My sexy childhood friend returned. And moved into our house… Part 1

I walked through the dimly lit, empty corridor of my school. It was the first day of the new semester and this was my third year. Being sixteen years old, I knew I didn't have much time before I'd have to step out into the world and look for a job. Not that I minded it.

As I turned the corner, I was surprised to see the back of a girl in front of me. For three years, I was always the first, the one who came to school the earliest. I was the only one from my class whose bus came so early… Sad life.

The girl had long and dark brown hair, slender waist, wide hips, and sexy legs. I couldn't help but run my eyes down on her body a few times and I got stuck on her round bottom numerous times. She had a white shirt and a short black skirt, black stockings, and high heels on. Nothing out of the norm. Except for the fact that she looked very familiar to me.

Out of curiosity, I picked up my pace and looked at her face as I walked past her. Realising who she was, I laughed as I ran ahead, "The best place will be mine."

"Screw you!" her sweet voice came from behind. I knew she ran after me, but she wasn't able to catch up with me. As I reached my classroom, I went to the row of tables next to the windows and took the table in the middle of the row. It was the best place for numerous reasons. One, I had a great sight on the schoolyard. Two, I wasn't too much in the back of the class and the teachers didn't think by default that I would be a troublesome kid. Since that was how it was with most of the people in the back… Three, my classmates didn't think of me like the teachers' handyman. Shortly, it didn't put me anywhere on the social ladder and I was able to stay a simple grey person.

The brown haired girl appeared in the door and walked up to 'my' table. Looking at the table in front of and behind mine, she muttered, "I could sit there, but then some random person would sit beside me. So I'll sit by your side…"

"Hehe."

"Don't laugh, you're still as much of an asshole as you've been!" she rebuked me, not really meaning it.

"It's good to see you again. How many years? Six?" I asked.

"I left when I was about to turn twelve, now I'm almost seventeen so only five," she shook her head.

"Ah, right. Still a long time."

"Mhm," she nodded her head and put her things on the table and sat down beside me.

"Say, you came earlier and I don't wanna bully you right after coming back, so I'll offer you a choice. What if one day the inner seat was mine and the next day it'd be yours?" I asked.

"Bruh, it's the best deal I could get out of you unless I tried to use some other tactics… so okay."

A grin formed on my face when I heard her reply. "What happened to you while you were gone? And to begin with, why did you leave?" I raised my brows.

"Uhm, since my mother died at that time, my father had to work more to make a living. He was offered a higher salary, but in turn, he had to go to another country. He accepted it since we'd have had it rough without his new job, but by the time he told me we had to leave, it was the day of moving. That's why I didn't even have enough time to say goodbye to my childhood friend~"

"You had it rough then, huh. And what was your life like?"

"Hmm, nothing strange, I guess. I just had an ordinary or even humble school life."

"Haha, okay."

Ugh- considering your beauty and your talent I'm sure it was anything but ordinary.

"And you?" she asked, leaning on the table. "Do you still have it? The sealed-" she gazed into my eyes.

"Shh-Don't talk about it!" I covered her mouth. "I have it and my life has been the same as before. Go to school, go home, do my own stuff. An infinite repeat," I pulled back my hand.

Turning her head to the side, she looked at me, "Boring as ever. Not that I blame you, I'm no different."

"Mhm," I nodded. "By the way-" before I could continue, I heard a phone ringing. The ringtone was a piece of rock music I also knew and liked. Unzipping her bag, she took out her phone and after looking at the person who called her, picked it up.

"Hello, dear," the voice of a man came.

What? Did she get a boyfriend after all? I thought a bit curious, knowing her.

"Hello, dad. What is it?"

Or not…

"Have you arrived at the school safely?" he asked.

"What do you think? It's not like I can't find a school. We lived here before, you know?"

"I know, I know. Dear, I'm sorry but it seems like I won't be able to stay…"

"What?! But we came just now, don't screw with me! You said we'd stay here for years!" she raised her voice while looking at me from the corner of her eye. "We also took care of all the papers and I took the tests to get in the school. Was that all for naught?"

"Uhm, I know but my employer suddenly told me he changed his mind and he was sorry for it. I'd like to punch him but I can't do anything about it… that's why I decided to go alone. Since I have to travel every time, most of the money I earn goes to the hotels. I'll just stay in cheaper ones and put aside some money for you every month. I should be able to pay your rent that way," he replied, his voice conveying his sorry. Even I felt bad for Mr Michael, her father.

"But I don't want to make it worse for you. In that case, I'll look for some part-time job and take care of myself," she replied.

"Lien, it's my responsibility as your father to take care of you. It's no big deal to me and I don't want you to waste your youth just because of me."

"I'm not wasting anything, I'm not really like the others either so-"

"Lien! Enough. Just accept it. Look for a rent instead, but not one that is like an abandoned ghost house," her father said.

"Fine… I'll still look for something simple. How many days do I have?"

"About two days," Michael replied.

"Alright. Thanks, Father."

"No problem, I love you, dear," he said and cut the call.

"What now?" Lien talked partly to herself, partly to me. "Do you know of any good and cheap places nearby?"

"We're close to the capital city so… every rent is quite pricey here, even the bad ones," I said feeling sorry for her.

