The holiday passed, and a new week began again.
It was Tia’s third day at St. Sophia.
Without fail, Tia arrived at school today, jumping down from the carriage to gaze at the bright main gate of the school.
“Muhuh! I arrived cheerfully again without Mom!”
“…….”
Bowing at a 90-degree angle to the coachman who saw her off, Tia confidently took her steps forward.
Once she crossed the main gate, she quickly noticed the unusual gazes pouring in her direction.
It wasn’t just her imagination.
No matter if they were students or faculty, everyone around was stealing glances at Tia.
Whenever Tia turned to look at them, they would quickly avert their eyes.
Tia tilted her head in confusion.
“Muh? Am I that cute? Why are they all staring at me?”
“Well!!! It’s because she’s the great spirit and the chairperson of this school, locked in a cage and carried around!”
At the roar from below, Tia flinched.
Lara, trapped in the cage, was sitting on the floor and wailing.
At first, she only intended to pretend to cry, but after reconsidering, her own situation felt so pitiful that genuine tears came to her eyes.
Of course, there was not a single person coming to help Lara, regardless of that.
There were kids approaching with curious expressions toward the talking doll, but none came to rescue Lara.
‘That kid is the one who made the great spirit submit and turned her into a slave, right?’
‘Last time, she even tamed a phoenix.’
‘I heard she smashed the punch machine for the first-year test, too?’
People whispered and spread rumors here and there.
The mix of lies and truths was almost equal, but there was no way to discern which was which.
There was only one thing that was certain: Tia was not to be touched under any circumstances.
Not only did she wield tremendous power as an individual, but she also had Duke Dragania as her guardian…
“Tch. What an arrogant brat.”
Nikolai, walking to school while overhearing all the whispers, made a sulky expression.
Prince Nikolai.
He was the only son of Emperor Vladimir.
However, the crowd of kids who had shown interest in him since the first day had dwindled to half.
Among them, he could find some faces of the kids who chased after Tia and talked to her.
He had expected to reign as the most popular and dominant figure at this school.
But now, Tia had stolen all the attention from both students and teachers, and he found it utterly unsatisfactory.
“So all it takes is a bit of cuteness, and that’s it?”
While everyone focused on the cage Tia held, only Nikolai stared intently at Tia’s face.
Soon a flush rose to the boy’s cheeks.
He turned his head sharply and made a vow.
One day, he would definitely suppress Tia’s aura.
He would change this flow.
“Wow…!”
“It’s a phoenix!”
“You fool! It’s a phoenix!”
Despite his vows, kids continued to gather around Tia.
This time, a divine beast, the phoenix, flew in, leaving trails of fire in the sky, and perched on Tia’s shoulder.
Tia’s face lit up as she bore the weight of 300 kilograms on her shoulder.
At the same time, Lara, trapped in the cage, was also delighted.
—I can’t use magic at all right now. My wings won’t obey, and I have no strength in my body. So can you help me, Phoenix?
Lara desperately gestured with her lips in ventriloquism, asking the phoenix for help.
Due to Tia’s mysterious ability, not only was magic use blocked, but physical enhancement using her internal mana was also sealed.
To escape from this predicament, external assistance was essential.
Fearful that Tia might catch on, Lara trembled and silently repeated the same words.
After looking down for a moment, Zizi opened her mouth.
“Jaek!”
“Muh? Zizi, you can’t? What can’t you do?”
‘Why not?!’
She was rejected.
Lara’s jaw dropped in despair.
But Zizi’s gaze remained resolute.
As a conqueror who carries the blood of dragons and once recognized the phoenix and helped it to revive, she couldn’t betray Lara.
Moreover, Lara’s ownership had been transferred to Tia through proper procedures.
There was no reason or justification to help, so Zizi quickly turned away and ignored Lara.
It was a significant shock for Lara, who had thought of her as a long-time friend.
‘This is the last resort…’
Now that Tia was distracted, chatting with the kids gathered around her was her only chance.
Lara closed her eyes and focused on the mana around her.
Soon the telepathic signal, a unique ability of spirits, spread along the mana.
The signal reached a pigeon sitting on the roof, and Lara successfully connected to the bird’s mind in an instant.
