"Hiyah!"

Claaaang!

"Arthur!"

"—I know!"

Cling Clang!

"Tch! Sarah stick with me, we can't let him isolate us!"

"Got it!"

It was now the next day. With the class just ended, in an open training ground just outside of the club building, I stand alone and am facing seven of my clubmates as a punishment for being absent from last week's club activity.

It has been decided by our president to make an example out of me. As for the full scope of my punishment, It is a full-contact mock battle meaning we're going to use real weapons and gears with the preset condition that I have to face all of my clubmates who are in the same year as me.

The deal is that If I win the mock battle, my absent record will be removed, and will graduate with a perfect record, but if I lose there will be an unconditional additional punishment which only Prez and the other girls know about.

"Hey Rey don't take this out on me okay? I'm just following president's order" Arthur shouted from the other side as he guiltlessly wielded his sword and shield against me with an added sprinkle of a smirk on his face.

"Shut it, Arthur!" A girl with blonde hair then snarls at Arthur "I can't let this opportunity pass! I'll get that reward!"

"Whoa. Calm down Lisha, What's great about the reward anyway"

"Everything!"

"Now I'm intrigued, Hey Prez am I also eligible for the rewards as well?"

"No, it's only for girls!"

"What no fair!"

As I watched the two bicker from afar, It was then when that I noticed an arrow flying straight at me.

Remaining calm, I lean to my left evading the projectile while also maintaining eye contact with all of my opponents.

"No, that reward will be mine" A black-haired girl who shot the arrow monotonously declared with a cold expression.

"Hey, Aisha! Bows and arrows aren't allowed!" Another male student then cuts off the archer named Aisha as he angrily scolds her.

"—I'll make sure to only aim at the protective gear"

"No excuses! even if our gears have protective enchantments we can't have an accidental homicide here!"

"Fine..." The girl named Aisha reluctantly concedes tossing her bow away and switching to her twin dagger.

"—Sigh, I swear to god this is a bad idea"

Maybe now is a good time for a brief introduction...

The Dueling Club, a club only in name, it is actually an organization that dates back to the founding of the university and has strong ties with the military for upholding the empire's warrior culture.

Famous for its mock battles, the club has a huge emphasis on martial prowess, and oftentimes those who graduate from this club will have guaranteed admission to the Imperial War Academy in the form of a recommendation letter.

The organization, to say the least, has countless members all over the empire, but this campus in particular, only has twenty-eight active members of which seven were in the same year as mine and whom I'm currently facing right now.

Excluding me and Arthur there's the president of this club, Jeanne Sera Bradford, but everyone usually refers to her as Prez, she's an unrivaled beauty and a Daughter of Margrave from the cold north. She has very fair skin, long sky-colored hair, and a pair of deep cerulean eyes.

Boasting as one of the top students on the campus, She's both a mage who has a high affinity with mana and a duelist who is proficient with single-handed swords.

Next in the line is Lisha Widrow, a simple commoner but a warrior in the heart. She has long yellow-blonde hair which is perfectly complimented by a pair of amber eyes. She's particularly deadly with the great sword that even I would have trouble facing head-on.

Aisha Del Hargraves, one word always comes to mind whenever I see her, cold and accurate. She's another noblewoman who came from a household that has a deep military heritage.

She has long silky black hair that blends with the night and a pair of sharp obsidian eyes. Her weapon of choice was of course the bow and arrow with her secondary weapon being the twin dagger. Under no contest, she was the best archer in the club, and I, oftentimes, sought help from her on how to improve my proficiency with the bow.

As one of the beauties in the club, she is by far the one who's most approached by other male students for a chance of courtship, but because of her cold emotionless face, she's often referred to as the cold princess on the campus, which was made worse by her numerous brutal rejection.

"So Prez what's the plan?" Arthur asks Jeanne.

"There's not much we can do but overwhelm him with numbers"

"Fair and simple, then I'll start!" With that Lisha begins the fight and lunges over me brandishing her greatsword.

Closing the gap successfully, she performed a perfect overhead strike at me which I received with a parry, but because of her momentum and strength, I could only go as to divert the striking angle away from me.

What a heavy blow!

"Tch... Ditz!" Lisha shouted as she pivoted away which was then followed by a rough-looking young man.

Ditz Carlstein, a young prodigy hailing from Bretonnica. Blessed with vibrant red hair and a pair of fiery eyes, there's not much we know about this guy except that he's a foreigner who came to study in this country because of his affinity with mana.

Ditz is also blessed physiologically and has a very tall and bulky build which is, to say the least, very intimidating, —but don't be fooled as he's one of the gentle guys out there who hates fights and is reluctant to use magic against those who have no affinity with mana.

As for his capability, I can summarize it in a few words. Build like a brute, move like a bull, and hit like an elephant. As for his weapon of choice, it is a heavy shield and a gauntlet.

