Chapter 4: The Feud with the Branch Family
……A week had passed since Alphonse first spent lunchtime with Sion and the others.
Though their differing class schedules often made it hard to meet, this past week had aligned perfectly, allowing Alphonse to eat in the cafeteria every day with Sion and Yufia—and occasionally Eliza.
Every time their conversations turned to magic, Alphonse couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer depth of Sion’s knowledge.
Having been homeschooled and drilled in advanced magical studies since childhood, Alphonse had always prided himself on possessing more arcane knowledge than most of his peers.
And yet, Sion’s understanding surpassed even his.
The fact that Sion could even handle the rarely used Draconic language made Alphonse wonder, “Just what kind of background does he have…?” Once again, he found himself in awe of Sion’s unfathomable depth—completely unaware that Sion might be deliberately leading him to think that way.
Eventually, Alphonse ended up arranging a small after-school research session with Sion.
……A few days prior, upon returning to the Fried family estate, Alphonse had brought back several magic books from the archives when he came back to the academy.
Among them was one particular grimoire that had caught his interest—its pages were heavily damaged and stained, leaving some of its formulas illegible.
When Alphonse mentioned this to Sion, the latter immediately suggested they examine it together after class that day.
Since Alphonse’s schedule ended earlier than Sion’s, they agreed to meet near the main building’s entrance once Sion’s last class concluded.
***
“……Hmm. ……Should be about time for fourth period to end.”
Alphonse checked the wall clock, then began tidying up the textbooks and notes he had spread out for self-study.
Once finished, he grabbed the old magic tome and reached for the door—
Just as he cracked it open, the voices of several male students passing through the hallway reached his ears.
“G-Geez, that scared the hell outta me…”
“I swear, my heart almost jumped outta my mouth…”
“Seriously, what’s that guy doing in front of the A-Class dorms…!?”
The ones walking past were Kevin, Som, and Dominic—the same trio from Alphonse’s class.
……A week ago, Alphonse had crushed them in a practical exam, exposing their underhanded tactics.
At the time, seeing the lingering hatred in their eyes, Alphonse had expected their harassment to continue. ……Yet, to his surprise, their spiteful glares and petty schemes had vanished entirely by the next day.
In fact, the three had become oddly subdued—no, more like broken, as if they’d lost all their former bravado.
Now, Kevin, Som, and Dominic scurried past Alphonse’s room, their faces pale with fear.
“D-D’you think he’s here to finish us off…?”
“S-Stop joking! We’ve been laying low ever since then…!”
“Yeah, don’t say creepy stuff like that…!”
“I swear, I never wanna deal with that monster again—”
……Alphonse stepped out slowly, watching the three disappear down the hall.
“……? What’s gotten into them…?”
From their fragmented conversation, it seemed something—or someone—had terrified them into submission since that day.
Alphonse knew well how prideful, stubborn, and vindictive they could be.
“(For them to be this shaken by something’s mere presence… Just what happened to them after that day…?)”
His thoughts trailed off as he remembered—”Ah! More importantly, I gotta go!”—
and hurried out of the dorm to avoid being late for his meeting with Sion.
……But the moment he stepped outside the A-Class dormitory, an unexpected figure entered his vision.
“Huh? Sion-kun…?”
“……! Oh, hey.”
On a stone-paved square in front of the dorm, Sion sat on a bench and raised a hand in casual greeting.
“Did your class already end?”
Carrying the magic book in one hand, Alphonse walked toward the bench.
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“Yeah, finished early. Since you said you’d be studying in the dorm till our meeting time, I figured I’d wait here. —That the book?”
Sion’s gaze dropped to the grimoire in Alphonse’s hand.
“Ah, yeah. It’s pretty beat up, huh?”
“Yeah, looks ancient. Interes—… fascinating.”
“(Interesting…?)”
Sion’s usual cool demeanor faltered for a second—as if he’d almost slipped into an oddly excited tone—but he quickly composed himself and stood. “Anyway… Let’s go.”