If it was a low-intelligence animal, she could control it like this without difficulty.
If she gathered a flock of pigeons like this and launched an attack, opening the cage wouldn’t be too hard…
“Ugh?!”
However, that signal was abruptly cut off in an instant.
Trying to send out another telepathic signal was futile.
She was being interfered with by someone.
Soon, hearing the sound of powerful wings flapping from afar, Lara quickly figured out who the culprit was.
‘Duke Dragania…! Why are you doing this to me…!’
If someone possessed enough power to hinder the mana manipulation of the great spirit, there was only that black dragon nearby.
Yet, how could he, who was supposed to be back at the Duke Dragania estate away from the institution, be trying to prevent Lara’s escape?
It was incomprehensible by any logical means, leaving Lara in confusion.
“Zizi looks weak. Are you okay? Do you want me to pet you, Tia?”
“Ahhh, no! I’m fine! I’m overflowing with energy! Look at this!”
“Muh! It’s true! You’re fluttering a lot!”
As Tia opened the cage door and reached her hand inside, Lara began to panic, flapping her wings and bouncing around chaotically.
Nothing was scarier than that hand reaching in.
When that fingertip sent a shock into her, her entire body tingled as if the very essence of the spirit was paralyzed—it was an utterly horrifying sensation.
If it were exposed for a long time, she wouldn’t even be able to let out a dying scream before vanishing.
Just imagining it drained the color from Lara’s face.
“Muhihi. Now I’ll show you our classroom, Zizi.”
“Haa… Haa… Haa…”
As Lara, exhausted and panting from the chaos without the enhancement, was trying to catch her breath, Tia arrived at the 1st Grade Class 3 and opened the door carefully, ensuring it didn’t make a loud noise.
She had surely entered quietly.
All the class children paused their activities and stared intently at Tia.
‘The dragon’s daughter has captured the chairperson!’
‘Is she planning to gradually take over the school, starting with the chairperson?’
‘Duke Dragania has let Tia loose in the school!’
Alarm swept over the classroom.
Everyone was simply worried that they might have angered Tia.
No one had explicitly ignored Tia at first, but some even feared it might appear so.
Unaware of such thoughts, Tia greeted the children as she crossed the classroom.
The kids had to respond to Tia’s greeting while sweating profusely.
“Muhh. Waking up early in the morning is tough.”
“What on earth?!”
As Tia yawned and sat down, Lara’s jaw dropped in shock.
Having been up since 5 AM, playing around here and there before arriving at school, what did she mean that waking up in the morning was tough?
Ignoring Lara’s tiny voice, Tia merely took out the textbooks she had received last week.
As she pulled out the pretty pen her mother bought her, Tia’s face brightened.
“Ready to study!”
All set.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of motivation to study.
Today, she thought she could focus on the teacher’s words and take good notes without falling asleep.
Having made the same commitment on the second day and dozing off during every class at the sound of the teacher’s voice, Tia forgot all that.
Today would be different.
As she made that promise, Tia almost fell asleep the moment she opened the textbook.
“Muh?”
Just then, she heard the sound of a chair being dragged beside her, and her senses sharpened.
A cascade of shimmering hair brushed past her.
An enchantingly beautiful demoness sat elegantly beside her.
Tia immediately extended her hand to Turi and said,
“It’s been a while! Did you have fun over the weekend?”
Turi, who had been staring coldly at Tia’s hand, finally parted her thick lips.
“Hrghh. I-I’ve been well. How about you, Tiamat?”
“Muh!”
The youthful voice that didn’t match her mature face and her timid tone popped out.
But Tia didn’t mind at all and shook Turi’s hand.
At that moment, as Tia was smiling at Turi, her head began to tilt back slowly.
“Huuh… Eh… E…”
For some reason, her throat felt ticklish.
As Tia made strange noises and displayed odd behavior, Turi tilted her head in confusion.
In that moment, Tia let out a huge sneeze.
It was indeed the kind of noise that deserved the effect sound “bang!”
“Muh?!”
A bright red flame erupted from Tia’s mouth, engulfing Turi’s face.
Oh no.
Tia’s face turned as white as a sheet in an instant.
