Allen and Charlotte looked at each other, then at the mirror... and then at each other again.
Allen had been involved in a lot of incidents lately that were full of things to point out, and he thought he was used to them.
But this was beyond his comprehension.
Not only Charlotte, but even Luu and Gousetsu were wide eyed and dumbfounded.
While the spectators remained frozen, the scene inside the mirror suddenly became noisy.
The Dragonkin who had been blown away staggered to his feet, rubbing his forehead against the ground and desperately apologizing.
"S-Sorry, boss! The Yakisoba Bread at the store is a popular item, so it's always sold out whenever I go! So I thought I'd get you a replacement... I'm so sorry!"
"None of my business! Can't you even run an errand properly?! Seriously, every single one of you... Are that bodies just for show?"
“C-come on, Boss, please calm down.”
“Yeah, no need to get so worked up.”
“The croquette bread here is pretty good too, you know!”
The others scrambled to cover for Natalia’s furious shouts.
They all spoke politely, with lowered posture, while the dragonkin still hadn’t dared lift his face from the ground.
The sight was unmistakable, this was a boss and her underlings.
“......What… is this?”
Allen truly couldn’t make sense of it.
Helpless, he turned slowly toward Harvey, as if clinging to him for answers.
But his foster father only shook his head slowly before speaking.
"Natalia came to this academy to study abroad about three months ago. Since then, she's been able to learn magic freely here. As a result..."
Harvey stopped talking and took a deep breath.
With a desperate look on his face, he grabbed Allen's shoulder and shouted...
“She has risen through the ranks with unprecedented speed, and now she reigns as one of the top faction leaders in the academy! Even we can’t control her anymore… that’s why you must deal with this immediately!”
“…Can I go home?”
With his foster father so flustered, that was all Allen could muster.
At last, he understood the true reason they had been summoned.
(This is just a parent-teacher conference with a problem child, isn’t it…?)
He felt like he’d wasted his worry for nothing.
“This is so stupid… Hey, Charlotte… Charlotte?”
“Ah… a-ahhh…”
Charlotte was staring at the mirror with a pale face. Check latest chapters at NoveIꜰire.net
There, Natalia still barked orders at her lackeys, when suddenly Charlotte threw herself against Allen, trembling.
“W-what should we do, Allen-san!? Natalia… Natalia’s turned into a bad girl!!”
"I guess she's a naughty girl..."
Allen could only tilt his head at that.
She didn’t seem like a delinquent so much as… a drill sergeant.
“Well, to be fair, she isn’t that bad a kid… look closely.”
With a sigh, Harvey pointed to the mirror.
The dragonkin who had been thrown earlier was just lifting his face, unsteady.
“S-sorry again, Boss… I’ll secure it next time even if it kills me… H-here, this is the leftover money from lunch…”
He pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket and timidly held it out to Natalia.
A faint jingle of coins hinted at a decent sum inside.
But Natalia only snorted and refused to touch it.
Turning her face aside with a huff, she spoke bluntly.
“Keep it. Consider it your allowance.”
“Wh-what!? B-but this is thirty silver coins! I can’t accept that much!!”
“I said keep it!”
The dragonkin flinched as Natalia’s sharp rebuke cut him down.
“Do you think I don’t know about all the part-time jobs you take to send money back to your family? What kind of boss can’t even keep their subordinates well-fed? Cutting your own meals for family’s sake is admirable, but you need to take better care of yourself.”
“B-Boss…! Thank you! I’ll repay this debt for the rest of my life!”
“Hmph. Such a paltry sum hardly warrants gratitude. Don’t make me out to be some benefactor over scraps.”
“Boss’s potions sell for high prices at the school store, after all.”
“Good for you, man. Looks like you’re finally free from that one-cabbage-a-day diet.”
The underlings surround the crying dragonkin and Natalia, bowing their heads.
The scene looked bizarre, but the atmosphere was strangely wholesome.
“As you can see, she’s quite popular…”
"I can really feel the blood in her veins..."
Overwhelming charisma and magical talent.
It seems that the younger sister is also blessed with the same potential as Charlotte.
"Natalia..."
Charlotte gazed intently at her sister, words caught in her throat.
At last, wiping the tears from her eyes, she gave a gentle smile.
"I'm glad... your kindness hasn't changed at all since the old days."
“Well, I’m glad that puts you at ease. But really, you’re awfully unshaken by all this…”
"Could it be brother's influence?"
“Sorry about our Allen-chan~…”
“Why is this suddenly my fault?”
His family all gave him cold stares, and Allen could only grimace. The worst part was… he couldn’t entirely deny it.
Meanwhile, Luu and Gousetsu made thoughtful noises.
『Wow, Mama’s little sister is amazing. Just like Mama. she’s really good at attracting weirdos! 』
『Indeed, indeed. Was she a great person at home too?』
“No… not at all.”
Charlotte shook her head in bewilderment.
“She was quiet and reserved… this is the first time I’ve ever seen her raise her voice. She’s still kind, but everything else feels completely different.”
“I see…”
Allen stroked his chin, staring at Natalia through the mirror.
For a seven-year-old, her eyes were far too sharp.
He didn’t want to say it in front of Charlotte, but there was no point avoiding the conclusion. He muttered his guess.
“Either she was just hiding her true nature at home… or she’s gone delinquent.”
"Well, considering she was a quiet young lady when she first enrolled... it's probably the latter."
Harvey gave a small nod of agreement.