Mei tried to ignore the disgusted look the nobleman was throwing at her. It's not like she wanted to be stuck with him in the carriage, but it was the only way she could be part of the mission and not be sent back to base. And if it wasn't for Leopold Vermillion, that might have happened.
Mei had been pleasantly surprised when the boy took her part in the argument she had with the other two squad members who were assigned the same mission. They stated that they didn't need a peasant's help and that she was only gonna hold them back. All Leo had to do was ask them if they questioned his brother's orders, after all, he was the one who chose them for their mission. Not being able to throw Leo's words back at him, they finally made Mei part of their plan, somewhere where she could be of use but out of their sight.
The carriage suddenly halted. The nobleman took his eyes off Mei and tried to look out the window. Knowing that there was no way they reached their destination yet, Mei got up and opened the door.
"Stay here," she told the nobleman before exiting.
She closed the door before the man could argue. Looking around, Mei tried to find the reason for the sudden stop. She was right when she guesses that they haven't arrived at their destination yet, in fact, they haven't even exited the forest yet.
The few personal guards that were assigned to protect the noble were still on their horses, two placed in front of the carriage and the other two behind. Leo was on the right side of the carriage holding the reins of his horse. All of them were looking at the other two magic knights that were approaching the woods on foot.
"What happened?" She asked Leo, hoping she would get a response from him and not the usual glare she received from her squad members.
"Someone is out there. We felt their mana. There are about 3 or 4 people."
As soon as Leo finished his sentence Mei felt it too. Increased mana, meaning someone released a spell. Looking at the woods on her right, she noticed faint puffs of smoke coming from within the forest, rapidly covering the trees. By the time the magic knights realized that it wasn't just normal fog, the smoke reached them, becoming thicker and thicker at an alarming rate. Seeing the purplish glow that the grey smoke seemed to have, she realized something.
"It's poisonous!" Mei said, not waiting for him to agree or disagree.
She turned around, placing her hands on the carriage. As if on cue, the two knights started coughing, one of them dropping to his knees. Dark grey metal started coming from her hands, covering the carriage in her attempt to stop the smoke from entering the carriage. 'My first priority is protecting this damn noble' she thought, ignoring the curses coming from the confused man.
While she was doing that, Leo was trying his best to keep the smoke from reaching further while also holding his breath so that he doesn't inhale any. It was next to impossible for him to do that seeing that his fire magic wasn't the most suitable to fight against smoke magic. In fact, it seemed as if the heat from his flames was feeding the smoke, making it spread faster.
Mei climbed on top of the carriage and looked at the scene in front of her. The smoke reached the carriage, all 4 guards were collapsed on the ground. Leo was holding his red cape to his mouth and was throwing punches of fire in an attempt to keep the smoke away. With her own cape over her mouth and nose, Mei reached a hand towards Leo. Slowly, a dark grey sphere started materializing around Leo, keeping the boy safe from the smoke. 'If anyone has a chance of saving us, it's him.' Once the sphere was complete, she started coughing and dropped to her knees. She felt Leo struggling to get free from inside her sphere. He had never seen her magic before so he thought it was the enemy's magic.
Knowing that she didn't have much mana left and that the poison was making its job inside her body, she tried for a last resort spell. While she might not be a wind mage, there are more ways to create wind without magic. Four small tiles materialized in the middle of the field. They spun around, resembling a small fan. As they grew, the smoke around them started drifting away until there was none of it. Smiling, she let the sphere around Leo and the fan she created dissolve. Knowing that the smoke mage probably didn't have enough mana to pull another attack like that, she collapsed putting all her hopes on the young Vermillion.
* * *
Mei swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to calm her nerves. It had been two days since she woke up in the small hospital room, scared and confused. She had tried to get information from the nurses, asking them about the outcome of the mission, the nobleman, her squadmates, and other stuff that the nurses didn't know how to respond. She didn't get any clear answers until Captain Fuegoleon came to visit her. He told her that after she passed out Leo went to confront the attackers. He only managed to fight only one of them, as the other two ran for their lives after seeing the angry Magic Knight. With his last burst of power, Leo sent a smoke signal to let other Magic Knights where they were.
They were found by some Golden Dawn magic knights who were patrolling close to the area. Two out of the four guards have been killed by the poisonous toxin in the smoke. A third one died on the hospital bed, and the fourth one was in a coma, however, the doctors have high hopes for his recovery. Although the other two Crimson Lions inhaled the most smoke, they weren't in as much danger as the guards due to their higher resistance to such toxins that every Magic Knight develops at some point due to training. They woke up one day after Mei.
Leo was the least affected by the smoke, so he was released one day earlier than Mei.
Thankfully, the nobleman has not been affected by the smoke at all. By the time, Mei's magic around the carriage dissolved, due to her losing consciousness, there was no trace of the smoke left. He complained about being put in a cage and not being informed at all times of the situation, and he didn't hesitate to thank the Captain of the Golden Dawn for being brought safely to the royal capital by his knights. It made Mei's blood boil when she heard, but she kept herself from swearing until the Captain had left.
