Guardian of My Heart

Chapter 21: Love Takes Root

Iruma's POV:

It was Wednesday now, the day after the flying race. The ranks were distributed among the class while I was unconscious, but I was happy to learn that Azz and Clara had come in first and second place respectively in the race, and their ranks reflected that perfectly. Azz was the only Daleth in class (rank 4) while Clara was given the rank of Gimmel (rank 3). Most others ended up with Aleph (rank 1) or Bet (rank 2), which is what Sabnock ended up with. Speaking of the blond warrior, he had been sure to visit me in the infirmary after I woke up along with Azz and Clara. After a long talk with my two best friends, Sabnock had asked to speak with me privately. Once we were alone, he confided in me that he knew my secret, but that he had made a personal oath not to speak of it. ("Your true nature does not make you any less of a rival in my eyes, if anything it only further cements my feelings for you on the subject. We should compete for the throne together! And regardless of whoever comes out on top, I will always be a pillar for thou to lean against in times of dire need.") I couldn't help but feel happy at that memory, almost like a part of my buried pain became just a bit lighter to carry. If Ameri was like an older sister to me, I was sure I saw Sabnock as an older brother to look up to. As for my own rank, things didn't exactly go as planned. Rather than receiving a badge like the rest of my classmates, the rank owl left me with a mysterious ring stuck to my middle finger on my right hand. Grandpa explained that it was called the Gluttonous Feeder Ring, and that it fed on mana. Luckily Grandpa supplied some of his own magic to keep the ring's energy at bay so that it didn't consume me. With no badge supplied to me from the owl, however, and considering my unfortunate familiar summoning results, I was given the rank of Aleph.

Today our class was working in the botany tower with a professor named Stolas Suzy. The woman was smaller than most of the staff at Babyls, and she was quite happy, always wearing a jovial expression on her face. "Today you'll be learning a spell to help grow plants! It falls under the domain of creation, so you'll need to conjure a mental image of the type of plant you wish to create, and then simply speak the spell and pour some mana into the vessel for your creation." As I was pondering what exactly I was going to create, I heard whispers and commotion above me. Gazing up, I noticed several other students hanging around the upper balcony watching us. My ears folded back a tad, suddenly nervous at the many pairs of eyes on me. The urge to scratch at my many bandages was agonizingly prevalent at that moment. "Upperclassmen must have taken their free period to come watch us today. Don't they have anything better to do?" I was taken out of my thoughts as I looked for the source of the voice, landing on a familiar face. "Oh, hey Jazz. Yeah, I didn't even know that they got free periods here." Jazz smirked. "Well, some of them are probably skipping class. But you never know, I guess. So, how was the race for you, Iruma? Are you sure you're okay?" I gulped a little, adjusting the collar of my uniform slightly. "How, how much did Kalego tell the class?" Jazz's face remained casual, but his eyes dimmed slightly. Lied came up to his side as he answered my question. "Kalego said that you and Sabnock were caught near the Guardian, and that you summoned him to help you both escape." "Uh, yeah, that's all true. Sabnock was pretty messed up from the Guardian, and I wasn't doing so well either when I got there. I'm just glad Kalego was okay with me summoning him like that. I know I'm only supposed to do that in an emergency." Jazz ruffled my hair a bit. "I think being attacked by one of the strongest creatures in the Netherworld counts as an emergency, Iruma. You'll be okay, teach won't hold it against you." 

I gave them my best attempt at a smile, and for once it seemed like it worked. Though deep down I knew I had failed. When I had finally spotted Sabnock about to be killed by the Guardian, I had already lost a fair bit of blood. The last thing I remember before passing out was crashing into Sabnock, hoping that my momentum would knock us both out of the way. After that I remember waking up briefly in the air, Sabnock carrying me, Mom and Grandpa healing me as best they could, then waking up in the infirmary to the crying faces of my friends and family. I don't remember summoning Kalego at all, which means that Ruin must have summoned him instead. I'm so confused! He's supposed to be a manifestation of all my dark thoughts, the violent things that I don't want to do. And yet, he's kept to his promise, to protect me. Whether it's simply self-preservation like he says, or genuine care for me, I don't know. But it has to mean something, right? I was once again taken out of my thoughts when Azz called my name. "Iruma, behold my most excellent creation!" Azz held up a flower made of fire, burning almost as brightly as his smile towards me. "Oh wow! That's so cool, Azz! Only you'd be able to make something awesome like this!" Azz's cheeks were tinted slightly pink, and I began to worry. "Uh Azz, are you okay? Maybe don't hold the flower so close to yourself, it looks like the fire might be burning your face." Before he could respond, a bucket of ice water was dumped over Azz's head, extinguishing the beautiful flower he'd created.