I sighed loudly and tried again, because obviously I was a pro at failing.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and my hands started trembling like I’d just touched a live wire.

"Feel your core."

"Call your weapon."

Yeah, easy for them to say.

Five seconds in—

"BLANCA!"

My brow twitched losing my focus, but I ignored them.

"OPEN YOUR EYES DAMN IT!"

They couldn’t just let me focus, could they?

I opened my eyes to glare at them but the first thing I saw was the Rogue charging straight at me, probably thinking I was a sitting target.

"Blanca, get out of the way!" Ravian shouted.

"Why are you still sitting there?!" Stephano barked.

"Oh no! Blanca!" Vivienne said, sounding concerned but her eyes were clearly waiting for me to be trampled by the Rogue.

"Move or you’ll die," Silvano Orientaly added helpfully.

’Oh, thank you. That’s very comforting.’

"...Okay," I muttered.

This time, I really closed my eyes, clasping my hands together like I was about to negotiate with whatever questionable entity lived inside me.

’Whatever you are, I need you right now! Come out already or I’m going to die! Why is this even inside my body? This makes no sense! Come on—come on—COME—’

Something touched my hand.

"Oh my—YES! I finally did it! I—"

Suddenly, I was yanked sideways as we hit the ground hard.

The Rogue slammed into the tree where I had been standing a second ago, splintering it like it owed him rent.

"My Lady, you really are out of your mind!" Gawain snapped, already dragging me away like I was a sack of very problematic potatoes.

Instead of gratitude, I got angry at him.

"Why didn’t you tell me everyone can summon weapons?!" I snapped, clutching what I had just summoned.

"I didn’t think you would need it!" he shot back.

"Well I need it now!"

"Well congratulations," he said flatly. "You already have your weapon."

I looked down at the weapon I’m holding. "...What is this?"

It was long, slim, elegant, and dangerous-looking in a very unnecessarily complicated way.

"...Is this a whip?" I frowned.

"No, My Lady," Gawain said, already bracing himself. "That’s a whip sword."

I stared at it.

"...Why can’t I just have a normal sword?" I demanded. "Why does mine have commitment issues?!"

He sighed. "Because you’re not normal."

"That is not comforting!"

I gave the whip sword a cautious flick and almost immediately decapitated myself.

SHING

It curved right back towards my face, ducking just in time as the tip sliced through a strand of my hair instead.

We both stared at it.

"...I want a refund," I said immediately.

"That’s your soul weapon," Gawain replied, completely unhelpful. "So bear with it."

"Absolutely not. Where’s the return policy? Who do I complain to? Management? The universe?"

"You don’t have a choice."

I stared at him. "...What’s yours anyway?"

"Twin daggers."

Two sleek blades appeared in his hands looking sharp, beautiful, and obedient.

"You want to swap?" I asked, already reaching for them. "Yours look cooperative. Mine looks like it has anger issues."

"That’s not how it works, My Lady," he said, and just like that—poof—his daggers vanished before I could even touch them.

I gasped. "You’re gatekeeping weapons now?!"

"I’m preventing you from embarrassing yourself further."

"Then make it work."

"I can’t. Every weapon is bound to its owner. You don’t adapt the weapon, the weapon forces you to adapt."

I looked down at mine.

It twitched menacingly.

"...I don’t like that philosophy."

Behind us, Ravian shouted my name again.

"BLANCA!"

I turned around just in time to see the Rogue had already recovered, still committed to ruining my day and charging like I insulted its entire bloodline.

"Gawain you need to help—"

When I looked back, Gawain was smiling at me suspiciously while giving me the "I’ve been waiting for this exact moment to ruin your life" kind of look.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I took a step back.

"My Lady," he said pleasantly, "now is the best time to train."

"No—"

Before I could even finish protesting, he shoved me hard.

"GO, MY LADY!"

I stumbled forward like a sacrificial offering to the Rogue.

I KNEW IT.

HE WAS TAKING REVENGE.

"YOU TRAITOR—!"

The Rogue roared.

I screamed internally. ’OKAY OKAY WAIT WAIT—!’

Externally, I was gripping my whip sword so hard like it might break any second.

"Listen," I muttered to the weapon. "We started off on the wrong foot, mostly your fault,but now we need to cooperate."

The whip sword twitched unhelpfully.

"Just—don’t hit me," I added quickly.

The Rogue lunged as I panicked and swung the whip sword carelessly.

WHIP—CLANG—CRACK

The blade shot forward and wrapped around the Rogue’s arm.

’Wait... did I just catch its arm?’

The Rogue tried to pull back but the whip tightened.

"Hold it!" Ravian shouted from behind.

"I AM HOLDING IT!" I yelled back, equally shocked.

Stephano froze mid-step. "...She actually did something useful."

"I ALWAYS DO USEFUL THINGS!"

"Name one!"

"I EXIST!"

"That’s debatable!"

"CAN YOU TWO NOT—" Vivienne snapped, firing an arrow.

Silvano moved in silently, striking the Rogue while it was restrained.

Meanwhile I was barely holding the whip.

"...What do I do now?" I whispered.

"Don’t let go!" Ravian said.

"I AM TRYING NOT TO DIE!"

The Rogue thrashed making the whip jerked as I got dragged forward.

"Oh no—NO NO—!"

"Use the momentum!" Silvano called out.

"What momentum?! I’M THE ONE BEING MOMENTUM!"

Gawain, from behind, looked pleased.

I will remember this.

I will haunt him and ruin his life.

The Rogue pulled again, this time something clicked inside me.

My grip suddenly shifted, stance adjusting, and without thinking, I pulled back hard.

