“Well, well, what do we have here!” Mr. Tona greeted, letting a puff of smoke fall from his mouth with a sly grin.

  Aurelius felt conflicted upon seeing the man’s grinning face. He was clearly as annoying as he had been in the last loop, and the fact that he was the one to turn him over to the hands of the maniac known as the Fae Queen left a terrible taste in his mouth.

  However, to Mr. Tona, such a future had not come to pass, and he had genuinely been quite nice to Aurelius up to the point where his wife had gotten involved. Or so he presumed…

  “I thought you’d bring me an amazing batch or something, but you’ve brought me a rather mediocre girl and an unexceptional boy.” He said, barely glancing over at the two of them.

  “...I’ll be taking the girl. You’ll take the boy.” Sage Yeltz replied curtly, using her chin to point at the two of them individually.

  “Tsk. I welcome a reprieve from tutoring those dense idiots up in Magical Enforcement, but if you’ll put something as uninteresting as this on my plate, I don’t know how to react!” He responded, chuckling happily to himself.

  “Ah… That man… I remember him.” Pultris mused.

  At that moment, Aurelius saw Mr. Tona’s expression shift into recognition, then disbelief. With a surprised expression still visible on his face, Tona immediately made the slightest movement in his arm.

  “So he’s noticed.” Pultris muttered delightedly, not even bothering to notify Aurelius of what was about to happen.

  “Whoosh.” The air split, leaving a blurry line across the pages of the atmosphere.

  Aurelius barely registered what was going on, before realising that there was a VERY sharp chunk of ice at his feet.

  And observing this was Mr. Tona, the white surface of his wand catching a glimpse of light from behind his back.

  …Mr. Tona had just shot an ice spear at Aurelius’s face!

  “AHHHH” Aurelius yelped, jumping backwards, partially from the horror at the near death experience and from the amount of wind that had accompanied the spear’s trajectory.

  “I don’t believe this… Does the division secretary know?” Mr. Tona asked, completely ignoring the fact that he had just committed MURDER.

  Aurelius was bothered by his lack of engagement, and more bothered by his tone. He sounded absolutely gleeful.

  “Nope.” Sage Yeltz replied, cracking the slightest smile at Mr. Tona’s amusement.

  “Insane. You are indeed my apprentice, Yvette! I’ve raised you so well!” Mr. Tona cried out dramatically, flicking the cigarette butt into the air and tapping his heels to vanish it into thin air.

  With this, Mr Tona flickered from view and reappeared in front of Aurelius within seconds, poking and prodding at his face in no time.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on with a chump like you for Yeltz to invest so heavily in you, but my name is Wally Tona.” Mr. Tona introduced, making Aurlius recoil slightly from the cigarette smell that wafted up his nose.

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  “I am the old kook that’ll be giving you instruction, so I recommend that you get acquainted with the Commission’s clinician. I have been known to… torment my students.” Mr. Tona smiled, shaking Aurelius’s hand happily.

  “I’ll leave it to you then, old man.” Sage Yeltz declared, beckoning the very confused Seraphine to a separate corner of the gym.

  “You’re quite fast for your age.” Pultris commented.

  “Yes. I am indeed quite fast, you horny egomaniac.” Mr. Tona replied, scratching his back nonchalantly.

  “...You can hear him?!” Aurelius blurted out, completely taken aback by the situation.

  “Oh yes. I have a contract for mid level divination like Yeltz does.” Mr. Tona replied, stretching his legs leisurely.

  “How does that allow you to hear Pultris?” Aurelius asked curiously.

  “Pultris is acting through the spirit realm as a medium for his whining.” Mr. Tona explained kindly, using his magic to lift the spear out of the ground.

  “Divinations happen through the spirit realm, and Pultris is using the Commission’s anti-divination channels which I’m approved to listen to. So I can catch the conversation happening when you’re in near proximity to me because of the slight deviations in the spirit world coordinates.”

  “It seems Yeltz didn’t bother with more strict restrictions… Surprising…” Mr Tona mused.

  “What do you think I am, Wally Tona? I’m merely allowing you the permission to listen into me.” Pultris complained.

  “Ah, so she’s given you that much leeway?!” Mr. Tona replied in surprise, tilting his head and using the ice spear in his hand to poke at Aurelius’s feet.

  “OW! Cut that out you crazy old man!” Aurelius cried out, clutching his shoes in his hand.

  “Impolite. What even is the issue with this generation?” Mr. Tona commented, driving the spear into the ground.

  “Pick the spear up. We’re going to start training.” He declared, hopping backwards lightly, with his trench coat fluttering in the air.

  “Attack me.” Mr. Tona said simply, beckoning Aurelius in a really punch-inducing manner.

  Aurelius frowned in annoyance, glaring at the eccentric old codger. Reluctantly, Aurelius decided to take the spear into his hands, and took the time to grip it.

  “Ach.” Aurelius yelped, immediately letting go of the spear.

  It was cold as hell!

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t even tried using Pultris’s blessing!” Mr. Tona lamented, looking at Aurelius judgementally with his arms crossed, a gesture reminiscent of Sage Yeltz.

  “You didn’t say anything! And how am I even supposed to use it?!” Aurelius asked irritably, shaking the creeping cold off of his hands vigorously in the meantime.

  “You simply have to…” Pultris started.

  “Ask politely.” Mr. Tona concluded.

  “...” Aurelius glared. This was absolutely ridiculous. It hasn’t even been a day since Aurelius had been forced to take up this damned contract, and this coot expects him to be able to use Pultris to attack him?!

  Mr. Tona stared back innocently and judgementally, daring Aurelius to charge at him.

  He had his wand held casually in his right hand, and the other laid in his left pocket, not even bothering to take Aurelius seriously.

  “What are you waiting for? He won’t refuse even if you’re rude about it. But I do recommend you be as polite as possible.” Mr. Tona added helpfully.

  “Come on, I don’t have all day. I’m at the age where I have one foot in the grave!” He teased, using his wand to scratch his back impatiently.

  “...I beseech your help, o’ Angel of Wind, Pultris.” Aurelius forced out, unable to take the insults for much longer, grimacing slightly at how slimy the words felt in his mouth.

  “Be sincere next time.” Pultris pouted, the reluctance clearly heard in his voice.

  And with those words, the winds themselves bent around Aurelius and the spear, concentrating around Aurelius’s hands like a glove.

  “Pick up the spear.” Pultris prompted.

  Aurelius obliged, grasping at the freezing surface of the spear gingerly.

  The mana infused in the spear responded at his touch, vibrating on the spot in reverence. It created a calm, resonant noise all around its area, sinking Aurelius into its otherworldly beauty.

  And with that, the song started in earnest.

  The song of an angel.