In the broken streets of the northern district, the air carried the faint scent of paint and fresh mortar. Today, Janina was engaged in mandatory volunteer work—a dual effort to improve Wolfsteeth and provide practical training for students honing their newly gained magic abilities.

  Spells designed to harm were repurposed and used in an almost humiliatingly mundane manner. For example, summoning Earth spikes was used to repair crumbling walls, and a water pressure spell found its utility in cleaning and stripping old, flaky paint from building facades. If someone wanted to skip classes or get a better grade, they had to use contraptions—an alchemical technique seen as far more complex than creating a spell construct.

  However, it was also a way to inspire students to see the world differently, to appreciate how changeable magic was, and how a chant combined with a construct wasn't set in stone as to what one could do with it.

  Janina loved how they changed Wolfsteeth—using spellwork to fill the once-gloomy alleyways with color and fresh hope. This initiative was widely appreciated and elevated the school's reputation. Commoners admired how students actively participated, reshaping perceptions of what it meant to be a student—especially as even nobles were required to contribute. With every repaired street and revived building, their fief was gradually transformed, and she began to grasp her brother's vision. A spark of newfound respect for him blossomed in her chest, one she hadn't anticipated.

  Yet, there was a frisson of unease in the air—an ironic twist of fate, in the most literal sense possible. Alexander soared through the sky, constructs affixed to the soles of his Chelsea boots, generating a continuous airstream that allowed him to glide effortlessly.

  'Why?' Janina stood to the side, her thoughts trembling with disbelief as she watched the scene unfold. 'Why are you doing this?'

  The bright midday sun glinted off Alexander's airborne form, reflecting in arcs of shifting mana. He looked like he was gliding on freshly polished glass, yet his rage twisted the air around him. "You think I can't snap your pretty neck?!" he roared, unleashing a storm of elemental arrows with deadly precision toward his target.

  A young carbuncle kin woman air-walked opposite him—obviously part of the Count Family, the remnants of an oversized guard's attire fluttering around her like torn banners. "Come and try!" she challenged, leaping from one shimmering air platform to another. Her sword deflected each attack with practiced precision, and spheres of ominous [Energy] orbited her like dark sentinels—Alexander's relentless barrage forced her to retreat whenever she tried to close the distance.

  It was a fierce fight, a work of beauty, much more relentless than what Janina had read in books. Still, it also betrayed her increasing admiration of her brother—not because of how he fought but because of what destruction it brought to those around him.

  Below them, the battlefield was pure chaos. One building after another collapsed, sending up plumes of dust that smothered the bright skies. Panicked cries rippled through the streets, and the acrid scent of destruction filled every breath. The very homes Alexander had sought to uplift were now crumbling, turning the once hopeful ambiance into a living nightmare.

  'Why?' Janina's eyes stung with tears as she witnessed the devastation, her jaw clenching in frustration. She spotted the home of the elderly turtle-kin they had recently repaired. Now, it lay in rubble—Esmeralda's [Energy] had sliced it cleanly in half, and Alexander's spells had reduced the remains to shards. The sight churned Janina's stomach.

  Janina gulped, trying to convince herself that it wasn't as severe as it appeared. 'It can at least be repaired—'

  "I... I can't... Luise..." A distressed, boyish voice from somewhere behind Janina quavered, cutting through her scattered thoughts. She spun around to see a young raccoon kin whose leg had been severed, tears carving lines through the dirt on his cheeks. A cat-kin girl held him, stroking his hair and whispering reassurances, though her wide, horrified eyes betrayed her own fear.

  The street around them was littered with broken masonry and shattered roof tiles. A ghostly wind carried the smells of smoke and dust, opening the sight and scent to the missing leg, destroyed by the residue of the carnage—her whole world feeling suspended in an eerily silent bubble.

  "Don't worry," Zafiro, the Count's son, said as he handed the raccoon boy a potion, his voice laced with forced calm. "Everything can be mended," he promised. Yet Janina detected the lie in his words—his mana swirled erratically, excitement flickering at the edges of his forced composure. He stole glances at the ongoing battle with disguised fascination as though the destruction held an allure he couldn't resist.

  Something inside Janina cracked, a splinter in the depths of her being. "Didn't you build this to help those who were suffering?" she murmured, her voice trembling as she clenched her school uniform. The smell of burning wood and the distant roar of falling masonry seemed to echo her disgust. She glanced back at Naza, hiding behind a broken wall section—her face was pale, her eyes filled with fear she tried to contain bravely.

  When Janina turned back to Alexander, she saw a maniac spiraling out of control, not the visionary who had inspired her and helped her understand the despair of others. The stress, pressure, existential threats, and unhealed mental scars were shaping her brother into someone she despised—a tragic figure whose final chapters she could already envision as if reading the last pages of a book. It pained her like an open wound, a glimpse of a tragic ending she desperately hoped to avert.

  "You need to be better than me," Janina whispered, the words lodging like shards of ice in her throat. She reached into her inner pocket and retrieved two intertwined acorns. "You should be better than me."

