For the next few days, nothing out of the ordinary occurred; everything went on as it should have. One change in the academy was that the classes for the first year were now getting more focused towards the physical aspect rather than the academic.

 

Academic lectures were essential in helping them learn about the world, the mechanics of the dungeon, and the monsters it housed. Those with more information had a better chance of survival than those who didn't.

 

That is why it was critical for those in the E and D sections to study these classes with zeal if they wanted to secure their positions and their future in major factions.

 

Along with the intensification of physical classes came the introduction of 'duels.' During training sessions, students could challenge one another to a duel. Of course, the students in question could reject them, but this rarely happened. 

 

These would be fought without the use of mana, and any lethal attack would result in immediate disqualification. 

 

Some of the weaker students who did not join any faction dreaded these fights because they were frequently used as punching bags; the teachers did their best not to let this happen, but they couldn't always prevent it.

 

"I haven't done anything in three days and honestly I feel like shit." Akira said to himself as he sat in the cafeteria.

 

He had gone into an exhausted state after learning that his bloodline was finally showing signs of approaching its potential, and all of his motivations for leveling up and getting stronger went astray.

 

It's not that he didn't realize that resting instead of training or exploring a dungeon was a bad idea, but his heart wouldn't just go along with his mind's ramblings.

 

"Hey, where's the cake?" 

 

"Huh? Oh, you're here." Evelyn's appearance at his table had become a regular occurrence, so he wasn't even surprised.

 

“Hmm? Did you forget to buy the cake today?” She asked while nibbling on the chocolate cookie he had bought.

 

‘Sigh’

 

"You know what, I'm not in the mood today," he said, rubbing his brow.

 

"Huh? What's wrong?" Her bright red dragon eyes blinked in unison.

 

Something in his mind was telling him to lash out at her, to berate her for bothering him, a strange feeling that a part of him wanted to give in to, but the rational part of him knew that these were the results of his teenager body's raging hormones.

 

'Breathe in, breathe out,' he repeated as a mantra.

He had previously assumed that hormones would not be a problem for him because he had gone through that stage, but they were a nightmare to control.

 

Evelyn's dragon eyes were constantly observing the swiveling mess of emotions inside his head; she couldn't exactly tell what those emotions were, but she could tell the good ones from the bad. 

 

That made her believe that now was not the time to speak with him. She could tell something was bothering him and was prepared for the emotional assault he was about to deliver. 

 

"Nothing's wrong, how have you been?" he asked, smiling.

 

When she suspected that, like any other first-year student, he would lose his temper and let emotions take over, he was able to calm down and speak rationally. 

 

Of course, his actions lacked finesse and would lose to someone more experienced in dealing with such situations, but for a first year, it was commendable, and that piqued her interest.

 

"Woah! Something has definitely happened to you," she exclaimed, surprised.

 

“This is the first time you have asked that.”

 

“Eh? Sorry for that but really how have you been?” That discovery was a surprise for him.

 

"Hmm, everything's fine except for the fact that the work in the student council is more than ever, and Ichi has been nagging me as usual." She grumbled.

 

"Ichinose is way too strict; she needs to relax a little," he said.

 

"Totally agree, I always tell her the same thing, but she just shrugs it off and uses force to silence me." She replied while munching on the sandwich. 

 

'As if you're any weaker than she is.' He thought to himself.

 

"Oh, and why didn't you show up to the student council on that day?" 

 

She still had that innocent expression on her face, but Akira could tell it was serious this time. And the fact she was asking this after a gap of three days made him choke on water.

 

“I-I uh… I umm was..” he couldn’t make up anything in response to that.

 

And lying wasn't something he wanted to try in front of a dragonoid who could tell the difference between lies and truth. Akira was becoming increasingly stressed as time passed, but she kept smiling the entire time.

 

"I was angry with myself and forgot about it in my rage." He eventually decided to tell the truth because he couldn't think of any other reason.

 

"Well, it's okay, I get angry sometimes and argue with Ichi," she said, returning to her normal self.

 

‘Phew.’ Akira felt like he had just escaped a bullet because in the game, he remembered Richard lying to Evelyn, and she is the type of person who will tolerate anything but lies.

 

So, in a fit of rage, she kicked him so hard that he couldn't walk for a week! And it was considered a minor punishment because she had romantic feelings for him.

 

“So uh president, why did you call me back then?” 

 

"I wanted you to be a part of the student council, but since first-year students aren't allowed to be members, it was supposed to be on a temporary basis, but alas, I've run into some problems." She had seen his records, which were, to say the least, perplexing.

