Evin sat behind his mirror, carefully checking himself out for the umpteenth time, making sure he looked the best he could possibly look. He found a piece of his black hair swaying about messily on his forehead and quickly mended it with a small aquatic spell he created with the World of Water, Ivelisi.

<Ah, the love of youth. So passionate, so pure, so utterly irrational,> the Voice chuckled with amusement at the sight.

Evin wanted to sigh at its words, but he decisively ignored it. Whatever the Voice decided to throw at him today, Evin would have to deal with… but Evin wasn’t willing to have it ruin this chance he got today. He grabbed a few of the coins he won from his class on Mana-Beasts, walked out of his room alone and headed towards the arena where Leanne promised to meet him.

A month and a half passed since Evin’s newfound acquaintance with Bella, and the Academy was celebrating the Arrival of the Cosmic Feline Delegation, which visited Mage Academies and similar institutes all over the world annually.

Arza had already left to celebrate with Lopar; Bella and Phel were attending a different version of the Arrival which was reserved for nobles, which left Evin with no one of his age to enjoy the day. Well, he could have probably asked Kona, but Evin wanted to spare himself and Kona the awkwardness that stemmed between the two.

But while he was thinking of going through the day alone, Leanne offered to accompany him. Evin met her twice every week in the Enchanting class, but rarely ever he spent time with her alone. At some point, Evin started to regret his decisions to take the Enchanting class, as Leanne simply noted that Evin was doing well during those classes and didn’t bother to visit him privately.

‘But that will all change today,’ Evin thought resolutely. ‘But what am I even going to do? Confess to her? No, no. Definitely not. The Voice is definitely right on one thing. I’m too young for her for now, but things can change in the futu-‘

“Hello, Evin,” Leanne’s voice sounded from beside him suddenly.

Evin turned around to see Leanne dressed in a grey cotton dress, simply decorated with a few blue finishes on its hem, collar and cuffs. Her hair was done in a simple ponytail, and aside from the one tie that held it all together, she wasn’t wearing any accessories. She was also holding a rather large bag, which also seemed quite heavy as well.

“Hello, Lady Leanne,” Evin answered, his behavior turning almost distantly polite. He then reached his hand towards her bag, offering to take it from her.

“I can manage the bag myself. And. I told you to just call me Lea,” she chided and quickly strode closer to Evin, “I just saw you while I was walking towards the arena.”

“I’d probably do the same,” Evin replied with an awkward joke, cursing Leanne for her sudden sneak attack, and also cursing the Voice for not warning him of this attack in the first place.

“I’m sure you will,” Leanne said and ogled Evin all over, before sighing in admiration, “You’re looking quite handsome today. Who’s the lucky girl?”

‘You,’ Evin almost said, before he managed to stop himself.

“No one. I just thought it would be best if I dress up for the Cosmics.”

“I told you already. The Cosmics won’t care two bits about your appearance, they just care about the thickness of your wallet,” Leanne sighed. “And besides, they’re not human, so what looks nice to us wouldn’t look that agreeable to their eyes, anyway. And I really doubt that they care about outward appearances at all, since they only wear these little shirts that look like suits, but actually end on the bellies, leaving their genitals and butt-holes wide open for everyone to see.”

Evin could only nod at Leanne’s words and follow behind her towards the arena. When they reached their destination, a group of Mage Students were talking around, enjoying the snacks that the Academy prepared for the day. Evin looked around and easily found Arza talking with Kolin’s group, with Lopar wrapping her one hand around his, eating a bland-looking biscuit with her other hand. She looked quite bored and out-of-place, talking to Kolin’s group, but seemed hesitant to tell that to Arza.

Seeing this, Evin thought to himself resolutely, ‘Okay, let’s avoid those guys at all costs… And when did Arza make up with Kolin’s group, anyway?’

