Yesterday was a turning point for a lot of students in the Varschine Kingdom's Royal Academy.
Despite the calm exterior that most students showed as they continued their scholarly pursuit, many had lost their willingness to support the Second Prince.

As petty as it may sound, what His Highness demonstrated during his unprovoked confrontation against Ms Eumiella yesterday (which they later realised) was simply beneath His Royal dignity.
He had shown himself to be overly brash, tactless, arrogant, annoyingly biased and petty, and simply acted below the minimal respectable standard.

The young Royal had lost significant political standing amongst His family's allies, alienated much of those undecided before, and gained none but bedrock-level reputation from his opposition.
Worst still, the Prince Himself barely notices the political quagmire he's in, and the long-term effects his actions had accelerated that day.

In another timeline, Eumiella's lonesome controversial speech definitely distances her further from her peers.
Most students would looked at her hence with either fear or disdain;
For her power was simply beyond them; which fuels a collective resignation that prevents anyone from even trying to improve themselves, much less of achieving such heights.

In this present timeline however;
Adler's verbal trap upon the Prince, and his public support of her levelling method caused some of the would-be negative perception to be replaced by more neutral and encouraging thoughts.
The revelations made by Eumiella upon her unprecedented training method, and the stellar support by Adler for it; had interested several individuals across the student body of varying Levels and Years, especially when his above-average entry Level was portrayed as the fruit of such intense training.

These students quickly realized that they now could be stronger, faster, and enhanced their magical capability; all just by following Eumiella's advice.
Those amongst the Senior Years were intrigued by the possibility of gaining better Levels especially amongst those lagging behind due to one reason or another.
The First and Second Years were simply intrigued by the opportunity to gain faster Levels to be on par with their Senior Years friends and family.
These were the ones seeking either her or Adler in the coming days; to learn and get new insights, to challenge them for proof, some even come to pledge themselves.

Others admittedly felt that Eumiella's high level was duly earned, and seen her in a less judgemental light.
These students, and some initially sceptical staff members, hence gave her reputation a boost; which disarmed many would-be detractors into being the unaligned majority.
Unfortunately, His Highness Prince Edwin is NOT one of them, nor would He be budged from His detraction of both Eumiella and Adler.

The Radicals were mostly delighted by the shimmering hope of gaining themselves such high level advantages over the Royalist.
Many would try buttering up themselves with Eumiella or Adler for the chance to get stronger.
Many tried, but few managed to stay true to this goal.

Alicia Enlyght was a bit terrified after the confrontation at the cafeteria yesterday.
It began with her just trying to…
Ascertain the truth?
...Confronting her fears?
…Rallythe studentsagainstthis presentDemonic Entityinside the Academy?

As terrifying meeting Ms Eumiella initially is, it felt even worse afterwards when she sensed the growing maelstrom of consciousness within her.
The larger part of her initiated that meeting, with clear intention to help her psyche by disproving her innate fear that Ms Eumiella is truly The Demon King in hiding as implied by Prince Ed's revelation.

The minor part of her was… Horrifying in retrospect.
That minority part of hers wanted tovilify Ms Eumiella, and rally the other students against that… ThatDarkness Mage.
She mustSTOPMs Eumiella at all costs, andEND HER… EVIL…MALEFICENCE…

But what made the intention of this minor part so horrifying isn't the intent itself nor its intense amplitude; but simply the utter alien sense originated from within it.
This conscious maelstrom she endured was wearing her down due to its innate perverse nature.
She as a Lightness Mage somehow both desired this intention and also loathed it.

This pervasive desire to destroy Ms Eumiella felt semi-artifice for a lack of words.
Whenever she saw the dark foreboding spectre of Ms Eumiella,FearandHatredboils up.
All but ordering her to reveal at the world, the horrible truth behind Ms Dolkness existence.
But Alicia doesn't want that.
She doesn't want to hurt anybody. Hurting others is wrong.
She is just a regular girl. She has the rare Light Magic, just the Light Magic, nothing more.
Alicia is just worried.
Why is everything she feels… felt wrong?

Right after that confrontation at the cafeteria, Eumiella had separated from Adler to attend a personal errand.
She took a leisurely pace across one of the numerous gardens of the Academy, as she also meant it to re-orient her troubled mind out of that earlier encounter with the quartet.
Actually, she couldn't blame Alicia for it though, as Alicia had come without hostile intent.
The other three however? Full-on hostility, and utter idiocracy as she expected of hormonal teens.