 

He came from a normal family with no special heritage or bloodline to distinguish him; his strength was greater than his classmates, but again his bloodline was only Iron. His grades were good, but it needed to be tested further.

 

Then there's his involvement with the Dark Swords and the subsequent turn of events, but she'd checked her sources and discovered that his presence there was entirely coincidental, and his role in defusing the situation was insignificant. 

 

The dungeon run results surprised her, but it didn't change the fact that his bloodline would be a hindrance in the future, which is why when she discussed his addition to the student council with his father and other members, they declined.

 

Finally, the affair between him and Lily was brought up in front of her, but she dismissed it due to numerous differences. 

 

He didn't acted like someone who would harass a girl, let alone his own fiancee, but the report was 100% accurate, so she attributed that to his changed personality.

 

“Prez? Prez? Are you okay?” She had gone silent after telling him that.

 

“Uh yeah so that's why I called you that day.”

 

“You wanted me in the student council?” He couldn’t believe her words, even Richard was chosen in the second year.

 

“Sigh, I really wanted to but the others objected and now that’s impossible.”

 

“Thank god.” He muttered to himself in the lowest voice possible.

 

‘Getting into the student council?Come on, do you think I am the protagonist?’

 

“Hmm what did you say?” She had of course picked it up but still asked.

 

“Nothing, nothing.”

 

“Fine, let’s leave that now, tell me why didn’t you buy the cake today?” 

 

"I'm completely exhausted from everything that was going on. In fact, I'm only here because it's required; otherwise, I'd have skipped it and gone somewhere else." He said it honestly, having completely forgotten who the person was.

But when he realized who the person in front of him was, he was sweating profusely and trying to think of a way out of this situation but how could she give him that chance? 

 

"Oh, really? You would have skipped the academy? Show me, then.” As soon as she finished speaking, she placed her hand on his shoulder and they teleported outside the academy.

 

When Akira regained his senses, he was already in the heart of the market district. The entire teleportation process was so quick that even his mana senses couldn't react to the changes.

 

"Now show me," Evelyn said authoritatively from beside him.

 

“Uh prez, I don’t understand. Why have you brought me here?” He really couldn't understand the draonoid’s intention.

 

“What? Didn’t you say that you would have gone somewhere else instead of coming to the academy? Now show me that place, I want to know how it is better than our academy.”

 

Now he realised what she was up to; unknowingly, he had stated that the academy was not particularly appealing to him, and that if given the choice, he would not attend it every day.

 

‘But I only meant it for today.’ he complained in his heart.

 

"Don't you think it was very irresponsible of you to take me out of the academy as a first-year student while classes were still going on? Even if you don't get into any trouble, I could be expelled." 

 

He was terrified of being expelled from the academy because of the seriousness of the situation.

 

"Don't worry about it; it's an official student council mission, and no one would do anything to you." Of course, it wasn't a mission or anything; she was ashamed of accepting that she had drawn him here without much thought.

 

"Really?" He remained sceptical.

 

“Of-of course who do you think I am?” She boasted although with a little stutter.

 

'I mean, she's the president of the student council, so why is she stuttering? Don’t tell me she has brought me out on a whim.'  

 

'But since it's come to this, let's forget everything and enjoy the day.' He quickly relaxed and adjusted his thinking.

 

"All right, since we're already here, let me show you something interesting," he said, his mood slightly improved.

 

“Hmph, it better be good.”

 

Akira then went ahead and started exploring the market district. He had been in this fantasy world for so long, but had been unable to fully enjoy himself due to all of the situations that were forming, but that was about to change today.

 

'After all, my ultimate goal is to live a happy and peaceful life away from the plot's shenanigans.'

 

"Hey, what are you doing? There's nothing interesting here," she inquired after a while.

 

"Patience, prez, patience; I promise you will be completely satisfied at the end of the day." 

 

She was still unsure, but eventually nodded and decided to follow him; even if there wasn't anything interesting, she'd be able to avoid the work at student council.

 

So it was a win-win situation for her in both situations.

 

They came across one of the food stalls run by rabbit kins, and Akira was immediately drawn in by the aroma that was emanating from there.

 

"Oh my god, what in the world is that?" he exclaimed as he walked in.

 

Unlike his expectations of this place being packed to the gills, it was dull and devoid of life. This perplexed him; how could a place with such a sweet aroma be completely empty during peak hour?

"Hello there, would you like our special appa pie?" one of the employees inquired.

 

After seeing the appa pies for sale, his mouth was watering, so he quickly nodded.

 

"Make it two," he said, remembering the girl behind her.

 

"Here, eat this," he said as he nibbled on one himself.

