“Scarlet!”

  Someone shouted her name just as she was ing up her m discussion with her assistants, about to join Maya and Amelia for breakfast. Scarlet looked up to see Alexis running toward her, looking both urgent and nervous.

  Notig the dark circles under Alexis’s eyes, Scarlet could tell the blonde hadn’t slept well. She gently patted Alexis’s back to help calm her breathing. “We’ve got time before css. Rex, take a deep breath.”

  Alexis csped Scarlet’s hands tightly, her voice breathless. “I finished your books st night! Well, not, like, every single word, but I totally skimmed it and got the gist of it.”

  “...All of them?”

  “Yeah, all five of them.”

  No wonder she looks exhausted, Scarlet mused with an amused expression. “You could’ve just taken your time with the first one, o rush.”

  “I couldn’t help it! You totally hooked me in with this massive cliffhanger!” Alexis excimed. Then she quickly lowered her voice, gng around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Akahime-sama?”

  “...I’m not that honourable.” Scarlet sighed, now pletely certain that Alexis Everhart, was a full-blown anime nerd. After all, no one in real life, not even a Japanese person, would call someone “-sama”. It was just too embarrassing.

  “Then...Akahime-sensei?” Alexis whispered eagerly. “In your st book, when you introduced that new character, you mentioned Akahime as one of the discipline sellors at Caster Academy. That means, you were, like, a magic teacher at some point!”

  “I didn’t teach, I just disciplined unruly students,” Scarlet replied quietly. “Mostly handled paperwork, too. I got tired of their old, ineffit system, so I left and joihe frontline support team instead. Not strong in any sense, and definitely not one of the famous casters.”

  So stop looking at me with those puppy eyes! Scarlet thought as she took a step back, unsure how to deal with Alexis, who clearly seemed to be pario some famous aeacher, most probably Kakashi.

  “But you’ve got a pn, right?” Alexis asked, eyes wide with. “You said st night that you’re pnning to hunt the other soul fragments!”

  “Yes...but I’m not taking you with me, for obvious reasons.” Scarlet smirked, softening Alexis’s disappoi. “However, I do need your help. I didn’t watch the rest of the series, so I don’t know how the story unfolds. I’ll need you to help me find the other fragments. Could you give me a report on that?”

  “Absolutely!” Alexis’s eyes lit up. “I’ll have it for you tonight! Or—no—this afternoon!”

  “No, by the weekend is fine,” Scarlet reassured her, patting her shoulder. “Take your time. If I’m right, we’ll be safe for the rest of the school year now that Quirrell’s gone. I need your report to include details – where the fragments are, the backstory of the objects they’re tied to, and, if possible, who dies and how.”

  Alexis nodded solemnly. “Yes, I’ll make sure it’s detailed. It’s just...my writing’s kinda awful.”

  “I don’t care about your writing style. Point form is fine, as long as the information is accurate. I’m not a teacher grading your paper,” Scarlet chuckled. “And if you’re financially fortable, why not ission the Weasley twins to make you something useful? Like an auto-correg quill?”

  “...Wait, we do that?” Alexis asked, surprised.

  “I don’t see why we ’t,” Scarlet grinned. “This isn’t just a story anymore. Everything’s dynamid we’re living in this world for real. Think outside the box, girl.”

  Alexis went dead silent for a long moment, then slowly turo meet Scarlet’s eyes. “I’ve wasted so many years...I should’ve ied in Google, Apple, PyStation, Nintendo, TSMd NVidia!”

  “...Do they eve yet? Have you done your research?” Scarlet knocked lightly on Alexis’s forehead with her knuckles, “Don’t think you’ve got the upper hand just because of your limited fht from your previous life. I’ve told you, everything here is dynamic - things might not go how you remember.”

  “Oh...” Alexis replied, nodding weakly.

  “Do your research first. Don’t just dive into the stock market blindly.” Scarlet stood up. “Anyway, if you finish your report soon, we have our first discussion this Saturday. Let me know when it's done, and we’ll get our proposal ready for presentation.”

  “...Presentation?”

  “I need Professor Dumbledore’s approval,” Scarlet expined. “He’s reliable, don’t worry.”

  “Why do you need his approval?”

  Scarlet looked at Alexis with affeate eyes, as though the question was silly. “And you think I’m going to do all this on my own, without any suppirl, why solo the path on hard mode when you form a party and make it easier?”

