After returning from the restaurant, Big Sister Wave sighed again. I don't know how many times I've seen her sigh today. She looked very tired today and I felt a little guilty. I immediately brought a blanket and covered her body as she sat on the chair in her room.
"Thank you, Luna," Big Sister Wave answered me with gentle eyes.
"You're welcome, big sis. You still look tired, I'll make sure Lunette doesn't do anything strange," I replied.
Big Sister Wave immediately hugged me warmly and rubbed her cheek against mine while saying, "Thank you, Luna, you are indeed my sweetest little sister!"
I felt a little disturbed, especially since the hug she gave was quite tight, making my movements limited. I think I'll leave it like this for a while. She really is having too much affection towards us, I don't understand why.
After a few minutes, Big Sister Wave stroked my head and let go of me while saying, "Please take care of Lunette for a while, I'll sleep for a while."
I nodded my head and walked out of her room. After being outside her room, I kept my eyes on Lunette, hoping she wouldn't do anything strange, at least until tomorrow at the academy.
The next day, Lunette and I went to the academy. We were escorted by Big Sister Wave who was in disguise as usual. Now I know why she always looks different at home and outside.
"Indeed, a rising idol," Lunette said in her mischievous tone.
"Lunette, seriously, don't say things like that outside or you'll know how it feels," Big Sister Wave replied a little annoyed.
Lunette replied with, "I know, I was just kidding. Come on, Luna," She grabbed my hand and headed inside the academy.
I looked back at Big Sister Wave and waved my hand a little embarrassedly. We entered the academy grounds and looked around on our way to class. On the way, I could see other people who were nobles staring at us. They didn't seem to like Lunette who got the highest score on the previous test. It was only natural, someone who came from who knows where and was not a noble came and tarnished their name in public.
When we arrived at class, we immediately sat next to each other while waiting for the teacher to come. As soon as the teacher arrived, he immediately introduced himself.
"Hello, my name is Ronald, your homeroom teacher. You better not cause trouble in my class or you will know the consequences," said the teacher.
The teacher looked very scary and strict. He was a male teacher who turned out to be very strict and was called a killer teacher who was feared by the students. No big deal, Lunette would be in danger.
Lunette raised her hand and stood up excitedly, "Hello sir, my name is Lunette, nice to meet you."
The class looked at her in surprise, confused because she had said that to the teacher so bluntly. I could only hold back my embarrassment towards her and pretend not to know her. Mr. Ronald glared at Lunette who just grinned.
"Yes, nice to meet you, Lunette. I look forward to your results as the student with the highest score in this class," said Mr. Ronald.
The class was surprised because Mr. Ronald ignored their words. I guess the rumor that he would beat up anyone who talked to him was just a lie.
"Wow, your sister is really great huh," said someone beside me.
I was surprised and stared at him in silence.
She just laughed and started talking, "Sorry sorry, my name is Rena. Nice to meet you, Luna."
She extended her hand towards me and invited me to shake hands.
I accepted her invitation and shook hands with her, "Luna." I introduced myself briefly in an embarrassed tone.
It seems like I've found a friend in this academy. I think this will be one of the good things in the academy. We were introduced to this academy by our teacher, starting from the building, the areas in the academy, to what will be learned. Like academies in general, we will learn about the basics, if there is something different maybe we will learn about magic and some martial arts techniques. The academy has their own martial arts techniques for those who have never learned them, but since Lunette and I have learned them before so we don't learn them again.
Our days spent at the academy, a few weeks later we were in the cafeteria area and were in trouble.
I shouted loudly at Lunette who was on the roof of the academy, "Lunette! I told you to stop causing trouble!"
Lunette just laughed and said, "What? Are you scared? You are weaker than me after all," She said while teasing me.
"That's not true! Stop destroying the academy area with the excuse of magic training," I shouted at her in annoyance.
I think this is the first time I've shouted loudly in my life, and also the first time I've shouted at the academy. The other students looked at us and were surprised by my loud voice. They know me as a quiet person, a very introverted person. However, here I was shouting very loudly at Lunette in annoyance.
Lunette mocked me again by saying, "If you don't like it, chase me and fight me."
I, who was annoyed, immediately used my magic and formed a shoe from ice on my feet to jump. The shoes I made from the ice helped strengthen my legs both in terms of running and jumping. Soon I reached the roof tiles too and glared at Lunette in annoyance, trying to chase that troublemaker.
"Catch me if you can," she said while sticking out her tongue before running.
She also used her magic to light her feet on fire with the same goal as me. She's just copying my technique! We started chasing each other by jumping from building to building, from roof tile to roof tile. I made a claw out of ice on my right hand and attacked Lunette with the goal of catching her. I reached out my hand to catch her, but she's too far away from my distance. Lunette threw blue fire at me with the goal of running away from me, her magic hitting the rooftop of the school and burning it. We jumped here and there, running and disturbing other people. Some places were messy and even destroyed, gladly the fire didn't spread because of my magic.