Charging straight at me like a mad quarterback, I had no choice but to evade Ditz's attack by tumbling sideways at the very last moment which enabled me to slip into his open flank and surprise Lisha by following her while she was still pivoting out.

"Got you" I whisper as I tightly grab the unprepared Lisha by her waist.

"Uh, Rey..." Taken by surprise, I saw Lisha's face get flustered from my actions, and for a brief second, felt a sudden pause as her body suddenly tensed up.

—But, even so, I wouldn't let such an opportunity be wasted and lifted her up before slamming her to the ground.

"Lisha grit your teeth!"

"W-wait! What are yo—! Gah!" Lisha upon hitting the ground with a hard impact desperately gasped for air.

"—Lisha!" Arthur shouted from afar.

"Well, that's one out" I declared.

Quickly recovering from a mild concussion, Lisha immediately tries to muster her strength to get up from the ground but to no avail.

"You okay?" I concernly ask as I extend my hand and pull her up.

"Rey you're so cruel! How could you manhandle a sweet girl like that!" Lisha protested.

"Lisha, your brute strength is anything but sweet and cute" I bluntly commented.

"Hmmp, I hate you!" Was her last word before tearfully retreating to the side bench.

""What a devil"" the rest of the group synchronously commented as they stared at me with disdain.

"—sigh... how come I'm being judged as if I'm sort of villain here!" I retorted.

""You're always been the villain!""

"Sigh poor Lisha... —Let's continue!" It was Prez as she restarted the fight by writing a string of words in the air using amber-colored mana which then transformed into a volley of stone projectiles.

"!!!" seeing Prez launch the magic straight at me, I immediately panicked and jumped away from the barrage of magic attacks.

"Hey, Prez that's cheating!" I protested!

"I don't remember making rules about the usage of magics, besides I'll make sure to adjust the power so that you'll still be able to limp around"

"This is too much!"

"Rey, do I need to remind you that this is a punishment not just a simple mock battle, Man up and suck it up!"

This woman!

"So Prez is allowed to use magic, but I'm banned with bow and arrow?!" It was Aisha who was pouting in the corner.

"Stone shard!" Prez unleashed another volley of stone projectiles at me which I desperately evaded.

"He's being suppressed quickly surround him!" A command then came from a young man who scolded Aisha earlier.

Marvin Kinsman, a bright student with a high affinity with Aether but sadly no luck with mana. A nobleman who came from a lineage of royal knights who only answered to the crown. If I were asked to describe him in one word, it would be 'leadership'.

Born with black hair and brown eyes, Marvin is not much of a duelist, but I can attest that he can handle himself more than any other students outside of the dueling club. From where I see it, where he really excels at, is with battle tactics and strategy.

Marvin, ever since our freshman days was always been enthusiastic about tactics and strategy, oftentimes he would try to divert our conversation to such topics whenever he felt that all important stuff had already been addressed. Honestly, this guy was too good for this club.

Aside from those, he's also the one who's responsible for keeping this club up and running. He's a one-man army when it comes to management and handles logistics very meticulously to keep our supplies high and our practice gears very well maintained. Now that I think about it, I feel bad for our juniors, they have very big shoes to fill once we seniors graduate from this grade.

Acknowledging his command, the rest of the group began to move and surround me which immediately put me in a very precarious spot.

"Stone Shard!"

"Tch..." I clicked my tongue dodging another stone shard, —but just as I was retreating, my path was momentarily cut off by Ditz forcing me to prioritize evading his shield bash resulting in me taking the barrage head-on where I was hit right in the shoulder and thigh.

That hurts!

"Alright, it worked!" Marvin celebrates after seeing me take some damage "Let's keep it up!"

There's not much I can do here but follow rule number three.

Taking a breath, I resolve myself to go into the offensive and charge straight at Prez which I think will be a nuisance if left alone.

"Rule number three huh, He's on the offensive now! Arthur, your task is to keep on protecting Prez while Ditz and I will try our best to hold him off and keep him on the back foot. Aisha you stick close with Sarah, attack only when there's an opening but maintain high caution for any reversal, this is Rey we're talking about, every defensive move is usually accompanied by a retaliatory strike, lastly, don't let him pick each other off!"

"Roger"

"Acknowledged!"

"Got it!"

As I charge with reckless abandon, following Marvin's command, Ditz, maintaining his stalwart attitude, moves in to intercept me with a shield bash.

Using my athleticism, I managed to dodge his attack at hair's breadth which is just enough clearance to let out a frontal sweep to knock Marvin off his feet before punching him out of consciousness.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Marvin!" Ditz shouted.

That's the head of the snake being cut off.

Upon Reaching Prez I let out a slashing attack but was immediately intercepted by a shield.

Claaang!