She looked at me with a sad face that threatened to break my heart. I wasn't a sympathetic person, but I guess I had a soft spot for my one and only childhood friend, who probably knew the most about me. I stood up from my seat and walked out the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'll be back in a moment, I'll try to help you out," I said.

I closed the door behind me and called up my mother.

"Hi?" she greeted me, her voice half asking me what I wanted. I rarely called anyone…

"Do you remember Lien?"

"That little girl from back then? Of course, she came over a lot. What about her?"

"She came back with her father and they're staying in a hotel for now, I guess. But her father's boss suddenly changed their mind and told Lien's father that he'd have to leave. And now she's looking for a place."

"And you're asking me to?"

"Well, couldn't she stay in our empty room?" I asked.

Lien suddenly opened the door and stopped in front of me, her arms crossed in front of her chest. My brows twitched as I asked, "Mother?"

"Ah, sorry. My boss came in with a stack of papers. So where were we? Empty room."

"Yes."

"I'm alright-"

"Hi, Miss Anna. If it's alright with you, I'm willing to pay and help around the house!" Lien leaned closer to me.

"It's fine, it's fine. You don't have to pay, it's not like anyone was going to use that room. At least, I won't have to clean it anymore," she laughed. "Right?" she added.

"Hahaha, yes. Thank you very much!"

She has got a nice fragrance, I thought and couldn't help but look downwards. Round…

"It's fine. Maybe my thick-headed son will finally get a gir-" I quickly ended the call, knowing what she wanted to say.

Lien looked at me with a smirk on her face.

"What is it?" I asked as I felt pressured by the silence.

"We both know what she wanted to say, it was pointless to end the call so suddenly. But it's funny to see you react like this~"

"Sure," I replied with a bland voice. Slipping through the gap between her and the wall, I went back to our classroom. Just as we sat down, my new classmates started arriving one by one or in smaller groups. My bus was the only one that arrived a good fifteen minutes earlier than the others, which was annoying me most of the time, but I was happy about it at these times.

"They don't seem to know you, why?" Lien whispered into my ear. I think my ears twitched as I looked at her. Her hot breath was ticklish.

"It's simple. They don't. In this school, every half a year the classes are randomly swapped up, so most of the people I know are likely to be in other classes. There are a few people who came around this time, so there is still a chance they were assigned to my class, but I'll see."

"That must be pretty annoying… I mean, starting out from scratch all the time," she said.

"Well, I've got used to it already, I guess. It helps out socially awkward people."

"Eh, sure."

Looking around, I noticed that about half of the class was of the female gender. Out of the four classes I had before, I had so many girls in my class only once. Looking at the door, I saw another guy enter who looked through the classroom and upon spotting Lien, stayed unmoving for a bit. This was about the seventh guy who reacted the same way.

I know she's a beauty, but they could hide their surprise better…

"I'm off to the toilet. Be right back~" I stood up and left her alone.

"You didn't have to tell me that, though."

"You'd have asked anyway," I winked at her.

"Hmm, true."

By the time I returned, I noticed two of my classmates from the second semester of my first year in school. I was in an okay relationship with them, so I ignored the guy standing beside Lien and greeted them.

For there to be a pest so soon, I'm amazed. She simply leaned on the table and didn't even open her mouth while the guy was talking to her. I'm not sure I could do that… openly ignore somebody. She hasn't changed one bit, I inwardly laughed at the scene.

"Hi," I greeted my friends, called Alex and Leo. Alex was a guy of average height, reaching 180 centimeters and he had dark brown hair, just like me. I was only a few centimeters taller than him but I still counted as average in our region. Most people reached their maximum height at the age of sixteen which was most likely an effect of mana.

As for Leo, he was a blonde-haired and blue-eyed handsome bastard, who was a bit of a weirdo despite his face. Thanks to his silent personality, he wasn't as popular in the class as one would think, and maybe that was also the reason he became 'friends' with another weirdo like me.

"Yo! It seems like the trio is back again! Haha. I never thought we'd all get in the same class again!" Leo said.

"You sure you wanna be so happy about it? Seth never really bothered talking with us. I'm surprised he came here to greet us," Alex crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Leave me alone, I'm a free-minded person," I shrugged my shoulders. Sometimes being with others tired me out mentally, which wasn't the case with Lien. That's why I always thought of her as my one and only true friend. It was a shame that she had to leave but now that she was back, I believed we could have some fun together again. Of course, only if she didn't change too much.

"Screw you. Anyway, look at the class man! We've got a hella lot of grills!" Alex said.

"Girls" Leo corrected him.

"No, grills!"

"...You're an idiot," I shook my head, finding joy in verbally abusing him, as usual. But those who knew me knew that I never really meant it.

"But we've got the winner of this class, that grill" Alex pointed at Lien in a sneaky way and said in a low voice. "She's hot."

"These are the types of conversations that tire me out in like a second," I commented as I turned around to leave.

"Wait, wait! But how come I've never seen her before in the school? You're always here before everyone else, I'm sure you know something!" Alex said, looking at me.

"Although being here earlier has nothing to do with information, I know that she moved here a few days ago and will live here from now on."

"Leo, go and try to talk with her," Alex pushed Leo's back.

"Why me?"

"Because you'll size up the terrain for me!"

