A new year at Nine Petal Academy means a new crop of students, including a boy who can't control his magic, a thief, an angel, and even a suit of armor? Adela, Lei, and their friends are tasked with welcoming the new class of first years and helping...
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Kanja and I entered our rooms and stared at the bare beds.
"Uh, do you have any blankets?" Kanja asked, turning to look at Yen, Adela, and Yuzuki.
"You didn't bring any?" Ling asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
Kanja averted her gaze. "No. I didn't." Of course, she didn't. Nor had I. Neither of us had expected to take the exam. Not that I needed stuff. My armor couldn't be taken off apart from my helmet, so clothes weren't an issue. Plus, it provided me shelter from the elements too. All I needed was food, which I often got from the wild.
"Let me go see." Yen ran over to a closet in the middle of the hallway and opened it. She took out a fluffy white blanket. "Seems there's only one."
"That's fine. I don't need one," I said, shaking my hand.
Yuzuki furrowed her brow at me. "Are you sure?"
I smiled even though no one else could see it. "Yeah. Not like the heat of the blanket can penetrate through the armor."
"You can't take it off?" a voice called out. We turned and saw Xue and Arima making their way toward us.
Arima gasped. "Her spirit, it's not too different from a ghost."
"Huh?" Lidia said, jumping.
"Interesting," Ling said, putting a hand on her chin.
"The armor is holding her essence together like a spirit that refuses to move on. But, she's not exactly dead either," Arima said.
I turned my head away.
The ghost mage laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that not every day I see something like this."
"You've seen something like it before?" Xue asked, crossing her arms.
The blue-gray-haired girl shook her head. "No, first time, actually."
I placed a hand on my chest plate. "If not for this armor, I would be gone."
Lidia gulped.
Tamara frowned and lowered her head.
I smiled at her. "If you're worried about having damaged it during our battle, it's fine. You weren't aware. I didn't tell you or anyone as I didn't want you to hold back. Not that I really expected you to dent it."
Ling put a hand on Tamara's shoulder. "You heard her. Don't feel bad, Tammy. Just be more careful next time you fight her. Assuming the chance ever presents itself."
I turned my attention back to Ling's ruler. Adela's eyes remained on my armor.
"I-Is something wrong?" I asked.
Adela moved back. "Ahh. Sorry. I just wanted to see if there might be a way to strengthen it."