  “Oh...” Alexis blushed, “Yeah, right.”

  “See you ter, Alexis.”

  “Bye, Akahime-sensei.”

  “...Shut up.”

  The day, as Scarlet settled into her usual seat for breakfast, Maya approached her with a curious expression. “What did you do with Alexis, the transfer girl?”

  “Nothing. Why?” Scarlet asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

  “She seems...more mentally stable. Is that the right way to put it?” Maya pondered befiving up on finding the perfect term. “She’s n all the time or looking depressed anymore. Now, she’s really happy and eic, scribbling away in a notebook.”

  “Oh, I asked her to draft a storyline for me.” Scarlet came up with the excuse quickly. “She’s quite creative, so I thought I might get some inspiration from her story. If she fixes her writing, I might even introduce her to my editor.”

  “Wow, another author at Hogwarts?” Maya gasped.

  “Not sure yet, but at least she’s ied,” Scarlet shrugged. “Keeping her mentally occupied means she won’t have time to spread weird rumors.”

  “You’re brilliant, Scarlet!” Maya praised.

  “It’s nothing.” Scarlet mused. If you’d lived for a few decades, with a previous life’s experience, you’d be able to do the same thing.

  Scarlet had always felt as though she had a cheat code, an advantage over others. Still, she wasn’t about to give it up, especially when it could help save lives.

  Finally, Saturday arrived.

  Scarlet was mid-training in her private room when she heard a knock at the door. She ope to find Alexis, looking both nervous aed.

  She closed the door after letting Alexis in. The girl looked surprised to find her dressed in an exercise outfit, holding a spear in her hand. Ign Alexis’s curious gaze, Scarlet gestured around the room. “I got permission from Hogwarts to make this my private training space. I’ve set some limitations at the entrance - only those with registered fingerprints and the password enter. I’m sharing it with the Weasley twins; they use that er as their iion b or something. Don’t touything over there.”

  Alexis stood in awe, “Ho-How did you mao do all of this? I mean, why would Hogwarts let you have your own room? Is this like...a club?”

  “No, just a room for my physical training.” Scarlet answered while Alexis closely. “I ied an a magic that requires physical training.”

  “With a spear? Why not a sword?” Alexis asked, her curious piqued. Her expression was normal, which made Scarlet feel more at ease. Perhaps I don’t o be wary of her. Maybe she could be an ally, rather than someone who might betray me.

  Scarlet still didn’t fully trust Alexis. After all, Scarlet herself wasly normal, not with the experience of a past life. And now, there was another reinated person. It wasn’t safe to assume Alexis had the same iions without carefully probing.

  The report Alexis held now would determine whether she could be trusted.

  “I asked Fred and Gee to stay out today so we discuss our pn without interruptions. I’ve prepared a simple meal for lunch,” Scarlet said, “but I hope we finish quickly - meals in the Great Hall are better.”

  Alexis nodded and hahe notebook to Scarlet with a solemn expression.

  This girl must’ve had some high school education, or at least experieg proposals, Scarlet mused. The report, though written in an ordinary notebook, had a professional yout and veyed its message with a level of maturity far beyond what her current assistants in Hogwarts could manage.

  As Scarlet skimmed the report, Alexis nervously watched, hoping for some kind of feedback that would calm her ay. She’d put in her best effort, recalling every storyliail she thought was important.

  Finally, the former caster raised her eyebrows and said after finishing the report, “I suppose we start by eliminating one of the...Horcruxes? Is that how you pronou? Good. We take care of ooday.”

  Alexis eyes widened. “You mean...the one in the Room of Requirement?”

  Scarlet nodded.

  “ I watch? I promise you won’t even notice me – I'll stay in the er!” Alexis’s eyes sparkled with eagerness.

  Scarlet studied her for a moment before handing her a jade pendant. “Very well. Remember your promise, and take care of yourself. Keep this pendant with you - it withstand ohal blow.”

  Alexis immediately put the pendant on as a neckce, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “Is this one of those prote talismans I’ve read about in ese web novels?”

  Her ent surprised Scarlet. “You know about those? You read ese?”

  “No,” Alexis shook her head, then smiled sheepishly. “But I use mae transtion to get the gist of it.”

  “...” Scarlet sighed with a faint smile. “Enough chatter. Let’s head to the Room of Requirement.”

  “Aye, aye, captain!”

  “...Shut up.”

  Qiya