"Hell, I won't. I'm not interested."

"Damn you, why do I have to do everything alone?" Alex stood up and walked towards Lien.

"Cuz' you're an idiot," I remarked.

"Hahaha, good one," Leo bumped fists with me.

I used my mana to amplify my senses and listen in on their 'conversation'.

"Hello, what's your name?" he asked.

Lien turned to look at him, but her eyes stopped on me for a moment and there was a clear sign of annoyance in them.

"I'm called Lien."

"Nice name. Did you move here this year? I haven't seen you before."

"Yes." Met with her short answers and a pressuring silence, he stopped for a second before continuing. "Want me to show you around in the city? You probably don't know what's where" Alex asked.

"No thanks, I've lived here before," she replied and then turned towards the window.

"I've got it. See you later then," Alex turned around and came back to us. I was on the brink of laughing my ass off, but I held it in.

"Huh, guys. This girl is a tough opponent," he whispered.

"Since when are girls your opponents?" I asked laughing.

"Fuck you, says the one who kinda never talked to a girl before…"

"I just wasn't interested. And what now that she openly showed her uninterest?" I asked.

"I won't give up! At first, I thought she thinks highly of herself, but her eyes showed otherwise. She seemed to be bored of the type of talk I had with her, I think. Maybe if I get to know her better I can score," he said.

"How optimistic. I'm going back to my place now," I waved my hand.

"Where is it?" Alex asked.

I sat down beside Lien and turned his way with a grin on my face. He made a confused face, then it turned into surprise, followed by anger.

"You bastard… I heard you the whole time. You let him come here to have fun…" Lien grumbled beside me and elbowed my side.

"Agh, hahaha, but you can't imagine how much fun I had watching you two and hearing your conversation."

"You're really an asshole. When will class start? Is there anything I should know about the school?" she asked after calming down.

Feeling Alex's burning gaze, I turned his way and stuck out my tongue before replying, "Today will be a short day. Everyone will have to introduce themselves in a few sentences, then the usual paper stuff, a quick explanation of the usage of tools and the battleground and off we go!"

"How much time does this take?"

"About two to three hours. Depends on which teacher we get. Some are quicker while some are slower. The quicker the better, I've heard all the stuff I need to four times already…" I sighed loudly, already tired of it.

"I imagine it isn't much different than in Ushua, the country I went to," she said, brushing her hand through her hair. Captivated by her beautiful green eyes, my mind stopped working for a moment, which was truly unusual for me. Shit, I've got to get it together. I'm too used to showing everything when I'm around her.

"You don't have to hide your face, it can still be like in the old times," she suddenly said, noticing my quick change of facial expressions.

"It's easy to say," I sighed out loud. You were only a little girl back then, it's harder now…

I was different than other kids. They were all so childish for so long while I matured in just a few years. My mental age has been stuck at a young man's for many years now. Back in the times I first met Lien, I was already well ahead of my peers. She was easy to read and 'manipulate' if I could call it that, like most children.

It was fun to be around her for some reason, and I kind of tamed her in a few weeks… but then she had to leave and I was left alone. What nobody knew was that I invented a huge number of spells for all sorts of elements in my childhood. This led me to grow way stronger than anyone at my age and I was pretty sure I could put up a fight with the strongest magicians.

At the age of ten, I realised I had a seal in my body which hid some sort of power. Despite having many spells, I lacked mana the most which restricted my abilities a lot. I taught Lien a few of my weaker spells and since she had a lot of mana, she turned into a prodigy.

The teacher came through the front door of the classroom and closed the back door with a wave of his hand. Why was I here? It was the law that stated that we had to finish high school, so I was pretty much forced by outside influence.

The teacher put his staff on the ground next to his small stage and looked at the class. "We've got a perfect ratio of girls and guys, huh. Alright! My name is Tim, but most of you probably know me already. I excel in Gravity Magic, Telekinesis, and I've got a few other tricks as well. I'll be your teacher for the next half of a year and I'll teach you all about Mana Control and the stuff I know. If you've got any complaints, then please tell me."

"Anyone? No? Okay. Then introduce yourselves and then I'll quickly get done with the 'important' stuff. Let's start with the row next to the window."

The girl at the front desk stood up and introduced herself. But I honestly couldn't be bothered to pay attention because Lien was leaning forward and I was enamoured by her cleavage… She is making it really hard on me by showing me such things. God, save me, I called her to live in our house… I'm starting to dread the coming days. How will I stay sane if she keeps flashing her body like this?

"Hey, you're next," Lien elbowed my side and broke my staring contest with her breasts. I quickly stood up like the others and said with a monotonous voice, "My name is Seth Clearfall, I'll turn seventeen in a few months like most of you, I excel in Dark Magic, lazing around after a tiring training session, and I know some Fire and Water Magic. That's all." I quickly sat back down, already feeling bad because of all the gazes on my back. I hated it when many people were looking at me. It made me feel uncomfortable…

"I'm called Lien Newin, I'm sixteen, I lived here in my childhood then moved to Ushua and now I'm back to Eglon again. I excel in a few types of Magic, but nothing out of the norm," she said and then sat down.

