Scritch-scratch

The sound of scribbling pencils rang out in the classroom. In the otherwise quiet classroom, the cadets were focused on the papers in front of them.

Some were scratching their heads in confusion, while others were fully focused on the paper.

I was too as I filled in the questions in front of me.

Flip

Flipping the page over, my eyes paused on the next question.

[Describe the weakness of this monster]

"....."

I paused for a second and frowned. Not because the question was hard, but because it was a little too easy.

'Isn't this the boss monster of the Labyrinth?'

<<Glacial Behemoth>>

Staring at the image in front of me, I didn't know what to say. Was this on purpose? In the end, I answered with the only answer that I knew.

'The tusk.'

That was the monster's weakness. I had killed it using a different method, but that was the answer. If one would look back on the replay of the event, they'd notice that the tusk was the only area the cadets were targeting.

This was the reason.

'....This is going well.'

Flip

Flipping over to the next page, I went on to answer the next few questions.

There were no more freebies like the mammoth question, but they were all something that I was able to answer. In the end, all that studying I paid off.

Before I knew it, time had passed and it was the end of the test. Marking the end of the examination was the Professor's voice.

"That's it for the examination. Please hand over what you have written."

Several groans later, the papers were all placed over the podium where the Professor was.

"....I'm done. I'm done."

Along the way, a listless Kiera handed over her paper.

This was probably hell for her.

"Wow perfect! I will be grading this over the next few days. Hopefully, all of you have done well."

Cheerfully stacking the papers together, she went on to speak about the trip.

"Going back on the news of the trip. We will be departing next week so all of you pack the necessary equipment and things before we leave. We will be there for about a week, or maybe more. It will depend on how long it will take for us to clear the problem."

Professor Bridgette went on to explain a few more details regarding the trip.

The location of the trip was 'Ellnor'.

It was a small town located on the outskirts of the Empire's border with the Aetheria Empire. There were no notable conflicts between the two Empires. In fact, they could somewhat be considered to be on even terms.

Standing at its center, the Nurs Ancifa Empire was surrounded by all three Empires.

Because it was the strongest, it was usually viewed as a dangerous entity. It was for that reason that the Empire tried to maintain a form of 'relationship' with the Aetheria Empire.

Ellnor was located near the border. Right next to a large ridge that separated the two Empires.

Currently, there was a little problem in Ellnor.

The Professor had yet to disclose what the problem was. However, given that we had been sent, it wasn't anything that we shouldn't be able to handle.

'.....Yeah, bullshit.'

I could just tell that a problem was going to come up.

Call it instincts.

"In any case. Please make sure that you are all ready for the upcoming trip. Oh, and before I forget. Make sure you study for the second part of the examination which will be held a day before the trip."

Professor Bridgette left shortly after that.

"....."

I sat in silence while the entire classroom stared at the door with blank looks. The silence was shortly shattered by Kiera who slumped down on her chair with a lost look.

".....Second part? This was only the first part?"

She went on to let out a hollow laugh.

"It's me. I'm the problem."

"At least you know."

Next to her, Josephine laughed. Kiera turned her head to glare at her, but it wasn't anything intimidating.

"Next time. When you see us studying, how about you study?"

"Ha... Shit."

I packed my stuff while I shifted my attention away from them.

As I packed up my stuff, a shadow cast over the area that I was in. Surprised, I looked up to see Kiera standing in front of me. When did she get here?

Her face was currently twisted. Almost as if she was constipated.

"What?"

I frowned.

She wasn't here to fight me for laughing at her, right?

"You..."

With a hoarse voice, Kiera fiddled with her fingers. It really did seem like she was struggling to speak.

I waited for a good couple of seconds for her to speak.

However, seeing that she was still not saying anything, I took my stuff with me and stood up. Only then did she react as she grabbed onto the sleeve of my shirt.

"Wait."

"What?"

"That..."

Kiera looked away.

I frowned again. What's up with her?

Her next words came out in a whisper, but I was still able to understand them. It was because I understood them that I had a hard time comprehending the situation.

"S...study... Help me."

"...."

So much that all I could do was stare at her with wide eyes.

"What?"

"...."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...."

"Ah, fuck. Whatever. Fuck it. Treat it as if I didn't as"

"Why?"

Kiera stopped to look at me. She roughly tied up her platinum hair behind her while letting go of my sleeve.

".....I don't have anyone else to ask."

I blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me already."

"...."

I once again fell into silence. Eventually, my eyes fell on Josephine in the distance, but just as I was about to suggest her, Kiera cut me off.

"That idiot is dumber than me. And I can't stand her."

But you can stand me...?

"I'm busy."

In the end, I still rejected her.

"Busy with what? You also have no friends."

"....."

I had no words to say to that. I wanted to refute her words, but as I opened my mouth to do it, I found myself at a complete loss for words.

"See? You have no friends."

".....And you?"

"I..."

It was her turn to be at a loss for words. In the end, she changed the conversation again.

"Whatever fuck. Just teach me."

