"When you eliminate every other possibility, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."— Sherloes, Moriarty the Patriot

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  Fenrir, enveloped in a chilling aura, lu Cire with a growl.

  "Who are you calling ft-chested?! Scarlet, e out and show her what you're made of!" Cire shouted, crag her whip.

  Scarlet, the fiery cat spirit, materialized and pounced on Fenrir.

  Roy watched their antics with amusement, his arms crossed.

  It was more of a pyful scuffle than a real fight. her of them seemed i on seriously harming the other.

  Although Scarlet owerful, Cire couldn't utilize her full strength.

  And Ri's Fenrir, having been freed from the Vorpal Bunny, had regained some of its power.

  They were roughly equal in strength now.

  Suddenly...

  "What are you doing?!"

  A group of girls approached them.

  Leading the group was Ellis Fahrengart, the captain of the Sylphid Knights, silver armor and sp a blue ponytail.

  She was responsible for maintaining order within the academy.

  Two irls in simir attire followed behind her.

  Seeing Ellis, Cire and Riopped their pyful fight, their expressions turning sour.

  It seemed they weren't fond of the Sylphid Knights.

  "Didn't I say that private duels are forbidden within the academy? And... you're a man!" Ellis excimed, notig Roy's presence.

  She drew her sword and poi at him.

  "Why are you in the girls' dormitory area?" she demanded.

  Before Roy could answer...

  "I brought him here. What about it?" Cire and Ri decred in unison.

  They gred at each other, then turned away with a huff.

  "So it's your doing!" Ellis sighed, ping the bridge of her nose. She found those two troublesome.

  "Knight Captain, that's a rather rude way to greet someone," Ri retorted, annoyed by Ellis's attitude.

  "You two are always causing trouble. Am I wrong? Problem students of the Raven Css," Ellis shot back.

  Just then, the other Sylphid Knights arrived.

  "Cire Rouge... and Ri Laurenfrost..." one of the Knights, a girl with short bck hair, said with a frown.

  Another Knight, a girl with brown braided hair, sneered. "Lowly Ravens, what have you dohis time?"

  "What did you say?"

  "You want to repeat that?"

  Cire and Ri gred at the two Knights.

  But the Knights ighem, their attention focused on Roy.

  "You must be the male Elemental Spirit tractor the Headmaster personally weled."

  "Well, well, he's quite handsome." The girl with braided hair appraised Roy with a suggestive look.

  "What do you want?" Cire and Ri demanded, sensing her ill iions.

  "Hmph! try bumpkins will be try bumpkins. Uo find teammates, they resort to sedug traudents. How low-css," the girl scoffed.

  "How dare you call me a try bumpkin?!" Ri fumed.

  Roy also frowhis girl was quite rude.

  "The Laurenfrost family is all bark and no bite. Just a bunch of hillbillies," the girl tinued her taunts.

  "W... w... hahaha..." Ri's aurned into a chilling smile.

  Although she still maintained her noble demeanor, an air of menace surrounded her.

  The bck-haired Knight turo Cire.

  "Cire Rouge, you're not even a true noble. Just the sister of a traitor."

  "Holy, why does the academy even allow someone like you to enroll?"

  "Shut up, or I'll turn you into charcoal!" Cire snapped, her voice trembling with barely suppressed rage.

  She g Roy, worried about his rea to learning that she was the younger sister of the infamous Camity Queen.

  Seeing his ral expression, she rexed slightly.

  The two Knights, realizing they had truly angered Cire and Ri, fell silent.

  "That's enough, you two," Ellis scolded them, then turo Cire and Ri. "Private duels are forbidden in the academy. Don't do anything foolish like this again. And take this man away from the girls' dormitory. Uood?"

  With that, she turo leave with the other two Knights.

  ...

  ...

  "Hold it right there, Ellis Fahrengart! Are you running away?" Cire's voice rang out.

  "What did you say?" Ellis stopped and turned around.

  Cire's voice was calm, but her anger was evident. Her haed on the hilt of her sword.

  "You heard me. So the Sylphid Knights are all cowards, huh?" Cire sneered.

  "Cire Rouge, I won't tolerate anyone who insults the Sylphid Knights," Ellis decred, drawing her sword and pointing it at Cire and Ri.

  The other two Knights also drew their swords.

  "I'll return those words to you. Insult me all you want, but I won't allow ao insult my sister!"

  "Ellis Fahrengart, I challenge you to a duel!" Cire cracked her whip, her voice filled with determination.

  "I'll duel them too! How dare they insult the Laurenfrost family?! I'll teach them a lesson!" Ri added fearlessly.

  "Acg us of running away? That's an insult to the Sylphid Knights."

  "I accept your challenge. Holy, I've had enough of you Ravens and your unruly behavior."

  As a Knight, Ellis valued honor and couldn't back down from a challenge.

  "We'll meet at the front gate tonight at midnight. You decide the format," she decred.

  "A one-on-one duel is troublesome. How about a three-versus-three?" Cire suggested, gng at Roy.

  "Fine." Ellis sheathed her sword and nodded in agreement.

  She then turned a with the other Knights.

  "Hmph! I'll make them regret this! Especially that girl with the short hair. I'll teach her some manners!" Cire fumed, gring at their retreating figures.

  "This is a good ce to put those arrogant Knights in their pce. I've had enough of them too," Ri agreed.

  "Don't drag me down, Ri!"

  "Oh please, you should be the one worried about holding me back."

  The two girls started bickering again.

  Roy sighed.

  He already had Saya and Mine stantly arguing at home. Adding Cire and Rio the mix would make things even more chaotic.