"Not being flashy, heh. Nice of you, but I've heard of your strange spell from the director already. I'm looking forward to seeing a talent like you," the teacher said. This is why I never told anyone about the types of magic I knew other than the three I mentioned. When the teacher called you out and praised you, it only made things even worse for most. I just didn't like attention. Seeing Lien's face, I was sure she felt the same way which wasn't surprising since we had quite similar mindsets.

She covered her face with her left hand as she leaned on the table and looked at me from the corner of her eye. She had to go through a test to get in, like every student. I suppose she did her best and caught the director's attention as a result. Since I lived here, I knew what was enough and never revealed more than necessary.

The rest of the class introduced themselves and then the teacher got on with the boring stuff. Thankfully he was the quick type. Two hours later we were on the battleground, which was actually a huge stadium with many smaller fields in it. After the teacher finished talking, we were let off.

"Do you live in the same place as before? I guess," Lien asked.

"Mhm."

"Alright, I'll go and get my things and then go to your house," she said and turned around to leave.

"Hey, wait. I am going with you," I followed her. When we reached the entrance door, I felt somebody grab the back of my shirt and pull me backwards. It was Alex.

"Come on here for a moment, you bastard. What's going on here? And most of all, why did you let me make a fool out of myself if you knew her!" he questioned me.

"It was fun. And she's my childhood friend. She returned after years and I'm the only one in our class who knows her."

"Childhood friend, huh. You've got a nice head start…" he grumbled

"Shaddup, I'm going now."

"Where?" he tilted his head to the side.

"To her 'house'," I replied laughing and turned around. She was looking at us from further away, her hands behind her back.

"Let's go," I said as I caught up with her.

"What did he want? Is it still about me?" she asked.

"Who knows~"

"So it is. Next time tell him to leave me alone, I'm not looking for a romantic relationship," she shook her head.

"So you're seeking pure carnal pleasure," I frowned.

"What the fuck are you talking about? I'm still a v-" realising what she wanted to say, she forced out a cough.

"I'm not that kind of girl, got it?"

"I know, I was just teasing you," I laughed. It was nice to see that she was still as easy to get along with, though I was sure she at least loved masturbating or something. I didn't believe that she was some pure lily.

"Okay. Now that I think about it, it's pointless to go there on foot and then carry everything in our hand. Our car is at home and I have a driving license, so it's easier if I drive you there and then back," I offered.

"I'm fine either way. I can use telekinesis to carry my stuff so it wouldn't be a bother even if I had to carry it. Makes me remember… 'I excel at dark magic and know some water and fire magic', was it?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Wipe that goofy smile off of your face…" I replied.

"You sure keep your secrets," she laughed at me.

"I do. Not that I'd protect it with my teeth and nails, I'm just not interested in garnering attention," I shrugged my shoulders.

"It seems like I'm the only one in the class who knows you? Unless your friends know about it-"

"They don't," I cut into her words.

"Alright."

"You seem to be happy about it."

"Why would I not be? This means I'm the only one you trusted enough to tell and it's been years since then," she said, visibly amused.

"Screw it, we walked a lot already… it's not worth going home at this point," I said as realisation dawned on me.

"I told you it doesn't matter, it's pretty close anyway," she replied. About five minutes later we arrived at a simple hotel and went to the second floor and to their room which was the twenty-second. She opened the door with her key and entered the room with me behind her back.

After a very short corridor, we arrived at the living room which had a dark blue sofa, a television in front of it, and a small table in between. The walls were peach coloured like in most hotels. It was a cosy room. There were three other rooms, two leading to bedrooms and one to the bathroom and toilet. There was also a kitchen behind the living room, separated by a thin wall. I was sure the hotel served food, but like at most places, that was expensive so they probably looked for a room with a kitchen.

"Father? I'm home," she raised her sweet voice. Sweet, sweet, damn it, everything about her is sweet! Something is wrong with me, I'm way too happy about her return, I thought.

"I'm here sweetie," Mr Michael came out of one of the bedrooms and stopped in place upon spotting me. He had very short and black hair on the top of his head and brown eyes. He was about a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, the same height as me. Furrowing his brows, he looked at me until realising who I was, "Ah! You must be Seth, right?"

"Indeed, good afternoon!" I nodded my head.

"I remember you hanging out a lot with my daughter back then. What brings you here? How have you been?" he asked.

"I'm fine and I just came to help Lien carry her stuff."

"Where? What's going on? Did you already find a place to stay at?"

"I did…" Lien replied, looking down a bit.

"You're suspicious, what about it? This was way too quick…" Mr Michael furrowed his brows.

"Hehe, the thing is… we have an empty room and after talking about it with my mother, I offered it up to her," I chimed in.

"That's really generous of you, but teenagers of your age living in one house is a bit… even if she is your childhood friend. Maybe you should look for another-" Mr Michael furrowed his brows, concerned over his daughter.

I guessed this would happen.

"Father, I know that you're worried, but it's alright."

Pressured, he asked, "And how much will it cost?"

"Nothing," I said. "If she helps out around the house it's more than enough. It was a bother to clean that empty room anyway."

"That's certainly something I can't allow. Name a price at least if she really intends to move to your house."

"I do," Lien added. She surely didn't want to burden her father and my offer was the best choice for her, even if she had to live with me. Well, I wasn't one to bug others and she knew it as well. I didn't know about anyone having problems with me.

