Chapter 58: Impossible Negotiations
The next morning.
Kael had barely managed to sleep a few hours.
Not because of the system.
Not because of the Second Entity.
Not even because of the guild chaos.
The real problem was sleeping on top of his head.
"Meow..."
The Little Fat King snored peacefully.
And beside him...
Sir Dogerino walked with his stick between his teeth, cheerfully greeting every student he encountered.
"Woof!"
"Good morning..."
"Good morning..."
The students still didn’t know how to react to the new member.
He was...
Strangely polite.
"You know?
I think you’re the only noble dog I know."
Sir Dogerino wagged his tail proudly.
"Woof!"
The Fat King opened one eye.
Looked at him.
Snorted with evident disdain.
"Meow..."
Kael sighed.
"Yeah.
I know you don’t like him.
But try to get along with him."
The cat pretended not to hear him.
---
Upon arriving at the training field...
The teacher was already waiting for them.
He was a robust man with a short beard and a stern expression.
"Alright.
Today we’ll practice coordination between summoner and summon."
His gaze inevitably landed on Kael.
"Especially you."
Kael raised a hand.
"What did I do now?"
"Not you."
He looked at the two creatures.
"Them."
Kael felt that this wasn’t going to end well.
---
The students began their fights.
Beasts.
Elementals.
Spirits.
Magical creatures filled the enormous arena.
The teacher walked between the groups correcting postures.
"More coordination."
"Don’t waste mana."
"Your creature must anticipate your movements."
Everything was going surprisingly well.
Until...
A stone wolf jumped toward its summoner during an exercise.
It was completely normal.
Part of the training.
But...
Sir Dogerino didn’t know that.
He immediately lifted his head.
"Woof!?"
His eyes shot open.
A human had been attacked.
That was unacceptable.
He disappeared.
"Huh?"
He appeared in front of the wolf.
Raised his stick.
BONK.
The wolf went flying.
Through three training dummies.
Ended up embedded against a wall.
Silence.
The student who owned the wolf blinked.
"..."
"My summon..."
The teacher took a deep breath.
Very deep.
"Kael."
"Yes..."
"Control your pet."
Silence.
Kael felt a chill.
He slowly looked at the Fat King.
Then at Sir Dogerino.
They both turned at the same time.
Looked at him.
Then at the teacher.
And finally...
Back at him.
As if saying:
"Did he just call us what?"
Kael swallowed.
"Professor...
I don’t think they liked that word."
"Then control your—"
He stopped.
Looked at the Fat King’s eyes.
Corrected immediately.
"—companions."
"Much better."
The Fat King closed his eyes again.
Sir Dogerino smiled again.
Crisis averted.
---
Five minutes later...
Another student was practicing against a huge magical bear.
The animal roared.
Advanced.
Sir Dogerino saw it again.
"Woof!"
Another attack.
Another human in danger.
He couldn’t allow it.
He disappeared again.
BONK.
The bear ended up spinning on itself until it fell unconscious.
"..."
The teacher closed his eyes.
"Kael."
"Yes..."
"Explain it to him."
---
Kael took both of them to a secluded corner of the field.
He crouched down.
Pointed at the training.
"Listen carefully."
Sir Dogerino tilted his head.
The Fat King yawned.
"Them..."
He pointed at the other students.
"They’re not really fighting.
They’re training."
Sir Dogerino tilted his head to the other side.
"Woof?"
"Exactly.
Training."
Then he pointed at the Fat King.
"I want you to watch.
Learn how we should train together.
So we can do missions better."
The Fat King opened one eye.
He seemed slightly interested.
Only slightly.
Kael smiled.
"Perfect.
I think you both understand now."
Aurelion, sitting under a tree, watched the entire scene.
"This promises to be good."
Darius crossed his arms.
"It’s going to end badly."
"Probably."
---
The teacher organized a practice fight.
"Kael.
You’ll participate."
In front of him appeared another student.
His summon was a black panther.
Kael slowly made his whips appear.
"Just training.
No overdoing it."
The panther roared.
Ran toward Kael.
It was exactly what was expected.
Kael smiled.
"Now.
Fat King."
The cat watched calmly.
He did absolutely nothing.
Sir Dogerino did.
His eyes shot open.
"WOOF!!"
The panther was attacking Kael.
That meant danger.
He disappeared.
Appeared in front of the panther.
Raised his stick.
BOINK.
The panther went flying.
Through a magical barrier.
Rolled on the ground.
And ended up completely dizzy.
Silence.
The student who owned the panther slowly raised a hand.
"Professor...
My summon again..."
The teacher pointed at Kael.
"After class.
We’ll talk."
Kael lowered his head.
"I figured."
---
The training ended early.
Mainly because almost no one had a conscious summon left.
Aurelion walked over to Kael, laughing.
"Your dog is wonderful."
"Not helping."
"I know.
But it’s very funny."
Darius arrived immediately after.
"He’s a disaster."
"I know that too."
"How do you manage to have two such problematic summons?"
Kael pointed at the Fat King.
"He’s problematic."
Then he pointed at Sir Dogerino.
"He’s too friendly."
Sir Dogerino smiled proudly.
He thought he was being complimented.
---
A little further away...
Seraphina watched the scene.
She was wearing a white t-shirt.
Luna, who had just arrived, took exactly three seconds to stand completely still.
"..."
"Seraphina."
"Yes?"
"What are you wearing?"
She looked down.
As if she didn’t understand the question.
"A t-shirt."
"I can see that.
And the drawing?"
In the center of the garment appeared a fairly detailed illustration.
The Little Fat King slept peacefully...
On top of Kael’s head.
While he walked with a completely resigned expression.
It was a strangely tender scene.
Seraphina looked at it for a few seconds.
"I liked it."
Luna took a deep breath.
Very deep.
"That..."
She brought both hands to her face.
"THAT IS A GIANT STEP FORWARD!"
Seraphina tilted her head slightly.
"Is it?"
"Before, only the Fat King appeared!
Now Kael is there too."
Seraphina looked at the image again.
Then at the real Kael.
Finally, she nodded, very satisfied.
"Yes.
Now it looks better."
Kael, who had just approached, looked at the t-shirt.
Then back at Seraphina.
"..."
"Is that me?"
She answered with total naturalness.
"Yes.
I thought the Fat King looked comfortable there."
The cat lifted his head.
Looked at the t-shirt.
Then at Seraphina.
And for the first time since he had met her...
He seemed to completely approve of one of her ideas.
"Meow."
Kael let out a long sigh.
"I don’t know if I should be worried...
...or flattered."
Aurelion burst out laughing.
Darius brought a hand to his forehead.
Luna took out a notebook.
And wrote with absolute seriousness:
"Relationship progress: confirmed. Seraphina now includes Kael in official Little Fat King merchandise."
Kael read the note.
Slowly closed his eyes.
"..."
"My life has become very strange."
The Fat King meowed with an air of superiority.
Sir Dogerino barked happily.
And for the first time since the Second Entity’s arrival...
The four of them seemed to be starting to function as a team.
Even if it was...
The most chaotic team the academy had ever seen.
Who am I kidding — the problems are only just beginning. This is the worst possible team.
And the next summon..."
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