Mei put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. During his visit, Captain Fuegoleon told her that as soon as she was released from the hospital and returned to the Crimson Lion's base, she should stop by his office before doing anything else. This has made Mei nervous. What was so important that he couldn't tell her at the hospital?
"Captain, you asked for me?" when she opened the door, Mei was surprised to see that Leo was in the room as well.
"Mei, welcome. Please enter," he was sitting down at his desk with a serious look on his face "How are you feeling?"
"Better, sir." Mei closed the door behind her and went to stand in front of his desk, at Leo's right side "The nurses said that I should be back in shape in no time. I am ready to take another mission if that is why you asked for me, sir."
Fuegoleon smiled. "The nurses actually said to take it easy for a few days. I admire your willingness to work and improve, however, even the strongest fighter should take a break after a near-death experience." After receiving a nod and a 'yes, sir' from Mei, he turned to look at both of them.
"I asked you to come here so that I could congratulate you. Mei, you remained calm and took hold of the situation. You prioritized the life of the noble, keeping him away from harm. Your quick thinking saved the life of you and your comrades and led to the success of your mission. Leopold, you manage to single-handedly defeat the attackers. You let your pride aside and prioritize calling for help and saving your comrades instead of going after the other 2 attackers to earn glory. As your Captain, I am very proud of both of you!" Fuegoleon turned to look at Mei and got up from his chair "And as a brother, I want to thank you for saving my brother's life."
Mei experienced hundreds of emotions when she saw Captain Fuegoleon extend his hand towards her. She took it in her hand and shook it excitedly, a huge smile on her face. "I promise to keep making you proud Captain!"
"Alright! Both of you, keep up the good work!" Fuegoleon turned his face for the last time towards Leo. "Leopold! You better train harder so that next time Mei doesn't have to take care of you!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Both of you dismissed!"
They bowed and left the room. Mei stopped in front of the closed room with her fist to her chest and a determined look on her face. She had been praised by her Captain before, but he never shook her hand. Times like these make her forget about the difference in their social status.
"My brother is right. You did save my ass out there."
Mei looked at Leo. She hadn't noticed that he was still there. He was scratching his head with his right hand, making his already messy hair even messier, and had an embarrassed look on his face.
Suddenly, Leo bowed deeply, his head being at the same level as her belly.
"Thank you for saving my life and I'm sorry for being a burden! I won't let it happen next time!"
Mei looked at the boy with wide eyes. It was one thing to get a handshake from her Captain, but bowing was taking it too far.
"L-Leopold! Please get up." She was frantically looking to see if anyone was coming down the hall, scared that someone might see them "You don't have to thank me. I did my duty as a member of this squad. P-Please, get up before someone sees us."
To her relief, he raised his head.
"You know, I was wondering something. You have Tungsten magic, right? Is that some type of metal?" Mei raised an eyebrow, not understanding the sudden interest in her power. She nodded. "When you trapped me in that sphere I was trying my best to melt it so I could escape, but I couldn't. If you hadn't released your magic, I wouldn't have been able to get out."
Mei furrowed her brows. She didn't like where the conversation was going. "Well tungsten's melting point is 3,442 C, so unless you can bring your flames to that degree or higher you won't be able to melt it."
"Really?!" Leo grabbed Mei by the shoulders and brought his face closer to hers, so close that Mei could see fire burning in his eyes "Then let's train together! I've been looking for something that could bring my flames to another level!"
"Huh?! Y-You want to train with me?"
Mei couldn't hide her shock. While it's true that, unlike other top squads, the Crimson Lions accept commoners, it doesn't mean that there was no discrimination among them. In fact, the nobles seemed to get more riled up by the fact that mere peasants are sleeping and training in the same place as them, so they don't hesitate to constantly remind them of the difference in their status. So, nobles and commoners training together is a rare sight.
"Yes!" Leo exclaims, not noticing the uncomfortable look on Mei's face.
"Um, are you sure? I mean, you're a royal and have way more mana than me. I'm sure that you will be able to surpass my magic in no time."
She wasn't being humble. No matter how hard she trains or how many missions she successfully completes, Mei knew that her mana will never reach the level of a noble. It wasn't enough to discourage her from joining the Magic Knights, but it was enough to make her hesitate.
When she looked into Leo's eyes and saw that he had no plan of backing down she sighed and said "Ok. But don't get high expectations."
It's not like Mei could refuse him. He was royalty and the brother of her Captain. 'Plus, it's not every day you get to train with someone like him.' Mei thought.
"So, would you like to start the training now?"
Before Mei could respond, a boy came from behind her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Mei, you returned! Why didn't you come say hel-- Lion Cub?" the boy's eyes widen as he realized what he said, right hand instinctively went to cover his mouth, but it was too late. Mei glared at him.