Lien walked closer to Mr Michael and waited for his acceptance. Leaning closer, he whispered, "But Lien, you're both at that age. How could I let you-"

"Father, I told you it's fine. Seth isn't like that anyway," Lien replied.

I'm sorry, my hearing is good and I can't shut my ears without being obvious, I apologised in my mind for listening in on their conversation. I'm not like that you say… I'm starting to feel unsure of it with you around.

"Fine then!" he raised his voice and nodded his head. "But Seth, make sure you take care of my daughter! I don't want anything bad to happen to her!" he said looking deep into my eyes.

"Of course," I nodded my head. Seeing my seriousness, he heaved out a sigh of relief.

"Haah- alright. The earlier I go, the better it is, so I might leave today evening. Pack up your things," he said.

Lien went to her bedroom and after throwing a few things into her luggage, she returned.

"That was quick," I commented. I thought she'd take a long time to pack up.

"Well, I haven't taken out my things before, so it didn't take much to put everything back. Do you need me for anything, Father?"

"Well, you cooked last evening and there is still some of it left. I'll take that with me on the road. I can also pack my things alone, so no. Come here for a big hug!" he opened his arms. Lien looked at me a bit shy before going towards her father and hugging him.

Don't look at me like that, I would never laugh at you because of this… I rolled my eyes.

I saw Mr Michael was about to tear up, so I turned around. But in the next moment, Lien was already beside me and he was walking around in the room as if he was searching for something. I couldn't help but start laughing. "You know that I don't consider this a bad thing, no need to hide a thing!" I said.

"It seems like she will be in good hands," Michael commented, visibly in a better mood. "I'll take you two back home," he said.

"No need, Father."

"Don't stop me because you can't! Go, go. I'll drive you to your new… house," he shooed us out of the room. Lien put her things in their car and took the position of the driver.

"You wanna drive?" Mr Michael asked.

"Mhm. You can drive enough if you have to go back to Ushua."

"Ah, this time I won't go to Ushua. I'll stay in Eglon, but in another big city close to the border."

"Is that so? Well, you can still drive enough."

"Haha, you're right," he replied and sat in the passenger seat while I took my place in the back seats.

"I didn't know you had a driving license," I commented.

"What do you take me for?" she chuckled.

Although an idiot cut in our way on the road, Lien handled it well and nothing bad happened. Unfortunately, it was quite usual in this city. There were too many idiots. Since nobody was home when we arrived, Mr Michael had no way to talk with my parents and after taking Lien's baggage to her new room, he said goodbye.

"I'll call you when I arrive!" he shouted out the window and left with that.

"Okay! Bye and have a safe trip!" Lien waved her hand.

While they had their sad goodbye scene, I buried my face in my hands, thinking about the trouble I brought upon myself. It wasn't a bad kind of trouble, I just knew it'd be mentally or maybe… physically tiring if not dealt with. I mean, no matter what I said, but thinking about it, to live with a beauty like her was probably going to be hard. Especially if anyone in the school found out. I'll be murdered in cold blood because of the guys' jealousy. I must keep it a secret.

"What are you standing there for?" Lien waved her hand in front of my eyes to catch my attention.

"Ah, sorry. I was just spacing out. Come in, I'll show you around."

"Unless you reorganised the house, I still remember what is where," she said.

"Then you know everything," I said and led her to her room, which was right next to mine.

I'm killing myself.

The room had a bed in it under the window, a table which was empty with a chair, some random pictures on the wall, a wardrobe and a bookshelf. The latter had a few books in it about Magic, which held my personal experiences and test results. But since she knew about my 'hobby', I didn't care even if she read them. Since this country had an oceanic climate, it was quite warm most of the time.

She sat down on her bed and leaned back on it. "Haah- I feel tired for some reason…" she sighed loudly.

"Well, travelling can be really tiring. This summer I drove with my father to Ushua about three times. We transported apples and a few other types of fruits and I can tell you, I was tired after driving six hundred kilometers. If I had to drive the whole one thousand and two hundred kilometers alone… It could have been even worse," I said, leaning in the doorway.

"Want me to help you organise your things?" I offered my help.

"Ehm… Unless you want to take my panties right in front of me and similar stuff, then no…"

"Ah, uhm, no… that would be way too awkward," I laughed, my eyes twitching.

"I think so," Lien replied.

"I'll be in my room or in the backyard," I was about to leave but turned around for another sentence, "Oh, and make yourself feel home!"

"Thanks."

---

When my mother and father came home, they both welcomed Lien and questioned her about her life in Ushua. The dreaded moments of every teenager, but Lien knew it'd come. After telling them about it, we had dinner, and I went back to my room.

It came as a surprise when Lien entered my room without any warning and joined me. In learning, that is. Both of us had an interesting skill. We often forgot to knock and just swung open any door we found. I never minded if others did it, but unless somebody told me to knock on their door, I just let myself in. Since Lien was quite alike in that, I realised I'd have to be careful in the future for numerous reasons.

"What are you reading about?" she asked as she sat on my bed, her shoulders almost touching mine.

"I'm trying to find a way to transmute metals and turn them into anything that's soft. Vegetation, water, mud, I don't care… It's annoying when telekinesis users start throwing daggers and swords at me."