  She raised the acorns, her eyes fiercely alive with raw resolve, locking onto Alexander in midair. Clearing her throat, she amplified her voice with a spell, allowing her words to echo across the ruined neighborhood, thrumming with the tension of unleashed mana. "Alex! If you don't stop right now, I will destroy these acorns and call Mom!"

  From her vantage point, Janina caught the flicker of recognition in Alexander's face as he froze mid-attack. He immediately descended while Esmeralda retreated a few steps, still aloft, her blade raised in uncertainty, perplexed by the sudden movement.

  Alexander's gaze skimmed the battlefield, scanning for Janina. When he found her, his eyes widened with dread. The swirling storm of mana raging inside him calmed, transforming into a subdued current as though he was standing before their Mother.

  "Oh hey," Alexander greeted awkwardly, forcing a strained smile as he approached on foot. He raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "How about we skip calling Mom and Dad? For your good ol' big brother's sake—the one you definitely don't want to see getting brutally beaten, right?"

  Janina narrowed her eyes, slipping the acorn she'd received from their Father back into her inner pocket. "I will not," she said, though a note of anger was trembling through her. She gestured to the destruction around them, the fractured rooftops, the stray embers dancing in the wind. "Look at what you both have done…"

  But Alexander didn't take her seriously, knowing he could easily throw some coin at the problem. "You may repair houses," her voice lost all emotion as she looked to the side toward the raccoon kin boy. "But remember how you struggled to sleep after barely surviving? You, who endured unimaginable pain, now imagine how others feel—less resilient and less fortunate ones."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  The raccoon boy's eyes were still wet with tears, wide with agony and fear. A quiet whimper escaped him as he clung to the cat-kin girl, who stroked his hair with trembling hands. Janina's voice softened, her gaze drifting to Alexander. "I remember how you felt," she said. "Through Sarah and how much Patty told me… it was horrific. Alex, I—"

  "Gotcha," Alexander cut in, his tone coarse with self-directed frustration. He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, the tension in his shoulders easing a fraction. "I went a tad overboard. I agree."

  As Alexander moved toward the wounded raccoon boy, Esmeralda let out an indignant cry, stamping a foot on the ground that produced spiderweb cracks. "We are not done! Do you think you can attack me and leave?! Where do you think… hey?!"

  Her words fell on deaf ears. With a dismissive wave, Alexander summoned his blazer, letting it float to him while a simple cleaning spell removed dust and soot—leaving flakes of dirt in its trail. His eyes, dull with fatigue, flicked to Esmeralda only once. "Yeah, sure," he muttered flatly. His voice held an undercurrent of scorn but was clearly more directed at himself. "You are banned from this territory," he stated coldly, each syllable cutting through the wind like a knife. "If you try to return, I will do everything in my power to ruin your life."

  Though outwardly stoic, his mana had slowed to a dangerously lethargic rhythm—a telltale sign of deep sorrow. Esmeralda's expression shifted from anger to confusion. Before she could respond, Zafiro intervened, stepping forward with a measured, placating tone. "I think that's enough, dear sister," he said, though his own mana churned with suppressed agitation. "I will excuse myself for a moment, Alex, and I apologize for the misunderstanding."

  Alexander dipped his head in a curt nod, the tension in his jaw revealing the weight behind his unspoken thoughts. As Zafiro passed, the air felt thick with unarticulated responsibility—an inheritance of burdens only heirs could understand. Janina watched their silent exchange, feeling a pang of recognition.

  When Zafiro turned to her, his nod and accompanying smile looked pleasant enough. Yet, the undercurrent of venomous curiosity in his eyes made her stomach lurch. Something about him reminded her of Narsiz at his worst. She flinched and stepped back instinctively. "Fraud," she muttered, too unsettled to filter the word.

  Zafiro's only response was a broader smile, flashing like the gleam of a serpent. "A fascinating bunch," he murmured under his breath. He approached Esmeralda and whispered a few urgent words, and whatever he said was enough to calm her rage. She shot Alexander one last furious glare and left, tension boiling off her as she disappeared.

  "Hold still," Alexander said to the raccoon-kin boy, his voice calm yet wound tight as a coiled spring. Janina turned quickly at the unexpected softness. Her brother was kneeling, carefully wrapping the partially open wound with his blazer, ignoring the filth and rubble around them. "I'll take you to the Temple, so don't worry... What's your name?"

  The boy's pupils quivered, his features drawn with pain. He answered in a stammer, "He... Henry." His eyes flicked to the cat-kin girl. "This... is Luise... can she come with me?"

  Alexander lifted Henry in a gentle, almost protective princess carry, the swirl of magic around them dimming as the wind carried the odor of dusted adobe, perceiving like cinnamon. "Sure, follow me," he said, turning to walk toward the Temple. Janina followed, noticing something subtly different in him—like a shifting tide within his aura. "My name is Alexander K. Leonandra," he said over his shoulder, his voice measured.

