The festival came to an end.

Haven's educational department had its hands full with dealing with the aftermath of postponing the mid-term exams. With the Exams used as a means to assess cadets for the draft, their annoyance was understandable.

Each year, the Guilds only had one chance to pick a new recruit. For that reason, they needed to pick the right one.

A mistake could cost them their future for the next few years. Hence why it was important for them to gather as much information and data as possible before the draft began.

In the end, however, despite their protests, Haven refused to budge and they remained firm with their decision.

On another note, there was a certain piece of news that was starting to spread within the Empire.

The Empire Daily Breaking :

[The Enigma of Midnight Manor] has risen to claim the coveted 5-star rating as the Empire's latest sensation in the theater!

In a stunning display at Haven, the judges were left utterly mesmerized by the play. Brimming with complex plot twists and surprises, it held its audience spellbound throughout.

However, if there was one standout performance, it undoubtedly belonged to the Black Star of Haven, Julien Dacre Evenus. A dark horse in the Jovinc award! Will he be able to make it?

*

"Huuu."

Putting the newspaper down, I took a deep breath.

"The Jovinc award..."

I had been made aware of it just a few moments ago. Apparently, it was a very prestigious acting award. As the clips of the play started to spread, my voice started to spread, and all of a sudden, I had become a candidate to win the 'Best Supporting Actor' award.

It was rather burdensome.

However, thinking about the money that I would receive from the award...

I also place my vote on him. He was phenomenal. Some of the best acting that I've ever seen. Julien D. Evenus.

I started to push the narrative.

'.....I need the money, so.'

I placed my vote down and sent it to the post office.

I was just coming out of the post office when a figure appeared in front of me. The two of us stooped at the same time.

"...."

"...."

For a brief moment, silence ensued.

The first one to break the silence was Aoife who alternated her gaze between me and the post office.

"Were you placing down your vote?"

".....Yes."

"Oh."

"....."

I looked down at Aoife's hand where a small letter was nestled. For some reason, she seemed to be fiddling with it. Perhaps she was embarrassed with her choice?

"You're also placing a vote?"

"Uh, ah... Yes."

Seeing how her eyes avoided me at all times, it was perhaps true that she was embarrassed by her choice.

I was just about to leave when she asked,

"....Who did you vote for?"

My face twitched at her question. Keeping myself composed, I looked straight into her eyes before saying,

"You."

"....Uh?!"

As if not expecting such an answer, her eyes widened.

"I felt like you did a good job. I can tell that you've put a lot of effort into your role. It was impressive."

"Uh, ah..."

Just slightly, her body trembled and her head lowered. I couldn't see her expression, but I took that moment to leave.

'It's not like I lied...'

Well, the part where I voted for her was indeed a lie.

But outside of that, her acting had truly been great. I could see that she had put a lot of effort into it.

I didn't want to take that away from her.

'.....I'll vote for her next time.'

If the opportunity presented itself.

***

Even as Julien left, Aoife remained standing on the spot with her head lowered. Even now, she was struggling to understand what had happened.

Recalling her previous conversation with him, Aoife found herself clenching her fists.

"Me..."

His words. They were a form of acknowledgment.

Acknowledgment of her efforts. It made her body flush with heat. It had been a long time since she had felt like this. The joy of knowing that someone was acknowledging her efforts.

Even if it came from the unlikeliest of people, no, perhaps it was because it was him that Aoife felt the compliment meant more.

He was clearly better than her.

He was the star of the show and someone who was probably going to win the award.

For him to tell her that he had voted for her...

"Haha."

It was enough to make her laugh. Especially when she looked at the letter in her hand.

I thought she was great. Captured my attention. I place my vote on her. Aoife K. Megrail.

Thinking about it now, it was shameless of her. For her to vote herself...

"....I thought no one would vote for me."

Given Julien's performance, she thought she'd be without any votes.

But who would've thought...?

"Haa."

Staring at the letter, Aoife let out a long sigh.

It dawned on her how shameless her actions were. Aoife hated to admit it, but she had to be more mature about this.

"He was great."

Way better than her.

And for that reason...

Riiiip!

Aoife ripped the letter apart.

".....It was immature of me."

Moving toward a nearby table, she wrote a new letter. In it, she wrote.

The only possible winner. Julien D. Evenus.

Once she was done writing, she folded the paper and placed it in the letter which she then handed over to the post office.