"And you need to use dark magic to stop it, I take?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah. If they don't have sight on the blade, they can't control it, so I usually use black clouds to hide the blades from their sights. But I want a way that can help me get rid of those shitty weapons!" I said.

"Did you lose against somebody because of this by any chance? You seem to be pissed off."

Looking at her, I nodded my head.

"Haah- sometimes I really don't get you. With your talent, you could easily turn into a rich and famous person," she sighed and looked at me. A smile formed on her face as she started laughing, "Of course, I understand you, I would never want to turn into a famous person. It'd be very annoying, probably," she shuddered. She could have become one herself.

"Hell, yes. So I'll just keep a low profile for now," I agreed with her.

"By the way, back to your problem, I believe you've heard of infusing transmuting. It might be the thing you're looking for since it's very quick."

"Oh! That might work, thanks! I'll go and test it," I said with a smile. Looking out the window, I realised it was already dark, "Well… or maybe I'll test it tomorrow."

We continued to read about the things we were interested in. Every person was born with a type of magic, mine was called transmuting. I was basically able to change the shape, mass, or even the components of a material. Gases were counted as materials too, so mine was one of the most powerful types of Magic out there.

The only problem was that except for gases, I had to touch the materials to change their attributes. Exactly because of this reason, most people with my type of magic went to laboratories and other similar places. We were often good at creating new magic since other than our inborn magic, we were able to learn others as well.

The one that was Lien's strongest spell was also my creation, though I had no idea how much she progressed with it since then. But this was also true only if it was still her strongest spell. The only difference between me and most transmuting people was that… my ability wasn't limited to 'upon contact', though others didn't know this. After checking it in the library when I was young, I realised my kind was called Blank Alchemist.

Lien's class was called Spellcaster, which was the same as our teacher's, Tim's. She was able to learn almost any type of Magic, so when I was younger, I taught her a few things. What others didn't know about Lien was that she could enhance her body and fight like a warrior with swords. This was also due to my teachings. Which made me wonder…

"Where is your katana while we're at it? I haven't seen it," I raised my head and asked.

"My katana? It's here," she pointed at her necklace, which had a tiny katana symbol. "Since we lived in one place, my father was able to save money continuously and bought this as a birthday present to me. It can store one weapon and its sheath. I could summon it anytime if needed, actually- Don't look at me with those shining eyes, here, you can hold it," she shook her head. Holding out her hand, her katana appeared in it and then she gave it to me.

I couldn't help but jump up and swing it a few times. I was also able to use weapons because unlike simple transmuters, I was able to transmute my body as well. But since I never told my parents my true class, they didn't know I had enough body strength to fight even against warrior types. Well, other than Lien who had seen me train many times, nobody knew it. The fact that I had an affinity for every element and any magic was again a secret of mine and I happened to be a sucker for cold weapons.

"Look at yourself, you're like a kid," she chuckled.

"Hush, you're no different."

"What? But I'm-"

"Who do you want to lie to? I was there when you've got this katana, I still remember your face!"

"...No fair," she pouted.

This girl is way too destructive. I bit my lower lips.

"Here, you can have it back," I said. When she stored it again, she stood up from my bed and flicked my forehead before leaving.

"I'm going to take a bath and sleep."

"Ah, that's the only thing that changed. We replaced the bathtub with a shower now," I said realising.

"Oh, great, I'll be quicker that way."

About five minutes later, I heard the door of the bathroom open. "Woah, a girl that showers about as quick as me," I talked to myself surprised. Leaving my room, I went down the stairs ready to take a shower as well, only to see her with nothing but a towel around her body.

"Are you being serious?" I stopped in my tracks.

"What?" she asked.

"...Please, next time wear more… clothes when you leave the bathroom."

"Okay~" she mused as she went past me. I didn't even dare to turn around. Looking down, I cursed in my mind, I can't sleep with a boner like this, can I?

---

Next morning I woke up to the alarm on my phone. "Aahh-- I hate school time," I grumbled.

I quickly stood up before I fell back asleep and dressed up. When I went down the stairs, I felt a nice smell hit my nose. Although I wasn't really hungry in the mornings, like most people, a sense of hunger still raised in me this time. I found my mother and Lien cooking something together. My cooking skills were good as well and I was the one who had to help Mother in the evening before. Maybe that will change from now on… or I'll cook together with them!

"Morning," I yawned.

"Good morning, Seth. Lien is helping me out, but don't you think you will be able to leave everything to her and spend all day with your experiments! You'll help her as well," my mother quickly shut down any sort of imagination I had about my new free-time activities. But at least, I'd get done with it quicker if Lien helped me out!

"I didn't think about things like those," I lowered my head.

Lien didn't even look at me as she started laughing, followed by my mother. "Father is already off, I suppose."

"Yeah. Lien, are you looking forward to your first day? You probably didn't have much time yesterday to get to know your classmates," my mother asked. "Oh, and call me Anna, no need for the miss!"

"Okay and I'm not sure if I'm looking forward or not."

"Why?"

"Yesterday two boys came to me already… It's tiring and annoying."

"Oh, I can understand them."

"Thanks."

I sat in silence at the table and listened to their conversation until I noticed that Lien was wearing black leggings, with a straw coloured sweater. Her leggings showed the perfect shape of her legs and round butt, intensifying my morning wood. By the time she turned around, I was banging my head on the table.