Many students cheered us on and gave us encouragement. Some supported Lunette to run away from me, some were surprised to see me chasing her like a wild animal to its prey and supported me to chase her. It feels like we're playing a tag, but with a little spice in our game.
In the middle of the escape, Lunette still had time to respond to them with, "Thank you for your support!" She answered it while smiling at them and making her fingers form a "V". She continues jumping from the roof to another pretty quick.
We continued running from building to building for a few minutes until finally Mr. Ronald stopped us with a sharp look. I could see that his eyes were different from usual, indicating that he was using his magic, but I didn't know what magic he was using at the moment.
"You two, do you want to die?" Mr. Ronald asked us while holding our hands.
Lunette looked nervous and forced a smile even though she was full of fear, "Wow… You're really great. Hehe…"
We suddenly freeze and barely can move. What does he just do to us? It feels like my joints are locked in place and my body is paralyzed in the middle of action.
Suddenly Mr. Ronald stared at her sharply like a knife that could cut anything without any strength, instantly making Lunette speechless in fear.
"Your next stop is the principal's room, no negotiation," he dragged us towards the principal's room by force.
I think it's only natural that we were dragged to the principal's room, we had caused various problems. We were also scolded severely by Mr. Ronald along with the other teachers. I didn't expect that we hadn't been at the academy for 1 month but were already scolded by the teachers. Big Sister Wave immediately came to the teacher's room in a hurry and panicked.
"Luna! Lunette!" She broke down the door and entered the room while shouting.
"So you're her caretaker, Ms. Bluesky," Mr. Ronald said to her.
I could see Big Sister Wave immediately being scared seeing Mr. Ronald stared sharply at her.
"Long time no see, Wave," Mr. Ronald said to Big Sister Wave.
It seemed like they knew each other. They chatted and we found out that Big Sister Wave was also a student at this academy and a student of Mr. Ronald. What a strange coincidence. Big Sister Wave was also given advice without being able to fight back at all. Luckily we escaped punishment because we were still new students. The three of us walked towards the exit after being given thorough advice. I glared angrily at Lunette who had involved me in this matter.
Mr. Ronald immediately stopped us both and said, "Luna, Lunette, wait a minute, I changed my mind."
The three of us turned to look at him, but Mr. Ronald gestured for Big Sister Wave to leave the room. He nodded and left the room, while Lunette and I stood still in place.
"You know the festival celebrated in this city that is held 2 months after the new school year," he asked us.
We both shook our heads and looked at him as if asking him to continue.
"This event is called the Phantasia Festival, a festival that showcases students' talents to the entire city and there are so many sponsors in the program." Mr. Ronald continued.
Lunette looked excited with her eyes shining brightly like the sun as she said, "We're coming!"
I immediately refused, "You, not us. I'm not coming." My tone is firm and there is no room of negotiation.
Lunette held my hand and forced me to come, "Come on, if I come, you come too, that's only natural, right?"
I felt a little, no, I was really annoyed by her nature when she was interested in something, "No matter what happens, I won't join."
Mr. Ronald added again, "I forgot to say, I could have actually punished you guys. But I didn't, so you guys owe me one."
Ugh, this teacher is quite cunning. What does he expect from a student like me? I had a conflict in my mind, wanting to refuse him but Mr. Ronald was right that I needed to repay my debt to him.
"Let me think about it first," I answered Mr. Ronald with a heavy heart in my chest.
Mr. Ronald nodded slightly while Lunette looked at me with hope. I won't do it, don't expect anything from me. Not until I find a strong enough motivation.
We walked out of the room. There were several students who approached us, or maybe more precisely approached Lunette. They joked together and talked about her running with me on top of the buildings. They seemed to praise her for her courage against Mr. Ronald and getting out of the teacher's room without any punishment.
Meanwhile, I just walked past them and walked towards the cafeteria area. In the middle of the journey, Rena called me and ran towards me.
"Luna! Luna! Emergency," she shouted at me.
I immediately turned to her and asked, "What's wrong?"
She grabbed my hand and pulled me along, "There's no time to explain. Come with me!"
I just nodded and followed her. I was surprised by what happened after arriving at the place. I saw a man standing there blushing and not seeing any problem.
I asked Rena while pinching her cheeks since we've been getting closer than the last time, "What do you mean by this?"
Rena just smiled and begged me while having her cheeks pinched by me, "To be honest, this is my childhood friend named Nio. He's a wizard who fights in the middle, but…"
"But," I asked her while tilting my head.
Rena answered while sticking her tongue out at me, "He can't do self-defense at all. Can you teach him to help me in an emergency?"
I was confused and asked again while pulling my hands, "Why me and not you?"
She said back to me, "Because I'm not someone who fights openly, I'm a speedster who fights using surprise attacks and high speed."
I nodded in surprise, "Okay, but why me? We got plenty of teachers here."
