Still, he wasn’t rude and remained polite. The group tinued expl the various club stands, and after some time, they gathered in a quieter area, away from the noisy crowd, to discuss their choices.

  Amelia spoke first, “I’ll take archery!”

  Mikael rolled his eyes. “Of course. What else would the bow fanatic pick?”

  It was true. When they first sparred, they didn’t speak much, but over time, as they opened up to each other, Mikael learned how much Amelia was focused on strength. She spent most of her time training, and archery, in particur, was her passion.

  Wheraiogether, Mikael occasionally offered unorthodox suggestions that helped her improve quickly. This was one of the main reasons they had grown so close in such a short time. Uhe young master who tried c her despite being weaker than her, and who showed little i in training, Mikael was strong and trained as often as she did, which impressed her more than any flowery words.

  At his words, Amelia rolled her eyes. “Like you’re oo talk—you’re just as much of a training maniac as I am.”

  “Guilty,” Mikael replied with a wry smile.

  “Cough,” Aria interrupted, drawing the group’s attention. “As nice as it is to watch you two flirt, shouldn’t we be deg which clubs to join? And you, Mikael—what club are you pnning to join?”

  At her words, Amelia’s cheeks took on a slight pink hue, while Mikael remained ral despite being ‘called out.’ He simply answered, “Me? I think I won’t join any clubs. They seem iing, but I believe my time would be better spent training.”

  “Okay, as you wish,” Aria said cheerfully before tinuing without waiting for a reply. “Now it’s my turn, right? Personally, I’m drawn to the painting club. I’ve always liked painting, and joining a club like that sounds fun.”

  When she finished, she turned her gaze toward Lucas, who uood her unspoken cue and began to speak. “Like Mikael, I’m not particurly ied in any of the clubs, so I don’t think I’ll joiher.”

  Aria shrugged, clearly indifferent, before turning baelia and saying with enthusiasm, “Shall we go, Amy?”

  Amelia hesitated, gng at Mikael. “And what about them?” she asked.

  Aria waved her hand dismissively. “We go check out the clubs ourselves while the boys stay here and chat. We’ll e back for them ter.”

  Amelia still seemed relut to leave Mikael alone, but when he gave her a reassuring nod, she relented a with Aria to visit their respective clubs.

  Ohe girls were gone, Lucas inwardly celebrated the opportunity to talk to Mikael and began, “So, Mikael, what are your pns after graduating from the Academy?”

  Notig that Mikael was now looking at him inquisitively, he tinued, “I mean, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Amelia. She’s the heiress of a duke’s family, and her close retionship with a oner is bound to ruffle some feathers. Without the right es, things could get… plicated. While you’re at the Academy, you’re safe. But once you graduate… well, that safety won’t st.”

  He paused for effect before his proposal. “Why don’t you work for my family? With us, you’ll have the bag of a duke’s household, which means no one will dare y a finger on you after graduation.”

  Lucas’s voice became more enthusiastic as he pressed on. “And that’s not all. We’ll also support your ranking journey by giving you access to dungeons, resources, and everything you o grow stronger. All we require is a pledge of loyalty to my family.”

  He smirked before adding, “And if you want to tinue your romah Amelia, I don’t have a problem with it. My family woher.”

  That was what he said, but his thoughts were far from genuine. ‘I might not care, but there’s no way the Mournsky family would ever allow their heiress to be with a oner. In the end, he’ll have no choice but to rely on us.’

  After finishing his pitch, Lucas turo Mikael and asked, “What do you think about my offer?”

  Mikael, however, didn’t let his true feelings show. He simply replied, “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not ied.”

  Lucas was taken aback. He had expected Mikael to accept, and his smile disappeared, repced by a more menag tone. “You realize that having the bag of a duke’s family be very useful, right? But not having it… well, that could be problematic.”

  At the thinly veiled threat, Mikael’s expression didn’t ge, but a cold glint fshed in his eyes. His smile turned icy as he responded in a calm yet firm voice. “Let me make this clear: I don’t need your bag or anything of the sort. If you want to take offense, go ahead—but be prepared for the sequences.”

  His words were delivered with the same detached tone one might use to discuss the weather, yet they carried a weight that made Lucas instinctively feel a chill down his spine. He nearly stepped back but mao stop himself. The rea left him feeling humiliated, and while he wao sh out, an inexplicable sense of dread held him back.

  “Think carefully about the pros and s of making an enemy of me for no reason,” Mikael added before leaning casually against a nearby pilr, pletely ign Lucas’s gre.

  ‘This bastard—how dare he?’ Lucas thought angrily. But as he repyed Mikael’s words in his mind, doubt crept in. ‘There’s something about him… something unnerving. He’s right, though. There’s nothing to gain by provoking him, and if there’s even a slight ce he could cause problems for my family, it’s better to let this go.’

  Ultimately, Lucas sighed inwardly, his aempered by logic. ‘I’ll drop it. There’s no point in pursuing this matter.’

  The two men fell into a tense silence, waiting for the girls to return.

  A few mier, the two girls returned and were surprised by the temosphere. However, they didn’t ent on it, and the group quickly went their separate ways—Aria and Lucas heading off together while Amelia stayed with Mikael.