"What-What's wrong with you?" she asked concerned.

"Nothing…" I replied. "I'm just going nuts!"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," my mother commented and sat down at the table, bringing two plates of food. She put one in front of herself and the other in front of Lien's place.

"I don't get it?"

"You didn't help so you get it yourself," she laughed, but Lien arrived in the next second with my plate in her hand.

"Aww, you're being spoiled. Look at your girlfriend."

"Of course, of course, thank you very much, Master Lien," I said with a monotonous voice.

"Please tell me if I do something I shouldn't in the future. I'm just a freeloader here," Lien said before anyone could take a bite.

"What are you talking about? Seeing the amount you eat and considering that you're even going to help out, you're more of a present than a burden! Just do as you wish and make yourself home, alright? You're totally like my son sometimes… Makes me wonder if he did something to your brain."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Lien laughed.

"You can, I'm proud of my son!" Mother said.

"Good for me," I said while stuffing my mouth. "What is this? It's good as fuck."

"Lien made it, she said it's quite common in Ushua. Also, watch your mouth," she raised her hand.

"It's called Piri, a quick to make food, light on the stomach and delicious. Perfect in the mornings," Lien explained.

"I agree with that," I muttered with my mouth stuffed to the brim.

"You'd make a great wife and daughter-in-law," my mother blurted out something like that out of nowhere. My eyes twitched when I heard her, unsure of how to react to this delicate matter.

"Thank you," Lien laughed a bit awkwardly.

"For fuck's sake, Mother…"

"What? I was just telling the truth."

"Whatever," I shook my head helplessly. After finishing breakfast, we stood up from the table and left for school. I left a bit ahead of Lien to take a look outside, hoping that nobody would be outside. Seeing that the area was clear, I urged her, "Hurry up, Lien. We'll be late."

"What are you talking about? The bus will arrive in ten minutes and the station is just a minute of walk from your house," she grumbled, still doing as told. In this world, it was commonly known that the act of reproduction had great benefits to the advancement of our mana pools and our magical powers. That being the case, most teenagers my age had lost their virginity and went at it with their girlfriends or boyfriends maybe a bit more often than they normally would.

What made me and Lien a bit of a weirdo was that neither of us bothered with something like relationships, not to mention just single nights. Personally, I didn't like the idea of laying down with all kinds of girls I didn't even know, even if that would be the shortest way to increase my mana pool. Seeing her behaviour and considering what she said yesterday, I hoped that Lien thought similarly about this matter.

I wasn't sure if I 'loved' her or not, but I definitely liked her and didn't really want to see her with another man. But that could be just me trying to monopolise her and she wasn't an object, hence the reason I wasn't sure. Maybe I'll talk to her about this later. She shouldn't mind it too much, I think.

When we reached the bus station, two younger guys, around the age of fifteen were chatting while sitting on the bench. Seeing Lien, both of them stood up but didn't have the courage to call out to her and offer their places. I honestly felt like just sitting down like some kind of troll, but I held it in and continued to stand.

"You noticed, didn't you?" I whispered into her ear.

"I did, but I'm fine with standing. I have weights on my body so this is training as well," she mumbled.

"Weights? But where did you hide it?" I asked confused, not seeing any bulges under her clothes. Since her leggings fit her legs perfectly, it'd be hard to miss something like that.

"My shoes," she replied.

"But… if you keep standing in one place, it doesn't really count as a training," I facepalmed.

"Yeah, that's the point. But I can tell others that I'm training."

"You must be desperate."

"It's hard to avoid to rely on all kinds of guys when they keep offering me all kinds of things," she grunted.

"Hmm, but doesn't coming to my house count as relying on me as well?" I pondered.

"It does, but I've known you for many years and even if we were separated for five years, that fact didn't change. Right now, you're the only person I'd rely on other than my father," she smiled at me, making my heart skip a beat. She was dangerous and destructive.

"Thanks." Hearing me say that, her smile turned even brighter and more beautiful. I really felt like tasting her lips all of a sudden.

"Maaan, the air is hot around them," one of the kids whispered.

"Yea, what a lucky bastard," the other replied. Normal people wouldn't have heard them since they used a wind barrier as well, but they stood in front of me and those kinds of weak spells weren't worth anything in front of me.

"By the way, do you have practical classes here as well?" Lien put away her phone and looked at me.

"We do have practical class once a week. We spend the whole day fighting each other and then there is the monthly monster hunting events. Those are in the first week of each month. We'll probably have to go to a forest and hunt monsters either tomorrow or maybe Friday," I replied.

"Oh, that's good. I prefer practical classes over boring theories."

"Why'd they be boring? Don't you like researching? You seemed to have fun yesterday as well," I frowned.

"I do like it, but academic stuff is boring since you taught me those long ago…" she lowered her voice.

"Well, that's true and there are also parts that are, in my opinion, wrong, but that's beside the point. Have you learned anything new since then?"

"If you mean other than the spell you created for me, then not really. Nothing fancy, just normal spells, but I enhanced yours to a whole different level," she replied proudly.

"Hmm- I'll be looking forward to seeing it. Do you want to go somewhere after school?" I raised my brows.

