The first thing that hit Shun Yin when he woke up was the throbbing pain from the bruises all over his battered body. He felt as if he had been hit by a d.a.m.ned truck. Groaning, he tried to sit up in the bed he found himself in, trying to remember what had happened.

Oh, right. The enormous White Tiger taking him out with a single swipe…

Shun Yin cringed at that. He still remembered how overconfident he had been, thinking the White Tiger would be just like any other monster and thus easily slain by his fire magic and sword. He had paid the price for underestimating his foe.

"Seems like I need to train more…" Shun Yin grumbled as he slapped his forehead. Bad mistake. Wincing at the stinging pain and trying not to tear up, Shun Yin bent over and held his head with a grimace.

Calming down, he went over the battle once more.

"A summoned beast is so powerful," he muttered. "How am I supposed to beat something like that? No wonder it takes so long to summon one…"

It struck him as odd that someone as practical as Glen Porter would learn summoning magic, but then again, perhaps it wasn't all too strange. After all, Glen's father was providing such ma.s.sive support for research on summoning magic. Glen must have been influenced by his father's pa.s.sion in summoning or perhaps it was Henry who delved into methods of improving summoning magic precisely because he saw his son learning it.

Whatever the case, it was undeniable that summoning magic was a real force to be reckoned with.

"Even so, he took quite the huge risk," Shun Yin murmured to himself as he a.n.a.lyzed the battle in his mind. "While he was struggling to cast his summoning spell, he was slowly but surely being overpowered by me. If I had been a bit more forceful, I could have finished him off before he completed his summoning spell."

That was the one weakness of summoning magic. That a summoning spell took too long to cast. Often the summoner would be defeated or killed before he could complete the summoning of his Soul Beast. It had been a struggle for Glen to try and survive until he could summon his White Tiger, his lightning spells and magic being inferior and weaker to Shun Yin's fire magic and swordsmans.h.i.+p, but the payoff had been enormous.

After all, Shun Yin got defeated by a single attack from the White Tiger.

"Impressive. Very impressive."

Rather than be disheartened by the loss, Shun Yin's combative spirit had been ignited. His heart glowed warmly as he began thinking of countermeasures against Glen's White Tiger. More powerful magic, perhaps? Did his master know any techniques that could deliver a certain-kill strike against summoned Soul Beasts? Or maybe he should take this chance and delve into summoning magic as well?

"Ah…"

That was right. He was involved in that research project with Tens.h.i.+ and the others, wasn't he? He should go visit them after school today. He was now far more invested in the success of their project than before, especially after experiencing the strength of a summoned Soul Beast firsthand. He now wanted a summoned spirit of his own.

Would I have won if I could summon a contracted spirit? Would it have been on par with Glen's White Tiger? Shun Yin wondered.

It might. No, it had to be. Otherwise why would Henry Porter and Vermillion University spend so much resources and invest so much money in this summoning project? It had to be superior to the current summoning magic, or it would all be for naught.

He had to believe.

I want a summoned spirit of my own now…

Chucking, Shun Yin tried to rise from his bed, only to wince and double over from the pain. With a moan, he crashed back onto the soft mattress.

"You shouldn't be getting up so soon. Lie down and rest."

"…eh?" Shun Yin blinked at the somewhat familiar voice, dumbfounded. He tried to raise his head and caught sight of a beautiful girl with crimson hair standing at the entrance of the infirmary.

The girl shut the door and approached him, stopping at the side of his bed. For a moment, Shun Yin froze, his eyes going wide when he recognized her.

Time seemed to stop for eternity, the two of them staring at each other. Shun Yin swallowed, and shook his head, trying to break free of the spell that had enraptured him.

"Lady Angelica?" he closed his eyes briefly and lowered his head formally. "It has been a while."

"…eh?"

Angelica looked a little taken back by his response. Then she lowered her eyes slightly and smiled sadly.

"Ah…so that's how it is…"

As she closed her eyes, a brief, fleeting memory of them as kids from nine years ago pa.s.sed through her mind.

"You no longer speak to me in the manner that you used to before."

"People change. The circ.u.mstances are different." Shun Yin kept his head slightly lowered. Angelica bit her lip, looking hurt.

Even so, she made to sit on his bed.

Shun Yin narrowed his eyes.

"If you get too close to an outsider like me, your father will be angry."

"Only if he finds out," Angelica replied indifferently with a shrug. Her gaze was firm…strong. "I'm also no longer the same person I was in the past. I can make my own decisions now."

"…I see."

Shun Yin glanced at her for a moment, and then lowered his gaze, staring at the covers on the bed. Angelica waited wistfully, clasping her hands tightly.

"As you said, it's been a while, hasn't it? How have you been, all these years?"

"I've been great. Thank you for your concern." Shun Yin forced a smile. "How about you, my lady?"

"The years haven't been kind to me, I suppose. You know how the Porter family is. With the exception of Uncle Henry, none of the adults are…understanding or gentle. They only see us as tools with which the Porter family will ascend to greatness. Weapons to fight against the monsters. The usual bulls.h.i.+t."

"Even so…Lady Angelica." Shun Yin's smile was genuine this time. "You have become so strong and beautiful over these nine years."

Angelica blushed, completely caught off guard. She tried to reach for his hand, but Shun Yin pulled away, aware that such intimate contact would spell trouble for the both of them. Angelica withdrew her hand, and Shun Yin tried not to notice the expression of pain on her face.

"I'm still hurt," he reminded her, trying to soften the blow.