As Eumiella strolled ahead, she saw a little cute cat loafing content.
She had long desired to pat a cat since she transmigrated here, yet nary a success.
Instinctively, she tried the usual stealth method honed by numerous hunts with her guild mates.
She tipped toed towards her target, making sure she's off wind and beyond the cat's vision, neatly tens of meters away.
But despite her best effort, the cat immediately turned towards her, startled with fearful demeanour.
It tried to hiss at her in fearful defensive reaction, but somehow the feline instinct urged it to flee as the better option.
Failure once more. No cat pats again for the caring Eumiella.

"Ermm" a voice intoned behind her.
She, of all people, just got ambushed by another student. And she was ambushed while doing something awkward, just to get a cat pat.
That person behind her was a grey haired male student with green eyes. And Eumiella had some hazy recognition of him as a fellow classmate, whose name she's yet remembered.

"Did you see that?" she asked of him
"…No. …I didn't see that" he replied, embarrassed at the awkward behaviour of an infamous individual.
"Actually… No. I don't mind. It's a weird thing I do sometimes.
…I just like cats. But they always sense me, and ran" she tried explaining
"I understand, Ms Dolkness" he replied back.
"I thank you for your kind consideration, Mr…?
I'm sorry. I believe we're classmates, but we've yet to properly acquaint ourselves" Eumiella asked politely.
"Verily so, Ms Dolkness. My name is Patrick Ashbatton. Pleased to meet you too" said Patrick introducing himself.

After a moment of silence, Patrick somewhat commented.
"I don't know if you'd realized it, Ms Dolkness?
That cat ran off looking supremely afraid of you, despite you're no closer than 10 feet from it.
It's almost as if you're a dangerous predator hunting it and planning to eat it whole.
It reminds me of some deer we'd once hunted and driven to a corner. It mounted a similar last stand to enable its escape..."

That simple statement stuns Eumiella a moment as if a puzzle finally clicked into place.
She often saw similar fear within many cats' eyes and reactions, although she chalk it up as these cats being skittish creatures;
Somehow, a similar emotion always appears on Ms Alicia's visage each and every time their eyes meet.
[Fear] is the word of the day.

Simply put, Alicia Enlyght felt [Fear]. Of her. Towards her. Against her.
She, Eumiella Dolkness, invokes [Fear] for Alicia Enlyght.
Why is it so? But, the easier question to ask is: Why wouldn't she?
Eumiella Dolkness is Darkness mage, technically an antithesis to her Light Magic; she nullifies, or worse, deconstructs Alicia's Light magic.
Making the issue worse, is their sheer level gap. Eumiella is already at the maximum Level 99, while Alicia herself just began at the minimal Level 1, so far.
[Fear] alone was the very least Ms Enlyght shall have felt of her under such circumstances.

"Umm… Ms Dolkness? Are you fine?
You looked surprised and speechless all of a sudden" asked Patrick who realized the unnaturally prolonged silence from her.
Her visage alone tells him that this silence is something out of the ordinary even for her.

"I'm sorry, Mr Ashbatton.
I believe I had an epiphany that left me speechless. Something you've said solves a puzzling issue I've yet expected. I thank you for your insight.
I hoped I took but little of your precious time. I should also be attending to my errand.
Thank You Mr Ashbatton.
Good day, and I hope we meet again on better days" Thanked Eumiella for Patrick's consideration as she took off at once.

Despite her express exit from their first encounter, Patrick felt somewhat ambivalent.
He had this unusual desire to talk to her since the Opening Ceremony, but her quite intimate association with Adler Dietrich made him somewhat reluctant to engage her due to the rumours surrounding the relationship between the two.
Something within him felt nudging him to befriend Ms Eumiella despite all contrary development.

Adler went to the Library's third floor in order to find the necessary texts for his personal study.
He's planning to improve and further develop his family's county for wealth, fame, and power in the long run. The Academy's library should be extensive enough to start on his ambitious aims.
He was an engineering student in his previous incarnation, and re-familiarizing with the current level of engineering principles and sciences are amongst his top priority.
He estimated that his new world's technology level should be on par with the old world's 17th century Industrial Revolution Europe, with some anachronism thrown in due to magical scientific developments.
As a modern soul, he understands his lack of insights into some precursor technologies that most of modern society would take for granted; hence his imperative to study for his personal projects.

While searching for the required and recommended texts amongst the shelves, he ended up unintentionally eavesdropping on an important conversation between the errant Prince Edwin and (his girlfriend) Ms Alicia Enlyght.
It was a coincidence that a few of his target books were on the shelf near the couple as they studied at an open table.
Neither saw nor noticed him as he was shrouded from their sight by that very same shelf.

"Alicia?" asked Prince Edwin in a break after he explained some administrative lesson theory from their previous study.
"Yes, Ed?" replied the Light Mage when she heard his inquisitive tone.
"Why do you think that Lady Eumiella is the Demon King?" asked the prince as he's trying to understand the reason why his female friend confronted Ms Dolkness about the Demon King.

