Scarlet

I ignore the frightened looks of the students around me as I sit in the back of the class with Aria sitting on my lap, the girl having practically forced the poor professor into letting her sit in. Which definitely goes to show that she isn’t afraid to use her father’s reputation when it benefits her, despite it all being rather baseless when he wouldn’t actually help her if it came down to it. Just that no one is willing to test that theory.

And now I’m starting to be treated in a similar yet different manner as well, since people know I’m White’s daughter now. Something that completely squashed the few rumors that had actually started building up at one point about me being an orphan.

Technically I guess I’m not an orphan anymore anyways. Not considering that White is my biological mother, regardless of if she has any sort of claim to being able to call herself my mother or not.

Then again, that’s a complicated subject. One that we’ll all cross when we go through with the adoption during the Summer.

I take my attention away from the students and the sleeping child on my lap to focus on the professor as he continues his Guardian History lecture, ignoring the student’s obvious lack of attention, “Now as many of you know, the three Class V Fractures that have opened up over the course of our history have brought with them disasters worse than any humanity has ever faced before. The Fracture in the year 2045 that opened up in old-world Japan’s capital called Tokyo – the city that used to be the most populated city in the entire planet – ended up making humanity lose the entire nation thanks to the oni known as Satan, kickstarting the founding of the Republic. The Fracture in the year 2175 that opened up in the Arctic, decades after the Republic began settling there in a failed attempt to spread out the population and keep Fractures from appearing as often, ended up making the entirety of the Arctic get overrun with undead demons. All of whom were led by the ghoul known as Damien val Shadowblade, who went missing not long after the Black and Purple Knights of Humanity went to vanquish him.”

That must’ve been the point in time that the councilmembers of the Republic realized they couldn’t avert the Fractures no matter how hard they tried. If they tried spreading the people out, then they risk a Gate opening up because no one could arrive to stop a Fracture in time. And if they put everyone in one place, then Fractures happen way too frequently.

Neither of which were good solutions. But they eventually decided that the loss of life caused by the greater number of Fractures was less of a risk than the possibility of more Gates opening up on Earth.

“Lastly, there was the third and final Class V Fracture that happened just about nineteen years ago. One that opened up in this very city of Terra and was led by a kitsune known as Shiro Oniryu. However, unlike the other two Class V Fractures, the kitsune was slain by White herself before she went on to fight an unnamed blood lycan in the Fracture, only for the core to be destroyed before she could kill him,” the professor continues, making me stiffen up ever so slightly at the mention of a blood lycan.

I begin to tune out the rest of the lecture as thoughts about the blood lycan fill my head.

That blood lycan… Allen mentioned before he’d seen a blood lycan that looked a lot like me in some ways during that Fracture. And it was also the Fracture that happened right around when I was born.

Could that blood lycan… have been my father? Or maybe someone who worked for him at least?

I… don’t know. There isn’t enough information. Especially since White won’t tell me anything. Not even to this day, over a month after she finally started speaking to me.

“At least she’s trying to make up for her mistake, unlike some parents would in her position,” Tar says, making me frown slightly. “Don’t get me wrong. I support you in whatever decisions you make, and I agree that what your birth mother did was absolutely terrible and unforgivable. But she is still trying at least.”

I purse my lips at the thought before reluctantly nodding my head lightly.

She has been coming to see me at least once a day ever since we met in the magical reality to watch the tournament with Aria. And she hasn’t really been a bother, leaving whenever I tell her to and not staying any longer. She’s even helped me a few times in unimportant things such as babysitting an unconscious Blake.

“I still can’t believe you did that,” Tar mutters, making a slight smirk find its way onto my face.

Well, it worked, didn’t it?

Tar grumbles something about how a Knight shouldn’t be delegated to babysitting.

I ignore him, of course.

Something I did realize a few nights after leaving her to babysitting duty is that she was watching over me during that Fracture. Why she was doing so, I’m not sure. Because I know she won’t step in even if I were about to die to a demon. Just the fact that I’m still getting EXP and achievements from the System is enough proof for that.

So why is she watching over me?

To protect me from Rogues? From demons not from Fractures?

Whatever her reasoning is, I feel a little conflicted about her watching me. Because it kind of sucks to know that she’d just watch me die but is nice to know that she’ll probably kill off any Rogues who come after me. Like she apparently has already done before, if Allen’s words are to be believed.

I’m roused from my thoughts by the sound of something hitting the desk up front, followed by the professor stating, “That’ll be all for today’s class. Make sure you study the events surrounding the three Class V Fractures and are ready for a quiz next class!”

I glance down at Aria before pondering about how exactly I’m going to wake her up.

Or, wait…

Guess that’ll work.

I disconnect my terminal from the device on the desk before shifting around a little and picking Aria up as I stand up.

Don’t have to wake her up at all.