On his way to Room 109 in Area A, with a full stomach, Noctis was in an extremely cheerful mood. So, he activated the skill [Blend In].

  Since Area A had more female students than usual, and partly because he didn’t want anyone to see him smiling, he thought it would be better to remain unnoticed. If anyone saw him grinning in this area, they might assume that the infamous lunatic Noctis was lurking around female students with a sinister smile. That would cause an uproar, making it even harder for him to clear his reputation.

  After a while, he finally found Room 109. Taking a deep breath, Noctis opened the door and stepped inside.

  The room was quite spacious, with a long table assembled from several smaller desks. There were four chairs in total—one at the head of the table, two on the left side, and one on the right. A girl was already sitting in the rightmost chair.

  She had long silver hair, amber-colored eyes, a high nose bridge, and alluring lips. With those features and her cold, indifferent expression, she instantly captivated him.

  Noticing someone entering, Roselie slowly turned her head toward the door. She was slightly surprised to see a young man. In her eyes, he was quite striking—long black hair tied up in a roguish style, sharp facial features, deep black eyes with a cold glint, and fair skin. He looked like a porcelain doll, but much taller—around 1.8 meters, she estimated.

  His formal black vest added to his appeal, making him even more captivating. However, what puzzled her was why the academy allowed students to wear suits.

  "Hello," Noctis greeted, cutting off her train of thought.

  Roselie, still maintaining her cold demeanor, responded, "Hello. What brings you here?"

  Noctis, now feeling slightly awkward, scratched his head and replied, "I came to apply for your club."

  Roselie nodded, then asked, "Did you read the requirements?"

  "I did," Noctis answered truthfully.

  However, Roselie found this hard to believe. In her mind, she was already labeling him as a weirdo, possibly even a pervert, for agreeing to the final requirement Helena had set.

  "I'm not the club president, but you can submit your application here. You can either wait for the president to return or leave and come back later."

  Hearing her response, Noctis simply nodded, slid the application paper toward her, and grabbed a chair from the corner to sit near the door. Seeing that he chose to stay, Roselie didn’t comment further and returned to her book, not even glancing at his application.

  A short while later, a lively girl burst into the room, startling Noctis slightly.

  She had golden blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. From Noctis’s perspective, she seemed energetic and loud.

  Helena entered and spoke to Roselie before even noticing the additional presence in the room, "Ugh, today’s class was so boring!"

  Then she finally spotted Noctis and immediately asked, "Huh? Who’s this?"

  "A recruit," Roselie answered.

  Helena examined Noctis for a moment before awkwardly nodding and walking to her seat across from Roselie.

  The way she shifted through different emotions—excitement, boredom, surprise, and then shyness—was amusing to Noctis.

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  Not wanting to be impolite, he greeted her, "Hello."

  Helena, slightly flustered, returned the greeting, "Hello."

  After that, silence filled the room.

  Noctis sat with his arms crossed, waiting. Roselie remained focused on her book. Meanwhile, Helena glanced between the two, seemingly unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere.

  She finally spoke up, directing her question at Noctis, "Hey, what’s your name?"

  Caught off guard by the sudden question, Noctis didn’t hesitate about his identity and answered honestly, "Noctis."

  "Ah, Noctis—" Helena started to repeat, but then her brain processed the name fully, and she shouted, "Huh?! Noctis?! The Noctis?!"

  Noctis chuckled and casually said, "No need to shout like that."

  Hearing his name, Roselie also set her book down and turned toward Helena with a slightly unsettled expression.

  Realizing the situation, Helena quickly stood up and rushed out of the room.

  Seeing their reactions, Noctis could only shake his head in exasperation.

  Roselie, now more cautious, asked, "Why are you here?"

  Once again, Noctis answered, "I’m applying for the club. And just so you know, I have no ulterior motives."

  "Why do you want to join?" Roselie continued questioning.

  Noctis sighed and replied calmly, "Points. I’m about to go into negative points."

  Roselie didn’t respond immediately. She seemed deep in thought: I hope Celia gets here in time.

  Meanwhile, Helena was sprinting toward Area B, where Celia was attending class. While running, she kept screaming internally, Shit, shit, shit! Why is he here?! I hope Roselie is okay!

  After a while, she finally reached the chemistry lab in Area B. She barged in, scanning the room.

  Spotting Celia engrossed in an experiment, Helena rushed over and lightly tapped her shoulder.

  Startled, Celia turned around and, seeing Helena, asked, "What are you doing here?"

  Helena, still breathless, hurriedly said, "It’s Noctis! He’s at our club!"

  —

  Noctis was slightly taken aback when Celia entered the room. He hadn’t expected her to be part of this club—the same girl who had been inquiring about his identity at the academy.

  But Celia didn’t react much to his presence. Instead, she turned to Roselie and discussed something in hushed tones before finally shifting her attention back to Noctis.

  She seemed skeptical but proceeded with basic interview questions: "How’s your academic performance?"

  Noctis shrugged. "I can prove it later."

  "What about your reputation?"

  Noctis smirked. "I’m already infamous as a lunatic, so I’m sure you’ve heard of me."

  "Are you introverted?"

  "I don’t talk much."

  "Are you willing to work?"

  "As long as it’s within my limits."

  Then Celia asked, "What’s the status of your Seed?"

  Noctis paused for a brief moment before deciding to lie, "I’m only at Cycle 2."

  All three girls were visibly surprised.

  After a brief silence, they finally agreed to let Noctis stay for a month on a trial basis.

  Before he left, Celia gave him a warning in a cold tone:

  "Stay away from Sephera and us. We are powerful and have high status in Solarys. You don’t want to make enemies of us."

  Noctis paused for a moment at Celia’s words, his expression unreadable. He met her gaze steadily, but instead of responding, he simply gave a small, almost amused smirk.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said casually, as if the warning meant nothing to him. Then, without another word, he turned and left the room.

  The moment the door clicked shut behind him, the tension in the room eased slightly.

  Helena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “That guy… I still can’t believe he showed up here.”

  Roselie, who had been quiet the entire time, finally spoke, her amber eyes narrowing. “He didn’t seem particularly surprised to see Celia. Almost like he expected her to be here.”

  Celia frowned slightly. “I wouldn’t say expected. More like… he recognized me. He knew who I was. But the real question is—what does he want?”

  Helena waved a hand dismissively. “Didn’t he already say? He’s just here for points.”

  Celia remained unconvinced. “Maybe. But Noctis isn’t a normal student, and we all know it. If he’s here, it means he has his own reasons.”

  Roselie leaned back in her chair, still deep in thought. “We’ll keep an eye on him. If he really is just here for points, he’ll leave after a month. If not… we’ll deal with him then.”

  Celia nodded in agreement. “For now, let’s just act normal. If we pressure him too soon, he might get suspicious.”

  Helena, on the other hand, still seemed somewhat unnerved. “I just hope we don’t regret letting him in.”

  —

  Noctis walked down the corridor, hands in his pockets, his expression neutral. In truth, he wasn’t particularly concerned about Celia’s warning. Power and status? He had dealt with far worse threats in the past.

  But something about the way Celia looked at him—calculating, cautious—made him certain of one thing.

  She didn’t trust him.

  And in a way, that made things more interesting.