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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Carter and I joined the others at the beach, though a couple such as Jude and Hal had gone on ahead. Same with Hideo's sisters, minus Amun.
"Daddy!" a green blur tackled Hideo. A cute little kid around Serein and Raul's age hugged him.
"Daddy?" Carter asked. "You're a dad?"
"Sure am. Twin boys and one girl."
"Who is the mom?" Carter asked, leaning toward the kid to get a better look.
Zefi hid behind his dad.
Carter blinked and pointed at himself. "Huh? Are you scared? But I'm not scary."
Nate laughed. "He's shy."
The strawberry-eyed boy chuckled. "Ohh. I see! Like Jude and Huo!"
Huo huffed. "Or you with girls!"
Carter coughed. "H-Hey!"
"Why didn't you bring him and the other kids to view the tournament?" Koukyuu asked, staring at him like my aunt did whenever she was upset by something Eri did.
Hideo petted his frightened child's head. "Zefi has a tendency to wander off, so I asked Eien to babysit them."
"Good thing too. One missing person was enough," Amun said, leering at him.
"What did I tell you, Zefi?" a voice called out. A red-haired teen rushed over. "Don't wander off!"
"Oh, hey, Eien! Long time no see!" I yelled, waving.
"Eien scary," Zefi said, hugging his dad.
"Scary? I was only trying to get you to eat your veggies!"
Zefi stuck his tongue out. "I don't wanna! They taste yucky!"
Lidia giggled and stared at Huo.
Huo scoffed. "What? They are!"
Eien sighed. "At least you didn't drown, get maimed by a bear, or worse."
Zefi whimpered.
Koukyuu laughed and turned to look at Hideo. "How did you get my nephew to babysit?"
"Money," Hideo answered.
"Isn't he rich?" Yen asked.
Eien scoffed. "Mom gives us a limited amount of money, so I have to make a living some other way."
"You're sixteen," Koukyuu said, snickering.
"Yeah, but I have stuff I want to buy!"
"Such as?" Silas asked.
Eien turned away. "That's a secret."
"Now I really want to know!" I exclaimed.
"Me too and I don't even know the guy," Carter said, laughing.