Nio walked over to me and bent down towards me, "Please, can you teach me the basics?"
I don't understand why he's asking me while he can ask the teachers. But he looks so serious about this, and maybe he has his own reason though. I guess I couldn't refuse and finally I nodded. I didn't expect that I would get a friend like this. Day by day we trained together. I taught him some basic empty hand techniques from the techniques Big Sister Wave taught me.
I spoke to him while teaching him, "Nio, just focus on your enemy."
I continue to train him in basic self defence. I asked him to dodge my attacks or counter if he can. But he seems not really good at it. His stamina isn't that much after teaching him for a few days. But surprisingly, his magic control is very good, maybe he can control it better than me.
One day, Rena, Nio, and I sat together watching the sunset after practice. It was a beautiful day, filled with orange colors filling the scenery. I lay down comfortably while looking at the sky.
"I think we'll make an interesting trio," Rena said.
Nio answered, "I think you're right, right Luna?"
I was surprised and confused to hear that and looked at her.
Nio asked curiously, "Why are you surprised?"
I answered in an embarrassed tone, "I'm not your childhood friend, and we just met a few days ago."
Rena answered jokingly, "You're one of us, even though you're not childhood friends. Now you're stuck with us."
Nio chuckled at Rena's statement and said, "Just give up, once Rena makes a decision, she won't back down until she gets it."
I couldn't say anything so I just stared in silence. They looked very serious about what they were talking about. They considered me one of them. I was a little touched knowing that they accepted me.
"You know Phantasia, right? Would you like to come with me?" Nio said while looking at us seriously.
Rena immediately answered, "Of course, you have to be in that festival, right?"
I was a little hesitant to answer. Moreover, I had tried to reject the festival. But I didn't want to betray their hopes. I nodded and agreed to it.
I asked them, "What must be done to participate in the festival?"
Nio immediately stood up and said, "We must be selected in the elimination of participants in this academy. Phantasia is a famous festival and will guarantee your future if you win and I will become a hunter to search for the book."
Then he continued, "Luna, do you know about the Book of Origin?"
Book of Origin? That word made me a little traumatized. Slowly my breath became labored, my vision became blurry. My body was shaking with fear. Rena and Nio realized my change and approached me to calm me down. I couldn't hear clearly what they were saying to me, it sounded very far away. Relax, me, I can do this, please. It's not like it will do anything to me just by hearing the book's name. Remember what I said to mom a few years ago?
Nio turned my face towards her and looked into my eyes sharply. I was surprised and for some reason it calmed me down a little. The words she said began to be heard little by little.
Nio said to me, "Can you hear me? Thank goodness, I was afraid something would happen to you."
Rena speaks to me with a curious tone, "Luna, do you know anything about the book?"
I just kept quiet, then shook my head. In fact, I didn't know anything about the book, but the book reminded me of the people who killed my parents. My pupils are still small, showing a true fear deep inside me.
Nio said to me, "I think we should stop this conversation-"
But before he could finish speaking, I interrupted him by holding his hand.
I said to her, "No, go ahead. I also want to know something about the book."
Nio hesitantly looked into my eyes, not sure he wanted to tell me the truth. He didn't want something like that to happen to me again. However, I nodded my head, signaling her to continue.
Nio looked at Rena and then back at me while saying, "Okay, then..."
Nio explained everything he knew about the Book of Origin even though her explanation seemed less than convincing. According to the explanation she gave, the Book of Origin was a book. However, it was not just an ordinary book. The book could make everything written in the book come true. The book was a book of the highest level of magic and the origin of all magic. Nio's goal was to find the book to confirm its truth.
Rena also added that the book had never been found, but it was said that it was used by the first hero to save the world from destruction by something evil.
What I just heard from them is almost the same as what I heard from mom's story a few years ago. It's about the first hero and the spirit that made the book to save the world. But Nio told me that the book can rewrite fate itself. The reality could be changed only if someone wrote it on the page. The effect including global and everything on it, no one can escape from the effect. If someone writes about the world's destruction then…
Nio explained that he wanted to go on his journey, but something was holding him back. He wanted to win Phantasia to help him go on his journey to find the Book of Origin. From what I heard from him, he seemed to have to put on a good show to convince his family to go on the journey to know the truth about the Book of Origin.
Nio then said to me, "The Book of Origin contains the beginning of this world. We will know what happened before we were born and even before the first hero came to this world."
He stares at me with determined eyes as if silently asking me to help him in the festival. I think I could feel the conviction in his eyes. I wanted to support him and help him. Rena seemed to really want to help Nio no matter what, and so did I.
I told him, "I… Fine, I'll come…" I sigh softly and start regretting my own decision.
Nio nodded his head and thanked me. We continued to have a pleasant chat that day together. We continued to watch the sunset until the sun was no longer visible. The scenery that day was very beautiful, the sky filled with orange light from the sun until it finally set.