Receiving no response, he continued with a kind tone
"Alicia.
You know, you left right after the part about Demon King's subjugation.
So, I missed the chance to tell you this. But...
My Royal father, His Majesty, actually specified that Lady Eumiella is NOT the Demon King"
"Ehh… Is… That so…?" Alicia mused, shocked by the simple revelation.

"I mean… Thinking that she's the Demon King just because her rare black hair is just…" replied the prince as he was unsure by the musing tone he heard of her.
"Huh? Ms Eumiella has black hair?" said the Light Mage with a more pronounced shock in her voice.
That new shocked respond only triggered the prince to asked Alicia further
"…? Alicia? …What do you mean by… that..?"
Alicia began to quickly scribble something on her note book before showing him the result. The sight of a scribble consisting a black mist with white eyes only prompts him to ask "What… Is... That..? Alicia?..."

Alicia promptly answered "That, Ed… That is… Is what Ms Eumiella looks to me…
I see… Ms Eumiella like… this Black Fog… this Malevolent Haze… this Dreadful Aura…
I'm just scared, Ed. I'm scared. Nobody else can see it. Everyone else can't see it.
Maybe it's because of my Light Magic.
Plus, Ed and everybody… Everybody doesn't have a good opinion of her… So… I thought…"

The implication shocked the prince much more.
Despite a lapse of etiquette, he hugged her tightly as any friend would to calm another. He somehow understood now what she felt every single day.
"I understand Alicia.
I'm sorry that we never expected nor understand why Ms Dolkness elicited such a response from you. We knew that you were scared of her.
But..." said the prince in consoling his (girl)friend.

"I know by observation, it's clear that Lady Eumiella's strength is beyond ordinary.
Level 99… It was never achieved before… No one knew if anyone ever did…Alicia.
I'm sorry for getting you wrapped up with Our Royal affairs.
You should have nothing to do with the Demon King's subjugation…" continued the prince regarding the issue.

"Getting 'Wrapped up' is… Nothing, Ed!
Should a crisis strike our Kingdom, I'm not unconcerned. I… I cannot be unconcerned!
Moreover, as why a country bumpkin like me… was permitted to attend this Academy with Ed, Oz, and Will… I finally understand. And I'm ready.
If my magic could save the world… Then, I'll work hard at doing what I can!
Ed, please watch over me. Hmhm…" Alicia exclaimed happily to assure her prince that she'll do her best to help him and her friends to stop the incoming threat.
"Yeah. Let's vanquish the Demon King, together!" declared Prince Edwin enthusiastically with a minor blush as response to his budding infatuation towards Alicia.

"...Also, Lady Eumiella will be a party member for this Subjugation too.
His Majesty, My Royal Father insists so, as her high Level and capabilities are a great asset for this team" the prince informed extra information that Alicia wasn't privy due to her hasty retreat earlier.
"…Ehhh?! Is that so?…" Alicia was mortified by the revelation, to which the prince assuaged her with a kind voice as usual.
"For better or for worse.
Don't you worry, Alicia.
I, Will, and Oz will always protect you. From all the monsters we must defeat, or even the Lady Eumiella Dolkness herself!".

Adler kept his presence as obscured as possible while entertaining the news he heard directly from the prince's mouth.
Firstly, Eumiella-san being part of that Subjugation Team is something he already knew;
Secondly, Alicia being accepted as an Academy student in part of her recruitment process into the Subjugation Team is logically straightforward; a revelation that isn't too unexpected;
But… The fact that Eumiella-san appears as a Malevolent Black Spectre within Alicia's sight is something new, something Eumiella-san needs to be made known. Alicia's stated reasoning why she believes it so was quite logical too.

Somehow, Adler also felt this alternative perspective to be unusually mundane, of all things.
He had expected Ms Enlyght to announce that she was granted a vision foretold of Eumiela-san descent into darkness, or that she was warned by someone important of some prophecy regarding Eumiella-san as a future calamity upon the Varschine Kingdom.
But, no... Nope.
Ms Enlyght was simply afraid of Eumiella-san just due to her appearing as a dreaded spectre in the Light Mage's eyes

As both Alicia and Prince Ed left once they packed their books, Adler continued studying in the library to fulfil his research objective, once he wrote down this revelation he overheard in his notebook.
It seems this new world of theirs had many opportunities for well-educated transmigrators such as themselves to exploit.

AN: Well done. Another chapter is written and published.
Probably not my best chapter, but heeding the Cult of Done Manifesto, Done is the engine of More