  They walked through Wolfsteeth's winding streets, where fresh patches of mortar contrasted with old stonework. Broken cobblestones rattled beneath their steps, and passersby whispered anxiously, keeping their distance. Usually, most would bow or thank him exhaustively, especially in the Northern District, but not now, as something was amiss—like observing a wild beast from afar who was in distress. Fortunately, the Temple was only twenty minutes away, its crown greatly visible beyond the rooftops.

  Alexander's gaze lingered on Henry's stump. "I can smell that you're not from Wolfsteeth," he noted. A tense silence clung to the group, broken only by Henry's shallow breathing. The boy shivered, making Alexander ease his voice slightly. "Where are you from?"

  Luise answered quietly, sparing Henry from speaking. "The North... from a town called Emerald Green."

  Alexander let out a soft, derisive chuckle. "Ambitious name for a town," he remarked, though his tone wasn't cruel. "But that's not the point. What are you doing here?"

  Henry took a shaky breath. "We wanted to," he managed, a hitch in his voice. He glanced at Alexander, who regarded him with a stern but not unkind expression. "Attend... the school."

  Alexander's lips curved into a bittersweet smile, shadows flickering across his features. "The journey was rough, wasn't it?" he asked. The question lingered in the narrow alley, where grime and rotting refuse coated the stones. A small rat darted across their path, and the pungent smell of waste contrasted sharply with the faint trace of the food vendors they passed a moment ago.

  Henry's composure broke. Tears welled up, and he began sobbing uncontrollably. In his place, Luise pressed forward with their story. The heartbreak in her voice resonated off the cracked walls as she recounted the string of misfortunes that had led them here—the unimaginable hardships, brushes with death, the gnawing terror of losing everything. Janina listened, feeling each word carve into her heart like a blade.

  Finally, Alexander nodded in understanding and then shared his own recollection. "I had a friend named Henry—though he spelled it with a silent 'H,'" he said, his voice weighted with memories. "He worked hard to improve his life, always chasing opportunities." The color drained from Alexander's face as he continued, sorrow resonating in each syllable. "But misfortune struck."

  Henry looked up. "What... happened then?" he asked, voice still trembling.

  Alexander paused in a dimly lit alley, the only illumination a narrow strip of sunlight filtering between crooked rooftops. The swirling dust particles around them glinted like tiny stars in a forgotten twilight. "I... built the school so you wouldn't have to risk outer circle for something so fundamental," he said, each word laced with frustration. "You're searching for opportunities, but have you noticed how much your little girlfriend worries about you?"

  Janina glanced at the cat-kin girl. Outwardly, Luise was composed, but her eyes flicked uneasily to the boy's severed leg. "What if no one could heal your leg?" Alexander asked, his tone sharpened by concern. "Can you be the same man as before? Will you take care of her, or will you wallow in self-pity over this risk you took?"

  Luise stepped forward, bristling with sudden defiance. "It was my idea! He's not to blame!"

  Alexander cut his gaze to her, an intensity that made her recoil. "It doesn't matter," he said, turning back to Henry. "You love her, don't you?"

  Henry's cheeks flushed bright, but he dipped his head in a determined nod. "Ye... yes!"

  "So," Alexander said, aura bearing down on them like thunder, "why didn't you ask her to wait? Why not take a tougher job for a few years and then go to school when it was easier? I see who's truly steering this cart, and you only needed to say one word—she would've stayed."

  The stillness that followed felt suffocating, like standing in a vacuum of expectation. Janina couldn't bear it any longer. "Alex, stop!" she demanded, stepping forward. He turned, meeting her gaze with an expression that mingled regret and unspoken desperation. "I don't know what you're trying to prove, but he needs to get to the Temple!"

  Alexander's stoic fa?ade cracked ever so slightly, and he let out a prolonged, quiet exhale. "Go to school tomorrow and inform them that these two can join as visitors," he said. "Next semester, they can enroll as regular students."

  Janina opened her mouth to question him, but he kept walking, his voice drifting back with a melancholic finality. "Tell Mother I'm sorry, and I'll make it right after the expedition," he added, voice wavering as though haunted by something he couldn't articulate. "At least I was reminded of something important."

  With that, he disappeared beyond a collapsed archway, mana leaving a light distortion in his wake. Janina swallowed hard, confused and overwhelmed by the swirl of responsibilities and heartbreak her brother carried.

  "Excuse me?" Luise's voice, tinged with concern, pulled Janina from her spiraling thoughts.

  Janina glanced at the cat-kin girl and nodded brusquely, signaling her to follow. "Come on," she said, clicking her tongue in frustration. "Henry will be fine."

  The narrow alley opened into a cluttered street of half-rebuilt storefronts, and Janina threaded her way through the debris, each footstep stirring up tiny clouds of dust. Luise followed, her voice growing more assertive. "But... who are you?!"

  Janina let out a sharp laugh, only then recalling that not everyone in Wolfsteeth knew her by sight. "Janina M. Leoandra, but call me Nina," she said, her tense features easing into a cautious smile. "You can visit Henry tomorrow. Until then, stick with me."

  Above them, the sun dipped behind a distant row of rooftops, painting the sky with warm hues that belied the chaos below.

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