“If you wanna talk to Boss,” Raia groaned, “you can get in line.”

She put her hands on her hips and started going off. “He’s been soooo busy this entire week!? ArrrRgh! I know that it’s... just like him? But it’s still so frustrating! You know how he is-- tries to do as much as he can by himself. Can you believe he bought a spear yesterday? When is he gonna find the time to use a spear?”

Shay bobbed her head up and down in full and total agreement! Tyvan worked so hard!

But that made her SO mad that-- while he was out working his butt off, a certain someone was just lounging around, getting pampered on his day off! All Monty needed was a pair of Bishop’s super-dark sunglasses and a fancy glass of pina colada to finish the look.

“So if Tyvan’s so busy, what’s he doing here? Shouldn’t he at least be... training or something?”

Monty wasn’t supposed to be getting nice things. His life was supposed to suck!

“No idea,” Raia said. “I handle Boss’ schedule. I don’t have the extra time or give-a-shit factor to keep track of anyone else.”

She shifted her weight, resting her hand on her hip. “I gueSsSs you could see it as a reward? He’s been doing pretty well, so far.”

“Realy?” Shay asked, dubiously. “What makes you say that?”

“Tch. Isn’t it obvious? He’s still alive. No debilitating injuries. Mental trauma’s not at the level of crippling. The other day, PC checked out his mana and said it’s at least doubled. Whatever that means, it’s what Boss wanted to hear.”

“Bishop is blind,” Shay said-- which came out a lot meaner than she intended.

“To most things, yeah,” Raia shrugged. “But as much shit as I give him, he picks up on a lot of not-so-obvious things.”

Shay sighed, trying to rein in her frustration. She wanted to get noticed by her coworkers and her hot boss too! She hadn’t done anything recently to deserve praise, though, much less a cool tattoo assumedly paid by the company, but--

“AnD. whaT. iS. THAT!?”

There was a three-piece suit laid on the couch. Raia had just taken it out of its bag and was using a lint-roller on it.

“It’s a suit, bitCH,” she said. “Use your inside voice.”

Shay sucked in air through her teeth. Raia was right. They were still in someone else’s apartment, so she shouldn’t have been so rude. (There wasn’t any need for name-calling, though.)

She tramped over to the suit and looked it over. It wasn’t one of Tyvan’s.

It didn’t smell like him, either! And it didn’t smell like wherever he got his suits cleaned!

(Eh? Were those really metrics she could rely on?)

She took a sleeve, opened it up, and compared it to a circle she made with her hands.

A-ha! It was definitely too small for Tyvan! And, thus, it wasn’t Callum’s. And it definitely wasn’t Bishop’s!

But?!

Monty.

Why was THAT guy getting so many cool things?!

Raia looked like she was about to say something, but Gabe interrupted her.

“Hey, Rosie,” he said. “Your guy, uh... he passed out again.”

Raia looked over to Monty... and even though Shay didn’t want to, she did too.

Yep. Definitely passed out.

And... bleeding. A lot. Was that normal? At that moment, Shay reconsidered her wanting to get a tattoo.

“If he dies,” Raia said, “you were never here.”

“Sweet,” Gabe said as he got back to work. “Tell Mister Valorum I’ll give him priority on his projects. Between the pay and the hospitality, I’d come here every week if you guys wanted.”

He pointed with his thumb to a familiar vacuum flask. It was one of Heidi’s... and Shay took a little pride in knowing that her teacher’s delicious tea was so appreciated.

“I’ll let him know,” Raia said, forcing a smile.

Shay, a little calmer than before, took a seat on the couch opposite Monty’s suit.

“Raia? What kind of training did Monty have to do, anyway?”

Raia put the lint-roller down and started inspecting the outfit for imperfections.

“Boss had him on this weird and practically archaic regimen. Made him literally dodge arrows, climb walls in full iron armor... empty his mana reserves and cast his Erase spell basically on empty.”

She grimaced as if she was remembering something unpleasant. “Y’know how he lost so much weight in just a couple of weeks? Boss basically forced him to run. For miles. Through obstacles. On sand and over rocks. And he kept him starved, only allowing him to eat after he checked all the boxes on his list.”

Shay’s face twisted with a mix of emotions.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“So... he worked so hard just so he could eat?”

“Fuck no,” Raia chuckled. “He basically starved for like two whole days? And he ate just enough to survive. But what I’m saying is... despite Monty being Monty... he has heart-- or something.”

Shay sighed again, nodding thoughtfully. That... was depressing.

Monty was the talented superstar that Tyvan always wanted. That’s why he got all the nice things.

