The thirty minutes we had at our disposal flew by faster than I had anticipated.

Tzzzz!

Immersed in my practice, I barely heard the Professor's words.

"Would you look at that? The class has ended. You may leave if you wish to. If there are any questions you can ask me. I'll be here for a few more minutes."

She went on to press her hand against the podium.

"If you haven't by now, please put your name on the list. I'll leave it here for today. I'll be here to collect it tomorrow morning."

The class became rowdy then, and it was only once I heard the noise that I fully realized it was the end of the class.

"Hua I'm so tired~"

"Tell me about it. Good thing I don't have anything after this. I think I'll go eat something at the canteen."

"Oh, I'll join you."

"Ah, right. Before we leave let's sign up for the event."

"Alright."

I frowned and looked up.

The conversations were disrupting my concentration. I sighed then and leaned back on the chair.

I thought back on what I managed to accomplish in class.

And

'..Not much progress.'

I was still stuck at eleven runes.

I hardly accomplished anything in the thirty minutes that were given to me.

The last rune simply just refused to connect.

Unlike last time though, I was able to learn to manage my frustration. The more well-learned I was about an emotion, the more I could control it.

For this reason, I wasn't disheartened. Having already experienced the intense frustration that came with failure, it took a lot more than this to get me frustrated.

"Hmmm."

I looked at my timetable.

There was no other class that I needed to attend.

"Should I.?"

I looked around me. The noise in the classroom was starting to quiet down. The place was big, and I felt more refreshed staying here.

Since I didn't feel like going back, I decided to stay behind and practice more.

As the class started to empty, I felt the gazes of the other cadets on me as they left, probably wondering why I was still there.

It felt a little disturbing, so I waited for all of them to leave before resuming my practice.

Only then did I feel at peace and once again started to practice.

Rune OneRune TwoRune Three

This time...

"....I'm going to succeed."

***

In life, there were highs and lows that one experienced.

It was something that came with age. The older one got, the higher the chances of them experiencing a low.

Leon today experienced a low.

"What the hell was that?"

Feeling Evelyn's gaze, he found himself turning his head away from her. She was the only one who even bothered to stay back to talk to him. Everyone else just left.

"Did you seriously think that was funny?"

"Ah."

Leon pursed his lips.

How could he tell her that he had no jokes prepared and panicked? The only reason he had volunteered in the first place was to stop Julien from joining.

He hadn't expected Julien to retaliate like that.

"...."

Leon frowned and found himself clenching his fists.

If only he had been ready...

He wouldn't have used Julien's joke had he been ready.

Though

"Heh."

He felt his stomach cramp a little recalling the face Julien made when he stood up to volunteer.

The look of hurt and betrayal on his face

"Hehe."

It made him chuckle unknowingly. All until he felt a certain gaze. It bore through his face and stung quite a lot.

"You"

As expected. A horrified Evelyn met his gaze. Her face was pale, and she took several steps back.

"Don't tell"

"No."

Leon cut her off and tried to explain himself.

'I was laughing at the face Julien made.'

But stopped himself from speaking.

How exactly could he say that...?

Misunderstanding his inner struggle, Evelyn took another step back as realization dawned on her.

"So you really did laugh at Julien's joke back then."

"Uh...?"

Evelyn's face scrunched up. She seemed to want to say something but stopped and sighed.

"Promise me something, Leon. Just don't sign up for the stand-up. I don't know why you want to do it, but you're just not fit for it."

Before he even had the chance to say anything, Evelyn left.

The only thing he could remember as she left was the disappointment in her face as she looked at him.

It...

"Haaa..."

At that moment, Leon raised his head to stare at the tall ceiling.

There was only one thought that ran through his mind then.

"..I saved them."

Yeah.

He was a hero.

***

Late into the evening.

It was already dark outside and the training grounds were empty.

Mostly.

Clank!

A large metallic noise resounded throughout the expansive grounds as a large black box dropped on the ground with a loud sound.

The surroundings shook slightly as it bounced on the hard ground.

Drip...! Drip.

The sound was accompanied by the patter of sweat dropping and the sound of heavy breaths.

"Haaa Haa..."

Aoife stared at the box in front of her with a pale face.

"Fifty kilograms"

That was her current limit. It was the heaviest her telekinesis powers could go up to.

However, it was meaningless.

While it was indeed the heaviest she could go, her control was not there.

35kg was her comfort weight. The weight where she could freely control the box. It wasn't much, but as a borderline Master Mage, this was her limit.

