The courtyard was unusually quiet as the late morning sun warmed the stone pathways and the occasional breeze stirred leaves across the gravel. I stood near the training grounds, my arms folded loosely as Kayda dropped the unconscious figures tied in my ice chains onto the grass. Catrina was standing beside her, shifting nervously from foot to foot.
"Aah, I wanted to ask you something," Catrina said, her voice soft, almost hesitant, as she fiddled with her fingers.
I turned to her with a curious tilt of my head. "Is that so? Well, what is it? I'm all ears." I raised a hand and twirled it casually, encouraging her to continue.
Taking a deep breath, Catrina straightened up, then suddenly bowed low—almost too low, her forehead nearly brushing her knees. "Can I join the Black Ops or… more like, work under you?"
Now that caught me off guard.
"Hmm," I muttered, narrowing my eyes in thought. "You're a sage, correct?"
"I can use earth and wind magic," she admitted with a slight waver in her voice. "But… I don't have a class yet."
That statement surprised me and made me blink. "Huh? You don't have one? How old are you?"
I gave her a more scrutinizing look. She had an elegant, mature air—waist-length black hair that shimmered faintly in the light, brown eyes full of restraint, and a posture that gave her an aura of discipline. She looked like she could be in her early twenties, maybe even older than Mother.
"I'm 17," she said plainly.
"Holy shit," I blurted without thinking. "I thought you were older."
A heavy thwack landed on the back of my head, Kayda's open palm cracking against my skull.
"Don't say it like that!" Kayda snapped, hitting me again for good measure.
Rubbing the sore spot, I winced. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to imply you were old." I looked back at Catrina with an apologetic glance.
Catrina chuckled lightly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's okay. I do look older because I'm half-elf."
I frowned. "Half-elf, huh? That makes you look older? Whatever."
I waved it off and leaned against the tree nearby. "If you don't have a class yet, is it fine if I push you toward a close-combat one? I've already got plenty of mages and long-range types in the squad—"
"No, it's fine!" she interrupted with sudden energy. "I always had a thing for swords anyway. The only reason I focused on magic was to get my parents' approval."
She paused, then looked down, her voice turning bitter. "That's why I don't have a class yet. My parents forced me to wear an experience blocker. They wanted me to gain enough magic proficiency first… They were grooming me to become an Elemental Sage."
Kayda crossed her arms, clicking her tongue. "Elemental Sage? That's not even possible for you. You don't have enough elemental affinity. And let's be honest—your parents didn't provide the kind of skilled training needed to reach that level anyway."
Catrina flinched. Her eyes wavered and began to glisten.
I narrowed my eyes at Kayda. "Recommended? Need skilled teachers? What does that have to do with anything?"
Kayda gave me a skeptical look. "It makes it easier. You know that."
"Yeah, but it's not a requirement. Born talent plays a part, sure, but it's the effort that matters more. Teachers can guide, but they're not everything. If someone's willing to push themselves hard enough, they can make it."
"You're not wrong," Kayda admitted, shrugging. "Still, her parents were aiming too high."
"Yeah, I get that," I muttered, waving her off dismissively.
I glanced back at Catrina—she looked like she was about to cry.
"Hey, why do you want to cry all of a sudden?" I asked.
"You just said it… I was born a fail—"
Smack!
My palm met the side of her head—not too firmly, but enough to snap her out of it.
"Dumbass," I said bluntly. "We said your parents were expecting too much. It's their fault, not yours. They're failures for not listening to their kid."
Kayda coughed. "Wasn't it you who wanted to make her a close-combat fighter a few minutes ago?"
"Ugh," I grumbled, clicking my tongue. "I asked if it was fine. That's different."
"Oh right, you did say it like that," Kayda said, her expression smug.
"Shameless dragon," I muttered under my breath, then looked back at Catrina. "By the way, now that I think about it—I've never been able to use Analysis on you. Are you from a noble family?"
"Aah, yes." She straightened her back, adopting a more formal tone. "I am the second daughter of Earl House Everstern. Catrina Everstern."
My eyebrow arched. "Ooh, fancy. So, how much do you love your family?"
