"…

"

Zoemi looked inside the headmaster's office – and hesitated before entering.

Was it possible that him opening the door just now had allowed the ghosts to infiltrated the space?

Was it actually safe at the moment?

The black-haired boy was faced with a dilemma that many might have considered overthinking, but the voice inside of his head was clearly agreeing with him and even advising further cautiousness…

…at least in between the bloodthirsty roar calling him to immediately seek and eviscerate almost every single member of the Ghosts of Bellscephora…

And honestly, Zoemi was very close to following its rage – after all, thanks to his previous outburst caused by the beastly roar, he was able to improve some of his very useful spells…

"Why aren't we coming in…?

"

Miriette tilted her head and asked in a worried voice.

"My lady – could you get all three of your Air Emperors here first?

"

The boy looked back at her and asked.

"Of course – I have full control over them.

"

|…at least for now…|

The dark-haired girl nodded and boasted – timidly adding a rather worrisome bit of information but only in her mind.

She then closed her eyes and focused – then, within the next few seconds, the pressure inside the hallway leading to the headmaster's office increased as three semi-autonomous multipurpose magic summons arrived at the academy ground and peeked in at her and the black-haired boy through the window.

…well, the Air Emperors were made out of the wind mana and therefore were basically invisible for the naked eye unless they would start attacking – then they would start glowing vivid green as all wind magic spells did – so the only people who even noticed them showing up were Miriette – their creator – and Zoemi – the magician who could see unique shadows.

The black-haired boy had them all in clear view.

"Is it possible to make one of the more compact?

"

Zoemi asked walking towards the window and looking back at Miriette with his hand on the glass.

"I… think it is? Just one though?

"

"Yes, a single one is enough.

"

The dark-haired girl furrowed her brows before nodding and raised her hand at one of the three Air Emperors – her hand shone with a green light and Zoemi witnessed as the massive snake-like body of the summon shrunk from the size of the house to that of a winter scarf, which honestly was incredibly impressive to see as there was no difference between the density of mana composing the small one and the two normal-sized ones.

"My lady, that is perfect.

"

Zoemi smiled with satisfaction and opened the window, giving the shrunk Air Emperor a way in.

"This one will go with us inside, make the other one guard this place, anyone who will try to force their way open is an enemy. As for the third one – if the headmaster isn't there, please, allow me to use it as a source of mana for my mana conversion spell.

"

"!!!!

"

The black-haired boy spoke and bowed his head knowing that he is asking for much – which was confirmed by the shocked expression on Miriette's face.

"For your mana conversion…? But, isn't it taking a lot of mana to increase your mana reservoir only a little bit…?

"

She asked in a cautious voice – after all, one conjuring just one Air Emperor drained almost all of her mana, and with the amount of mana she had at her disposal, the mana depletion state's side effects were no joke.

"That was the case in the past – but… recently something has changed. Still – if the headmaster is present we can forget about everything…

"

Zoemi spoke declared without raising his head, but then felt Miriette's hand on his shoulder.

"No – it's alright – even if he is there you can use it for mana conversion.

"

The dark-haired girl decided, reaching her hand towards the shrunk Air Emperor that entered the hallway and wrapped itself around the girl's neck and shoulders like a scarf – actually in its compact form, this Air Emperor was actually pretty much visible, as wind attribute mana it was made of was giving off faint green light making the summon look as if it was made out of stained glass.

Air Emperor – a spell made in the image of a mythical dragon-slaying snake, defender of the human realm… depending on the myths' version at least… – which was quite fitting considering the situation.

Miriette and Zoemi entered the office – which was rather obviously empty, still Miriette walked up to a quite well-masked door near the closet and knocked on it, making Zoemi raise his brow and look at her in surprise.

"It's a separate bathroom, theoretically it shouldn't be there, but my father has one like that in his office in our house too.

"

"…

"

The dark-haired girl answered the questioning look of the black-haired boy without him having to actually ask about anything – at first Zoemi found it rather peculiar, but then he realized that Aspakeony would need a bathroom considering that there might have been times where she couldn't – or didn't want to – leave the secure office, which made it more understandable.

But for Miriette to realize it without a moment of hesitation…?

"…nope, he's not here either.

"

Miriette, unaware of Zoemi's hesitation opened the semi-secret door, after not receiving any answer – and it really turned out that she was correct it wasn't just any bathroom but a full-on compact bath – still, that didn't change the fact that it was empty.

"I see.

"

Zoemi nodded without revealing his emotions – in the first place he wasn't going to search the entire office – just one particular place.

With that in mind, he kneeled by the closet and grabbed the drawer at the bottom, pulling it open in one move – revealing the cushioned inside filled with pillows and plush toys.

"Eh…? And what is that? It's cute, but what's its purpose?

"

Miriette raised her brows, approaching the drawer and leaning down to have a look at some of the plushies while asking the black-haired boy.

"If things get really bad, you may have to hide inside, I bet this has some additional barriers surrounding it… But that settles it. My lady… Miri. I have to check what is going on. Wait for me or the headmaster to return – do not get out on your own and do not open the door for anyone. Allies will be able to enter this office on their own, anyone else is a suspect.

"

The black-haired boy added, having in mind that Elsby clearly said that one of them had the ability to possess others, which immediately caused a huge problem – the boy hoped that he would be able to spot a person like that thanks to the ability to see unique shadows, but that was unconfirmed, so it was best to be as cautious as possible.

"What suspect? Zo…

"

Miriette furrowed her brows and shook her head before she froze, realizing how Zoemi addressed her.

"…I know that you can protect me and I can be useful with my spells…

"

She clenched her fists and looked up at the black-haired boy, shaking off the distraction, although her heart did skip a beat.

"That would be the best thing to do if we had no other option – but with a safe area available, please, allow me to do what every attendant is supposed to do. People seem to think that I am a good attendant, let me keep up the ruse a little bit longer.

"

"!!!

"

Zoemi lowered his head slightly and smirked before looking back up at the stunned black-haired girl.

"What are you talking about? You literally are the perfect attendant already!

"

Miriette splendidly fell for the change of subject that Zomei had set up, making his smirk change into a gentle smile – he really did know his master well.

"No. My lady – that is not the case at all.

"

The black-haired boy shook his head and turned right back around, putting his hand on the door.

"A perfect attendant would never fall in love with their master.

"

Zoemi laughed refreshingly before hurriedly leaving the office, carefully closing the door behind him.

"…

"

Miriette blinked, staring at the door in absolute confusion.

"…?

"

After a second or two her eyes widened and her expression turned in the one of pure shock as the meaning of Zomei's words have fully reached her.

"…eh…?

"

In an instant, the dark-haired girl's face turned crimson red and her knees went weak, making her slump down on the floor.