Any more and she would lose all control. That would mean she'd only be able to lift the item, but not move it.

Drip! Drip!

Sweat continued to drip down her face as she brushed her hair away from her face. It was sticky from all the sweat.

".....I think it's time."

Aoife checked the time. It was 10 P.M, almost curfew time.

'Right, I need to fill in the form.'

The one for the festival.

Her original plan was to do it after dinner, but she had been so immersed in her training that she forgot.

"Hopefully, the list is still there."

It should be.

She was just about to clean up when her pocket vibrated. Frowning, she reached into it and took out a small orb.

Her brows immediately jumped up and she hastily tapped onto the orb.

An illusionary face appeared. A handsome man with short red hair and distinctive yellow eyes appeared.

"Brother?"

He was none other than her brother, Gael K. Megrail.

Immediately, Aoife cleared her throat and fixed her hair. It was something she did unconsciously.

"Is there a reason for why you've called me?"

Is there a reason for me to call my little sister?

An all-familiar smile greeted her. Aoife attempted to smile back but found herself unable to.Especially when she noticed how pale his expression was.

Her fists clenched.

"How are you doing...?"

Haha, I'm fine. What are you so worried about?

He raised his right arm and flexed.

My mana may be sealed, but my body isn't. Look at this!

All Aoife saw was a skinny arm. There was hardly any muscle.

She forced a smile again.

"Looks good..."

Oh, come on. I can tell you're lying.

"I'm not."

He cocked his head.

It's obvious.

"It's not. "

Aoife insisted while trying to keep her face straight.

Haaa... What am I going to do with you?

In the end, he resigned himself and sighed.

Fine, you win. You weren't lying.

"Yes."

Aoife finally found a small smile. However, it didn't last for very long. Especially when she took note of his cheeks which had started to sunken.

'....Brother.'

She secretly bit her lips.

He hadn't always been like this. There had been a time when he was the center of attention. The crown prince and the next in line for the throne.

If only...

Her fists clenched tightly and an image appeared in her mind.

With an arrogance that was fitting of someone of her talent, she stood before her father.

'Seal his mana.'

He, the Emperor of the Empire, could do nothing but helplessly stare at her.

Her talent was too dazzling.

The stronghold her family had was starting to shatter. A new power started to emerge and they could do nothing about it.

'Remember. I know my worth. If you want to keep me in this Empire then you're better off meeting my demands. You can try eliminating me now, but I doubt you'll be able to. When the time comes, I'll join another Empire.'

Even now she could recall her arrogant voice as it echoed throughout the halls of the royal palace.

'I'm not being unreasonable. I just want to see how committed you are in wanting to keep me. Suppress his mana just as you did to the commoners. Do it for five years and you'll have my loyalty.'

A figure stepped up.

'I'll do it, father. Please let me do it.'

Aoife clenched her fists.

She had only been fifteen then. Three years had passed since, and every day those memories haunted her.

She remembered everything. From the helpless expression of her father to the resigned look of her brother who, despite being more talented than her, had no choice but to stop practicing mana for the next five years.

Five years didn't sound like much, however, for someone like her brother who had a large mana pool, sealing his mana was equivalent to crippling him.

His body which was accustomed to the high mana started to fail him, resulting in his current condition.

Cough...! Cough!

"Brother!"

Aoife's face changed.

Cough... I'm fine. Don't worry. It's just... the usual.

However, seeing how adamant her brother was, she could only bite her lips and watch as he held a tissue next to his mouth.

Anyways... cough... I just wanted to see how you were doing at the institute. Seeing your current state, you must've been training. I guess I won't take any more of your time.

"Ah, no it's fine."

Just do your thing. Call me whenever you need something.

"...."

Oh, and...

He paused to look at her. Aoife met his gaze back.

....Don't resent your father for the decision. It's something I agreed to do as well.

Aoife frowned.

Just focus on yourself and don't think about revenge. She... isn't someone you are capable of catching up to.

"...."

Aoife clenched her teeth tightly. She was just about to rebuke him when his face disappeared.

Remember my words. Make sure you eat well and don't resent father too much! The last thing Aoife saw was his smiling face.

"...."

Silence plunged her surroundings as she stood in the training grounds without saying a word.

"Haaa..."

In the end, all she could do was out a long sigh.

"....As if I can forgive him."

her father...

He was just as guilty as she was.

That much was clear to her.