(Some time before)

  In my first week I had beaten one of the top A-rank students in the academy, got private lessons with one of the few S-ranks in the world, and beaten another S-rank in a competition—though the last one wasn't much my merit.

  In my second week, I went on an expedition against the corruption, a necessary evil in this world, and somehow made it retreat.

  So when I woke up on Wednesday morning, I was wondering what this week could possibly do to top the other two. Would we get an alien invasion? Perhaps a god would start rising from the sea?

  At this point, I didn't dare doubt anything was possible.

  My morning, thankfully, was completely uninteresting.

  While most students were talking about the expedition, it seemed like our rest day had been enough for most of the story to spread around. Now all I got were occasional comments about how the corruption had acted weird. Nothing too intrusive, nothing that drew excessive attention.

  Professor Brume dedicated an entire class to our expedition, walking through how we'd dealt with the corruption and what we'd learned from it. Emberheart had helped craft the official story again: someone had been controlling the corruption, and they'd retreated when they realized they couldn't beat the S-ranks.

  Simple. Clean. Believable enough that no one questioned it too deeply.

  By the end of class, the rumors were almost completely gone, which meant I could finally just relax and pay attention to the actual lesson.

  Magic Combat Dynamics was the same as always. Theron's classes had a certain charm to them—the sheer volume and intensity made it impossible to think about anything else, which made time pass faster. Before I knew it, I was already heading to the dining hall for lunch.

  I rushed a bit to get there early.

  This was it. Time to actually follow through on what I'd decided.

  When I arrived, I looked around quickly. Aurora wasn't there yet. Perfect.

  I waited near the entrance, trying to look casual and probably failing. I could feel questioning looks from other students as they passed, but I ignored them. It barely took a minute before Aurora arrived.

  She was always early, it seemed. Never late, never rushed. Just punctual and composed.

  Heads turned as she entered, like they always did. The S-rank student who never sat with anyone, who kept to herself, who embodied everything the academy considered untouchable.

  I tried not to let it hurt my confidence as I took a step forward.

  "Hey," I greeted her.

  She seemed surprised to see me standing there, waiting. "Hi." She looked at me, then over my shoulder toward the rest of the dining hall. Most of them were probably watching right now.

  "Come and have lunch with us today. It'll be nice, I promise!" I gestured toward where our usual table was.

  She studied me for a long moment, her expression a mix of confusion and doubt. Like she was trying to figure out if I was serious or if this was some elaborate joke.

  Then she started laughing.

  It was quiet, controlled, but genuine. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, like she was trying to hold it back but couldn't quite manage.

  "What? Is the idea that bad?" My courage wasn't flickering. I'd committed to this.

  "No, no." She was still laughing, though now she managed to speak through it. "It's just... You do the weirdest things." She took a step forward, her silvery-white hair catching the light. "Fine, I'll accept."

  I smiled and led her toward our table. She followed without hesitation, sitting down opposite me. She didn't look at the room, didn't acknowledge the dozens of eyes tracking our every movement. Just sat with perfect posture and composed expression, like this was the most natural thing in the world.

  "Getting used to the attention already?" she asked, looking at my face with a hint of amusement.

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  "Not at all. But it seems like ever since I got here, I can't avoid it."

  "I know the feeling. With time it becomes just noise." She paused. "Though you seem to be seeking it rather than avoiding it."

  "I think I'm just really bad at avoiding it," I tried to play it off. But really, talking to Aurora in public was basically inviting all the attention in the academy directly onto me.

  To my surprise, a group of academy staff actually approached our table. They carried small platters of specialized food, setting them carefully in front of Aurora with practiced efficiency.

  The food looked like it had been handmade exclusively for her. The presentation was immaculate, each dish arranged perfectly. Steam still rose from the plates.

  "Woah, you get special food?" I asked, genuinely impressed.

  "One of the few perks my position grants me. They've done it since my first day here." She didn't look particularly pleased about it, but she didn't seem against it either. Just accepted it as routine.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lina.