Arza was definitely going to drag him into a conversation if they met, and Evin wasn’t willing to lose his time alone with Leanne. In fact, this huge bustling gathering of students seemed like a huge distraction to Evin’s special day.

“It’s a bit stuffy here isn’t it? Do you wanna find somewhere quieter?” Leanne suddenly asked. “The Cosmics shouldn’t be coming any time soon, anyway.”

Resisting the urge to smile like a simpleton, Evin nodded.

Leanne turned herself and Evin invisible and brought him towards a certain door under the arena’s seats. Evin always wondered what was behind this door as it was always visible during training, but never had the chance to, as it was locked and no one ever opened it up in front of him. Leanne chanted something under her breath, which seemed to be a World of Air spell that violently shook the insides of the metal lock. It easily gave in under the spell’s effects, and the two entered.

The room they’d entered was quite dark, but the things inside were visible due to the few rays of light that came in from between the gaps that were the chairs above. Oddly, there was a dusty pair of chairs and a desk, which seemed to have been left in this room for ages at least. Evin could still hear the noise from outside, but it was definitely much more tolerable now.

The room’s atmosphere could never be called romantic, but that didn’t stop Evin’s mind from going on a wild, imaginative ride.

‘Such a private place, with barely any light… and with everyone from the Academy only an old and battered door away from us…’

<Fucking hormonal teenagers,> the Voice muttered, as if annoyed by Evin’s thoughts.

<Go sleep or something. Go away,> Evin replied curtly.

<I told you I don’t sleep. And I can’t just let my consciousness disappear into nothingness, even if I want it to… But I’ll try my best to keep myself occupied for today.>

Evin thanked the Empress for the Voice’s generosity and focused his attention on Leanne.

He then heard a click behind him, and saw Leanne looking back at him with her usual smile, as she dispelled her invisibility. She then cast a spell of Ivelisi, which quickly scoured through the unused room, diligently cleaning off any and all dust that might’ve accumulated over the years.

“This was a room which the staff used to take small breaks in. I don’t know how it never got used again, but I remember it clearly, since I was the one who built it,” Leanne shrugged and offered Evin a seat.

Leanne then brought out a few sliced breads and meats from her large bag and offered Evin one. Evin took one and gracefully started eating it, like Bella taught him to. Leanne chuckled at the sight and got herself comfortable as well.

“Well, we haven’t been able to talk freely since you’ve enrolled in the Academy and I feel that every time I tried to visit you alone, you were unconscious or sleeping. How are your days going?”

“It’s going fine. My days fell into a schedule very quickly after my first Combat Class. Since then, I’ve been focusing on casting magic. Mostly.”

“Is your arm healed completely?”

“Yes. Please, don’t worry about it,” Evin replied in a tight voice.

“Alright,” Leanne said and tactfully went silent, nibbling at her bread and meat, occasionally handing some to Evin.

Like he said, after the incident with Decatur, Evin’s days in the Academy fell into order. His constant, irrational anger subsided after a week or so, but Evin felt that he’d become much more prone to short bursts of anger compared to before. He also realized that he developed a clear, cold anger towards Decatur and the Chairman. During the month his hands healed, it would erratically send sharp waves of pain to Evin, reminding him of the culprits that did this to him. Not to mention the countless times, the Chairman pitted Evin against Decatur as well.

But with the Voice’s help, he would act as if nothing had happened, calm and collected, like nothing bad happened to him. The Voice explained that looking like he was completely unaffected by whatever Decatur and Kent did to him was the sweetest revenge he could inflict upon them.

<Even if you know it’s an act, you must play the role of a calm, unbothered individual. Show the world that you’re better than these petty tricks that Kent plays on you. Show the world that you won’t be affected by the mindless violence that Decatur inflicts upon you. They can go do fuck all to you, but they will never see a reaction they want.>

The Voice said the words in such a compelling tone, Evin couldn’t help but take it into his heart at the time. Even now, he would be reminded of them when he saw Decatur glaring at him with veiled distaste.