Chương 67: Chapter 58. School's Out

I woke up to Anna, she was placing her hand ever so gently on my shoulder and whispering to me to wake up. When I had gotten out of bed, Anna was farther away from me than usual. Since that night a few weeks ago, Anna was always in reaching distance to me when she was finished with her tasks as a Maid. Now she was near the wall of the room and taking short glances at me as I rose from bed. After a few moments, I started to talk to her to see if she was okay." Anna, did something happen? Are you okay?"

Anna looked at me with a surprised look on her face and began to stumble out a sentence." M.. M.. Master... I-i-i-i- I'm fine! No problem here at all!" The look on her face says otherwise. She looks like I found her eating candy before dinner. I tried to broach the subject in an easier way to see if I knew what she was bothered by. I felt like I had an inkling." By chance, Anna, are you feeling embarrassed because of yesterday?"

"!!!!" Seems I hit the mark. I continued to speak.' Is the idea of having children that embarrassing to you?" Anna began to panic at what I said." N... N... N... No, Master! It's not that!" Anna got quiet after she stated I was wrong. I just waited for her to be comfortable enough to finish her thoughts. Before long, she was ready to continue." It's just that, well... The Goddess knows about everything. Which means she is constantly watching us as we hold hands or kiss."

Well, not to bum you out, but Sarah has watched us kiss and hug every night since we started doing it all those weeks ago."" Yes, but Sarah is a participant as well, so it doesn't feel the same. It's like my Mother is watching us through a window or something similar."" I can kind of understand how you feel. However, it's not like we're doing that right now. Do you really need to be so far away from me?" I asked her about the thing that was bothering me.

She seemed to realize how unnatural the way she was acting appeared to someone other than herself. She started to speak to me after taking a bit of a deep breath and began to speak." Yes, I suppose it would seem strange a bit. Please do forgive me, but give me some time to adjust to this new information... Please, John."" Whatever makes you comfortable, makes me comfortable, Anna." Anna, who seemed touched by my words, started to close the distance between us with a wry smile on her face.

Besides this little incident, the morning was normal. I had a normal breakfast, then we took off to Aqua's class. We arrived at the same time as usual. Everyone else had already arrived. I was looked at strongly by Asha and Cynthia for some reason? Once we sat down, I was greeted by Sarah. I asked her if she had any idea why Asha and Cynthia would be displeased with me. Grip! My hand was grabbed under the desk, and I was just told not to worry about it and that I was overthinking it.

After settling into my seat, Aqua stood from her desk and started to speak." Well, good morning, everyone! I have some news to announce, so, do please listen!" Once Aqua was sure she had our attention she began to speak." Basically, we have nothing left to teach you all for now! Also, we need to do some logistics for the trip up North to the border to fight the Hero Party."" What?" I couldn't help but voice a question. Aqua, seeing my confusion, began to explain what she meant."

I mean of course we could continue doing this, but there really isn't a reason. You all have the fundamentals down and you all can Clash and Temper your Mana without my help. As for Crest, he had to go back to his real job! And for My Love, you all have beaten not just him, but us as a couple in a mock battle. You all are well beyond the regular level of an Academy Graduate."" So, what should we do now, Mother?" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Cynthia voiced a question that I'm sure we all had on our minds. Aqua began to answer her daughter." Simple really, Cyn! Do your daily training and don't skimp on it! Practice your Magic and see if you can learn new Abilities from it. Heck your Father and I still do that every day and we are still learning new things about our Jobs after a decade with them." After Aqua spoke to Cynthia, she turned to me." John, as for you. I'd suggest not practicing your Magic alone or without me or Warrick around.

Your Magic can be very dangerous to Demons if not properly contained and controlled, so you'll need a handler. Unfortunately, Sarah and Anna aren't perfect for the job yet." After that, we were told to go and inform Sharon. Apparently, Warrick was going to, but Tommy had some questions for him pertaining to running the Country as we go fight the Hero Party. So, it was on us to do it. I said I would do it and that everyone can start practicing their Magic together.

Sarah and Anna tried to come with me, but I explained every training session is important. I also said since I have a lot of free time for the next few days, I was going to focus on a different kind of training than what I had been doing for the past 3 months. They both agreed and then I set off to the practice field to find Sharon. Before long I had made it. Only to find Sharon wasn't there yet. Since I knew she would come eventually, I decided to begin my training.

