I suppose there could have been worse times to find out that anything my party members do, whether I'm present or not, can still cost me. Was that the point the demon empress was trying to make?

Yeah, that has to be it. She's trying to make me see that even other people's actions have consequences…

…

…I think. But I'm kind of dumb anyway and I'll be the last person to deny it.

Yes, a dumb person in a frilly two-piece bathing suit, sitting on a blanket under a movable canopy while my stheno maid in a similar but even more frilly outfit fans me with a massive tree leaf. Meanwhile, Lyra is building an unexpectedly complex sandcastle, and Joy – shifted into a fully wolf form, which is something he can apparently do – runs the beach from one end to the other and periodically dives in.

Much to the chagrin of his own personal maid who seems to be some kind of vampire derivative. I'm not really sure what though, when I asked she simply scowled at me.

I guess only the stheno maid has orders to serve me or whatever, but that's fine. I never asked for a maid to begin with.

And then there's Shaya.

I sigh lightly causing Alice to furrow her brow, but I can't help it! My friend has been hiding in the woods behind us since we got here, only occasionally peeking out at me, and if I give any indication that I've noticed she just hides again!

…

"Why are we here again?"

"Because, young miss," my attendant answers, "I wanted to come here."

"Okay, but why?"

She simply smiles back. Great.

"Is this really all you wanted to do here?"

More smiles.

A massive sigh escapes me. "Fine."

At least I guess this bathing suit's yellow contrasts well with my scales.

***

I'll admit that was far less horrible than I'd expected. I was sure that Alice was going to ask for, I don't know… some mortal to eat or something?

…

It occurs to me that I might have let her, and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

I guess I'll deal with that later.

Throwing on my school uniform is as easy as ever, especially considering the jacket and slacks are much simpler than the designated attire for my old school. This one doesn't even have a ribbon or tie or anything!

And so, properly dressed, I step through the portal and back into my assigned living space in the dormitories. Alice mercifully returned the entrance there without my asking, so I should be able to at least argue that she wasn't fulfilling a request…

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Probably. It's hard to argue with a probably ancient terrifying snake person two orders of magnitude higher than me in level, even if she is wearing a maid uniform.

Bah.

Joy and Lyra tag along, each in their own respective uniforms. None of us carry books, because why would we? Dimensional storage sure is convenient. It's just too bad that mine is still so small. I could probably work on it, but it should work itself out if I keep adventuring.

Probably.

If it doesn't I'll just buy a storage device or something. The demon empress did throw a bunch of enni at me after all… something about a 'stipend for her pet', though I can't exactly appreciate her phrasing.

It occurs to me that Joy and Lyra have been chatting along inanely as we walk the halls, the three of us ignoring the stares and murmurs of our classmates.

And the pointing and whispering.

…

Annoying.

I should just make an example of-

Shaking my head to clear the unwelcome impulse, I walk into my first classroom without ceremony to be greeted by sudden silence.

…

…

…And Lyra and Joy sitting to my right and left, respectively.

"Uh. Guys? This isn't your first class."

"Uh, yes, it is," the mage deadpans. "Alice put through the paperwork yesterday before I'd even agreed to join your 'merry band' here. Presumptuous, overzealous, but. Well. It's not like I could say no."

And then she smiles with a sinister tinge. One I really don't trust. So I lock eyes with her and raise one eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just looking forward to you floundering in the magework class I convinced her to let me keep."

I rub my chin for a moment before it dawns on me. "I'm going to be in… why am I doing magework?"

"Because Alice wants us to stick together so we bond better as a team," Joy cuts in. "Besides, you have a hybrid Class meant more for disruption than actual tank work. It makes sense for you to learn magecraft."

A massive sigh escapes me, unexpectedly carrying… dust? No, dust doesn't carry on the air like that…

Well, whatever. One more thing I don't understand, one more thing to deal with later.

I have a lot of those now.

"Hey, watch it!" the girl in front of me bleats, rapidly brushing the sediment from her jacket before looking briefly devastated at the gray marks it's left behind… and then it registers who she's talking to.

So I smile. There's no point in needlessly antagonizing my classmates…

…

Is there?

Then why do I want to?

I compromise with myself and offer her a toothy grin. "Sorry about that, it just happens sometimes. Not really within my control, you know? If it's a problem though, you could always sit somewhere else. Or maybe just hold on to the story that the hero of malevolence graced you with her breath!"

My party mates both offer me a poorly concealed look of concern from my sides, but I don't particularly care.

It's fine. IT'S FINE!

It's not like I care what anyone thinks anyway.

…

Or…

Wait. No, of course I care what people think! I'm going to be in classes with these people for however long! I might actually have to work with them!

I rub the back of my head and stammer, "Ah, haha, sorry. New Domain stuff, I don't really have it all under control yet. I'll get there though, I promise! Anyway, hi, I'm Sadie. Nice to meet you? Who are you again? I mean, haha, sorry, I'm not great at remembering names. It's not your fault!"

The girl looks at me with concern before quietly saying, "Um. Vandra. Vandra Sharpe."

I don't miss the quiet "please don't kill me" that follows, but I let it pass by without comment.

"Nice to meet you, Vandra. Let's get along well this semester! Well, or however long we're in the same courses. It'll be fine, don't worry about it. I bet you'll get to be a hero, or at least in a hero party or something. And besides, I only have three people in mine so far, maybe you could just join in the future if you're someone that'd work well with us."

My classmate looks like she's struggling to put together words for a moment as though she's afraid to speak before finally saying, "I want to be a hero of good though. Or at least join one's party. I don't even know what you're going to fight. The forces of good?"

…

"Ah. Okay."

…

…

There isn't really much more to say I guess.

Before the mood can get too much more awkward the instructor walks in and starts blathering his usual preamble about the importance of strategy and practice and whatever else, but I've already tuned him out.

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