Ru and Ophelia looked to be quite close. I observed those two as I took a break from spell casting. Every time I looked at Ophelia, Ru was always right next to her, chatting with a gentle expression on.

Strange.

While it was great that the romance was progressing, wasn’t he a bit too nice? Perhaps I missed a chapter where they grew closer? 

In the game, you had to increase his interest in you by at least 60% before he even acknowledged you. In the other routes, you only needed 20%. Ru had one of the trickiest routes in the game and that with five wrong choices landed you a Bad Ending. It took me three tries to actually finish his route. And this was only normal mode. How difficult was it in hard mode?!

Ru turned his head in my direction and I averted my gaze.

Whoops, maybe he noticed me looking? Clearing my throat, embarrassed, I pretended to read through my pamphlet. I would still glance at them from time to time. As I was turning to look back, I spotted a girl who was glaring furiously in Ophelia’s direction.

Ah.

Erica looked quite upset. She’d been trying to get Ru’s attention for help but everyone but him approached her. He was blatantly ignoring her and the other students, favoring Ophelia.

I wonder if this might spark a conflict soon? Smiling to myself, I shook that idea off.

No way, I’m sure everything was fine.

---

 

Or not…

By the end of class, right as Ophelia walked out, Erica approached her with her friends. She blocked Ophelia’s route. The girl blinked in confusion.

“Um, excuse me—“

“Hey, what’s your relationship with Ru?” She abruptly asked. Her gaze focused on Ophelia’s face which was turning red.

“Normal? I-I mean, nothing is going on. We’re just…” She couldn’t continue, unsure if they even were friends. I rolled my eyes as I witnessed this. Oden nudged me.

“You might have a chance, Rael!” My glare caused him to smile.

Erica narrowed her eyes on Ophelia. She looked to be scrutinizing the girl. Then she snorted and flipped her long wavy hair.

“That’s what I thought. Then it’s fine if I make him mine, right? I’m sure you wouldn’t mind, would you? After all, you’re not that close.” Her lips curled into a smile.

Ophelia looked surprised, blinking a few times. It took a while for her to slowly nod. “Yeah… it’s fine.” 

“Good. Then you better mind your own business and back away from him.” She gave Ophelia a warning, still faking a smile on her pink lips.

This was not going well. I thought my pep talk would make her more confident but she’s allowing Erica to step all over her! I wanted to interrupt them, but Reni beat me to the punch. She appeared from behind Ophelia, sneering at Erica.

“Whatever she does has nothing to do with you. Ophelia and Ru can decide whether or not they want something more, and you can’t do shit about it.”

Erica let out a laugh. “Oh please, the girl can’t even talk to him without stuttering, why would he choose someone like her?” Reni gritted her teeth, watching Ophelia shrivel from her words.

“Strange coming from the girl who can’t even get his attention half of the time.” 

Erica’s eyes widened before glaring at Reni. “You—“

“Come on, let’s get going.”

Reni grabbed Ophelia’s arm, dragging her away. She didn’t seem to want to wait and hear what Erica had to say. She was done with her. Erica gritted her teeth, angry but unable to vent.

Seeing how Reni just intervened, maybe all hope wasn’t lost?

The smile on my face dropped as I saw the Saint who was silently observing everything. Her eyes followed Ophelia and Reni who walked past her. 

I must’ve forgotten about The Saint. But she wouldn’t pull any tricks, it was too early! It took her a few months before she began spreading rumors in the game. Even though there had been a few changes, that might be the same. 

I shook my head, walking with Oden to our next class. If I thought too hard about it, I might just jinx it. So I let it slip past my mind, walking past the Saint who sent us polite smiles.

---

 

I stood in the lunch line, trying to decide what to eat. I was stuck between two choices and couldn’t choose which one I wanted more. While pondering, I spotted a head of brown hair. Geo looked to be picking a meal, and he grabbed one of them. I watched him walk away and randomly chose something.

‘Caesar salad'

I felt my nose wrinkle, but I ran after Geo. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked back, unsurprised. Did he know I was coming?

“Hey Geo, want to eat lunch?” I said, ignoring the table where my friends sat at. They all sent me looks as we walked past them. I sheepishly grinned at them.

Geo paused for a few seconds. “Yeah, sure.” He sat down at a table and I sat down with him. We stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Uh—“ I began.

“Um…” He started.

We blinked at each other. I cracked a smile as the corners of his lips quirked up. I raised my fork, stabbing the salad as I spoke; “How has school been for you? You seem to actually do well.”

“What, did you expect me to fail?” 

I raised my hands in defense. “No, it just went better than average! That’s it!”

“Of course, what else would you expect from a d—“ he bit his tongue. “D-Dranen! That’s my family name. W-we’re known for producing prodigies.”

I leaned forwards, curious. “Really? Does that mean everyone is a prodigy?”

He snorted. “Obviously, no dra—Dranen’s would disgrace their lineage by being below average! It’s in our blood.” He said with slight pauses, before taking big bites of his food. I had a feeling he was nervous for some reason.

I nodded. “I wish my lineage was good enough to make me a genius. Then again I’m not a legitimate child so that might be why.” I made a self-depriving joke, not expecting any reaction from Geo.

But the boy turned serious as he stared me down. I must’ve imagined his eye color turning a shade lighter as he narrowed his eyes at me. “You say that but you suddenly have an increase in MP. If it was at rock bottom before, now it’s almost at an acceptable range…”

My cheeks flushed. Gosh, was it that obvious that my talents sucked? Embarrassed, I took another bite. “Still not as good as yours, though.”

