Chapter 44: Unexpected Visitor
Hal rushed to the door and flung it open, greeted by the familiar sight of scarlet hair and a face he hadn't seen in nearly two months.
"E-Ennya! How the hell did you get here?!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and disbelief. "Weren't you supposed to be training with your master or something?"
Ennya Kasai, his childhood friend and now a Flame Magna Prospect, had come to visit.
"Well, I asked for a day off, but that ruthless old hag didn't give me one... so I snuck out," Ennya confessed.
"D-Dumbass! You've got the opportunity of a lifetime and you're throwing it away?! If Aunty Lynn finds out about this..."
"Don't! Don't you dare tell Mom, got it?! I'll go back later anyway. What's so wrong about going out for a little fun, huh? A-Also... I was kinda worried you were getting bullied, so I came to check on you..."
Hal's expression softened the moment he heard what was likely the only honest reason Ennya had left her training.
She might not have been the brightest, but her heart was probably the purest of them all. That last sentence told him everything—she hadn't come to have fun.
She came because she was worried about him.
"Well... thanks for checking up on me, I guess. The first day was rough, but I've found my groove and things are going pretty well now. Hmph! I even beat a three-star student in a wizardry duel a few weeks ago!" Hal boasted, slipping into the confident tone he always used to calm her down.
"A wizardry duel?!" Ennya exclaimed questioningly in disbelief, fury rising within her. "Tell me, who the hell tried to bully you?! If I get my hands on that bastard...he'll be nothing but ashes..."