"Nope" Arthur gallantly blocked my attack with his shield before taunting me as if he'd already won.

"Tch" I click my tongue as I retreat and switch targets.

"Hey Rey you gotta do better than that, our juniors are watching" Arthur added while pointing at the bleachers where junior members of the club and other students are spectating the fight.

"Now!" Prez shouted and let out another barrage which I narrowly escaped but left me in a completely vulnerable state.

"Hiyaah!"

It was then that I heard a warcry from behind, it was Sarah who was charging in tandem with Aisha ready to pincer me along with Ditz who was also charging at my front.

"Dammit" I frustratingly curse under my breath.

Sarah Shirayuki, the last of the group, is a commoner who joined the dueling club during her second year in the hope of getting a recommendation letter for the Imperial War Academy. She has short faded pink hair and grayish eyes, not a common trait within the empire.

Although she is a natural born, she once told us that her mother did come from a far east nation which explains her very straightforward yet elegant demeanor, which is safe to say, very popular with the boys.

I still remember this club used to have hundreds of members during my freshman days, only found out later that most of those people had only joined for the reason that they wanted to court Jeanne, Lisha, Sarah, and Aisha.

Little by little they all left after the realization that all of those who tried to make an advancement would simply get brutality rejected, especially with Aisha and Sarah's case.

As for her ability, she's pretty much like me and Arthur who had no affinity with aether and mana, but nonetheless, a real fighter who's adept at using a single-edge double-handed curve sword like her katana.

Sigh, I got no choice...

Hopelessly cornered, I then decided to surprise both Aisha and Sarah by throwing my sword in their direction.

"What the!" Despite Marvin's warning, the two were astonished by my sudden move but managed to quickly recover and reflexively slash my sword away.

Now that I've stopped the two from on their track, I can finally focus on Ditz.

Like a rampaging bull, there's only so much that I do to stop Ditz's onslaught without putting myself at risk.

Convinced that the battle will now finally conclude, Ditz braces himself for an impact.

Taking my experience of hunting aggressive games out on the table, I then take a series of deep breaths and calm my psyche down.

Panicking is the last thing I need in this situation...

Resolving myself on receiving Ditz's attack head-on, I firmly cement my legs on the ground and ready myself for the very last moment.

"This ends here!" Ditz shouted declaring his victory.

"—indeed But I have other plans" Shifting my body sideways like a matador I evade his charging blow and slip through his open flank.

"Shi—!"

Unable to react due to his momentum, I positioned myself right behind him and let out a roundhouse kick at his back forcing him out of balance and crashing straight into the two girls.

With those three out of the way, I can now again openly target Prez —but as expected Arthur wouldn't just let me get through and guarded her with his shield.

"You shall not pass" Arthur declares as he readies his shield.

The shield is indeed a great defensive weapon, it can be used to easily ward off strikes and enables you to take heavy blows by simply pushing back against it.

But the shield has a glaring weakness, as good as it is at pushing back blows, it is not very effective against forces that are opposite to that, for example, what if instead of pushing through a shield, you simply pull it away?

It was then that lunged straight and positioned myself at Arthur's far left flank, away from the reach of his sword, and grappled unto his shield.

"Rey What are you—?!"

Grabbing Arthur's shield with both of my hands, using every bit of strength that I could muster, I then pulled hard on it successfully yanking it away from his arms and leaving him virtually naked and defenseless.

"Arthur you're done!" I furiously declared as I parried his retaliatory slash with the shield I just stole and punched him right in the guts which forced him to collapse to the ground before giving back his shield by slamming it flat into his face.

"W-wait not the face —guak!"

Dink!

"You're last Prez" I declare as I close the distance.

"Wait Rey, I yield!" Realizing the position she was in, Prez immediately declared her surrender.

"—No Prez, you started this, there won't be any surrendering from you"

"That's against the rules—"

Right at my striking distance, Prez panicky tried to unsheath her sword but it was far too late.

Grappling her by the arm, I pulled hard on her making her face crash to my chest before putting her in a tight submission and giving her the finishing blow of a knee into the stomach.

"—Cruel D e m o n" Was her last word before losing her strength concluding the mock battle.

**********

After the mock battle, all of us except for the junior members whose turn to use the training ground are now back in the club building trying to alleviate our sore bodies.

Enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the afternoon break, Prez elegantly sips on her tea trying to endure the fact that her stomach is still aching from the battle earlier.

"Man, we're all a total wreck, do you really need to smack that shield into my face?" Arthur complains as he looks at his bruised face in the mirror.

"Tell me about it, —This is why I said this was a bad idea!" Lisha who is also drinking her tea commented.

"But wasn't it you who was the most vocal and pushed it to happen the moment Prez whispered the secret reward to you girls" Marvin let out a sigh as he wrote various things in his auditory book.

