The pink one was arrogant. That much was clear.

Aselith's brief interaction with her when he attempted to give the boy, Saito, some food revealed how troublesome she would be. These mages placed an importance on their image among their peers, but this girl went far above that. She refused to allow Saito any additional food, saying it would only spoil him. Did she believe him to be a pet of some sort?

Regardless, Aselith applied some diplomacy, and took a single step closer to her. "I insist."

She surely saw what he did to that fat boy, as she took a step back in turn, though she quickly collected herself. "Hmph! Well, if you are going to be persistent about it, I suppose I can make an exception this once."

With that, the initial interaction was done. Aselith didn't know if the boy was special or not. He had trace amounts of magic coming off him, very similar to what flowed through Louise, his summoner. Since the instructor had written down Saito's runes—and not Aselith's, though he did observe them—there might be something to him.

Louise, while certainly much different than the others, would be far less pliable. A different tactic would be needed. She has only cast a single spell successfully, if the fat boy's words were honest. Perhaps Aselith could aid in that.

With the students' breakfast complete, they went to their classes. It was a half day, apparently, allowing the students to bond with their familiars more after lunch. Aselith had little doubt his summoner would wish to do exactly that.

In the first class, Aselith sat next to his summoner near the front of the class. He was actually on the ground, resting on his knees, but that was fine. It was at the end of a row, so he could see the front, and he wouldn't block the view of the other students. He was quite tall, comparatively.

Plus, some of his actions—like this one—caused amusing reactions from his summoner. Her facial features were fairly muted, outside the times the situation might turn violent, but the minute shifts were interesting.

Many of the students were whispering to one another about what occurred at breakfast. If they thought they were being subtle, they were mistaken. It seemed one prominent idea was he was some sort of self-healing, sentient golem. A fascinating idea, likely highly impractical.

That fight before wasn't planned, but since the 'mage' wanted a conflict, Aselith obliged. It was a good opportunity to gauge these mages first-hand. According to his summoner, the boy, Malicorne, was a 'dot' mage. That meant he could use only one element in a spell.

It seemed mages could go up to 'square', allowing four elements to be combined. They didn't have to be different elements, either, using multiple of the same to increase the effect. His summoner, for instance, was a 'triangle' mage, who could cast powerful, triangle ice spells with wind and water.

With a grasp of a more hands-on experience of this world's magic, a more structured learning would expand his knowledge. This class would do exactly that. His summoner was keeping up her side of the agreement. She would continue a more personal instruction later.

"Hey." Aselith looked up as Saito approached him, the boy's voice low. "Thanks for the food."

"You're welcome." He responded.

"Familiar! Come here!" Louise shouted. She had gone to another part of the large classroom.

"Coming." Saito blandly replied, earning more anger from his summoner. Despite the situation the boy found himself in, he was handling himself well. It was impressive, really.

The boy was also quite curious, asking his summoner about the various familiars in the room, much to her growing annoyance.

"If I had to get a human, why couldn't I have gotten one like Tabitha's?" Louise said with a sigh. "At least he knows how to act like a familiar."

"Weren't some of the other students saying he was some sort of gargoyle?" Saito asked. That was a strange translation of words. Perhaps he wasn't that smart.

"How is he a statue? No, never mind. He's probably a magically altered human. That's the only reason he was able to beat Malicorne. Now, quit bothering me."

An amusing thought. Aselith wasn't surprised none of these mages knew what he was. His summoner was the closest, but even that was off.

It wasn't as if they could really figure it out on their own. He wasn't sure at first, but this morning basically confirmed what he thought about this world. Given what he knew, however, he was a bit perplexed how his summoner was even able to call him, outside of their single connection.

Like Louise, perhaps there was more to Tabitha than he first thought.

It was only a few minutes until a middle-aged woman entered the room. "Everyone, take your seats."

The students did as they were told. Once behind her desk, the teacher looked around the room. Her eyes stopped on one seat in particular, as it was empty.

"Where is Mister Malicorne?" She asked.

"He has an upset stomach, Miss Chevreuse." The fat one's flamboyant friend quickly answered. These nobles and their misplaced pride.

Kirche snickered next to Tabitha, before giving Aselith a quick wink.

There would likely be little consequence to what happened, at least from the institution. The boy did start the fight. Familiars were an extension of their mages. He would be in more trouble over the whole thing. Since Tabitha didn't want that, and his friends wanted to protect his 'honor', the instructors wouldn't be told.

And then, the class began.

The instructor started it off with Earth magic, her element. She proposed the importance of it for life in general, such as for use with crops or conjuring metals. Then, she gave a practical example, casting Transmutation on some pebbles on her desk, transforming them into brass.

That was impressive, and led to another question. Could she change it to the base element, copper, or was there some restriction to that? The instructor admitted she was unable to make gold, after Kirche asked if that was what she created. A square class mage could create gold.

Well, gold was a special material, as was silver.

As the instructor went on, a separate, quiet conversation took place a few seats down. It seemed Saito also wanted to know about the classification of mages.

"Miss Valliere!" The instructor called out. "If you have time for private conversations, perhaps you would like to do the next demonstration."

"M-Me?" Louise asked, looking fearful.

"Yes. Transmute these pebbles into any metal you wish."

The class had taken some amusement at Louise being called out, but quickly shifted to worry.

"Ah, Miss Chevreuse, that isn't such a good idea." Kirche warned her.

"Why not?" The instructor asked.

As they spoke back and for, Louise made her way down to the desk. Tabitha pulled at Aselith.

"Take cover." She said softly.

This could be enlightening, so Aselith chose to stay where he was. The other students pulled back in their seats as Louise readied her wand. She chanted out a few words, moved her wand about, and…

The pebbles exploded.

The class was in an uproar.

Louise and the teacher were thrown back, the former rolling on the ground and the latter slamming into the wall.

Many of the familiars began to panic, their summoners attempting to calm them.

But Aselith…he sat there with intent fascination. The magic Louise just used was unlike anything he'd ever sensed before. A few ancient wizards came close, but this was not something mortal magic should be able to do. Truthfully, it added even more questions about this world's magic. Questions Aselith would have answered.

Sooner or later, Aselith would bring the girl under his influence. He just needed to find the right motivation.

Author's Notes:

Dun dun duuun!