n

n

nZoemi concentrated and the thin thread of shadow tried to slide under the door again, But it simply couldn't find a way in...!

n

"What the hell...?

"

nThe confused Zoemi got on all fours and looked under the door, to check how was that even possible...

n

"!!!

"

nBut the space between the door and the floor that should be free to allow the smooth movement of the door was completely blocked off by something!

nThe black-haired boy reached out and dragged his finger along the barrier's surface and dropped his index finger and thumbs together...

n...the barrier was made out of the soil...

n

"Sealed with earth magic!?

"

nZoemi exclaimed and gritted his teeth.

nWas this supposed to be some kind of joke?!

n

"...

"

nThe scarred attendant, scowling furiously, rose to his feet and put his hand to the keyhole, aiming to guide his shadow that way but as soon as his finger covered the space that should be empty to allow for the key to enter, Zoemi felt the same soil crumbling down under his touch...

nThe keyhole was also sealed!

n

"What's the meaning of this!? Teo! Veo! Are you two alright in there!? Did someone hurt you!?

"

nIn Zoemi's mind, the behavior of the twins was too much for just sulking about him implying that they are useless.

nZoemi didn't know the twin's story and wasn't aware of how important he was to them, after all – since neither of them ever told him the entire thing to him.

n

"Hey!

"

nThe black-haired boy slammed at the door, now actually pale, imagining the scenario where the twins sealed themselves off completely and were slowly suffocating in the space with the constantly decreased amount of oxygen.

n

"Respond, you idiots!

"

nIn his mind, Zoemi was picturing two short brown-haired girls in terrible condition - incapacitated or badly hurt by some unknown threat and sealed in the room with no means of getting help.

n|If there is no space to let my shadow slip in, I just have to create it...!|

nHe squinted his lifeless eyes and raised his hand.

n

"Darkness blade.

"

nHe murmured and a murky and somewhat unstable blade of dirty-looking darkness grew out from the base of his palm.

nWithout any hesitation he leaned down and stabbed into, cutting through the blockade without the slightest difficulty.

n… but the earth barrier was too thick and his spell didn't manage to pierce through it...

n

"...damn it...! You **ing Morons! I swear, you better leave some air vents or if I will find you both dead then I will...! Ah...! The window!

"

nZoemi growled, slamming against the twins' door once more before his eyes widened with realization that the door wasn't the only possible way of entering the room...!

nHe instantly rushed to the closest exit...

n

"Would you shut up I'm trying to... AH!

"

nBut then a door to one of the rooms he was passing suddenly opened and a blue-haired girl in a pink nigh-gown came out with an angry expression, right in front of the running black-haired boy...!

n

"...!

"

nZoemi flinched and almost fell down trying to decelerate while hurriedly releasing the darkness blade spell so that the girl wouldn't find him as some suspicious threat...

nHer name was Sifra Ralia, she scratched her head and clicked her tongue, and looked up at the noisy person, breathing heavily after stopping maybe one or two feet before her.

n

"...nnn...? Eh...? EEEEHHHH?!

"

nAnd then she realized to whom she was complaining...

n

"...good evening...

"

n

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"

nA very angry-looking black-haired classmate of hers - the one with a terrifying scar deforming his face.

nJust like her, he was a lower noble without a middle name, but since he was an attendant to the lady Espine who was the first prince's fiancee, it was clear who was in the higher position.

nAnd it was worth mentioning how absolutely horrifying the black-haired boy was looking at the moment, even without any visible spells active?

n|Ah...! Wait, her room is right by the twins', maybe she knows something?|

nZoemi thought to himself and did his best to compose himself and straightened his back.

n

"Excuse me, but, do you know did something happen to the girls who live there...?

"

nThe scarred attendant asked in a rather hoarse voice while having trouble staying calm considering that he thought that Teo and Veo's lives might be in danger...

n

"...!

"

nBut in response, the girl wanted to take a step back and shut her door and hide under her blanket as soon as possible, but that super scary classmate of her was right in front of her and she realized that her legs turned into jelly and she was unable to move at all, frozen by fear.

n

"...ummm... sorry if I scared you... It's okay if you don't know, sorry to bother you.

"

n

"N-no...! Don't hurt me, please...!

"

nZoemi raised his hand apologetically but Sifra mistook it for an aggressive gesture and cried in terror before slumping down to the floor in tears.

nAnd her nightgown slipped a bit off of her shoulders...

n

"Hurt you...? Miss, are you feeling alright...?!

"

nZoemi flinched, shocked by the girl suddenly falling down on her butt and saying something very confusing, so in the end, he offered her a helping hand so she could get up and he could be on his way... but that wasn't how it looked for the panicked girl...

n

"No...!

"

nSifra cried out while covering her breasts protectively before she crawled back to her room on all fours.

n*WHAM*

n

"...huh...?

"

nZoemi blinked repeatedly staring dumbfounded at the door that the girl has slammed in his face, followed by the sound of the key turning in the lock sounding especially loud in the dark night.

n|Oh, crap...! I must have freaked her out...!|

nAfter spending over half of his mana on the shadow enchantment and the darkness blade, Zoemi's brain was rather fuzzy making him connect the dots a bit slower than normal, but even with that he felt bad about giving a scare to the innocent bystander, he was quite sure was his classmate too...

nStill... he never really talked to her, making her basically a stranger - and Teo and Veo might have needed his help...!

n...though that misunderstanding was resolved very fast...

n

"Sir Zoemi...! W-we are fine... We're just too ashamed to meet you... Please... We're sorry, you don't have to worry about us...!

"

n

"....!

"

n