Arnos returned to the dorm by the evening after the three-hour trip to the city of Levilenia market. The shopping trip itself took him roughly an hour due to all the haggling he had to do for the clothes.

  Walking into the dorm building, he noticed Emily and Marcus sitting in the seating area having their lunch. They were eating rather hastily, which made Arnos wonder whether they trained in the afternoon.

  Emily was the first one to notice Arnos as he walked inside."You should get your lunch from the kitchen," she said as she pointed towards the kitchen.

  "Understood," Arnos replied with a quick nod.

  Marcus looked in Arnos’s direction as he saw Emily talking with someone. "Where had you gone to?" Marcus questioned.

  "I had to buy a few stuffs, so I went to the market," Arnos replied. "I think I told Erik about it. Did he not tell you?" he questioned in an unsure tone.

  "Ah, actually, I didn't ask. I thought you were checking out the campus or something," Marcus replied. Emily nodded at this, indicating she thought the same.

  Arnos’s gaze fell on Emily’s clothes more carefully; he noticed how they looked rather dirty compared to before, confirming his suspicion. Guess they trained while I was gone, Arnos thought.

  "I will go keep this in my room then," Arnos added while raising the paper bag, to which Marcus simply nodded.

  Walking into his room, Arnos’s gaze fell on the staff and wand he got; they were placed on the bed. "I need to arrange my cupboard, don't I?" he mumbled as he placed the paper bag with five sets of modest daily wear clothes on the bed.

  Stretching his arm by taking it to the back, he tried to relax his muscles before finally walking outside. Moving to the hall, he glanced at the dorm's kitchen, which Emily had previously pointed out.

  Arnos walked into the kitchen, grabbing the food that was supposed to be his lunch, and walked back into the hall.

  He moved towards the dining area, placing his plate next to Marcus and taking a seat next to him. "Is anyone else left to eat?" he questioned.

  Marcus looked at Emily, who shook her head. "I don't think so. Seras told us that the second years had their lunch before we came," he added.

  Wait, don't tell me there were classes after I left, Arnos thought, terrified of the possible scoldings he might get from Miss Margrave since he had already messed up on the first day in front of her.

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  "Were there any classes after I left?" Arnos questioned.

  Before Marcus could reply, Emily spoke up. "There wasn’t any class per se, though we were allowed to use the training ground for practice, and I and Marcus decided to spar," she added with a neutral look.

  Arnos let out a sigh, taking a bite of the food. "I thought I messed up again," he mumbled.

  "You didn't mess up this time, though leaving without telling me or Marcus was meant to cause problems. Be slightly more careful next time," Emily scolded.

  "Sorry, your highness," Arnos mumbled in an apologetic tone.

  "Princess Emily will suffice," Emily stated.

  "Hey Arnos, I was curious about the morning," Marcus spoke up, catching both Emily and Arnos's attention.

  "What are you curious about?" Arnos questioned with a curious expression as he took another bite.

  "Do you really not know any spell?" Marcus questioned. "Or were you lying for some reason in the Celeras’ training arena?"

  "I…" Do I tell him that I was just trying to avoid getting attention? Arnos pondered, his thoughts being interrupted by Emily.

  "He doesn't know any spell?" she questioned.

  "I think I do know a few spells, but I had some reasons for my actions, which I'll only disclose if you both try to look at things from my perspective and not force me to work with what seems best to you," Arnos said. Was I too forward with what I said? he questioned himself, slightly scared of Marcus and Emily's reaction.

  "We won't try to make you see from our perspective if that's what you want," Emily added nonchalantly.

  "Sure, I don't know why anyone would do that. Now spill the beans, Arnos," Marcus said.

  "I know a basic spell. To be honest, I learned my first basic spell from Erik today, so that's the thing. Now, the main issue of why I decided against fighting you is actually simple. If I fought you, I would have gotten more unwanted attention, and it might not be the best thing for me, considering my background and stuff," Arnos said.

  "Well, I personally think fighting me or even Emily might get more people to accept your talent…" Marcus spoke.

  "He said he doesn't want to see it through your eyes. That was his condition," Emily said, glaring at Marcus.

  "Sorry," Marcus said in a slightly apologetic tone while looking at Arnos.

  Arnos raised both of his hands. "I don't think you need to say sorry," he spoke with reassurance.

  "If you ask me, what Arnos said does make complete sense. Getting him to fight you would only get him more trouble, and if it's not something he wants, you shouldn't force it on him."

  "And I didn't force anything on him!," Marcus added with slight irritation. "Speaking of which, if attention is what you don't want, would you want to fight with me in Ares Dorm’s training ground?" Marcus asked with slight enthusiasm.

  "I don't think I want to. I would most probably lose…" Arnos spoke, trying to back down from the fight.

  "Losing or winning is part of the fight. What matters the most is participation and learning from the fight, taking in all the battle experience you could get from it," Marcus spoke with a serious expression.

  "Spoken like a true teacher," Emily added with a small smirk.