Chapter 109 -
“Dorin! Johan! How are you this afternoon!” Xander called to his friends as soon as they met in their Magic Defense class.
“We’re all doing fine,” Dorin replied with a smile. “Are you still busy with your other classes? We seldom see you around lately?”
“Oh, they know when they are not needed, right, Xander?” Eirian suddenly piped in, giving Xander a slight smile.
“Ah, that is correct, I can’t stay long today, either,” Xander replied, though he still wanted to talk to his friend more. “I have been busy transcribing an ancient text I found in my family’s library, you see, and Johan had been a big help to me,” he said instead.
“Me? Help when?” asked Johan with a frown.
“Remember that little nursery rhyme you shared with us before?” he asked back, seeing Dagon clinging on to Johan’s shoulder. “And how are you doing, little Dagon?”
“Dagon’s not little!” the child pouted at him. “Dagon’s big now!”
Upon saying this, the child leapt from Johan’s shoulder and was caught by Xander who laughingly raised him up higher.
“Oh, that’s right! You’re much heavier as well!” he praised him.
Xander was still laughing and going round in circles with Dagon when he felt something clear up in his head.
It was as if a heavy fog was being blown away.
He looked around the place as he held Dagon closer to his chest and saw Dorin talking with his sphere mates, with the mysterious Ms. Eirian by his side.
For some reason, he felts that the lovely lady doesn’t like him nor his retinue very much. In fact, he feels like she was quite hostile against them.
“Let’s go, I think the class is about to start,” Johan called to him.
“Do you mind if I keep Dagon with me for a while?” he asked Johan. “I’ve got extra snacks with me!”
“Dagon will stay with Xander for a while!” the child announced.
“Did someone say snacks?” Mordecai asked, carrying a large bag full of food.
“Of course! Ready the snacks for our big Dagon over here!” said Xander, carrying the proud child in his arms.
“What would you like to try first?” Mordecai asked.
The child jumped at him and went straight at the snacks.
“We have chips of all kinds, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, chocolate bars and...”
Mordecai stopped at mid sentence as his head suddenly cleared up and his attention was called by a tinkling laugh followed by a melodic voice.
He looked at the source of the sound and saw Dorin talking to his friend Eirian. She is currently wearing the magic division’s uniform which was slightly altered to make the skirt look fuller and the heels of the boots higher. Her hair is platinum blond right now, and as she turned around, he saw her eyes of deepest purple.
Suddenly, memories flooded back into his mind as the same purple eyes looked at him.
Or rather, past him.
“Xander and the rest can pair with our group as always,” she said, sounding rather bored. “They’re the only team here who are good enough to spar with us, anyway.”
He was thankful when the girl turned back to face her companions while he tried his best to keep a straight face.
A line from Dorin replayed in his mind, then.
‘I guess you really are a good mental magus like Eirian here!’ he had said.
Eirian, Dorin’s childhood friend, is a very powerful mental magus.
She is not simply an enchantress.
“Okay class, get ready for this semester’s first examinations,” called Dean Alcione from the front of the field they were currently in.
The same field that was ripped to bits by Prince Xander and Johan’s friendly duel more than a month ago.
He turned around to look at the farthest end of the wide open field, where he and Dorin had a duel of their own.
A duel which almost ended in catastrophe, until Eirian arrived.
His memory of that day ended there, after the girl touched his face and caused him unbearable pain. Then the memory vanished, only to return again at the touch of a little dragon whelp who is currently diving in the large bag of snacks he was carrying.
“Did you wake up?” Xander asked by his side.
“What the devil...” Mordecai mumbled.
“I just snapped out of it myself, after I touched Dagon just now. I guess it’s true that dragons are immune to all magic,” he told his medic. “Her hold on us must have loosened a bit since it’s been a month since she appeared. Perhaps it’s also the reason why she always sends us away? So we won’t get to be in contact with Dagon much?”
“And I am not particularly found of the little whelp...” Mordecai whispered. “He’s not very sanitary, after all...”
“But to think that she would go through all this length just to monopolize Dorin...” Xander mumbled. “Do you think she just hates it that Dorin has friends aside from her? I mean, she even tries to keep him away from Sebastian and the rest of his sphere mates.”
“If that’s just the case, then why erase the whole class’ memory of the day we had our friendly duel during our magic defense drills?”
“Duel?” Xander asked him. “Which duel?”
“The one we had here on our first official class. You fought with Johan, while I fought with Dorin.”
“When did that happen?” Xander asked again with a frown.
Mordecai stared at him.
“Never mind,” he said instead. “I guess I got my memory back from that time, since I’m a mental magus myself. We shall talk about this later. For now, the class is more important.”
“Besides,” he added, “we should act as if we’re still under her control.”
Mordecai’s mind worked as the dean explained the rules to a graded duel among the class.
‘So, Eirian is at least a mental magus,’ he thought to himself. ‘An enchantress can’t simply erase the memories of a whole class, as well as the instructors of the University, including Dean Alcione, no less. She has the ability to manipulate people, erase and alter memory, and change her appearance, which is evident in how she changes her looks daily. And since Dorin and the rest of his friends don’t seem to remember what happened in our first class either, that means that she erased their memories too.’
His brows creased.
‘But why alter Dorin’s memories as well? Aren’t they best friends who have known each other since childhood? Did something happen that she didn’t want him to remember? Or perhaps, she wanted her work to be flawless, and leaving Dorin with the memory intact might ruin the spell?’
He gave a knowing nod. It was something he would do himself.
He was still coming up with speculations when he suddenly remembered something.
Or rather, a certain person who asked him about that certain day a month ago.
“Now, since we have members of the two special spheres here, you may choose to duel with each other, or go against your teammate,” said Dean Alcione, looking at Dorin’s and Xander’s Spheres. “The rest of the class may find a partner in their level. Those who cannot find a match may approach me.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to duel with that pesky Dorin! Or maybe that bastard Johan!” Venet said with a sleazy grin.
“Well,” said Xander, “there are 4 of us since Eury isn’t here, and since Sebastian isn’t here either...”
“Wait,” Mordecai cut his sentence short. His ward looked at him, brows raised. “Prince Xander, I want you to challenge Johan,” he told him. “Venet, you fight with Dorin, Boulvar, you’ll be safe with Eirian. I will be dueling with Benette.”
“Oh, my pleasure!” sneered Venet, cracking his knuckles.
“Why do I have to duel with Ms. Eirian?” Boulvar asked.
“Because you are the most stoic of us all and that woman would probably not go overboard and kill you. Keep at it as long as you can”
“I beg your pardon?” Boulvar looked confused.
“Now gather near me. I need to keep you all safe from that woman’s spells.”
Mordecai raised the bag he was carrying.
Inside was a very satisfied looking Dagon who had snugly placed himself in the middle of the snacks he is currently munching.
“I plan to borrow some of the dragon child’s magic to help build our resistance against that woman’s enchantment, but it may not last too long, so take this as a warning,” he looked at his companions seriously. “No matter what happens,” he continued, “do not look Eirian straight in the eyes.”
“That’s it?” Venet asked.
Mordecai nodded.
“Remember, or beware.”