Kayda blinked. "Are you going to—"
"No, I wasn't planning to kill them," I interrupted. "But I might get you disowned. Hehe."
Catrina's expression shifted to panic. "No, please don't! And don't hurt them either. I really do love them."
I grinned. "Okay. If you want it like that, then here's the deal: I'll take you. But from today on, you're moving to the barracks. You're going to hide everything that happens from your family—what you do, what you see, and what you become. Understood?"
Her face turned serious. She nodded. "...Okay. I understand."
I smirked. "Now that I think about it, you'll probably be the most normal person in my squad."
Catrina tilted her head in confusion. "...Normal?"
"Yeah. I'll get that fixed during training, though. A few screws loose here and there—perfect."
"I like to be sane, please," she whimpered, shuffling behind Kayda for protection. "And what do you mean by 'most normal person'?"
I chuckled. "Well, let me give you a rundown. We have two sis-cons who are totally open about it. Then there's an ex-federation lapdog who's head-over-heels for my backpack bunny demon, loli. Then we've got another demon fox who's vice-captain of the Crazy Heads Squad.' Oh, and she's extremely overprotective."
"Overprotective? How is Chinada overprotective?" Kayda asked.
"Well, not of me personally—but definitely of anything that belongs to me or people close to me."
"Makes sense," Kayda nodded. "You are her queen."
"I'm not her queen," I grumbled. "It's just because I'm a primordial fox and she's a demon fox. That's all."
Catrina gasped. "You're a what?"
I flicked my wrist. "Yeah. Why do you think I'm so powerful without a class at 14?"
"You're younger than me?!" Catrina yelled again.
I leaned in close, eyes narrowing. "One more thing—don't yell like that, or I'll break your vocal cords."
"Yes, Ma'am," she said immediately, her voice quieting to a whisper.
Kayda snorted. "Hey, Kitsuna. You forgot something about your squad."
"What?"
"You're also Apricot's mom."
My eye twitched. "You really won't drop that, will you?"
"Nope! Never!" Kayda burst out laughing. "It was too adorable when she cried and kept calling you Mom."
Catrina looked at me, sparkling with curiosity. "What happened?"
I sighed. "A couple of weeks ago, I made an ice dungeon in a lake. To hide it, I asked Apricot to cast a high-level illusion around it. She needed time, so she worked in shifts for about two weeks. Somewhere along the line, a spy in the Black Ops got wind of it and was ordered to assassinate her. The moment came when she was heading to the dungeon, and I was leaving it. I sensed something, used Flash Step, and took a dagger to the chest."
Catrina gasped.
"The wound healed instantly, but the poison knocked me out for a bit. I collapsed, unmoving. Apricot captured the assassin but thought I was dead and—well—cried over me the whole time. She muttered 'mom' over and over."
I glanced sideways at Kayda. "Still don't understand how that was cute."
"It was cute," Catrina said with sparkly eyes.
"Nooo," I groaned. "She's nineteen! How does that make me her mother figure?!"
"You're mentally 30," Kayda said dryly.
Catrina blinked. "You're a reincarnator too?"
I gave a small nod. "Yeah. I am."
Kayda clapped her hands. "Oh, right—I brought these guys for you."
She gestured toward the party members I'd iced earlier.
"Yeah, I figured," I said, walking over. "They won't have any useful info, so you don't mind if I kill them, right?"
"Go ahead," Kayda replied casually.
"You're really going to kill them?" Catrina asked, startled.
"They betrayed me," I said flatly, looking at her like she'd asked the dumbest thing in the world.
Kayda leaned down beside Catrina and whispered, "I told you that working under a demon wouldn't be easy."
Catrina swallowed. "Right. You did warn me."
I laughed quietly. "You already might have a screw loose for agreeing."
Kayda turned to leave. "Well, gotta go—"
"Not so fast." I raised a hand. "Chinada, take Catrina away. Test which weapon fits her."
A figure shimmered into view—Chinada appearing as if summoned by the wind itself. She nodded once, grabbed Catrina by the arm, and vanished.
As silence fell again, I looked at Kayda.
"...Do I have a split personality?" I asked.