The room's interior is expanded with magic for the comfort of each student. From the outside, it looks like a two-meter cube, equal on all sides, leaving barely enough space to stretch one's legs comfortably. The inside, however, was vastly different. The overall space of the room is divided into three main zones: the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen. The room's selling point is a chandelier adorned with crystal glass hanging from the ceiling, creating a truly luxurious and magnificent atmosphere. The bed is a single-person size.
The bedside table had one lamp. But a question arises in my mind when I open the drawer and find three condoms. This greatly puzzled the current room owner.
"Do you know what this is, Nappo?" Anya askes, picking one up before glancing at me suspiciously.
Oh boy... I know it well. But how do I answer without raising suspicion?
"Never mind. You're a dog, you probably don't know about human contraception," I breathe out in relief. Luckily, Anya isn't the type to nitpick. She remains silent, put them back where they were, closes the first drawer, and opens the second. Sure enough, there are five boxes of pregnancy test kits for women, along with some religious scripture in the shape of an inverted triangle.
Anya and I looked at each other as if trying to communicate something. She pursed her lips, her face and ears flushed like tomatoes before pushing the drawer closed. Then, she drew her wand.
"Celcue-sempe!" The light from the tip of the wand glows brightly before disappearing into the bedside table when touched. Anya tries to open the drawer again, but this time it's not budged, as if something is holding it shut. "That's done."
"What spell was that?" I ask.
"A permanent sealing charm," she replied, looking not particularly proud. "Mom taught me that too."
"Sola teaches you so much. You'll probably ace your charms class."
"Most of these charms are basic ones that anyone can do," she smiled, then threw the lamp on the floor, shattering it. After that, she cast a spell: "Fixatio!" to repair the object back to its original condition as if nothing had happened.
After putting everything away, there's still more time left before the dorm door closes according to the rules posted behind the door, nicely framed in wood.
Dormitory Rules for Students
Students must return to the dormitory before 7:00 PM. Violators will sleep outside in the dew and receive appropriate demerit points for behavior.Lock doors and windows securely.Casting combat spells inside is prohibited. Violators will receive 1 warning (2 warnings result in a parent-teacher meeting) (3 warnings result in expulsion).Students are prohibited from bringing students of the opposite sex to stay alone together. If found violating this rule, parents will be contacted immediately.If a student is found in possession of dark magic artifacts, they will be unconditionally expelled in all cases.
"Every single rule is so risky..." I frown as Anya holds me, reading these rules.
"I'm not that innocent myself, but the guy thing is definitely out of the question," Anya sighs long and bored. "But whatever, right now the fridge in the kitchen has nothing but water. Let's go buy something to eat. I think there's a shop near the dorm too. Maybe they have dog food."
"I'll eat anything except that bland dog food," I grumble, making a face as I think about those tasteless kibbles. Actually, I want to eat bone-in meat more than anything.
Anya locks the room door by tapping her wand twice and uses the stone staircase step to send us downstairs. We scan around, looking for a convenience store when we go outside, but we don't see anything. There's only a group of people crowding around something, which intensifies our curiosity tenfold.
At that moment, our hunger vanishes completely when we hear the sound of spells colliding along with frequent flashes of light. We push through the crowd and see two male students shirtless, revealing firm muscles. It seems like they are sixth-year students showing off their skills before graduation, with the bald teacher who yelled at us this morning standing there with his arms crossed.
A tall sixth-year student with jet-black long hair, sharp eyes, and a wand a foot long, flicks it through the air. A beam of light shoots from the tip of the wand towards the other person, a short male student with short, bleached-blonde hair plastered to his scalp. He spins to dodge the beam quickly before whipping out the weapon in his hand and firing a curse without uttering an incantation. This greatly surprises me. The long-haired boy has been waiting for this attack, so he flicks his wand to intercept the other's curse before reflecting it back.
"Fulgur Counter!!" he roars the incantation. That ball of energy bounces back at another person instantly with incredible speed. The loud sound effect makes the spectators on the sidelines cheer for the victory of the long-haired black-haired boy as the curse slams into the short-haired blonde boy. His body flies and collapses on the ground, completely incapacitated.
"That's enough. 'Carlos' wins," the hairless professor walks into the center of the just-ended duel, gesturing towards the long-haired black-haired boy. The applause erupts, blending with the squeals of the younger female students and those in the same year, so loud it makes me want to cast a spell to silence them.
"Still winning as always, Calos. Truly my prized student," the professor says, arms crossed, openly praising his student with pride.
"Professor 'Aek' is too kind," the young man says humbly, putting his wand back into the leather holster at his waist. Anya's gaze is fixed on his strong muscles, the veins bulging prominently, making her drool as if under a spell. But it fades when the other boy picks up a black t-shirt and puts it on. "I've been forced to practice since the first year. I learned many spells and curses for fighting from the professor, you see."