The whip snapped tight as I twisted my wrist, the blade segments shifted making the Rogue lose its balance and fall on the ground.

Everyone froze for a split second including me.

Ravian blinked. "...You just did that."

Stephano stared. "There’s no way she meant to do that."

"I DID," I said immediately.

’I did not.’

Gawain chuckled behind me. "See? You’re learning."

"I hate you."

"You’re doing great."

"I will fire you."

"You can’t."

"I’LL FIND A WAY."

The Rogue was just starting to push itself back up—again, because apparently it didn’t understand the concept of staying down.

"NOW!" I yelled, because I absolutely refused to go through that whole near-death experience twice in one day.

That seemed to finally get through to them.

In one clean, terrifyingly synchronized motion, the four moved.

Ravian stepped in first, striking straight through its opening.

Stephano followed with a brutal hit that actually looked personal.

Silvano finished the chain with precise, efficient cuts.

And Vivienne released the final shot.

The Rogue finally collapsed.

What I didn’t know was that I was also in the brink of collapsing.

The moment my whip sword vanished, it felt like someone unplugged my entire existence.

My vision blurred. "...Oh," I mumbled weakly. "That’s... not good."

Everything suddenly felt too heavy—my arms, my head, even my breathing felt like I was drowning.

"...I think..." I swayed slightly, "...this is where I—"

My legs finally gave up and just as the ground rushed up to greet me, I didn’t hit it. Instead, I fell into someone’s arms.

"Am I going to die?" I asked weakly, staring up at Ravian like he was responsible for my current condition.

He let out a quiet breath, adjusting his hold on me like this was completely normal. "Considering it’s your first time summoning your weapon, this is expected. It really drains your mana but you’ll get used to it."

"Ah," I murmured. "...So I’m dying because I tried to be useful."

"You’re not dying."

"That’s disappointing."

"You’ll live."

"Also disappointing."

Despite my complaints, I could already feel my consciousness slipping.

"J-Just put me down," I shifted slightly, trying to regain at least a shred of dignity. "I can handle myself."

"You can’t even keep your eyes open," he pointed out calmly.

"That’s a minor detail."

"I’ll carry you to the infirmary," he said and started walking.

Excuse me?

Without my permission?

While I was still conscious enough to be embarrassed?

Before I could protest again, a shadow blocked our path.

Gawain.

He stepped forward, smiling politely. "Thank you for your concern," he said, voice smooth. "But there’s no need. I’m already here to take care of her."

There was a brief silence.

The kind where two people smile but are absolutely not smiling.

Ravian didn’t move. "She’s exhausted."

"I’m aware."

"I’m already carrying her."

"And I’ll be the one to continue."

Even in my half-dead state, I could feel the tension.

"That won’t be necessary," Ravian said calmly.

"It will," Gawain replied just as smoothly.

"I can manage."

"I insist."

I blinked slowly between them.

"...Am I... a package?" I whispered.

Neither of them answered because they were too busy staring at each other like this was a battlefield.

Honestly?

If I had the energy, I would enjoy this. Unfortunately, my body chose that exact moment to completely give up.

"...You two are... annoying..." I muttered faintly.

Everything went black.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Just when Gawain and Ravian are about to have a full-blown argument—

"Ah!"

Vivienne yelped dramatically as she suddenly tripped—out of nowhere—right next to Ravian.

She hit the ground with a soft but extremely theatrical thud, scraping her knee in the process.

Ravian blinked. "...How did you even fall in slow motion?"

"I don’t know..." Vivienne pouted, already holding her knee.

Gawain glanced at her for exactly one second—just enough to confirm the situation—then smiled at Ravian like a man who had just been handed a gift from the heavens.

"It seems your friend is in need of your help," Gawain said pleasantly, wearing his petty victory smile.

Ravian narrowed his eyes. "What—"

In an instant, Gawain pulled Blanca fully into his arms, carefully adjusting her.

"I will take care of my friend as well," he added cheerfully, already walking away with her in tow.

Ravian stared after them for a moment before slowly looking down.

Vivienne was still holding her knee, blinking up at him.

Right.

Responsibility.

He exhaled quietly and knelt down, helping her up with a steady hand. "Be careful next time, Viv. You’re too clumsy."

"I will," Vivienne said, pouting adorably.

Ravian extended his hand again, ready to lift her, but the moment she stood, she lost her balance and fell right back, grabbing onto the hem of his pants for dear life.

"...Viv?" he said slowly.

She looked up at him, her expression soft and almost fragile like a porcelain doll about to break. "C-Can you carry me? I... don’t think I can walk properly."

Ravian stared at her, then looked up at the sky, then back at her like he was trying to find an escape route.

"...I—" he started, mouth opening to spout some excuse, when suddenly, a miracle happened.

"Viv? What happened?" Stephano appeared, looking like a very angry rescue service.

Ravian almost sighed in relief.

"I stumbled and scraped my knee," Vivienne said instantly, activating maximum helpless energy.

"You’re clumsy as always," Stephano’s expression softened instantly. "Let me carry you."

"No— I—" Vivienne opened her mouth—probably to refuse—but it was too late.

Stephano already scooped her up like it was nothing.

"...Let’s go to the infirmary," Ravian said, already turning around, following where Gawain had carried Blanca.

"Wait," Silvano said calmly, still standing where logic apparently lived. "We should report to the instructor first—"

When he looked up, they were already gone.

All of them.

"...Yeah," Silvano muttered to himself, turning slowly in the empty battlefield. "Leave me here to deal with this mess alone. What am I even supposed to tell the instructor?"

He exhaled through his nose. "This annoying group of brats," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.