"Ah…that's right. How is your injury?" Angelica tilted her head to study him. "I heard Teacher Emres had cast the basic healing spells on you after that sparring session, but evidently it isn't enough to restore you to perfect condition."

"It won't be a problem. I'll be fully healed by the end of this afternoon." Shun Yin flexed an arm to test it out, doing his best to suppress a flinch. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Not at all."

The two of them lapsed into silence once again. Angelica stared at Shun Yin, her grip on her own wrist tightening. She resisted the urge to reach out to him once more, to take his hand. Noticing it, as well as the presence behind the door, Shun Yin leaned back against his bed.

"…I heard about it."

"Huh?"

Angelica aborted her move to stare at Shun Yin in confusion. He raised his head and met her gaze evenly.

"I heard from Charles Porter regarding your engagement. I suppose congratulations are…in order."

"…thank you."

Shun Yin felt a sharp pain his chest when he saw that Angelica was about to cry. He cursed himself for being insensitive, but…he had no choice. If anyone saw Angelica getting close to him, then she would be in big trouble. It didn't matter if he landed in trouble – it was nothing he couldn't handle – but Angelica was a different matter.

He couldn't allow any harm to befall her. Not a single one.

"I…"

"It's okay. I understand. You're worried about that rat skulking about, right?"

Angelica raised a hand. Before Shun Yin could say anything, a huge fireball surged out and veered out of the door. There was a small explosion, and a shriek. Several loud footsteps followed, the uneven sound making it clear that whoever it was had been hurt and was hobbling.

"There. All the pests are gone now. We should be able to speak frankly."

"That's…" Shun Yin couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation. "…a violent way of handling things."

"It can't be helped. How else can you exterminate pests if you don't get violent with them?" Angelica looked around, as if confirming there was no one else around, and then she leaned closer, almost pinning Shun Yin to his bed. She lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "You are the only one I can trust."

"I wouldn't be too sure. Lady Angelica, we haven't met or talked in years. You can't sure that someone like me is…"

"Cut that out. I don't want to hear you speak to me like that." Angelica glared at him. Shun Yin shut up helplessly.

"…"

"Good. Now listen. I want you to take me away from here. From the Porter family. I'm sick of Father making all these decisions on my behalf. I never asked to get engaged. I never asked to succeed the family and be the next head. They are arbitrarily shoving all these responsibilities onto me without considering my personal feelings."

"…take you away…?"

"Don't be dense. I'm in love with you. And I know you love me too. We are going to elope. To h.e.l.l with the Porter family. To h.e.l.l with my condescending father. I'm going to do what I want, marry whoever I want, and I won't let anyone or anything stop me."

Breathless after all those words tumbled out of her mouth, Angelica surged forward and kissed Shun Yin.

"Mmh!"

Shun Yin struggled under her embrace and gently pushed her away.

"Calm down, Angelica! We can't! You can't…!"

"And who says I can't? My father? Screw him." Angelica folded her arms. "He just thinks of me as a tool…something to inherit the leaders.h.i.+p of the Porter family. He doesn't regard me as a human. And besides, even if I'm gone, others can inherit the leaders.h.i.+p. As long as it's not Charles. My brother is a good choice, if he isn't out saving the world so often. Glen is another good candidate. He's practical and has a good head on his shoulders."

"It's not about that." Shun Yin took a deep breath. "Where can we go? Where will we run to? You know the power and influence that the Porter family wields. No matter where we go, they will track us down, hunt us down and drag us back. There is no escaping their reach, not unless you're prepared to flee beyond the borders of the Global Federation."

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"Of course I am prepared. The Amazerian Empire. The Zurium Empire. If we can get a boat, we should be able to…"

"It's not just that. Even if we somehow escape their clutches…even if we manage to get away by boat before they catch us, there are other people who will suffer in our stead instead." Shun Yin sighed heavily. "Think of the consequences. What do you think will happen to my family if I elope with you? You think the Porter family is going to ignore this? Even if we can somehow hide from them, they'll go after my family. My master. They will destroy my family, and my master's Miyamoto dojo. They will destroy anyone who is related to me in one way or another."

'…your family." Angelica paused for a moment, pondering over it. "You are right. I can't be so selfish and ask you to abandon your responsibility to your family and master. I can't drag those innocent and uninvolved into our own affairs."

"I'm glad you understand." Shun Yin bowed his head a little.

"…yes." Angelica straightened up. "I'll have to find another way then."

"…eh?" Shun Yin thought she would give up, but evidently Angelica refused to surrender to her fate. She was still pondering over alternatives. Somehow Shun Yin felt a chilling premonition run down his spine.

"No matter what I do…will you forgive me?"

"Huh?" Shun Yin looked at Angelica, bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"Oh. Nothing much. Just that…" Angelica ran a hand along her long, crimson hair. "I'm planning on something big. To change the status quo."

"…I see." Shun Yin regarded her suspiciously. Angelica quickly laughed and raised her hands.

"Don't worry. I will never harm your family or your master. They'll probably be my in-laws in the future, so we can't have them hurt now, can we? Even I understand that I can't go that far…"

"Yeah." Shun Yin breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment he had thought Angelica had gone full yandere and was planning to ma.s.sacre his family and kill his master so that he would have no other attachments to the Federation.

"However…everyone else is fair game, right?"

"…eh?"

Before Shun Yin could muster up a proper reply, Angelica had gotten back to her feet and was sashaying toward the door of the infirmary. She turned back and winked at him.

"Look forward to it, my dear."

Then she was gone. Shun Yin stared dumbly at the now empty door, not sure what to make of her last, ominous words.

He prayed she wouldn't do anything too drastic.