Shay didn’t deserve anything good. She couldn’t succeed at even half of Monty’s training, even if she tried.

So she wouldn’t try. There was no point.

What was the difference between them, though? Monty was human, just like she was! But even still, how could he have just that much dedication?

All of the crazy, death-defying trials he had to pass... all the suffering he endured...

If she...

If she was the one who asked Tyvan to train her first...

--would he believe in her?

Would he even give her the chance?

And even if it was more complicated than that... if she asked-- if she put herself out there and was willing to do whatever it took to succeed...

--would he recognize her for it?

Shay... felt like she could talk to Tyvan about anything.

She knew she could tell him how she felt. She trusted him! And he’d never betray that trust. That wasn’t the kind of guy he was!

But it had been so long...

She knew Monty was training. She knew he was miserable. Every time she ran into him, he was zonked out or delirious. He didn’t even go to school anymore!

All that time... Shay could have asked Tyvan to train her too.

It was too late to ask.

Montgomery Jiang was an impossible standard.

...Probably because he was too stupid to give up.

Dummy.

...Idiot.

But... in a way... his dumbass-itude was... also... kinda inspiring?

Shay had already determined what she needed to do. Seeing that lazy, piece of crap, Monty, sit around and sleep just motivated her more to do it! The best way to prove herself useful to Tyvan was to become a Pill Master!

--and because that was an outright impossibility, she rEaLLY needed to become the BEST Junior Analyst she could be!

And she nEeeEded to get in contact with Nuri.

So, after talking with Gabe and Raia for a bit longer, Shay headed back to her room. But before she could jump into bed and cry, like usual-- on top of her dresser, on the little white box that was her answering machine... there was a blinking red light that told her she had a message waiting.

----------------------------------------

There was going to be a gala, the next coming Saturday. According to Nuri’s message, everyone was going to be there.

Great!

The first thing Shay did was look up the definition of a gala. (A gala was an often-formal social event, usually with entertainment like live music and/or performances.)

Oof. That was a little scary.

Shay had never been to anything like that. Her school had dance events, homecoming and prom-- and she was always interested in going, but never did. Most of the students that attended went as couples, and no one dared to ask her out.

Oh, James asked her last year-- but he asked as a joke. He admitted it before she could respond. High schoolers were a special kind of cruel.

But, ANYWAY--

Tyvan was going to be her battle-buddy to the gala.

No, wait--

Tyvan was going to be her DATE to the gala!

YessSSss!!

That’s what she decided.

The prophecy hast been foretold and therefore MUST come to pass!!

Shay spent half the previous night pining away while sighing at the moon and the other half setting up the perfect scenario where she asked him to go out with her.

He’d say yes, obviously. He had to!! --but everything had to be perfect!

She’d find him in the office around second-lunch or early-dinner. She’d innocently say she was hungry-- to which, he aLways suggested that they go out. Then she’d say she wanted to go someplace nice.

And then... and then...

Sweet and serene candlelight dinner? Scenic views on a rooftop bar and grill in the middle of the downtown area? On the dance floor doing the tango in a culturally correct Cuban steakhouse?

Maybe!!!

Whatever was going to happen, everything would work out, somehow!

Then after that, she needed a dress! She’d go back to Perseus with the gift card she got. Tyvan would go with her, too! He’d help! Maybe. He could at least be there for moral support.

That was as far as she got. Shay’s brain got muddled with all the possibilities... Would they start dating for-real? If, after that, they went on dates every day-- every other day... could she do that and still keep up with her studies?

How important was sleep, anyway? Two hours of sleep was more than enough for a human to function!

She just had to get through her school day... and then, she would enact her genius, masterful, foolproof plan!

Hah! Hahaha! Muhuhahaha!!!!

“Miss Yan, are you alright?”

Shay blinked her eyes, re-realizing that class was still in session. The teacher was staring at her with a kind-but-worried grandpa look. The rest of her class looked at her like she was crazy.

Aquila looked up from her desk with an amused smirk. “Got plans after this, Yanyan?”

Shay’s face and neck got so hot, she felt like she was about to melt into a puddle of goo.

“Hey, Teach,” Aquila said, raising her voice. “Animalia classes and phylums are super-interesting, but can we take a five-minute break?”

The teacher frowned, but then he looked back at the classroom wall clock... “Yes, I suppose that’s reasonable.”

Aquila... that sweet, and wonderful Aquila.

“If yOu’ve got something to shA-are~” she sang whimsically.

Aki was the best friend someone could have... as long as she could walk away with a profit. And Aquila-- that eccentric, mysterious, and cryptic-advice-giving Aquila-- was paid in secrets.

Shay sighed. “I’ll tell you after school.”