"Why are you attacking me? What have I done to offend you?"
This was what Roa said.
Seeing Roa's angry expression, Claire also reacted, tightly gripping the fiery whip in her hand, realizing that her actions were too extreme.
Greyworthse glanced at Claire and, noticing the heavy atmosphere between the two, said, "Claire, you should go out and prepare for the contract with the Sword Spirit in three days."
Upon hearing this, Claire nodded and walked out of the room.
For a moment, only Roa and Greyworth remained in the room.
Roa looked at Claire's departing figure and, after hearing the door close, said to Greyworth, "Aren't you going to explain? About this girl and your arrangements?"
Greyworth looked at Roa's brilliant golden eyes and nodded, "She is actually a very pitiful person, isn't she? Her personality has probably developed this way because she hasn't interacted with peers for too long."
Roa frowned and said displeasedly, "Does this little girl have any more stories?"
Greyworth smiled and said, "Yes, a rather significant story. Her real name is Claire Elstein. She was the second daughter of the noble Elstein family in the Ordesia Empire. Because her sister, Rubia Elstein, betrayed the Fire Elemental Lord, she was stripped of her title and territory. After a nominal trial, her parents were imprisoned in the Balsas Prison for political prisoners. From then on, except for a few people, everyone treated her as the sister of the disaster spirit princess, often insulting her and looking at her with contempt and hatred."
Roa knew that in this world, the Elemental Lords, who managed the human world and the Astral Zero, were the pinnacle existence.
Just like the gods in the world of "Mushoku Tensei," they were not merely beings with titles like Sword God; they were true deities.
For the people and spirits of this world, the Elemental Lords were synonymous with gods.
There were five Elemental Lords in total:
Fire Elemental Lord — Volcanicus.Wind Elemental Lord — Belphal.Earth Elemental Lord — Lode Gear.Water Elemental Lord — Iseria Seaward.Holy Elemental Lord — Alexandros.
The five Elemental Lords each governed the elements of wind, fire, water, earth, and light, bringing different blessings to humanity. The consequences of betraying the Fire Elemental Lord were self-evident.
Because of this incident, the god governing the fire element directly used his authority to target the grassroots people of the Ordesia Empire, punishing them with flames, burning crops, and leaving them with nothing for almost an entire year.
This action undoubtedly shook the foundation of the Ordesia Empire at its roots and brought suffering to others. Naturally, as the source of disaster, Claire was treated as the source of calamity.
Roa did not know the entire process of the events and could not make too many judgments.
However, if what Greyworth said was true, then this girl had been extremely miserable since childhood.
Although she was born into a noble family, her parents were imprisoned because of her sister, and she could no longer see them. She was looked at with strange eyes by others since she was a child, and at that time, Claire was still just a little girl.
Just thinking about it made one feel pity.
No, this level of pity was not enough to describe it; it could even be considered tragic.
After thinking for a moment, Roa said, "Given how pitiful she is, I suppose I can reluctantly take care of her."
This was Roa's thought, but if she still had a very bad attitude, then Roa would try to educate her.
Greyworth's gray eyes fixed on Roa, "Claire's essence is not bad. Her seemingly stubborn, tsundere, rough, and arrogant personality is actually a result of living alone in sadness after her sister's betrayal. The real her is very kind, with a delicate and easily hurt heart. So, if possible, please help her."
Now it was Roa's turn to be surprised. He looked at Greyworth and said, "I don't think you're such a kind person to say such things and hope I take care of her."
Greyworth smiled and said, "Well, although I'm called a witch, I occasionally want to do some good deeds. In any case, this girl is entrusted to you, but don't go too far. I don't want to hear any bad reputation in a few days. Also, as a spirit user, you must keep your body untainted. If anything happens in that regard, your abilities will suffer a significant decline."
When it came to spirit users, Roa was very curious and looked at Greyworth, asking, "Um, if it's not too rude to ask, how old are you?"
His intuition told him that Greyworth must be very old. Despite her appearance resembling that of a girl in her twenties, her actual age was certainly more than that.
Greyworth smiled and said, "Hasn't anyone told you that asking a girl her age is extremely impolite? A girl's age and weight are known as the three great secrets of women. Kid, you've crossed the line. But well, it's not a problem to tell you; I'm eighteen years old."
Roa's mouth twitched, revealing an expression of disbelief, and he sighed, "Forget it, since there's nothing wrong, I'll take my leave now. After all, there's an uninvited guest waiting outside."
Greyworth nodded with a smile and continued, "Remember to get along well with her."
Roa waved his hand, pushed open the door, and looked to the right, where the girl named Claire was standing, arms crossed, with a cold expression.
Roa glanced at her and casually said, "What are you planning to do standing outside for so long? Waiting for me?"
When Claire saw Roa, two blushes appeared on her cheeks again, but this time she seriously said to Roa, "I've thought about what happened earlier, and I feel like I was a bit too much. Hmm, I won't be so rough next time."
Roa was slightly surprised; her words roughly translated to: "I was wrong, I won't do it again next time."
However, from her tone, there was no sense of apology, only a strong tsundere flavor. But the fact that Claire stood at the door to apologize to Roa was, in essence, an attitude.
Roa said irritably, "I'll let it go this time, but don't do it again next time."
Claire nodded seriously, and then Roa prepared to leave.