He shook his head. “If you compare yourself to others, you’ll never succeed. Though this academy loves to preach about it, those who never stop to look at ways to improve themselves never go far. Even if they were talented.”

My smile faltered. “How do I improve myself?”

He smiled. “By finding a rival.” I blinked.

“Isn’t that the exact opposite of what you—“ He raised his fork, cutting me off.

“No, I said, find a rival, not find someone to compare yourself to. By finding a rival, you can push limits you never thought were possible. Rivals can vary in strength. They can be weaker, stronger, or the same as you. None of it matters as you’ll learn from each other. By—healthily— competing with said person, you’ll grow motivated to improve, all while focusing on yourself. It’s a win-win situation!”

“Do you have a rival?” I blurted out, seeing how excited he suddenly became. He blinked before clearing his throat.

“I’ve had a few, but only one person I can call my true rival.” His smile widened as he looked to be reminiscing.

I was surprised that he had a rival before he began Lore Academy, but I brushed it aside.

“How is this person?” I asked.

“Annoying. Arrogant. And a bastard to top it all off. I can’t stand him.” He spoke, his words full of malice but the smile on his face didn’t look to be vanishing. I let out a laugh. 

“You must really like—er, dislike him.”

Geo nodded his head before stopping. His face fell all of a sudden. The smile was wiped off clean.

“He… was my rival.” The sentence was almost as quiet as a whisper. Had I not been close, I would’ve missed it. My eyes widened.

“I’m so sorry!” I wasn’t sure what to say, after all, his rival had died. It was a strange situation to be in. He shook his head.

“It’s fine, I’m over it.” 

I didn’t believe him but he seemed to want to change the topic. He began to look at me again.

“Even though I talked about getting a rival… you’re too weak.” A metaphorical dagger went through my heart. I knew he was right but it still hurt.

“I’m trying okay!”

“You’re not trying hard enough. How often have you been training since school began?” 

I blinked. “I began training just a few days ago.” 

He sighed. “That makes sense. You’ve been lazing around.” 

I frowned. “No, I really—“

“I’ll help you train.” I stopped talking. I stared at him curiously.

“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask.

He shrugged. “I’m bored? Do I need another reason?”

“I was hoping for ‘Because I want to see you do well’, but that works too,” I said, rolling my eyes.

He stood up. “Come on, we have some time before class.” I looked down at my salad.

“I’m not done eating yet.”

“Then bring it with you. We have no time to waste.” Rushing to package the remaining food, I was dragged out by Geo.

Did I just receive a mentor?

---

 

And like that, I spent my days training like a madman. Geo would be waiting for me in the mornings, at 5 am, for training. And then at lunch, he’d drag me away for more training. We’d end the lovely school day with, you guessed it, more training. 

Though I was exhausted, I was beginning to see the rapid changes in me. Magic flowed easier for me, and I’d nearly learned ten spells. Not to mention, Geo had sparred with me, sharpening my swordsmanship. He was surprisingly… good at everything. It was as though he already had a foundation for it. 

But when it came to spells, his talents shined. He could break down even a tier-0 spell and make it easier to imagine. I was able to learn at least one spell every day, thanks to his assistance.

Strangely, the more time I spent with him, the more familiar he became. He seemed to be all-knowing whenever I asked him questions, and he had confidence in his magic abilities that only veteran mages had.

Who was he?

Something kept nagging me that I already knew who he was. But I couldn’t remember anything. Looking at Geo who was focused on simplifying a 1-tier spell to me, I relented.

I don’t think I’m supposed to remember it. At least not now. 

The truth might unveil itself in time.

---

 

Oden frowned.

“Where is everybody?” 

They sat at their usual table at lunch. The usual group of him, Rael, Al, Claus, and Weiss. But today, Rael, Al, and Claus were absent.

Rael had begun training with Geo. He saw Rael in class but the boy was usually either napping or half-awake, trying to pay attention. Talking to him was like talking to a wall. 

Al had been struggling a lot with their upcoming tests so Claus decided to help them. They’d bought lunch before heading out to study. Weiss and Oden looked at each other. 

So it was only those two left. Oden ate, blatantly ignoring Weiss. He was in no mood to talk to him, especially after what he did to him last time. Weiss seemed to have the same idea, eating silently while crowd-watching with a bored expression on his face.

Oden kept eating, trying to ignore the awkwardness of this situation. How unlucky was he to have to eat lunch alone with him? He’d initially wanted to sit somewhere else but that would be too cowardly. He wasn’t afraid of Weiss, he just disliked him!

His hand clenched. No, it was beyond dislike. He couldn’t stand him. From the way he kept pulling antics on Oden, to his teasing remarks, he was insufferable to be around. But the thing that pissed Oden the most about him was how utterly smitten he was by Rael.

Sometimes, when he watched the two interact, he wanted to roll his eyes to the back of his eyes. Rael had no clue how his every reply made Weiss’ lit up. Or how the boy would pause for just a second, before tapping Rael or putting a hand on his shoulder. He acted nonchalantly, but he was nervous about being close to him.

The smile he made when Rael made a stupid joke, or when Rael picked him as his partner during Combat class and he’d look stunned before growing overwhelmingly happy…

All of it pissed him off!

Oden gritted his teeth. Weiss was annoying to deal with alone, but he was the worst around Rael because of how obvious his flirting or nervousness was. 

Oden couldn’t help it. He’d been holding it in for so long, he had to ask. 

“Do you like Rael?” He stared at Weiss as he asked that question.

Weiss, who had been chewing his fried rice, paused. And he began to choke as he hit his chest. He grabbed his glass of water and chugged it down. Finally able to breathe, he looked at Oden wide-eyed.

“Huh?”