By the time the other unions arrived to drive away the cultists, they saw before them a bloody scene. The cult was defeated and all the victims were huddled together outside. They assumed that the students worked together to defeat the cultists until the students pointed at a single girl saying that she singlehandedly took them down with her familiar.

A girl covered in blood stood separately from the others. The rest seemed to be avoiding her. Out of fear? Because they didn’t want to get their clothes stained with blood too? The outsiders couldn’t tell.

It was unusual for a single person to have an overpowered familiar unless that spirit was a benevolent one, a higher tier than the usual neutral spirits. People with benevolent spirits as familiars usually came from one of the great houses, with House Icarus having the most number of members with such a familiar. This incident piqued the interest of the nobles.

Which house defeated the cultists?

“There are a few members of House Calamis graduating this year. It’s probably one of them,” said the union leader of the Silver Wings, Wolf Calamis.

“Not a chance! House Belaria has graduates this year too,” said the twins Coura and Ama Belaria of Royal Red. They arrived at the scene with their union leader, Adrian Icarus.

“Heh. House Belaria? You barely have any members with benevolent spirits.”

“Shut up! Our house can definitely stand up to a bunch of cultists!”

Shina waved at his union leader, who immediately noticed him.

“Shina. You were caught in this mess too?” asked Adrian. He was surprised to see him among the victims.

“Yes. I was attending the ceremony for a friend.”

“If it wasn’t House Belaria, it could have been Shina too!” Coura pointed at her fellow union member.

“Huh?” Shina stared in confusion.

“That’s right! Shina is really strong too!” Ama agreed with her twin sister.

Wolf Calamis scratched the back of his head. “The one who did it was a girl though?”

“Shina can be easily mistaken as a girl!” Coura pointed at Shina’s messy blonde hair.

“He definitely looks like a guy.”

“Shina makes the best pumpkin pies!” Ama added. The twins were the biggest fans of his pumpkin pie. They would often run to the kitchen the moment they smelled Shina’s famous pumpkin pies.

“Guys, please stop arguing…” Shina tried to calm them down.

“Go on, Shina! Tell them about how you valiantly defeated the cultists while being mistaken as a girl!”

A drop of sweat trickled down Shina’s cheek. “I’m sorry to tell you, but it wasn’t me. The one who defeated the cultists is Olivia.” He pointed at the girl whose graduation robes were drenched in the blood of her enemies. She looked small and frail. Surely it couldn’t have been her?

Adrian recognized the girl everyone was pointing at despite her looking like someone who had been fighting zombies in a post apocalyptic world.

“Perhaps the one who defeated the cultists doesn’t belong to any house,” said Adrian as he walked towards Olivia.

Olivia was being interviewed by members of different unions. They bombarded her with many questions. She did her best to answer them all. They were too curious about how she managed to defeat them. She was careful not to mention anything about her familiar being a creature of nightmares.

“I’ll interrogate her,” Adrian said as he gently pushed away the other people interviewing her. They recognized him and stepped aside to give way.

“Adrian Icarus!?” Olivia was shocked to see him. He was the last person she wanted an interview with.

He stared at her from head to toe. “You look like you came from a horror scene.”

“Like the heroine?”

“No, the ghost.”

She slumped.

“So, how in the world did a familiar-less girl like you singlehandedly cause this bloody massacre?” he asked, although he already knew the answer.

“I… umm…” Olivia tried to get the words out. “I have a familiar now.”

Adrian dreaded her words. “I’m hoping it isn’t that eye.”

“It’s the eye.”

"You… formed a contract with the shadow?" Adrian was shocked to find out.

Olivia stared at the floor. "I'm sorry. I had no choice if I wanted to save everyone."

Adrian sighed. “Well, I don’t blame you, but please be careful with your familiar. Something tells me that it’s planning something and you’re part of it. Consult the professors if it tries something. They should be able to help.”

“I will.”

Adrian walked away, leaving her to be interrogated by the other people.

Olivia couldn’t get a proper nap that day. The events from that morning kept replaying in her head. It was a frightening scene she wished she would never have to see again. The sight of bleeding students… Adalia’s dead gaze… Why were memories more haunting than being in the actual situation?

Once she gave up napping, she heard a knock on the door to her room. When she opened it, she saw Shina outside holding an envelope.

“What’s this?” Olivia asked as she was handed the envelope.

“It’s the schedule for the application of new recruits for Royal Red,” Shina replied with a smile. “They were giving it out today.”

Olivia held the paper. This time, she had a chance at joining Shina’s union now that she had a familiar. It was a miracle, but for some reason she didn’t feel excited about it.

The girl who killed the cultists and the Olivia standing before Shina at that moment were two very different people. She couldn’t bring herself to accept that her newfound side was part of her now. As long as Mezolas’ power flowed through her veins, it would always stay with her.

“I don’t think I’ll apply for Royal Red. Thanks for bringing me this though.” She smiled as she returned the paper.

Shina was surprised. “Didn’t you want to join this union?”

“Until I figure out more about my familiar, I think it’s safer not to join any union. I still don’t have full control over this new power yet. I don’t want any accidents to happen.” As Olivia recalled the massacre that happened that day they were abducted by cultists, she had a worried look on her face.

I don’t want something like that to happen to innocent people, she thought.

“Alright, Olivia.”

***

“Ahh… Why did I say that?”

Olivia stared at her empty cupboard. She was totally broke. Upon graduating from the Royal Academy, she no longer had access to the free food that students on scholarship enjoyed. At least they still allowed her to stay in the dormitory for a month.

“Maybe I should just join a union? I can’t survive like this,” she said to herself. She counted the money she had. It was enough to buy a piece of bread.

As she left her room, she saw a bag of ingredients outside the door. On it was a note that said: “Thank you for saving us.” It was probably from the students she rescued. The bag was filled with food, drinks, and other daily necessities. They were probably aware of her situation.

Is this how heroes feel?

She took the bag inside and began preparing her meal. Mezolas appeared and curiously watched her cook a simple stew. He said nothing the whole time and just loomed over her like a dark cloud.

Suddenly, Olivia remembered something. "Oh yeah. Back then, you mentioned we had a common enemy. Who did you mean?"

"The house Icarus," replied Mezolas.

Olivia froze in shock. "Eh?"