 

She took the pie in her hands but did not eat it, apples were called appas in this world and, unlike on Earth, were not considered normal fruits. 

 

Except for the beastmen, no other race would even try to eat it, let alone enjoy it, which is why the stall owner was surprised to see a human boy ask for them with such eagerness.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked after seeing her frozen like that.

 

"I-I can't eat this, it's not normal," she said, having never eaten anything like it.

 

"What's wrong with this?" he wondered, recalling the whole apple, appa fiasco that the developers created for this world.

 

'Just because one developer despised apples, he made the rest of the world despise them as well.'

 

She was still hesitant to eat the pie when he exclaimed, "Ichi, what are you doing here?" When she heard that, she looked behind her in horror but saw no one.

 

Then she turned to complain, only to be met with a flying pie right into her mouth. She wanted to smack him around at first, but when she bit into the pie and let her gustatory receptors kick in, the feeling was something else.

 

“Mmmmpff.” She delved into ecstasy and overjoy.

 

With its flaky, buttery crust; tart-sweet apples, and wonderful cinnamon-y aroma, the pie had finally won the heart and mind of the dragonoid. 

"Do you like it?" he asked, a grin on his face as his hand continued to feed her.

 

"Haah, haah... YOU?" He removed his hands, but she didn't stop eating the pie.

 

"What exactly is this thing?" She had been completely charmed and was now gobbling up the pie, forgetting about manners and such.

 

“I want one more, no five, no ten, yes I want ten of them.” Her eyes literally had stars in them and her entire body was looking like an excited chibi to him.

 

After gobbling up more than ten appa pies and promising the owners to help in spreading their business both of them left the place and further explored the town.

 

It wasn't the first or second time he was walking through town, but something was different this time, as if he was in a dream where all of his goals and wishes had been fulfilled.

 

A few hours passed in this manner, with both of them trying out the street food, exploring the board games set up by a few shops, listening to the bards' music and stories, and then again eating a lot.

 

There was only half an hour left for the sunset and the closing of the academy when Akira said, “hey remember the interesting thing I told you about?”

 

“Hmm? All of this has been pretty interesting for me.” She tilted her head cutely.

 

“Oh believe me it’s even better than those things.” He said with a gentle smile.

 

"All right, let's go!" She was having the time of her life.

 

He realised the time was running out and began running towards the location he had in mind. Evelyn was having no trouble keeping up with him, in fact, she was having more fun doing so.

 

After about twenty minutes, they were near the city's border, and she asked, "hey, where are we going?"

 

"Just a little bit more," he replied, running faster than before.

 

After another five minutes, they were near one of the city's worned out watch towers near the western gate. 

 

The watch tower was used extensively in the past to defend against oncoming mana beast attacks, but now that they are in control and technology has advanced, the watchtowers have been neglected.

 

"Let's climb this," he said, beginning to ascend the watchtower.

 

"Why climb when you can fly?" she responded, pulling out her dragonic wings, which were the same colour as her hair.

 

Her wings were slightly larger than usual, but that didn't stop her from flapping them and taking the aerial route.

 

“Umm yeah you could do that do.” He was slightly embarrassed but didn’t stopped climbing the tower.

 

The tower’s top was square in shape with a circular path tracing its boundaries. That path was used by the soldiers to walk around and keep watch for the enemies.

 

Upon reaching there he found that she was already there watching over the town they had come from.

 

“Beautiful isn’t it?” He asked coming besides her.

 

It wasn’t like she hadn't seen the town from top but it was always a quick glance and that too happened way back when she was still learning how to fly. So this scenery was indeed beautiful to her.

 

“Hmm.” She replied while keeping her gaze on the town which was bathed by the fleeting sunlight.

 

"Now keep an eye over there," he said, pointing to the mountains that stood far away from them.

 

Outside the city were the Bretton Woods, which ended with some small mountains that served as the border between the capital and the next city.

 

A cool breeze nipped at their faces as they stared into the horizon, where the sun had gone to sleep, hidden behind three sloping, blue mountains, each smaller but tougher than the one before it. 

 

They stared at the fiery orange ball until it vanished behind those mountains, leaving nothing but silence. Gusts hummed through the place, making the trees and rocks seem to whisper.  

 

He had a contented smile on his face as both his mind and heart were finally at ease, whereas she had a different story, her hand on the top of her heart while her eyes were fixed on the boy beside him.

She, too, felt at peace and had a genuine smile on her face, as opposed to the one she kept plastered for others, and she knew the reason for that was him.

 

After a while, the boy looked at her and asked, "How was it?"

 

"Beautiful," she replied.