I woke up early and began my usual morning routine. A bit of exercise to shake off the sleep—but I decided to skip jogging today. I didn’t really want to run into any familiar faces outside. Not when I still felt like I was recovering, socially and mentally.

  After a quick shower, I packed up my things. I slipped my wireless earphones into my messenger bag, along with my concealed weapon—wrapped carefully in special cloth to avoid being fgged by the school’s metal detectors. You could never be too careful in New Eridu.

  "Master, you're ahead of schedule," Elf chimed from the computer. Her avatar appeared on screen, slightly blurry-eyed, her expression soft with what looked suspiciously like sleepiness.

  I raised an eyebrow. "Elf… are you tired?"

  She blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting the question. “Not in the human sense, no. But I am running my program at higher capacity than usual. Admittedly, I could use some rest to cool down my core framework. Still… hearing that concern from you feels… kind of humanizing.”

  Her voice was gentle, warm. It made me gnce away awkwardly.

  “Well, I don’t see you strictly as an AI,” I admitted, scratching my cheek. “You’re my partner and companion, Elf.”

  Elf’s eyes widened, visibly touched. Then she smiled softly, and with a flicker of code, her outfit changed to cozy pajamas.

  “Then… goodnight, Partner,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll go into sleep mode for now. I hope you have a safe and peaceful day, Master.”

  Her avatar let out a soft sigh and curled up in a digital bed on the screen, tiny ‘Z’s floating up from her head. It was honestly… cute.

  Smiling faintly to myself, I slipped into my uniform and tucked my phone into my chest pocket. Then, with one st gnce at the screen, I headed out.

  My car was parked in the NEPS building—one of the few pces I could actually trust to be secure. A calm morning. Hopefully it stayed that way.

  As I stepped onto the NEPS premises, I almost bumped into someone—an all-too-familiar, ever-dutiful figure in uniform.

  Officer Zhu Yuan.

  She looked like she was running purely on muscle memory and caffeine. The faint bags under her eyes and the slow, mechanical pace of her stride made it obvious—another all-nighter. Again.

  “Oh, hey Officer Yuan. Good morning,” I greeted, slowing to a respectful distance.

  Zhu Yuan narrowed her eyes at me, blinking as if trying to focus. “Ah… Lumina. Morning. Or... is it already morning? Tch, I was hoping it wasn’t.”

  Her voice was dry, barely above a mutter. The kind of tired that didn’t come from ck of sleep, but from being constantly needed.

  Judging by her state, it was probably yesterday’s chaos catching up to her. I instinctively felt the need to apologize—but I couldn’t exactly say, “Sorry for being TrustMe! and adding to your paperwork.”

  Instead, I offered a sympathetic smile. “You look like you need a week’s worth of naps. I hope you get some rest, Officer Yuan.”

  She gave a small wave, lips twitching in something between appreciation and surrender. “Yeah… thanks, kid.”

  I waved back and climbed into my car, watching her continue on autopilot down the corridor. Even heroes like her weren’t immune to burnout.

  The drive to school was quiet. Not because the roads were empty, but because my thoughts were drifting again. The school itself wasn’t exactly luxurious—just your average institution with a fairly modern yout and enough budget to make it look clean. What it did have, though, was space.

  A parking lot that could fit 30 cars. Not that many students drove—most either took public transit or lived nearby. It was mostly used by the staff, and maybe two or three students, including me. Realistically, I could walk here in fifteen minutes… but the car gave me privacy. Freedom. A way to decompress.

  And, well, a private spot I could use to eat alone or take a break without social obligations hovering around me.

  I checked the time—6:40 AM.

  A little too early. I guess I got excited for no real reason.

  With a quiet sigh, I leaned back in my seat. Might as well kill some time in the car before heading in.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed—could’ve been ten minutes or thirty—but a soft knock on my window pulled me out of my scroll-induced trance.

  I turned my head.

  Ellen.

  She was standing outside, dressed in her school uniform with her usual casual confidence, even if her hair looked a little messier than usual. I rolled down the window and gave her a small smile. “Morning, Ellen.”

  “Mornin’,” she replied with a half-yawn, rubbing her eyes. “Since it’s still early, mind if I catch some sleep? I pulled a night shift.”

  I blinked. “You worked st night?”

  Before I could ask more, I reached back and unlocked the rear seat. “You can rest in the back if you want.”

  But instead of heading there, Ellen casually walked around to the front passenger door.

  “Oh—wait, hang on—” I scrambled to unlock it, and she slipped in smoothly like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “Is the temperature okay for you?” I asked, out of habit.

  “It’s perfect,” she said, already kicking off her shoes. “Lend me your shoulders.”

  Before I could even process what she meant, Ellen leaned sideways.

  Not on my shoulder. No. She slid her head down, nestled it right into my p like I was some kind of body pillow. And before I could even squeak a response—her eyes were already closed.

  Fast asleep.

  I sat frozen, hands hovering uselessly above my phone like a malfunctioning android.

  Wait, what just happened?

  She said shoulder. This was definitely not shoulder. This was p territory. Intimate, dangerous, easily misinterpreted p territory!

  Why was she so comfortable with this?! Who just sleeps on someone else like it’s no big deal?! Is this just a normal thing for her?! Was I overthinking this?! Am I the weird one here?!

  I let out a silent scream inside my head while outwardly pretending to be unfazed. I stared at the car dashboard. At the windshield. At the ceiling. Anywhere but at Ellen's peacefully sleeping face in my p.

  Panic rising, I grabbed my phone.

  Scroll mindlessly. Escape reality. Maybe look up “how to not explode from social confusion.”

  The time on the dashboard read 7:40.

  I sighed. Alright. Time to wake her up.

  But… how do you wake someone up without surprising them—or worse, making them grumpy?

  Should I whisper in her ear? Gently stroke her cheek?

  After overthinking it for about five seconds too long, I settled on the safest approach I could think of. I leaned down and poked Ellen softly on the cheek, keeping my voice as gentle as possible.

  “Ellen, wake up. We’re gonna be te for css.”

  She mumbled something incoherent, scrunched her nose, and brushed my hand away like I was a bothersome mosquito.

  Okay, pn B.

  “Ellen, c’mon… if I miss first period, my comeback to normal school life’s gonna look so bad.”

  This time, I gave her a light sp—not hard, just enough to stir her. Her eyes blinked open slowly, hazy and just a little unfocused. She stared at me for a second before stretching.

  “…Is it time already?” she murmured.

  I nodded.

  She sat up, yawned, and casually pulled her shoes back on, clearly still half in dreamnd. I reached over and hit the button to unlock and open both car doors.

  I leaned into the back to grab my bag. As I stood up, my legs let out a sharp reminder that they had spent far too long with Ellen’s weight resting on them. I winced. Yep—numb.

  Totally worth it… probably.

  Ellen stepped out first, stretching again like a zy cat, and I followed, locking the car with a soft beep from my keys. We fell into step together as we headed toward the school building.

  No words needed. Just quiet company as the morning sun filtered through the trees and another school day waited ahead.