  She'd stopped in the middle of the crowd of students entering the dining hall. I didn't know how long she'd been standing there, frozen, just staring at our table. At Aurora sitting with me.

  She probably would have continued standing there, maybe even found another place to sit today. But it was too late.

  Erick had arrived.

  He simply pushed her gently forward as he advanced toward our table, gave Aurora a slight raised eyebrow, then went back to his normal expression as if nothing unusual was happening at all.

  "Yo." He dropped into the seat beside me, the chain on his belt clinking softly. His modified platinum uniform looked even more rebellious than usual today.

  Lina hesitated for a moment, then opted to sit across from him, on Aurora's side of the table. Her blue hair was slightly messy, like she'd been running her hands through it nervously.

  "Hello, Erick," Aurora said politely, her tone perfectly neutral.

  "Hi," Lina said, her voice much lower than normal.

  "Hello, Lina," Aurora responded with the same polite tone.

  "So she with us now?" Erick asked, pointing at Aurora while looking at me. "I like it. Will make everyone forget about that competition thing."

  "She's not..." I tried to respond, but Aurora was faster.

  "Kai asked me to sit with you today, which I accepted. But I don't think that should imply any deeper alliance or commitment."

  "Kai asked you?!" Lina seemed to wake up suddenly, her hazel eyes wide.

  "Yeah, sorry, I just..."

  "Don't lie to yourself." Erick cut in, looking directly at Aurora. "Mira's asked you to sit with them like a hundred times and you always refuse."

  Aurora seemed caught off guard, just for a moment. Perhaps she hadn't expected Erick to be this perceptive. Most people didn't.

  "I felt like I should accept given the help he gave me during the expedition," Aurora managed, smoothly dodging the implication.

  Erick didn't seem convinced, but he didn't press forward. Just shrugged and started serving himself food.

  "Well, it's nice having you here," Lina said, trying to be polite despite the hundreds of eyes she could probably feel on us. "I mean, whenever you want to sit with us. You're welcome."

  "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." Aurora responded graciously, beginning to serve herself.

  With Erick present, things went much easier. Since he genuinely didn't seem to care about all the people watching and judging us, he helped keep the conversation moving forward naturally.

  We talked about classes, about the expedition, even about the Prince. Erick had some particular choice words about Aurelius that made even Aurora crack a small smile.

  The dining hall gradually began to empty as lunch period wound down. Aurora rose to her feet, gathering her things with practiced efficiency.

  "I need to prepare for my afternoon classes, thank you for having me, see you." she said.

  "Bye," Lina said quickly.

  "See ya," Erick said, already looking at his own schedule.

  "See you tomorrow," I said to her.

  The implication was clear in my words. This wasn't just a one-time thing. I was planning to make this routine.

  She hesitated for just a second, something flickering across her expression too quickly to read. Then she nodded slightly and left, her white uniform pristine as she walked away.

  The moment she was out of earshot, Lina leaned forward.

  "Are you crazy?!" Her voice was low but intense. "Do you want people to assassinate you or something? Because this is how you get people to hate you!"

  "Always knew you had it in you." Erick seemed genuinely proud. He was actually smiling, something I didn’t remember seeing before. "Nice move."

  "Let them come." I meant it. "Honestly, I'm not going to back down anymore."

  My words made Lina speechless. She just stared at me like she didn't recognize who I was.

  Erick laughed, a short bark of genuine amusement. He stood up, gathering his things. "Gonna be an interesting year." He left without saying anything else, the chain on his belt jingling as he walked away.

  I took the opportunity to leave as well, standing and nodding to Lina. "See you later."

  "Kai, I think—" she started, but I was already moving.

  I made my way out of the dining hall, heading back to my room to grab my things for the afternoon. I had my private lesson with Emberheart soon, and I needed to prepare.

  As I walked through the corridors, I could feel eyes following me. Whispers starting up in my wake. The S-rank student had sat with the unranked troublemaker. That would be the talk of the academy for days.

  Good.

  I was done hiding. Done trying to avoid attention and hoping problems would pass me by.

  If trouble wanted to find me, it could come looking.

  I'd be ready.