Clunk.
Rin stepped out of Daniel’s room, staring blankly into space. She couldn’t understand this situation at all, but his cold expression was so sharp that she couldn’t even escape into her own thoughts.
“Are you okay?”
Ares cautiously asked Rin, subtly placing a hand on her shoulder, but she wasn’t in the mood to care about that right now.
Thoughts
‘We’ve spent such a long time together since we were kids.’
‘The closer you are to someone, the more wounds you receive from them, and you misunderstand the smallest things.’
‘I think it would be best for both me and you if we ended our relationship here.’
Why?
Rin wanted to scream and cry out, “Why?!” but she felt her brain freeze in the face of such a shocking situation that was hard to accept.
She was unceremoniously pushed away without saying a word, her face still in shock.
Rin glanced at Ares. He was surprisingly comforting, maintaining a nonchalant expression.
“Are you, okay?”
Rin asked honestly. They were three people who always spent time together in the village, and now they had split into two. Rin couldn’t accept it, but…
“Honestly, I thought Daniel would say something like that.”
“What?”
As Rin glared, wondering what he meant, Ares let out a sigh and replied.
“Daniel is very different now from the Daniel we knew. He changed a lot since coming to Aios Academy.”
“……”
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad for him, but if that’s what Daniel wants, I think we should respect it.”
“What?”
Rin couldn’t process what she had just heard.
“So you’re cutting off ties with Daniel? We’ve always been together!”
“Rin, you tend to see the world too positively. Our lives aren’t fairy tales. Breakups are a part of life. Just because we grew up together doesn’t mean we’ll be together forever.”
Clench.
Rin wanted to argue and refute, but she couldn’t. She understood that she was being unreasonable.
Seeing Rin like that, Ares felt a knot in his heart.
‘Why do you change so much when Daniel is involved, always so sincere and rational?’
He hated it.
There was a subtle difference in how he treated her compared to how he treated Daniel. In fact, it made his emotions so heated that he couldn’t handle it before.
But the Ares now was different.
He slowly held Rin’s hand.
“It’s okay. Even if Daniel has left, I’ll always be by your side.”
At that, Rin lowered her head.
Though hidden by her hair, blood was flowing from her lips as she bit them too hard.
Breathe.
Fresh dawn.
After opening the window, last night’s food smell had mostly faded, but the morning air was a bit chilly.
“Just in time to wake up.”
She changed into workout clothes to go for a morning run. As her body started moving, the cool air turned refreshing.
“Wow, you woke up early.”
“Hmm?”
After running for a while and wiping the sweat with a towel, she noticed the silver-haired girl, Sen, drinking the beverage she had brought.
“That’s what I was going to drink!”
Frowning, Sen just giggled and offered her half-empty drink.
“I have some left.”
“Sure.”
She snatched it and drank it all, feeling a bit disappointed since there wasn’t much left. Sen flashed a smug grin.
“I drank from it, you know?”
“Not a kid.”
She was just saying something trivial. It seemed Sen was taken aback, whistling in surprise, before getting back to the point.
“I’ve done everything I said I would. Just tell me when to pick it up.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“So, can you teach me how to make pie just one more time?”
“Uh, no.”
“Oh please! Elise and Adriana can only make it, and they’re too busy to teach me!”
“Then you should’ve kept your mouth shut.”
If it was just Sen, she would’ve helped her until she could make it, but this was just punishment for her seemingly endless chatter.
Grabbing her towel and water bottle to head back inside, Sen suddenly leaped onto her back.
“Help meee!”
“Stop being annoying and get down.”
“Help! I need to catch Ares’ attention!”
“Let’s keep it moderate.”
She yanked at her clothes so hard that it felt like they would tear apart, so she just ignored it and went inside.
“Huh? This is kinda fun?”
Is she really empty-headed?
So,
“Wait, did the kids actually get beaten up?”
Right as he arrived, the Dean sighed, looking at his nephew who came to visit.
“…Yes. Moreover, the seniors we called got beaten so badly they don’t even remember getting hit.”
“What? If they got beat that badly, they should’ve gone to the health room.”
If fourth-year students went to the health room in droves, there would’ve been a report, but May shook her head.
“They used healing magic, so their wounds are all healed.”
“Huh?”
“So the seniors don’t admit they lost. They remember getting hit, but it’s all hazy…”
“Seriously? That’s not from getting hit too much; that’s because they used memory magic.”
“Really?”
May was flustered, and it made sense since she hadn’t thought of that due to the difficulty surrounding memory-related magic.
Daniel’s magic grades were below average. It was surprising enough that he used healing magic, but brainwashing magic?
Ignoring his flustered nephew, the Dean propped his chin and fell into thought.
‘That kid isn’t just confident in his grades for nothing.’
Given that he used memory manipulation magic, it was clear he was hiding his skills.
As he considered the McLean name, he tapped on his desk.
“Call the kids together again today and challenge them.”
“Really? I don’t think they could beat them anyway.”
Daniel hadn’t taken the practical exam, so his skills were a mystery, and May was nervous, but the Dean smiled.
“That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”
So,
“Geez.”
Sitting blankly in the gym, I shook my butt to get up from my seat. It was Phennel, a fourth-year who hadn’t come before, who led their group inside.
The E-class students were taken aback by the suddenly charging upperclassmen and looked around for the professor, but he had just stepped out because the Dean called him.
“Daniel, this seems kind of…”
Tanah, who had been oddly avoiding eye contact, approached me first.
Eve also tried to come closer with a worried expression but I signaled her to back off.
“What’s going on?”
The class representative from E-class stepped forward first, but the seniors just casually ignored him and walked toward me.
“Are you Daniel?”
“I thought you were too scared to show up last time, yet here you are.”
“I don’t know what kind of trick you pulled then, but this time be ready to get beaten for real.”
“Uh?”
What are they talking about? Phennel swung a fist, and while I could dodge, I cleanly took a hit.
I was hoping to make an excuse that I was attacked first in front of everyone, but…
‘But they’re really gonna do this with so many people watching?’
An odd atmosphere.
These guys clearly came to beat me up, but I could feel there was some other intention from whoever sent them.
“What does it matter?”
Knowing that I would inevitably win, I immediately struck back.
It took exactly five minutes.
“Hey seniors, I think you need to exercise a bit more.”
Laughing at the seniors sprawled out, but they didn’t respond, already fainted. I wondered if there was a bed in the nurse’s office for all of them.
E-class students were too surprised to come near me, but Eve and Tanah came over to check if I was hurt.
“Wow, you’re really strong.”
“Hmm?”
“I thought since you’re Ares’ childhood friend, you’d be at a certain level, but you’re truly impressive.”
Tanah said while poking the seniors with her foot. Despite warning her not to do anything unnecessary, Eve kept rubbing her arm where she blocked a punch and asked if she was alright.
“But did Tanah feel better now?”
Eve switched the subject, looking regretful, letting go of Tanah’s hand. Tanah looked surprised, glancing back and forth between me and Eve.
“Yeah, today I was just feeling strangely distant.”
I wondered what was up, but Tanah’s answer was quite trivial.
“Uh, I had a weird dream, and it put me in a strange mood.”
“A dream?”
Eve, who loved books and stories, perked up and asked about it, but Tanah somehow evaded the topic.
After a few minutes, the professor returned.
And the next day, I was called to the Dean’s office, where he declared my expulsion.
