Exam weeks had begun. Ranging from mathematics to the history of Mundo, and from martial arts to the field of magic, students and teachers alike were busy taking and procuring said tests.

And as if the weather knew; its presence was calm like the subtle silence surrounding every room. One would only hear the constant sounds of pens as they made contact with the grainy surface of papers.

Yet that itself was like music to the ears of the teachers, who saw and felt the diligence their students were putting into their tests.

This was why an anomaly like the young master of Beryldot was a thorn in their eyes.

“You’re done?” Asked Mony as Naell handed him the last exam for that school year.

Although she was already used to him handing over all his exams at an abnormal pace, she still could not help but smile awkwardly every time. The same went for Naell’s classmates.

Yet to Naell, it was not at all his intention to brag, yet his lax demeanor only made his classmates more bitter towards him. He then replied, “Yes, miss. Would that be all?”

As Mony gave her a nod, Naell could not help but see the bandage on her shoulder. She then noticed his gaze and said, “Fresh from last week.”

“How’s instructor Suna?” The one who spoke was Viola who was now behind Naell.

Like Naell, she was finished with her exams, although only for that day. Still, the warm reception she got from her classmate and Mony was quite different from the young master of Beryldot.

Mony’s face turned into a grimace for only a moment before replying he was okay. Yet that bit made Naell and Viola realized to an extent what had occurred. They decided not to delve deeper and just went to thank her, as they went out of the room.

It had become big news that supposedly the pieces of Lucile ambushed a gathering consisting of nobles and well-known people in the Republic of Summer.

The said event was a time wherein a delegation was sent from the Autumn Kingdom. They intended to have talks and persuade the republic in joining the alliance against the pieces of Lucille.

Yet when it came to pass, the gathering place and the people present were ambushed.

“Andrew, Note, and Rizaul are really pissed, they are really close with professor Suna.” Said Viola while sighing.

It was safe to say that she was also mad; as could be seen from her sad expression and deep gaze that was quite unlike her. Naell on the other hand nodded sympathetically. He was just glad none of them died.

After a while, they met with Rizaul and Owly. Since Andrew and the rest were still taking their exams, they all decided to head to the cafeteria and wait for them there.

Owly immediately ordered meat while Viola had pastries and desserts. Rizaul took some herbal tea while Naell opted for coffee.

It was a typical afternoon for Naell, as getting along with everyone was now his new normal.

His conflicting feelings aside, he did think it was nice, afterall, the stories of their adventures did seem straight out of an audiobook to him. Soon afterward, Andrew and the rest joined them with Septh and Utua.

With the familiar poise, they were accustomed to seeing, Utua came into view carrying the gracefulness of the wind, while Septh Noom, her knight, had a fairly haggard appearance. It seemed he was mentally drained from the exams, and physically from the ambush.

Seeing as their group would occupy far too many seats in the cafeteria, they decided to instead head to Septh’s room. Naell agreed to join them as he was heading back in that direction anyway.

There they started discussing once more the ambush that occurred. With Septh being there, the story became clearer.

Some high-ranking official in the Republic of Summer lost their life, while some adventurers of the Autumn Kingdom were gravely injured. One of them was Suna, a professor in Esuela dio sa de, and a famed adventurer.

Nevertheless, together with Mony, nobles like Aive Noeiadia, and Septh Noom, many lives were saved by them. Yet the aftermath of that incident was a further strain on their alliance.

The opposing politicians of the Republic of Summer firmly grasped the power to deny talks. Although the republic indeed lost some key figures, in Naell’s point of view those casualties were deliberate and all too convenient.

Of course, he knew that the allied countries would investigate it. Yet those coincidences just furthered his suspicion. ‘Someone or someplace is funding them.’

And it seemed, Naell was right.

“This is confidential, but we think an allied country is in cahoots with the enemy.” Said Septh dampening the mood of all in the room except Naell.

He was listening but was quite distracted by how different Septh’s room was compared to his.

Nevertheless, it was not to say, Naell’s room was lacking, but the young master of Noom’s personality came through just from his room’s decor.

With a living room twice the size of his, it felt fuller from the various furniture and decorations occupying most of the space.

One could easily describe the young master of Noom just by the ornaments, armors, and weapons placed on the wall. Not to mention the political books, martial arts, and warfare shelved and on the table.

As he was still in awe of the knightly room, the discussion continued with other guests arriving; Lesjon, Casper, Wendy, Aive, and Rumi.

“What took you guys so long?” Asked Septh.

“Sorry, it was hard taking the exam— literally.” The one who replied was Aive Noedia.

First thing Naell noticed was her shoulder that was in a cast. It seemed that her injury was worse than Septh’s. Due to this, she was taking the exam with her non-dominant hand.

Although light magic could heal, not all injuries could instantly be recovered. Hence why Suna was still being treated as his injuries were deep and life-threatening.

“Oh, how charming of you guys to wait for her.” said Utua but they knew it was directed towards Lesjon who could only sigh and reply, “I was forced.”

His gaze was now directed at Casper and Wendy. It seems both he and Naell have a hard time saying no to the lovey-dovey couple.

And soon enough, Lesjon’s troubles were transferred to his cousin.

“Hey, Naell.” Said both Casper and Wendy while they sat near him.

“Hi…” Naell replied hastily which was caught by Rinca who smiled as she knew of his awkwardness.

That made Naell embarrassed thinking he had done some impolite introduction for a noble. Therefore, he corrected himself and politely greeted them all.

“...”

Owly could only scratch himself knowing Naell misunderstood his surroundings yet again.