"What do I get in all of this...?"

The next set of exams was in a week. Taking into account that my body was injured and I couldn't train, I could help her study.

But it needed to be worth my time.

".....I'll let you hold my hand?"

Moving to the side, I prepared to leave when she pulled at my sleeve again.

"No, wait...!"

I stopped and looked back at her again. Her face twitched, and in the end, she mumbled,

"Money? Is that okay with y-"

"Meet me at six every morning at the dorm's study area. I'll help you out then. My fee is 100 Rend per hour. Don't be late. I will charge every minute that you're late."

I left after saying my terms.

Kiera stood stunned for several seconds before she screamed from behind.

"Wait, hold on! This is a fucking robbery! Hey...!"

***

There's nothing strange about him.

A familiar voice echoed from the communication device in Aoife's hands.

He seems to have changed a little when he was young but don't we all change after we reach a certain age? You've certainly changed a lot once you reached your teens. Uagh... Just thinking about what I had to go through.

Listening to his voice, her lips pulled into a slight pout. It was mainly because it was a voice message and she couldn't answer back.

'....What change? I'm the same.'

This is all I was able to find. I'm not sure why you're interested in him, but this is all I could find for you. If you have anything else you want to ask me, you can just come visit me at the office. You know where to find me.

The voice message ended there.

"...."

Aoife stood alone with a frown. She wasn't satisfied with what she received from her uncle. In fact, Aoife was even more certain that something was up.

"He's not the type to answer like that."

Atlas. Her uncle. He was usually very thorough with his research.

The last time she had asked him to do something like this, he had given her a thorough file with all sorts of details.

"It's odd."

But at the same time, she didn't understand why her uncle of all people would lie to her.

.....Was there some sort of secret that she wasn't supposed to be aware of? Something that only a few members of the royal family knew?

"Hmm."

The more Aoife thought about it, the stranger she felt the situation was.

"Aoife! Are you coming? Next class is about to start!"

"Ah...!? Yes."

In the end, however, she was unable to think further as someone called out for her. Quickly putting the communication device away, Aoife cleared her throat and followed.

As she walked, her hand kept fiddling over the communication device.

Something was up.

But for now...

Aoife took a deep breath.

'I'll take things slowly.'

***

It was early in the morning of the next day.

"Huaam."

Yawning, Kiera looked at the time. It was exactly 5:30 in the morning. Today was Saturday and so there were no lessons.

It was supposed to be her day off, but...

"Fuck."

Regret had already made its way into Kiera's mind.

"What was I even on?"

Ruffling her hair, Kiera dressed herself in casual clothes. Cotton white shirt, some jeans, and a white hat. This was how she usually dressed on weekends.

Coming out of her room, she did one last check of the place before coming down to the ground floor.

'He said he'll wait for me there...'

Indeed, the moment Kiera came down, she saw him sitting by himself on one of the tables with several books open and a 00:30

small pile of papers on his right. Judging from the empty cup of coffee on his side and the several books open, he appeared to have been here long before the arranged time.

"Crazy bastard."

The more time she spent with him, the more of a lunatic Julien appeared in her eyes.

He was simply...

Inhuman.

If he wasn't studying, he was training, and if he wasn't training, he was studying. In Kiera's mind, it was starting to make sense how someone like him was able to remain at the top.

Even Leon and Aoife weren't as crazy as him.

"Oy, I'm here."

Calling out for him, Kiera sat down on the seat opposite him.

".....What do I do?"

As she asked, she placed the book she brought from her dorm onto the table; [Magic Theory]

Flip

Flipping it open, she paused on the last page she was on.

"I-"

"No."

Kiera was stopped halfway through her sentence. Blinking, she looked up to meet Julien's hazel eyes. Before she could say anything, he pointed at the piles of papers on his right.

"You're doing those."

"...."

Kiera closed her book without saying a word. She then stood up and turned around. Yeah, fuck that... But just as she was about to leave, Julien's cold voice echoed from behind her.

"You were the one who asked me to help you."

"Uh, yeah but..."

"Do you want to pass or not?"

"...."

Kiera's face scrunched up. Pass... She wanted to pass. No, she had to pass. It was a requirement her father had set for her in other to stay. Were she not pass, then she'd have to quit the Academy.

'I can't have that.'

It wasn't that she liked the Academy. However, it was less stifling than her home. There was no way she'd want to go back there.

"Ugh."

In the end, despite every part of her not wanting to be here, she sat back down.

Taking a deep breath, she took one of the sheets. There were over a hundred of them.

'I'll never be able to finish them...'

As she groaned, her eyes paused on the first question.

"Uh?"

A strange sound came out of her mouth the moment she stared at the paper. Blinking several times to make sure she was seeing correctly, her head flicked up.

Without hesitation, she went on to grab another paper.

"This..."

Her eyes widened yet again.

Opening her mouth, Kiera found herself losing her words. But in the end, grabbing another sheet, she managed to say,

"....Did you write all the questions yourself?"