"Lion Cub?" Leo asked raising an eyebrow.
"Uhh, sorry Leopold," Mei said, trying to divert the boy's attention from the nickname that she and her friends use when talking about the youngest Vermillion sibling "but I won't be able to train with you today. I'm planning on taking Captain's advice and rest for a couple of days."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that, " said the young boy scratching his head "I was really excited about it. I guess we will start when you will feel better. Oh, and by the way, you can stop calling me Leopold. Leo is fine."
"Uhh, sure, Leo," said Mei as she fell the other boy shift uncomfortably next to her. She was as eager as him to escape the awkward conversation and finally go see her friends.
Leo didn't seem to notice the awkward tension between them, however. "Great! I will see you on the training grounds then, in a couple of days. Make sure you get plenty of rest and replenish your mana. I'm planning to go all out."
"Mhm, yeah. See you then." She forced a fake smile on her face, and let the red-haired boy pass her as he headed for his room.
"What's this about training?" said the brown-haired boy after taking his arm off her shoulders.
Mei sighed. "Long story, Kaito. I will tell you once we meet with the others. I don't feel like repeating it to them."
"Alright, well, Hana is in the cafeteria with Kuro. Haru is on his way too, if he's not there already."
"Great. I'm starving anyway."
The two of them made their way to the cafeteria. Kaito asked her how she felt and if she has any injuries, but Mei dismissed his questions with an 'I'm fine' and an eye roll.
"Mei!"
As soon as she approached their table, Haru went to Mei and gave her a bone-crushing hug, the giant 18-year-old boy was still not aware of how much stronger he was in comparison with most people, and Kuro ruffled her hair, in that way that made Mei sigh in exasperation.
"Mei, we were worried about you!" Hana said when Mei took a seat next to her. "Well, some more so than others," she said, eyes looking over at Kaito, giving him a knowing smirk. Kaito only rolled his eyes at her, already being used to the girl's teasing.
"Sorry, sorry. It wasn't my intention to finish this mission in the hospital."
"What happened though? I heard only you and the Lion Cub returned to base. The other two squad members are still resting in the hospital." Kuro said, taking a seat in front of Mei.
Before Mei could start speaking, Haru intervened "Yeah, and why were you summoned to the Captain's office so soon? Is he giving you another mission?"
Mei was interrupted again but by Kaito this time "And why does Lion Cub want to train with you? And why did you accept?"
"Lion Cub wants to train with you?!" it was Hana this time.
"Shh! Not so loud! He might hear you if he came back. And thanks to someone," Mei glared at Kaito "he will know we're talking about him."
Kaito rolled his eyes. "As if it's that hard to figure out who we are referring to with that name."
"That doesn't mean that you have to call him that to his face."
"It was a mistake!"
"You called him Lion Cub to his face?!" Hana asked, her voice going an octave higher than before.
Kaito ran a hand down his face in exasperation. "It slipped up! Now can we stop talking about this and let Mei tell us what happened during the mission?"
"Ok, but first tell us why Lion Cub wants to train with you. I'm more curious about that." Kuro's voice dropped to a whisper when he said the boy's nickname.
"He's interested in my magic," Mei said simply. "He wants to see if he could get his fire to melt it."
They sat in silence for a few seconds, all trying to process what Mei had just said. It was obvious that they were trying to figure out if what they heard was a good or a bad thing.
Mei couldn't blame them. She didn't know what to make of the boy's offer herself. It's not that Leo has ever treated any of them bad ever before, because that wasn't the case, but all of them had plenty of experiences with nobles, and too few of them resulted in anything beneficial or at least not damaging, for the group.
Finally, Kaito broke the ice. "So, he's using you."
"He's not... using me..." Mei started, but she didn't know what arguments to give to Kaito to prove him wrong.
"So what if he was?" Hana came to Mei's rescue "I mean you would be doing the same. Isn't that how training works? You use each other to get stronger."
"When you put it like that..." Kuro scratched his head and looked at Mei
"It would be a great opportunity to train with him." Haru chipped in, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
"I think you should do it!" Hana said, getting excited for her best friend.
"Well, I think it's an awful idea," Kaito said, jumping from his seat. "Why would you want to help a royal get stronger? He's already strong enough like we will never be. He's gonna ask for your help now and after he's had his fun with you, he will forget you ever existed or treat you like every other noble out there is treating us!"
Mei chewed her lip. She knew how Kaito felt about nobles and royals. Everyone in this group had strong feelings when it comes to them, but Kaito was the only one who actually hates them no matter who they were or what they were doing. Well, except for Captain Fuegoleon. He was the only one who earned Kaito's respect and it wasn't just because he accepted Kaito in his squad.
Unsure of what to tell the older boy, Mei went through everything she could think of that she could say, realizing that no matter what it is, it's bound to get an angry reaction from him. Finally, she settled on telling him how she really felt about the young Vermillion.
"He's not that bad."