"Is there anything new in the city?"

"Not really."

"Then I'll just spend my time in your room instead," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay."

My fap time is doomed. I guess I'll have to do it when she goes to bed.

"Are you sure it's okay? Tell me if I'm being a nuisance, you know I wouldn't want to bother you," she asked, seemingly a bit concerned.

"Uhm… I wonder if you'd get angry with me for this, but I'll tell you anyway. I was just a bit worried about my worldly desires if you get my point."

She looked at me with a blank face for a few seconds before nodding her head. "Should we appoint a time for it when I shouldn't go?"

Kill me, God. Kill me now. I can't answer this shit. Is she trying to murder me?

Forcing out a cough, I replied, "There is no need to change anything. You can come anytime and it's not like it works like that."

"Is that so? I'm quite sure your body could be conditioned to get aroused only at set periods."

"The way you talk about it so calmly makes it less awkward. I can only thank you for talking like that about such a touchy matter," I slightly nodded my head out of respect. I wanted to get hit by a car or something right now. The shame.

"It's not like I don't know what guys do in their rooms and humans have their instinctual need for stuff like that as well. I'm doing it as w- Anyway, if you don't need changes, then I'll let myself in from now on as well."

Ignoring her slip up, I said, "Sure." Now I want to see her doing it… a bit. Okay, I want to see it very much.

When the bus finally arrived, I turned to the side only to see the two kids looking at us strangely which made me realise we didn't really bother with our surroundings. Well, they were in that age already, so I didn't really care, but it was definitely a rather strange topic to talk about, especially because it was early in the morning and out in the open.

We sat on the bus and ten minutes later, we reached the school. It was empty as usual when we arrived and our class was just as empty. Since we had the classroom all to ourselves, Lien talked freely, "Do you… do you mind if I take a look at it? I'm sure you've enhanced it since then and my curiosity is killing me," she asked while leaning close to my face and gazing into my eyes.

I didn't have the strength to say no, but it wasn't a secret in front of her anyway. "I'm fine with it, but what if somebody comes in? It'd be hard to explain without putting me in a bad light."

"There would be no need to explain, they can believe whatever they want to. Just go on," she urged me. Rolling my eyes, I pulled up my shirt and showed her the seal around my navel. All six gates were shining with a dim green light and held in some sort of power. It made me feel happy that despite not being a true prodigy based on her assumptions, she still seemed to like me. At least, I knew she wasn't with me only for my power.

"It's so pretty. The ancient language has nice letters," she put her finger on the carvings in my skin and slowly moved it across them, not minding the fact that she was touching a rather 'dangerous' part of my body. My spear wasn't far away… was what I meant. Feeling my blood flow towards my lower half, I pulled down my shirt and fixed my clothes.

"Well, that was it. Happy now?"

"Yes. But I still find it weird that you don't know how it came to be and that it keeps extending on its own," she shook her head.

"Y-Yeah, that's indeed strange."

"Do you remember what you said yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" I raised my brows.

"About your place…"

"Oh, damn it." After switching places and taking the right seat of the desk, I slumped down.

"It's so much better in the corner," Lien shuddered, completely understanding my feelings.

The day passed by and our teacher announced that we'd have our monthly practical class tomorrow and that our weekly practical class would be held every Friday. The day passed by peacefully, though Alex still kept glaring at me with envy.

"Wasn't he your friend?" Lien asked when we left the school.

"I guess he is something like that. But you know me, I'd just call them 'people I can spend time with'. If they were really my friends, I'd dare to rely on them in anything and they'd know all my secrets and the other way around."

"Oh, I get your meaning. But why does he keep glaring at you?"

"It's because of my little joke with you on the first day," I scratched the back of my head.

"Uh… I don't like when somebody tries to pick me up. His motives were so obvious even though he didn't even know me. What if I was some stupid bitch? Would he be fine with any girl as long as they fit his taste? That's what I like in you the most. I know that you check out girls all the time, but you don't go after them with your tongue hanging out of your mouth like a dog. But I haven't met another guy like you yet. You must be weird," she said with a thoughtful face.

"I'm here, you know? And on that note, I could call you weird as well for not enjoying all the attention you get like most girls do," I replied. "They spend so much time with makeups, nails and other shit while you clearly don't care about either of those."

"Uh, I've tried using makeup before, but it seemed pretty pointless and was a real bother. Nails… why would I want those claws or what? I think it's them who are weird," she replied.

"If you're the one who's different than most, then you're the weird one. But it doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

"That's true," she nodded. She was so easy to deal with and I just loved that part of her. I wasn't sure if she was like that due to spending her childhood with me or because she had good nature, but I didn't really care. I was just happy to know that she was different than most of the girls.

I'm starting to sound like someone who's in love. What to do, I wonder. But talking about something like that would be weird for me as well. I'll have to make up my mind and confess later. I'm no good like this, I keep thinking of her all the time.

"Seth? You hear me?"

"No, I was spacing out, sorry."

"I can see that," she rolled her eyes. We got onto the bus, spent the afternoon cooking and the evening learning about magic. She was a real help around the house and my tests as well. With her around, I finished everything quicker and had more time. I went to bed a bit excited to go and hunt a few monsters. But what made me truly nervous was that I planned to convey my feelings to Lien.