"And now I have nothing left to teach you," Professor Aek smirks proudly at his student, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Plus, you're the president of the dueling club, winner of numerous tournaments. I believe you'll do well in this path. Just a warning, don't follow the same path I did before."
I'm struck by Professor Aek's words. The look in his eyes just now seemed to glow green... or maybe I imagined it... because just a split second later, his eyes instantly change to a look of sadness.
"Since we're here, why don't we let the junior practice too, sir?" Calos asks, gesturing towards Anya, who doesn't object and asks what fighting spells she knows.
"Ah... well... I only know the Disarming Charm," the girl replies nervously, her face flushed.
"In that case, let's have a Disarming Duel. Count to three and cast the spell. Whoever's wand flies out of their hand first loses," Professor Aek says. All the students nod in agreement. Many of them have dueled with the Disarming Charm countless times.
Anya is paired with a female student with short, shoulder-length hair, wearing round black glasses, with a scar across her right eye. Her eyes are sharp, her face is slender and fair. She draws her wand amidst the loud cheers of the club members.
"Fongbeer's coming out!" one voice says loudly.
"She's refused Disarming Duels for ages! And today she steps forward so easily!!" another voice commentates like a ringside announcer, further exciting the members.
This event makes Anya feel somewhat apprehensive. Her instincts tell her how the outcome will be. Small beads of sweat trickle down her face, her hands trembling. As a pet, I can't do anything but offer encouragement from the side.
"Listen," Professor Aek says seriously. "The rules of this duel are just disarming. If anyone does anything beyond that, I will immediately disqualify them. Do you both understand?"
"Yes, sir," Anya replies instantly, her small red lips trembling. The other girl nods in response, her eyes fixed on Anya as if she wants to devour her.
The members step back to create a larger arena. Anya and Fongbeer stand facing each other. The wands in both their hands glow red, like a starting signal. Professor Ek stands beside me on the sidelines, watching intently. I can only worry in my heart.
"Three..."
Anya grips her wand tightly with pressure, raising it into the ready position as she learned from her mother.
"Two..."
Fongbeer raises her wand into the ready position as well.
"One... Begin."
"Expelliarmus!!" Both of them shout the incantation and flick their wands almost simultaneously. Red beams of light shoot from the tips of their wands, colliding in mid-air. Fongbeer doesn't wait, swinging his wand with full force. A red light projectile shoots from his wand tip, hitting Anya's wrist. This causes the wand to fly out of her hand, landing not far away.
"That's enough!" Professor Ek decides, but before he can continue speaking, Fongbeer casts another curse at Anya immediately.
"Rictusempra!"
I see something bad is about to happen, so I rush in and block the beam with my body just in time. The pain feels like being hit hard by a blunt-tipped spear.
"Ugh!!" I fly and fall to the ground, completely incapacitated. There's a small burn mark on my stomach. The professor and the club members are all shocked by the unexpected event before rushing to surround me.
"Nappo!" Anya scoops me up into her arms, hugging me tightly with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please don't die, Nappo!!"
"Don't crowd around! For goodness's sake, why don't you listen?!" Professor Ek says loudly, frustrated. His face is flushed with anger at Fongbeer's disrespect for the dueling rules. He lifts me from Anya, pointing his wand at the wound, from which a red liquid is now seeping onto the white fur. "Vendekar Litione."
Green light from the tip of the wand envelops the wound. A sensation of cold alternating with warmth spreads throughout my body. My fading consciousness slowly returns. The internal bruising begins to disappear, and the external wound slowly heals, leaving no trace. My eyes regain their sparkle, and I can get up and run. Everyone in the club is relieved. Anya hugs me tightly, feeling a great sense of relief, and thanks the professor for healing me.
"He's a dog who loves his owner very much, isn't he? He can talk, cast spells, and even jumped in to take the curse immediately." He turns towards Fongbeer, who has now disappeared. His hand clenches tightly, veins bulging. "I will have to place her under detention for a month as punishment and expel her from the club to prevent further damage to its reputation."
"Wouldn't it be better to expel her from school, Professor?" Anya asks. "She seems too dangerous and doesn't respect the rules very much."
"My current authority isn't enough to handle their parents," Professor Ek says, his eyes filled with sorrow. "But never mind that. I must apologize for that former club member. It's my fault for not being able to teach her properly."
"I'm not okay with him not playing by the rules like this. If Nappo hadn't helped, would I have really died?"
"That Light Spear curse doesn't actually kill anyone with just one hit," Carlos walks over, handing Anya her wand, which was knocked out of her hand, with a warm smile. She takes it, thanking him, her face and ears flushed. I, still in Anya's arms, notice this and bare my teeth, growling. "This one's really fierce, isn't he?"
As the big, rough hand of the young man is about to stroke my head, I bite his hand with full force.
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To Be Continue Ep.8