg socks, and low wedge shoes.

Standing next to each other, those two were practically twins, with her long dark purple hair and his dark blue hair. Twins who, despite their mutual “quiet and calculated” personalities, rarely got along.

“Found any proper execution methods, yet?” Nathan blatantly asked.

“Huh?!” Juno quickly turned to his direction, almost dropping her monocle, “B-But you clearly said we are supposed to apprehend it, seal it— something like that. You never mentioned killing it!”

“Well, yeah,” he sighed, “That’s for a worst-case scenario… Remember, this isn’t the Gatsdale anymore—”

She grit her teeth, “Still! I—”

“Juno! We’re on a mission here. Better to remain “the Icy Purist” than the one who led to the loss of lives.”

The “loss of lives” was a bit of an overstatement on Nathan’s side. A process of evacuation was already in progress, and the neighborhood they were in at the time was already empty. A few other blocks and the entirety of Clockwork Town would be evacuated.

— But who was to say the chaos would remain within the town?

They were dealing with a creature of a Paragon-Grade threat — a high-level threat. Yes, it seemed harmless at that moment, but if it just felt endangered for a second, then real trouble would arise.

“No!” Juno gave her answer.

She wasn’t the type to get swayed by senseless orders, nor was she the type to rebel as well. Doing what she did… was to prevent a worst-case scenario in the first place, so there was no way she was going to quietly listen to Nathan’s ploy.

“Juno… Think about it… It might be rare, but it surely isn’t the last of its kind.”

“I said no!” she stood up and faced him with firm tenacity, “Let me say it again in a proper manner, I will not kill the Dragooun. And if I remember correctly… the Laws of Bastion state to never go for the kill “unless a Paragon-Grade threat is achieved.” Your “thinking ahead” mindset might not be in favor of that.”

“The academy might offer a hefty sum for—”

“Are you really playing that card now?”

“I’m trying to bring you to your senses. You might care about these creatures’ lives, but I care about the people’s lives,” he rubbed the back of his head in frustration, “Ugh… Why won’t any of you just listen?”

“Maybe open that mind of yours a little? It will do you wonders, trust me.”

At that moment, it was apparent how different their views were, despite being so similar. One maintained a sense of normalcy, yet still had a free imagination to stop her from being inept; the other was just…

“Hey, you!” Nathan shouted.

Juno sighed deeply, “You’re really no different Emiya, huh.”

He chuckled, “And you’re just casually badmouthing your best friend.”

“Am I though? We all know how she is, and I don't really see it as a bad thing. In fact, I quite admire her lively and furious behavior. It just shows how good she is, even if she's a little aggressive.”

Before Nathan could respond back in vexation, he came to the realization that Juno was just toying with him. She had swiftly changed the subject to something completely meaningless, just to stall him and avoid talking about his plan. And he fell right into her trap.

He sighed, “I see what you did there…”