With that, Sion started toward the library, Alphonse falling into step beside him.
“Oh, right… By the way…”
“Hm?”
A sudden realization connected scattered dots in Alphonse’s mind, prompting him to ask:
“This might sound random, but… Sion-kun, did something happen between you and those three guys back at the dorm…?”
“Earlier? Three guys…? Nah, didn’t see anyone.”
“Huh? You didn’t see a trio pass by while you were on the bench?”
“Nope. Nobody came through.”
“R-Really…?”
Alphonse didn’t sense any deception in Sion’s response.
……Of course not. The truth was, Kevin, Som, and Dominic had spotted Sion from afar and circled around the dorm grounds to sneak in through a window—just to avoid crossing his path. So, Sion genuinely hadn’t seen them.
“Sorry, never mind! Must’ve been my imagination!”
“You and your wild imagination.”
“H-Haha…”
“(Well, no way that’s just a coincidence…)” Alphonse brushed the thought aside.
“Anyway, where should we work? The library’s no good if we’re gonna talk… Wanna go to the cafeteria like usual?”
“Nah, let’s use the library’s second-floor terrace. We won’t bother anyone there, plus it’s easy to grab reference materials. And the breeze is nice today.”
“Oh, good idea! Let’s do that!”
As they chatted and walked toward the library—
“—Getting real cozy with a C-Class loser, huh, Alphonse?”
“(……! That voice…! No way…)”
The voice from behind was one Alphonse recognized instantly.
“—!”
He whirled around—but found no one there.
“Guess trash like you would make trash friends, huh?”
“……!?”
This time, the voice came from directly behind him.
Alphonse spun back—but again, the speaker was nowhere in sight.
“The hell you lookin’ at, weakling? Over here.”
“………”
The voice taunted from behind once more. Alphonse turned slowly this time—
And there stood a smirking young man.
“Long time no see, Alphonse.”
“…Lloyd.”
The one Alphonse called “Lloyd” had long dreadlocks, a rough-edged face, and a muscular build.
“A friend of yours, Alphonse?”
Sion recognized the uniform the guy wore—
predominantly white, the standard attire of Alvarez Knight Academy, another prestigious school within the Gilbert Kingdom. Though Lloyd’s features made him seem older, he was clearly around their age.
“This is Lloyd. Lloyd Sigurd. A branch member of the Fried family… Basically, a distant relative.”
Lloyd’s expression twisted in irritation at Alphonse’s explanation.
“Branch family this, main family that… You Frieds are still as arrogant as ever, huh? Think you’re better than us just ‘cause of your fancy name?”
“…It’s not about hierarchy. More importantly—why is an outsider like you here?”
Alphonse’s gaze turned cold.
“Tch… Got a real mouth on you now, Alphonse… Hah, whatever. Y’know that joint lecture before the Knight vs. Magic Academy tournament? Our instructors are here for the prep work. I tagged along for a ‘campus tour.’”
Lloyd pulled a thin, card-sized plate from his pocket.
“See? Official visitor pass. Got it straight from the gatekeeper.”
He flicked the pass tauntingly.
“…I see. Well, hope you enjoy the tour. We’ve got somewhere to be. …Let’s go, Sion-kun.”
Alphonse gave a polite but dismissive reply and tried to leave— But Lloyd blocked his path.
“Hold up, Alphonse. I came here for you.”
“…For me?”
Lloyd pocketed his pass and continued, watching Alphonse’s wary expression.
“Heard you made the roster for the tournament against us, huh?”
“…Yeah.”
“Well, I’m on our team too. Came to see what kinda training you’ve been doing.”
He scoffed.
“But what do I find? A study session? With a C-Class nobody? You that confident, huh?”
“It’s not about confidence.”
Alphonse kept his tone level, but Lloyd snorted.
“So this is your idea of training? Dusty old books with a weakling?”
“……!!”
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