However, as Roa was about to leave, Claire had no intention of letting him go that easily.
"Stare—!"
Claire stealthily followed Roa from behind, keeping a distance. Whenever Roa turned to look back, she would act nonchalant, rubbing her hair with her hand.
But such an obvious act of stalking could fool no one.
Roa helplessly stopped and turned to Claire behind him, saying, "What are you staring at me for? And why are you following me? Claire."
Claire was startled by being called out suddenly and nervously exclaimed, "Ah, I've been found out."
Roa rubbed his forehead and asked, "What do you want?"
Claire, feeling a bit guilty, said, "I just wanted to ask how to become stronger."
Roa replied, "I'm going to the library to look up some information. You can come along."
Upon hearing this, Claire directly followed Roa, her curiosity evident in her eyes.
Roa didn't waste time and asked straightforwardly, "Why do you want to gain powerful strength? And about this contract spirit, she has already mentioned it, right? If you don't succeed, the consequences will be serious, you know?"
Claire lowered her head, bit her lip, and her ruby-like eyes flashed with sadness, remaining silent.
Roa nodded in understanding and casually said, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Can you tell me about the academy's system?"
Claire looked up, took a deep breath, and switched topics, showing Roa an apologetic smile, "Let's just let the past be the past. As the sister of a disaster, it's only natural for me to be punished, right?"
Roa glanced at Claire and continued walking without stopping.
Claire began to explain the structure of the academy to Roa, starting with the classes.
The Areishia Spirit Academy has three grades, and each grade has different classes.
Like most academies, there are significant differences between the classes in each grade.
Among them, the Weasel Class is for the most outstanding students in each grade.
The Raven Class, on the other hand, is the exact opposite, consisting entirely of problem students.
At this point, Claire proudly said, "And I am a good student in the Raven Class!"
Roa's mouth twitched, and he could no longer suppress his desire to complain, saying to Claire, "So, you admit you're a problem student, right?"
At this moment, Roa suddenly remembered the girl with blue hair and couldn't help but curiously ask, "Which class is Ellis in?"
However, the moment the words left his mouth, Roa could clearly sense a change in Claire's expression.
It was an unprecedented look of disdain, and Claire bluntly said, "Why are you asking about her? That girl is really annoying."
But despite saying that, Claire still honestly replied, "She's in the Weasel Class."
After saying this, she didn't mention anything more about Ellis, indicating that she really disliked her.
Coincidentally, they actually encountered that girl on their way.
Both of them were surprised when they met.
"It's you, the problem student from the Raven Class."
"Hmph, troublesome person."
After that, Ellis scrutinized the two with a critical gaze.
"Why are you with him?"
"What's it to you? Are you going to interfere with my friendships now?"
Claire's tone was filled with hostility, indicating that their usual conflicts were certainly not few.
In fact, Roa guessed correctly.
Ellis had a strong sense of responsibility, being the leader of the Sylphid Knights, while Claire, as one of the top problem students in the academy, had certainly caused a lot of trouble.
One maintained order, while the other specialized in causing chaos; it was no surprise that their relationship was strained.
However, Roa keenly noticed the word "friend" in Claire's speech.
He couldn't help but say, "When did I become your friend?"
How desperate for love could this child be? Just having a normal conversation was enough to categorize them as friends.
Upon hearing this, Claire's eyes instantly filled with tears. She looked at Roa with a pitiful expression and said with a sob, "You've already tainted me, and now you plan to abandon me like this?"
Ellis's face showed a dangerous expression as her right hand slowly gripped the hilt of her knight's sword, angrily saying, "What's going on? You better explain yourself clearly!"
Roa hurriedly explained, "Didn't I already say that this can't be considered tainting? Didn't you understand that already?"
"Bastard, go die!"
After saying this, Ellis drew her sword and charged at Roa. Roa stepped forward, grabbing her wrist and quickly said, "Ellis, let me explain!"
In short, after a chaotic series of events, the three finally calmed down.
Ellis complained, "What the heck? If it was just like this, you should have said it earlier."
Roa looked at Ellis with a blank expression, sighed deeply, and said to the two, "You both must give me a chance to explain next time. I'm begging you, okay?"
Upon hearing this, both of them had embarrassed expressions on their faces.
"Well, since you put it that way, I'll reluctantly agree to help you."
Claire crossed her arms, adopting a posture of entitlement, and said this to Roa.
Roa truly couldn't hold back anymore. He stepped forward, reached out, and ruffled Claire's red hair, saying, "You, can't you understand simple words?"
Claire exclaimed, "Too close! Roa, too close! Ugh, don't touch my head; I won't grow taller!"
Claire tried to swat Roa's hand away, but the difference in strength was too great, and she failed, having to passively accept Roa's one-sided torment.
After teaching Claire a lesson, Roa still went to the library. After Ellis learned that everything was a misunderstanding, she reminded the two not to do anything against the rules in the academy before leaving.
Claire's treatment in this academy was really not good.
The students they encountered along the way all showed expressions of disgust.
Compared to the disdainful looks from others, Ellis, as the leader of the Sylphid Knights, did not show such blatant expressions even though Claire had repeatedly violated the rules. In this regard, Roa felt he had to acknowledge her.
Claire pretended not to see the expressions of others and directly followed Roa.
Although the one being watched was Claire, even Roa couldn't help but frown when being looked at with such gazes by a group of people.