"Thank you for using our services."

"....."

Coming out of the post office, Aoife stared at the sky. She felt liberated. To her, the acknowledgment of her effort meant a lot more than a single vote. Especially since that vote came from herself.

Thinking about her actions, she started to feel secondhand embarrassment.

"....How shameless."

For her to even think about voting for herself...

Aoife shook her head.

"Pathetic."

***

The days passed like that.

With the upcoming examinations, a serious atmosphere took over the Academy. The once bustling place was now empty as the training grounds and library became full.

It was to the point where they became overcrowded. Such places started to become impossible to frequent.

Thankfully, I studied at my dorms most of the time.

In the next two weeks, I followed the same routine.

Take lessons, study back at the dorm, train my spells, and train the blue-ranked book. My progress wasn't anything fast. At least, not compared to how it had been in the past.

However, it was certainly better than nothing.

More than anything, I was just waiting to see what would happen once my spell reached the next level.

Would they evolve? If so, how...?

"Ugh."

Stretching my body, I rubbed my haggard face and closed the book before me.

"....Feels like I'm back at my job."

There were so many things that I needed to memorize and understand. It was awful, but I had no choice but to do it.

The mid-terms were important.

Not only would failure mean expulsion, but the ranks would be re-adjusted. That meant that I could very well lose my position as the Black Star.

I couldn't allow that to happen.

The position was very important. While so far it had yet to do much for me, I knew just how important the 'name' was to the Guilds and outsider organizations.

For that reason, I had no choice but to indulge myself in my studies and practice.

"....."

Standing up to stretch my body, I suddenly paused and looked towards the corner of the room.

There, a black box rested.

Thinking about the box, I frowned. It had been a while since I had opened it. No, rather, I hadn't touched it ever since coming to Haven.

Stepping forward, I headed for the box and bent down.

Click!

With a 'click' the box unlocked and I pulled the lid upwards. Instantly, my gaze rested on the sword that rested within.

".....It's been a while."

Right, I still have the sword with me. The one that had punctured my chest the very first time that I came into this world.

I still didn't understand why that had happened, or for what reason the sword had been imbedded in me, but if there was one thing that I was sure about it was the fact that the sword was important.

"....."

Tracing my fingers over its body, I could tell just how sharp it was.

"It's a very high-quality sword."

That much was true at first glance.

Placing my hand around the hilt of the sword, I tried to lift it, but...

"....Hmm."

It was heavy. Really heavy.

"Ugh."

It took both of my hands for me to be able to even lift the sword up.

"What the hell..."

I didn't remember it to be so heavy.

"Ugh."

The more I tried to move with the sword, the more I found myself struggling. How can a sword be so heavy?

In the end, unable to hold for any longer, my grip faltered and the sword clattered on the ground.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

Catching my breath, I looked at the sword with a frown.

How could anyone hold a sword that heavy?

"Is this the difference between a mage and a knight?"

If so, it became clear to me that the sword would be of no use to me. I sort of expected for this to happen so I wasn't disheartened.

"Hmmm."

But a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

"What if I injected mana into the sword?"

What would happen then?

I was quick to put my thoughts into action as I went on to grab the hilt of the sword and channeled my mana into it.

"Ha...!"

Almost instantly, the sword became lighter and I was able to lift it up. I had only done it to test it, but I hadn't expected it to work.

It was a pleasant surprise.

"This is-"

But the surprise was short-lived.

Blink.

With one blink, my surroundings changed. All of a sudden, I found myself standing on a rocky plain.

The landscape stretched endlessly in shades of bleak gray, with jagged formations rising and falling like the frozen waves of a turbulent ocean surface.

Above, the sun, though familiar, cast a hollow light, its shine muted by the heavy shroud of gloom that seemed to envelop everything.

Stunned, I looked around.

"What's this...?"

Blink.

Blinking again, I found myself back in my room.

And then...

Blink.

Back in the space.

Something gripped my heart all of a sudden as it started to beat dramatically. Looking around without blinking, I secretly swallowed my saliva.

"Wh-wha..."

Swoosh

The very fabric of the space around me started to twist as a hand slowly emerged from behind me, grasping my shoulder.

".....!"

As my head flicked in that direction, my heart stopped.

"Ah, this..."

With a wide smile, it looked at me.

As if the very fabric of space had wrapped around its face, I stared at the featureless creature.

And...

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

I found the beat of my heart again.