So first, I checked to make sure everybody was ready. Once they all replied with a yes, I Summoned Julia, Scarlet, Paula and Lily, all together. This was the first time they were all meeting, so I figured I'd help introduce them all to each other. Once they were all facing each other, I asked for Julia to go first and introduce herself. She began to in an easygoing manner." Hello to the new faces! My name is Julia Morgan!

I was many things when I was younger, but for now, I am currently more or less a piece of a Soul that inhabits this Boy's Armor!"" Nice to meet you!" Everyone replied in high spirits, which was nice. Scarlet was up next." My name is Scarlet. I am the Sentient Sword that has chosen John to wield me! Let's get along as Teammates, everyone!" Scarlet introduced herself to Paula and Lily. Seeing as her and Julia were already well aquatinted after all. Next, Scarlet turned to me and began to speak to me." John!

Why have you been using that dull blade for practice when I am always at your side!? This is an insult to the Great Me, you know!?" It seems that Scarlet is upset about my training. Time to diffuse a tantrum, I guess. Let's try using "logic" first." Scarlet, I was training with people who I didn't want to hurt. If I used you, there would've been an increased risk of injury to everyone."" But if you don't get used to using me, how will you know how best to use me!?

I have more to offer than some regular training sword! I can Summon Flames and Control Blood!"" I understand that. I also understand that you might be upset that I didn't use any of your Abilities during that rescue mission back when Sarah was kidnapped, mostly because I didn't feel comfortable using them yet."" Which is why you should be using me during training sessions!" Hmm... She seems to be getting angrier. Maybe it's time to pull out the trump card? But Paula and Lily haven't introduced themselves yet."

Now, now, Little Scarlet. Let's see what John has to say after we all finish greeting each other. John, there's a reason why you wanted us to introduce ourselves to each other, right?"" Yes, I do have a reason." Julia stepped in to calm down Scarlet for me, I appreciated that she understood what I was trying to do. Scarlet still protested, but Julia was able to soothe her and we were able to continue the introductions. The next who was up was Paula.

She was a little skittish, but was able to introduce herself after a few moments." M... M... M... My name is Paula Darkwing! I'm a Dark Pixie of the Fairykin! I hope we can all get along!" Paula introduced herself and she was trying her best to leave a good impression. I couldn't help but want to pat her head. As I was about to lift my hand, Julia beat me to it. She had a smile on her face like she just saw a puppy wagging its tail. She began to hold Paula in her hands and began to speak."

Where did you find this little cutie, John!? She so adorable!" Julia's attention was fully on Paula as she gushed over her. Scarlet was by her side and also glancing at Paula from time to time. Lily puffed her chest out. Seems she's happy when Paula is praised. Paula, in the meanwhile, was very shy about everything. She looked to me like she wanted me to do something. But looking at how happy Julia was... I simply apologized to her in my mind and waited for Julia to calm down.

After about 10 minutes, Julia had calmed down. She asked if what she did made Paula too uncomfortable. Paula said no and she was let go and flew and landed on my head. I asked if she was okay about everything. Paula began to speak to me in a whisper." I am a little tired mentally, if you don't mind, I would like to rest here for a few minutes."" It's fine, take your time, Paula."" She seems to trust you greatly, John?" Julia spoke to me with a hint of jealousy in her voice. I simply shrugged my shoulders.

I asked Lily if she was okay to introduce herself. She said she was fine to do it and began to speak to the group." My name is Lily. I am the Rose Queen of the Spirit Forest! I am the newest member of this group I suppose, as I was the last to Form a Contract with, John. I hope you may all treat me well moving forward." After all the greetings were done, Scarlet began to speak to me." Now that we are all introduced. John, what is your reason for bringing us all out here?" I smiled and began to respond to Scarlet."

Well, let me explain the situation first." After explaining about the Hero Party as well as the free time I have now. I moved on to explain why they're all here." So, the reason I brought you all here is that I want to start practicing with you all and see what we can do together. Granted my mana is limited for now, but in time, I think that will be less and less of an issue. To start with, I have a few ideas for something we can do. To start, I want to practice using Scarlet's Abilities and get used to them."

Everyone was intrigued and Scarlet was the most excited. Lily was the first to speak and ask what ideas I had. I grinned and started explaining it. Everyone was surprised at the ideas, but we started to get to work and see what we could do anyways. And like that, a few hours passed by quickly.