  ...

  ...

  "Roy, you have to help me!" Cire pleaded, abandoning her argument with Ri and approag Roy with puppy-dog eyes.

  "How am I supposed to help you?" Roy asked, amused.

  "Join my team, Scarlet!" Cire excimed.

  "Hmph! Stray cat, Roy should join my team!" Ri retorted, ging to Roy's arm.

  "Get away from me, you Chihuahua! I asked him first!"

  "You're the stray cat!"

  They started arguing again.

  Roy sighed. "Cire, why do you want me on your team?" he asked, interrupting their bickering.

  The two girls stopped arguing and looked at him.

  "Because I want to win the Bde Dan two months!" Cire decred.

  Then, remembering the Knight's earlier insult, she hesitated.

  "And... I want to see someone," she tiaking out a small neckce with a silver locket.

  A red gem was embedded in the locket.

  "I'm actually the sed daughter of the Elstein family," she revealed.

  The Elstein ducal family had served the royal family of the Ordesia Empire feions.

  They were a powerful and iial family, known for produg many talented individuals.

  Several of the five Elemental Princesses, the highest-ranking Elemental Spirit tractors who served the Elemental Lords, were from this family.

  Or rather, they were from this family.

  Four years ago, everything had ged.

  Rubia Elstein.

  That name had brought unpreted disaster to the Ordesia Empire. She was known as the Camity Queen.

  Like Cire, she had fiery red hair.

  "That's right. Rubia Elstein, the Camity Queen, is my older sister," Cire firmed, looking at Roy with a serious expression.

  "And?" Roy asked, waiting for her to tinue.

  "Aren't you... disgusted by me?" Cire asked, searg his eyes.

  She was surprised to find no ge in his expression. He was still smiling calmly.

  "Well, I'm not disgusted by you," Roy replied with a nod.

  Cire's eyes lit up with relief.

  But Roy khe truth was far more plicated than Cire realized.

  Rubia had bee the Fme Princess at the young age of fifteen.

  She had been an idol to Cire, Fianna, and many other young Elemental Spirit tractors.

  But one day, four years ago, everything ged.

  The Fire Elemental Lord had demahe "True Fme" of the Elstein family, which resided within Cire.

  This had triggered the distrust Rubia had always harbored towards the Elemental Lords.

  She infiltrated the sanctuary where the Elemental Lords resided and discovered a hidde.

  The Fire Elemental Lord had been corrupted by the True Darkness and had lost his mind.

  Rubia decided to betray the Elemental Lords. She stole the stro Fme Spirit, the God-Sying Fmes.

  As a result, her homend, the Elsteiory, and much of the Ordesia Empire were ied by the enraged Fire Elemental Lord.

  Roy suspected that the Fire Elemental Lord wasn't after Cire's life.

  He was after the True Fire that resided within her.

  Yes, the true element that the Elemental Lords craved.

  The True Darkness had been cimed by Ren Ashdoll, the Dark Elemental Lord.

  And the True Fire had been stolen by the Spirit tractors, its whereabouts unknown.

  The Spirit tractors were the aors of humans.

  Roy didn't know how they had used the True Fire.

  But somehow, the True Fire had been passed down through geions and had awakened within Cire.

  The Elstein family's fmes inated from this True Fire.

  And the fmes that Cire wielded in the inal story, capable of burning other fmes, were likely a part of the True Fire.

  Rubia's fmes, which defied the ws of the world and could freeze other fmes, were also likely a part of the True Fire.

  But they weren't as powerful as Cire's.

  Ri finally uood why Cire was called Cire Rouge instead of Cire Elstein.

  It was because of her sister, Rubia Elstein, who had betrayed the Fire Elemental Lord.

  The Empire had stripped the Elstein family of their titles aory.

  Her parents had been put on trial and imprisoned.

  And Cire had been allowed to study at Areishia Spirit Academy only after losing her family name.

  Ri felt a pang of sympathy for Cire.

  "Hey, what's with that look?" Cire gred at her, annoyed by her pitying gaze.

  Ri didn't argue with her.

  "Well... I'll accept your request," Roy said, agreeing to join Cire's team.

  "Yay!" Cire was overjoyed.

  She had witnessed Roy's strength firsthand. With him oeam, she could definitely win the Bde Dance.

  "But..."

  "But what?" Cire's excitement turned into apprehension.

  "But you'll have to work hard. I won't interfere unless it's absolutely necessary," Roy expined.

  Cire was relieved.

  "No problem!"

  "Waaah, Roy, why won't you join my team?" Ri wailed dramatically, pretending to cry.

  She set that he had chosen Cire over her.

  "Um... Ri, do you want to join our team too?" Roy asked awkwardly.

  "Sure!" Ri readily agreed.

  "Hey, I'm the leader of Team Scarlet! But... si's Roy's invitation, I'll let you join," Cire decred, trying to maintain her pride.

  "Hmph! I'm not joining your team for you, stray cat. It's only because Roy invited me," Ri retorted with a sneer.

  "You Chihuahua! Do you want to fight?"

  "I'm not afraid of you!"

  Roy sighed as they started bickering again. He gently patted their heads.

  "Alright, that's enough. We should focus on the uping duel with the Sylphid Knights."

  Cire and Ri blushed and stopped arguing.

  Cire then invited Roy to rest in her room.

  Sihey had a duel with the Sylphid Knights at midnight, Roy accepted her offer.

  Ri also joihem, g that she couldn't let them be aloogether.

  Then, the two girls fell asleep.

  'They trust me way too much,' Roy thought with a sigh, sipping his tea as he watched over them.

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