The silence is deafening as Justus and I wait for Leena Grey to enter the office.
Why is he doing this? I think to myself as I side-eye him. It usually isn't the go-to move to have the opposition meet each other the day before they duel in front of the most important people at Keeper Academy.
"Nico, I forgot to mention that as a warning that Leena, despite being from a former noble family, is quite…rowdy," Justus says with a hint of practiced caution in his voice.
Crash!
As if on cue, the office door bursts open. For a brief second, there is a gust of hot air and blinding light as Leena Grey enters the room. After my eyes readjust back to the room from being flash-banged by a burst of orange flames, I notice a voice shouting.
"Hahaha, it's me! Leena Grey! Behold my glorious power!" she says as she poses comically with her wand.
As she does some ridiculous model-like poses, all I can do is stay frozen in shock. I look at Justus, who just shakes his head and sighs. This isn't his first rodeo with her. I almost felt bad for him.
"Leena, please sit down next to Nico. I am sure you already know why you are here?" Justus asks as he motions for Leena to sit down.
"Of course, I know why! I am here to fight this guy in the finals of the Noble Placement Exam," Leena says while looking at me, grinning as she sits down.
Despite her quirkiness, Leena has a charm about her. She seems trigger-happy and bubbly, full of energy. Something which I desperately lack.
"Hi Leena, my name is Nico. Nice to meet you ...." I say awkwardly. I quickly stare daggers at Justus, who is suspiciously avoiding my gaze. Whenever I think I don't have to socialize much, I do.
"Nice to meet ya too, Nico! You are quite the topic on campus. I heard you can use the forbidden dark magic. Others think it's disgusting, but I think it's quite cool," Leena says while smiling at me.
"I—" My words get caught in my throat, my mind unable to let me continue. Leena is the first person to say there is nothing wrong with my dark magic, let alone say something about it being cool. Not only that, but her level of directness catches me off guard as well.
As I struggle to come up with words to thank her, Justus stands up.
"Now that your introductions are over with for now. Let us get to the topic at hand. Leena, I called you in here to go over some details regarding the duel. I do not know the full rules the Keeper Principal will put into place, but I can do my best to prepare you both for it. Are you both ready to listen?" he inquires of us.
We both nod in anticipation. Particularly Leena, who seems to nod so fast she looks like a bobblehead.
"Good. Now first off, both of you do not go full force on each other. Do your best to attempt to restrain yourselves. Both of you, not to be mean, have an almost complete lack of control over your magic."
"As we know and from my research as an academic on universal magic, emotions are heavily connected to the magic of this world, so I suggest you practice emotional control," Justus says to us as he pulls another copy of Magic and Emotions from his bookshelf and hands it to Leena.
"Both of you, please read this book to help you with that. Leena, you, in particular, need to read it carefully. As I have seen, some of your duels and training sessions, and they turn out quite sour. I am surprised you aren't more like your older brother, who could rejoin the noble class due to being sponsored by many higher-ups."
"Many people widely regard your older brother as one of the Top 5 Keeper Academy students and the current strongest fire mage. His mana control is at the mastery level. Not to mention, all of his flame techniques are at a ninth affinity level, making him an authentic genius. Your mana capacity might be more, but it means nothing if you can't control your mana. I am saying all of this to help you, not to insult you," Justus says seriously.
The mood in the room instantly shifts.
I look at Leena out of the corner of my eye, pretending to mind my own business as Justus lectures her. From what I can see, her personality completely changes. She is the exact opposite of happy and bubbly. In a way, she is even more depressed than me.
"I know…" Leena says in a cracked whisper as she lowers her head. I think she is honestly about to cry.
"I am sorry if that hurt, but it is the truth, Leena Grey. Only you can change that, and I would not be saying this unless I did not believe you could change. Anyway, that is all I wanted to say regarding this. Please spend some time together outside of class today before tomorrow to get to know each other. I know the Noble Class Placement Exam Finals are a lot of pressure to handle."
"I think if you know your opponent well, things will go better than expected. You both are dismissed now," Justus says as he sits back down at his desk.
Leena and I both get up awkwardly from our seats and walk out of the office. Before I take the last step out of the office, I look back at Justus. He simply gives me a look and nods at me. I nod back at him and shut the door behind me.
Talking with Leena is more important than just this duel. Why does he mention her brother in front of me? Does this duel have anything more to do with the state of the world than just simply impressing the Keepers?