After seeing Elliot disappear in the corner, I knocked on the chairmanâs door. I knew Maxwell was inside, and usually, I wouldâve intruded without knocking, but he mightâve been on edge after that quarrel. I decided it was better to follow some manners.
âWho is it?â âItâs me, Nicole.â
I didnât know who mightâve been listening in the corridor, so I responded in a girly voice. Hearing my voice, Maxwell seemed to have cheered up as he replied.
âNicole? You arrived at a great time. Quickly now, come in.â âA great time?â
I asked while bending my head in puzzlement. That almost made Kabby slip off, but letâs ignore that for now. At any rate, he told me to go in, so it was better to do so promptly.
As I opened the door, Maxwell who looked to be at his witâs end came to greet me. There was one overturned cup on the desk. It was probably Elliotâs deed.
âWhat happened here, old man. Elliot was actually angry this time, you know?â âIt was about cleaning up after your mess. I did not think he would get that angry. It seems the medicine was too effective for himâ âCleaning after me?â
As I asked that, I sat down on the chair next to the desk. It was probably the same chair Elliot sat in earlier. Maxwell also did the same and closed the curtains behind him. He probably realized that he could be seen from the outside from the fact that I showed up.
âThatâs right. Try to remember what you did the other day.â âI ripped the kidnappers a new one.â âQuite a frank reply I see. And legally speaking?â
I started to think. That place was a diplomatâs residence, so to speak, and I was an unidentified girl. Someone like that snuck inside, massacred six people in total, and even caught Tarkashire, who was technically a diplomat, bound his arms and stepped down on him.
âUh, could it be that Iâm in some deep s?h?i?t??â âWhat you did wasnât wrong. I was backing you as well, after all. But itâs still full of problems from the legal perspective.â
There wouldâve been fewer problems if Maxwell himself handled the matter. However, some unknown girl did it in his stead, and she was currently in hiding too. Since they had Elliotâs testimony, I probably wouldnât be branded a criminal⦠But I was in a dangerous position nonetheless.
âAnd that became a problem. I used that to my advantage.â âUsed?â âI mean for your case. You canât keep appearing in the city using that form, right?â âAh, you mean that.â
If I kept appearing with that appearance, Elliotâs longing would be prolonged too much. I had to take my exit somewhere along the way.
âAnd so, I made Haumea be one of the spies I secretly hired and made her be responsible for the matter.â âResponsible how?â âI ordered her to investigate a suspicious individual and prevent the crime that accompanied it. Since she was unable to prevent it, I had her expelled from the kingdom.â âWhaa!?â
Hearing about the expulsion made me shocked⦠But thinking about it, that form⦠Haumea was just an illusion. Even if she was deported somewhere, it wouldnât exactly cause me problems.
âHowever, Elliot could not come to terms with that. He lashed out at me quite unusually.â âWell, I can see why.â
From his point, a girl that was both his savior and a crush was expelled from the kingdom. Of course he would flip out.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
But from Maxwellâs point, he managed to avoid any trouble and deal with a dangerous person by shifting all the blame on an imaginary person. At the same time, he was able to conveniently get rid of the Haumea illusion.
With that, Elliot would continue chasing that illusion for some time, while I could finally be free from him.
âWell, I feel bad for him, but we can say everything ended well, right?â âYou say that, but now I am the target of his anger⦠But I suppose I had that coming.â âIf you are aware of it, then deal with it.â âI wonder whose fault it truly was if we get down to it?â
The spearhead was turned my way so I looked away and avoided it. Too bad for Maxwell, but it was a great help that I was able to direct Elliotâs love somewhere away from me. Lyell might even welcome this outcome, actually.
âWith this, Elliotâs love would stay unrequited for some time and his interest in me would go away.â âAnd by the time the scars of his first love heal, you would be gone from the academy, is that it?â âYeah, perfect, ainât it?â âThat is under the assumption that you have learned Polymorph by then.â âUgh, Iâll just pray that my Gift (Godâs Blessing) is able to cover that part.â âEven Gift holders need to devote themselves to learn things, you know?â ââ¦Iâll try my best.â
I nodded to Maxwellâs remonstration, realizing I stirred up the trouble for myself. In reality, however, my magic skills increased exponentially within these three years. I was still below middle grade, but my skill at using it was clearly outside the realm of children.
At this rate, I still had three more years of elementary school, and three more years if I followed through senior high. I should be able to learn it by then.
When I reach the senior grades, I would have access to the underground library of the academy, which should rapidly increase my skill.