I narrow my eye at the kids in front of us, choosing to ignore Lola's overjoyed reaction.

There are four of them in total, and while I'm sure each one has its own lovely personality, I'm more concerned over the appearance of a certain memorable young boy. The last time I saw him, he had a stain on his pants after being launched by a rather effective spell.

He poses dramatically, and I cringe in my cover. "Hello again, my rival! How doth your day go? Mine has been going excellently, as I'm sure you know!"

Lola's forehead furrowed. "Wait, are you the person I won against yesterday?"

If I could snort in derision, rest assured, I would. 'Won' is putting it lightly. We pummeled him. It wasn't even a fight. While I am curious about the method and mana style he used to employ such well-crafted ice sculptures, his technique in using them was... unorthodox, to say the least. No one is capable of the power and precision that Lola can use.

Wait... his use of his available spells wasn't all that bad. Logically speaking, he fired an Ice Shot, a fairly low-cost spell, to test Lola's defenses, and then when faced with an unfamiliar spell, immediately procured a defensive wall that likely would have proved successful against most opponents.

All of which to say... why did I consider him to be so beneath my attention initially? In retrospect, there wasn't anything wrong with his abilities. Moreover, Lola hadn't done anything of notable value. I'd been the one to perform all of the spells, and even stepped in (metaphorically of course) when she used up too much mana on the Laser. I'm not sure why I wanted to give Lola so much credit for a job well done when it was I that did a good job.

(Oh, it's because you're Bound to her.)

Are you about to be useful for once?

(Uh, yeah. Duh. Anyway, you have a Bound status to Lola since she Named you.)

Neither of those are terms I recognize. Do I understand the definitions? Yes, of course. As for what they might mean with that obvious uppercase first letter, no, I don't.

(Heh. I know something you don't.)

You know plenty of things that I don't. You're simply unable to tell me what they are, which leads to my general assumption that you are of no assistance for the most part. By all means, prove me wrong.

He sighs loudly. (You know, if you were a little nicer, you might be able to get more information out of people. It sure works for Lola.)

I pause, considering his point. All things considered, he makes an excellent case.

(See? A little kindness goes a long way, right?)

I have neither confirmed nor denied that theory as of yet. Until I have more information, I refuse to either agree or disagree with that statement.

(Fine, whatever. Anyway, being Bound means that you'll have a deep-set desire to do basically whatever Lola wants you to do, including altering your opinion of her for the better. It means you'll like her more. You got Bound to her because she Named you using her mana, and thanks to her ridiculous pool...)

It was significantly more effective, I get it. More to the point, how do I feel about it?

...I don't really feel anything. I'm happy to stick with Lola, Bound or not. She's been kind to me, repaired me, and to be honest, she is adorable, objectively speaking. She hasn't shown me her status card yet, but I'm quite sure that her Charm is astronomical.

Wait, what's going on?

The young duke is currently posing for the other kids, who appear to be as disgusted as I am. Lola mostly just seems unsure, although there's a bit of nervous mixed in. He seems to be as full of himself as possible. "As I'm sure you can see, my status and power are unequaled here!"

Lola blinks, clearly confused. "...Didn't I beat you yesterday?"

He deflates slightly. "Well, yes, but I allowed you to win, so as not to damage your reputation. I am, after all, aware that you're new."

Did he really? Then why did he spoil his pants? No one else seems to pick up on it, and I can't exactly tell Lola will all these witnesses watching, so I keep it to myself.

One of the other children, a young girl approximately two years older than Lola with short black hair and nearly white eyes, walks forward with a casual smile. "Hey, there! Sorry about Carl, he's a bit... weird." Ignoring his distraught expression, she extends her hand in a greeting. "My name's Carolin. What's your name?"

While Lola is happily introducing herself, I inspect the other kids. One of them has antlers, short gazelle-like ones sprouting from his peppery hair that curls up and back. He looks rather nervous and is staring unabashedly at Lola as if he's never seen another girl.

Which, considering the unusual girl next to him, is obviously incorrect. Despite the fact she's gently floating a good inch off the ground, her vine-like hair obeys gravity just fine. Her chlorophyll-infused eyes are full and wide, with abnormally large pupils and deep green outsides. Her grass-tinted skin is incredibly smooth, and I can only assume that it's a dryad, or another similar creature along those lines. She looks unconcerned with anything going on.

Carolin jerks a thumb over her shoulder, indicating the gazelle boy. He flinches when she gestures at him. "This is Forrest. He doesn't talk much, but I'm sure he likes you."

Eyes widening, he blurts out in a sudden panic, "No I don't! I mean-" He cowers back at the others' expressions. "I do like you, but I don't like like you. But I do like you!" Shrinking back, he fingers his antlers and finishes in an awkward, quiet tone. "Sorry."

Carolin shrugs. "Okay, don't know what that was all about, but the elf is called-"

The green woman interrupts, quietly stating her name in sage-colored words that waver with powerful strength. "My name is Dusk Over Silent Dawn. You may call me Dawn. It is good to meet you."

Everyone except Lola seems a little surprised that she introduces herself, leading me to believe that it's not a common occurrence. Regardless, Dawn doesn't make any other move aside from introducing herself. Lola smiles, taking it in stride, and grins hugely. "I'm Lola! It's so nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll be great friends."

Carl runs a soft hand through his hair, standing with one leg cocked. "Well, of course you would want to be friends with the incredible Carl!"

Forrest, in a tone loaded with anxiety, speaks. "Um. It's, uh..." He jumps behind Carolin in a surprisingly effective jump, peeking out from behind her at Lola. "It's nice to meet you too." His voice is practically a squeak.

I wonder what his Charm stat is?

The door behind us opens, although the only reason I knew about it was that everyone turned to look. Apparently the speech-to-words doesn't apply to ambient sounds such as furniture. I'll have to figure out a workaround to that.

As Lola spins around to see who came in, I recognize Barkley from yesterday. He's a recent face, one that I have yet to decide my opinion upon. Naturally, I want what's best for Lola, and while this human says he does, I prefer to reserve my judgements for myself.

Grinning, he says jovially, "Oh good, you've already met each other. As some of you know, my name is James Barkley. I'll be your teacher for today. I'll be glad to help in any way I can." As he speaks, the children almost immediately relax. Clearly they know who is with at least some amount of familiarity.

Forrest steps out, a faint smile on his face. Dawn simply nods, Carl poses again, and Carolin grins hugely. As they crowd around him, clamoring for his attention, all I can wonder is this.

Does Forrest have an issue with Lola?