  As Amelia and Mikael walked together, they reached a ben a quiet park. Sitting down, Amelia asked, “So, what happened?”

  “Huh?” Mikael replied, pretending not to uand.

  “The atmosphere when I came back—it was tense. Did Lucas and you got in a flict or something?” she pressed.

  “Oh, that.” He shrugged nontly. “He tried to vince me to join his family—basically to work for them. I refused, and he didn’t take it well. He threw out some veiled threats, and I gently expined why making an enemy out of me wouldn’t be a good idea.” He finished with an i smile.

  A froeared on Amelia’s face as anger fred inside her. The thought of Lucas threatening Mikael made her upset, but she kept her emotions in ched asked sincerely, “Do you need my help?”

  Mikael waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, I’m good. I mean, what kind of son-in-w would I be if I relied on your family to solve my problems?”

  “Son-in-w?!” Amelia excimed, her voice rising slightly as a faint flush colored her cheeks.

  A pyful smile appeared on Mikael’s face. “Yeah, let’s not beat around the bush. You’ve clearly noticed that I’m pursuing you.”

  She seemed flustered and stammered, “I-I…”

  Seeing her rea, he spoke again. “o think too much about it for now. There’s nency.”

  Amelia gave him a grateful nod, clearly surprised by his sudden fession.

  Mikael, wanting to pnt a seed without delving into the subjeuch, shifted back to the initial topic. “As for Lucas, I don’t think he’ll push the issue. He doesn’t seem as dumb as the other so-called ‘young masters’ I’ve entered. And even if he does… so what?” His tone was calm and fident.

  Normally, Amelia found dispys ance from boys pathetic, as they often stemmed from their privileged backgrounds. But Mikael’s fidence was different—it came from his own strength. As a warrior, she found it irresistibly attractive.

  Still, more than shy about his sudden ‘fession,’ she was worried about the dangers he might face. Once again, she said, “If you’re ever in danger, don’t hesitate to tact me. I’ll help you.”

  Mikael knew her words were genuine. If he asked for her help, she would protect him, just as she would have if she khat he was the target of an assassination attempt days ago. But he also khat asking for her help would lower her opinion of him. As a warrior, deep down, she would see it as cowardice.

  But Mikael didn’t fear the noble houses. ‘I’m already an enemy of a marquess’s house. What’s adding a duke’s house to the list? For a native of this world, it would be catastrophic, but for me? I couldn’t care less. As long as I’m in the Academy, I’m retively safe. And if things get too dangerous, I always leave this world, grow stronger, and e back to crush the noble houses!’

  He reached out aly patted her head. Normally, Amelia would have dodged; she didn’t particurly like affeate gestures and preferred to express herself through fighting. But this time, her emotions were a mess. Mikael’s ‘fession’ and her for his safety overwhelmed her usual reservations. ‘Screw it,’ she thought, a his ha on her head, finding the gesture uedly f.

  After a while, the two sat in panionable silence, simply rexiually, she gently removed his hand, stood up from the bench, and asked, “Want to go spar?”

  Reizitempt to ge the subject, Mikael smiled pyfully. “Are you sure you want to lose again?”

  Her lips curled into a small smile, and she retorted, “Lose? I seem to recall winning not too long ago.”

  He gave her a moimpressed look. “One win against tless defeats. But I’ll admit, you’ve improved a lot. Sure, let’s spar.”

  Sihe start of the Academy year, Amelia had made signifit progress. She had reached E rank as a warrior and even developed a eique. She has been w on this teiques for weeks and even months now, but it was only with Mikael’s unorthodox advice that she’d mao create it.

  During one of their sparring sessions, she had unched an arrow that Mikael was about to deflect. Suddenly, the arrow split into five, taking him by surprise and allowio nd her first—and so far only—victainst him. She called the move Dividing Shot.

  The two made their way to the Academy’s trainiion, attrag attention along the way. Amelia drew admiring gazes, while Mikael received gres of rese for being near her. her of them paid any mind to the onlookers.

  Eventually, they arrived at the training grounds aed a small sparring room. This time, Amelia paid for the space. The room was pact, about 10 meters by 10 meters, but durable enough for their training. Most importantly, they were alone—a preference for both, as their sparring sessions often attracted too much attention.

  ***

  “Ahh… ahh… ahh…”

  “You’re really a monster,” Amelia said between short breaths, lying ft on the floor, utterly exhausted after a long sparring session.

  Mikael sat not far from her, also tired but hiding it better.

  A faint, tired smirk appeared on his face. “Like you’re oo talk—you’re nearly as strong as me.”

  Hearing his words, she wao get angry but was too worn out to muster the energy. “T-That’s the problem! I’m nearly as strong as you, and I’m aire rank above you! It doesn’t make sense,” she replied in a weary voice.

  Mikael simply shrugged, no expnation. Seeing his ck of response and too exhausted to pry, Amelia let the matter drop. She remained sprawled on the floor, rec in silence.

  After a while, Mikael stood up, drawing her gaze. At that moment, she noticed something unusual—his body, previously covered i from their sparring, was now perfectly , and he smelled fresh, as if he had just stepped out of a shower.

  Curious, she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s that?”

  “A utility spell called . It’s basically a spell that lets you take an instant shower and stay fresh anytime you want. Do you wao use it on you?”