"I'm really leaving now, sis."
"Be careful on the way, you didn't forget anything, right? Did you pack your panties properly?"
"I'm not a kid anymore!"
"But your chest is still like a kid's~"
"I'm ignoring you, can't hear anything, lala! I'm leaving!"
Jumping onto the Magitek Train bound for Fusion Academy, the lazy days of the New Year made Aisha feel like the ride back from the royal capital had just been yesterday.
Blink once, blink twice, and the vacation was over. Who was it yesterday, hiding under the covers, wiping away tears, crying while grumbling about who had stolen her time?
"Sis, remember to say hi to Mom and Dad for me. It's really a pity I couldn't see them this break."
Aisha had thought she'd definitely see her parents when she went home for the New Year, and share the happy news about becoming a Royal Knight.
But because of her mother's health, her father decided to let her stay in Lukao to recuperate for a while longer. After all, the medical level in a remote town like Lukao was still far behind that of a big city.
Of course, through the Beaconbugs, Alice and Aisha had still delivered the joyous news of the family's title promotion to their parents.
It was obvious their parents were overjoyed. Aisha also hoped that, with less pressure on the family now, her mother's overworked body would recover soon.
Her parents' happiness made Aisha deeply feel that her own efforts and persistence had not been in vain.
Even though she had nearly dropped out after working so hard for half a semester, holding out until she met Miles must have been fate.
"Let's go, Mr. Miles!"
"Yeah!"
The girl left her hometown, riding the clattering Magitek Train, embarking once more on her journey.
Heading for Fusion Academy again, compared to her initial confusion, her jade-green eyes now held more yearning for the future.
"It's the second semester now—our fun academy life is waiting for us!"
…
"Not fun at all."
Who has exams on the second day back at school?
In the Summoning Class for the so-called "initial test," everyone's subtle expressions looked about the same as Aisha's.
They'd already been dueling at the Academy for a semester, and after finally looking forward to the holiday, who would actually go back and study duels seriously?
Even Aisha herself, ever since coming back from the capital, had just been lazing in bed every day, either sleeping or munching on snacks.
If not for Miles occasionally helping her sort her Deck, Spirit Eyes would probably be covered in dust by now.
"Since no one wants to volunteer, let's just go in order of student numbers."
On the podium, Miss Erin held a scoreboard. Her usual easygoing teaching style didn't really fit an ambush test like this.
Normally, after entering the second year, Aisha's homeroom teacher should've become Professor Field.
However, because Miss Fehil, who had led the trip to the Spirit Sanctuary, had her vacation later together with the third-years, she was still making up her rest days.
Plus, since it was routine every year for new freshmen to start a few days later than the upper years, homeroom teachers hadn't been reassigned yet.
"Student number 1, Mizuki—you're up first. Let's see how fat you got over the holidays. Can you still summon monsters?"
As the saying goes, three pounds gained during every festival. Getting fat over the New Year was nothing unusual.
Someone like Aisha, who lazed in bed all day eating nonstop yet stayed flat as a board, was the rare case.
"Cut me some slack—Monster Summon!"
[Obnoxious Celtic Guard]
"You're in your second year and you're still summoning Celtic Guard? 2 points!"
Miss Erin scored mercilessly.
For first-year freshmen, even if Mizuki had summoned a vanilla Celtic Guard in the midterm, it would've earned praise.
Albeit moving into the second year, the standards were different. Like rowing upstream, if you don't advance, you fall back. Even an effect version of Celtic Guard wouldn't be enough.
"Alright, student number 2…"
Miss Erin's voice carried like a grim reaper calling souls.
Indeed, the performance in this sudden test was bad all around, with most students not even meeting the standard of a first-year's second-semester Summoning Class.
Of course, some slacked off, but there were definitely those grinding in secret.
"—Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!"
"—Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"
Compared to the lackluster summons of the other second-years, Kevin and Ren's summons were in a different league entirely.
The enormous Red-Eyes archfiend wrapped in lightning around Kevin's body could even let him fuse into [Archfiend Black Skull Dragon] without a dedicated Fiend Summon, the one he completed together with Miles.
Meanwhile, the sensual female Elemental HERO cloaked in black mist that Ren summoned was likely influenced by Ilon's Phantom HERO nature, symbolizing the legacy between siblings and heroes.
"Yay☆we☆did☆It!"
High-fiving in sync, Kevin and Ren celebrated their full-score summons.
"As expected of them… they're already on another level compared to us."
The second-years, who had seen the trio defeat the upper years in the Academy Festival's Class Challenge, naturally held deep respect for them.
"By the way, you've all heard about that incident in the capital, right?"
"Well, duh, is there anyone in Livorden who hasn't?"
Both of them had also been active in the incident at the royal capital, which raised their classmates' admiration even higher.
Although when it came to the most active person in both the Academy Festival's Class Challenge and the capital incident…
Everyone's gaze turned toward the last student number, the white-haired girl now looking utterly awkward.
(￣ー￣)
"Same plot again!"
This familiar pattern—every Summoning Class ended with everyone's anticipation focused entirely on Aisha.
"Your turn, Aisha Carlos."
Miss Erin knew not only of the miracle Aisha had created during the capital incident, but also remembered her Summoning Final, where she summoned [The Winged Dragon of Ra].
In her eyes now, Aisha was a stock brimming with potential.
"Show me how much stronger your summoning has gotten after the break, Aisha!"
Miss Erin had already written the number 1 on the scoreboard, ready to award Aisha the top score of 10 in the Normal Summoning Class.
"Alright then, since the teacher insists, I'll summon with all I've got."
Taking a deep breath, Aisha stretched out her arm, tightly gripping Spirit Eyes, sending out ripples of summoning.
"Gathered prayers, slumbering spirit adrift in the world, answer my call—Monster Summon!"
[Mokey Mokey Adrift] Level 1│LIGHT│Fairy│300 ATK/100 DEF
-д-?
The familiar little tofu block raised a question mark over its head, mirroring its master's expression as they stared at each other.
"...Aisha Carlos, 1 point."
...
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