SRC 46

Chapter 46

“Noah!”
A familiar face appeared.
And it wasn’t just one face.

“What on earth is going on!”
My sister, along with Aiden and Lucas, appeared with worried faces.
They alternated between looking at Liam, who had been severely beaten, and me, whose hair was still being held by the boy.

“These guys…!”
Aiden, furious, immediately ran toward the boys who had hit Liam.
He jumped and delivered several kicks, and the boys collapsed helplessly.
Noah also ran over and magically bound the boys who had hit Liam.
Emma and Lucas immediately came toward me.

“If you come any closer, I won’t let this girl go!”
The lead boy kept holding my hair and suddenly pressed a cold, sharp knife to the back of my neck.

“If you so much as touch Olivia, I won’t forgive you.”
My sister lowered her voice and took a stance as if ready to fight at any moment.

“Uh, sis. Be careful.”
I was terrified and silently wished someone would stop her.
No matter what, I didn’t think my sister could lose to this boy, but still…

At that moment, Lucas, somehow, leveled a long sword at the boy’s neck.
It seemed he had rushed toward the boy while my sister had my attention.

“You’d better put that knife down if you want to live.”
“You wouldn’t even be able to stab me anyway,” the boy sneered.
Lucas didn’t back down.

“Under Imperial law, if it’s self-defense, at least I could cut off your head. Don’t you know that?”
Lucas’s sword pressed deeper against the boy’s neck.
Perhaps valuing his own life, the boy’s knife slowly slid off my neck.

Then—
Bam!
My sister suddenly appeared and kicked the boy squarely in the stomach.
Since the boy had lowered his knife, it didn’t touch my neck.
I gawked as the boy flew far away.

“You really think you can touch my sister and get away with it?”
My sister wasn’t satisfied with him just falling.
She chased him again, hitting him until dust rose from the floor.
Even I was scared watching her ruthless side.
Wait… when did my sister get this strong at fighting?

“Emma, stop it!”
Even Lucas tried to hold her back.

“Don’t stop me! People like this need to be beaten until they learn!”
Then, Liam, covered in blood from being beaten, appeared and grabbed my sister’s arms, barely stopping her.

“Let go!”
“The revenge is enough. If something happens, what will you do?”
“Aren’t you angry after being beaten like that?”
“I am angry. But punishing them like this isn’t the way.”

At Liam’s firm gaze, my sister finally stopped moving.
Meanwhile, Lucas untied me from my bindings.
Then he used a spare rope in the corner to tie up the three boys.

“I guess getting expelled from the Academy wasn’t enough punishment for them.”
Liam wiped the blood dripping from his face with the handkerchief Noah handed him.

“These guys can’t be reformed. You have to crush them properly from the start.”
Noah said firmly and moved his fingers.
The boys tied with ropes each began complaining of headaches.

“Ugh, my head!”
“What did you do to us?”
“My head feels like it’s going to split…!”

Noah laughed at them and added,
“Until you’re handed over to the Imperial Police, you won’t be able to think at all because of the pain. So forget trying any clever tricks.”

Normally, mental-type magic wasn’t used on people.
It was implicitly taboo because mental magic could easily destroy a person—it was almost like black magic.
But Noah used mental magic without hesitation.
It was undoubtedly to properly warn them.
Even in the Academy’s gym storage, he didn’t care about using magic openly—it looked somehow cool.

“The punishment for mocking Noah’s precious friends needs to be proper.”
“Well done, Noah.”
For once, Liam praised Noah.
Aiden placed his hands on his waist and looked down at the boys.

“If we call the police here, it’ll cause a big scene. We should tell the principal and hand them over in a discreet place.”
Aiden naturally pulled out a communication device banned in the Academy.
He even contacted the principal directly with it.

Was it really okay to openly break Academy rules like this?
Well, Noah had also openly used magic where it wasn’t allowed…

Once the situation settled, my sister carefully checked me over.

“Olivia, are you hurt anywhere?”
“Other than losing a few hairs, I’m fine. They were actually kind of timid.”
I tried to act calm and looked around.
Still, my sister didn’t look relieved.

“Really?”
I even stomped in place to show I was okay.
Once she saw I was fine, her attention immediately turned to Liam.

“What exactly did you do that made them kidnap Olivia?”
Liam looked troubled.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted a little help from Olivia…”
“I told you! Olivia isn’t going to get involved!”
My sister raised her voice, unusually loud.

“I was wrong. From the start, I didn’t intend to drag Olivia in, like you said.”
Liam sincerely apologized.
Unfortunately, my sister didn’t accept it.

“Because of you, Olivia got into this mess. How are you going to take responsibility?”
“I’ll do whatever I can. I’m really sorry.”

My sister looked like she was about to make Liam kneel.
I was fine, and this wasn’t Liam’s fault—it was the foolish thoughts of the other boys.
I didn’t want these two friends to fall out over this.

“Sis, calm down. I told you I’m fine.”
“Just thinking about the mental shock you went through, I can’t forgive Liam.”
“I only did what I could, and Liam didn’t think this far. It’s not his fault. It’s theirs.”
I pointed at the tied-up boys.

Even with their headaches, they seemed like they wanted to say something, but Noah’s added Silent spell kept them completely quiet.

“Still—”
“No, sis. Just look at the results. I’m safe. Liam came running to protect me. Of course, you and the others came too. That’s all I need to be grateful for.”

Honestly, it wasn’t like I wasn’t scared.
I had worried whether someone would come in time.
After all, I wasn’t the main character—just an ordinary extra, not someone important in this world.
But at the critical moment, Liam came, and so did my sister, Aiden, Noah, and Lucas.
That was enough.

“Sis, I’m not as weak as you think. I’m seventeen now, and I’m ready to take responsibility for any consequences of my choices. I won’t blame anyone else. This was my choice to help Liam.”

“Olivia…”
“And I survived. Justice won, the bad guys were caught. Isn’t that enough?”

Fortunately, my sister stopped being angry at Liam after seeing my smile.
I quickly changed the topic before she could get angrier.

“How did you all know where to come?”
“They left a note at Liam’s place. It said only Liam should come, but of course, they didn’t follow that. Stupid guys.”

Noah’s usually bright face turned cold.
The boys, meeting his merciless gaze, hung their heads, realizing their mistake.

“Thanks, Noah, for bringing everyone.”
I approached Noah and held his hands.
Blushing, he looked shy, unlike usual.

“I’ll come to save you again if you’re ever in trouble.”
“It feels reassuring knowing you’ll come, Noah.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”

Is there any other magician like Noah in the world?
Even if only he came the next time I was in danger, I would feel safe.

“Same here. If our junior is in trouble, I’ll come to help anytime.”
Aiden also felt reliable.
His fighting ability, like a battle-hardened fighter, left an impression in such a short time.
I had thought he was just a studious, refined boy.

“It’s better to be careful so you don’t end up in such a situation in the first place.”
Lucas’s warning made sense.
If I had been a little more careful, I might not have been kidnapped.

Finally, I went to Liam, who looked unsure.

“Thank you for coming, senpai. Because of you, I survived without serious harm.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through this because of me.”
“I told you, it’s not your fault.”
I reached out and patted Liam’s arm.
Looking at me like that, a strange color appeared in Liam’s eyes.