"Can't help it, Even Aisha got fired up" Was Lisha's reply.

"Wait there's a reward? I just saw you all already assembling at the training ground when I arrived, I simply joined for fun cause Prez asked me to, but I honestly didn't know we were about to face Rey" Sarah who was absent during the meeting explains herself.

"That's Sarah for you, blindingly charging to war like a battle junkie" Arthur chuckles as he switches from looking at his face in the mirror to opening up sets of confession letters at the side.

"Arthur, That's quite rude to say to a lady" Prez commented as she calmly took another sip.

"Hey now guys, Let's not overlook the fact that it was Prez who threw us into the pit of hell" Aisha with her cold expression started to light some fire in the room.

""Right!!"" We all synchronously exclaimed and stared at Prez.

"Hey now, what's with the scary faces? Look, it was worth a shot honestly... And I was there too you know" Prez nervously defended herself.

"—Nah! That's cruel of you Prez! I was tossed and slammed to the ground, you expect us to win against this monster?! No offense Rey" It was Lisha protesting to Prez as she pointed her finger at my face.

"None taken"

"Worth a shot? Against a guy who wakes up at four in the morning just to run a marathon and practice swordsmanship? and then still have the stamina to attend class and club activities?" Aisha follows suit.

"—He also does hunting on the weekends just so you all know" Arthur adding a couple of twigs to the fire.

"Yeah, who does that?!" Sarah added "I doubt Ditz could even keep up with that, but Rey here just nonchalantly does it every day"

"Now that I think about it, I was wondering why Rey's body is still thin compared to mine" Ditz who has red swollen slap marks on both his cheeks decided to join in while pumping his dumbbells.

"—With that training regiment, you should honestly be as big as me"

"No, you're just built different, not everyone can be an absolute unit like you"

Everyone then simultaneously nodded upon Marvin's answer.

"Right, but what happened to your face? You looked like you just got smacked with a baseball bat!" Arthur laughingly asks Ditz.

"Nothing, but It was heaven, or rather, I almost went to heaven"

""—Pervert!!"" It was Sarah and Aisha.

"Ditz I'm so jealous!" was Arthur's comedic follow-up in the background.

"Sigh... why am I today's club topic"

"Take it as a privilege Rey, ladies gossip is not your typical conversation, be honored" Prez replies with a smile.

No Prez you're just taking advantage of the shift of topic!

As we continued to talk about various topics, it was then that we heard a loud beast-like shriek that prompted us to immediately exit the building.

Arriving outside, what greeted us was a red-scaled drake that had just landed by the side of the training ground. Riding it was, of course, a knight clad in enchanted steel armor carrying what seemed to be a bag full of letters.

Hopping out of his mount, the knight upon recognizing Prez, immediately kneeled and greeted her.

"Sir Adras of the 102nd Drake-Knight division, first battalion, second company, first platoon. I was tasked with the deliverance of these letters to you my lady"

"You may rise, knight"

Upon receiving acknowledgment the knight then rose and handed a bundle of letters to Prez.

"Received" After receiving the letters, Prez then took out her seal stamp and signed the parchments of the knight as proof of receipt that she had indeed received her package.

"That is all my lady" After the brief exchange, the knight then gives out a final bow before leaving with his Drake for its next location.

**********

"I always forgot that Prez is a daughter of a Margrave, the only few nobles that were still permitted to have a territory and private army in the empire as they are tasked with defending the border" Lisha commented.

"You can say that again" Arthur chuckles.

We're now back inside the building again. As Prez finishes her tea, she then opens up the bundled letter and hands each of us a copy of the piece.

"This is?" I curiously ask.

"Everyone's letter of recommendation for the Imperial War Academy"

Upon hearing those words, everyone let out a surprised face.

""You mean...""

Prez then happily nodded.

"Yes, you're all, or rather we are all now have guaranteed admission to any course we want in the military academy"

Sarah upon hearing Jeanne's announcement, couldn't hold her joy and happily jumps to her accomplishment.

"—Mother I did it! I Finally got my ticket to the Imperial War Academy!"

"Congratulations Sarah"

"Thank you guys! And thank you as well, Prez! My dream is finally just around the corner!"

Upon seeing Arthur receiving his own copy of the letter, he somehow let out a big smirk as if he had just defeated a powerful enemy.

"You received yours too huh, I thought you were going to study back in your mother's homeland"

"Didn't I say I got a plan? Well, This is my plan. Mother may have already filed my papers over there, but even she can't deny that Cerestine offers better military education. She's honestly just worried I won't make a cut-in on the advanced courses cause of how hard the admission examination is for those who have no affinity with mana and aether"

"Good for you then"

"Come on, let's enroll in the same course?"

"Nah I'm getting tired of your face, you do you, and I will do mine" was my joking reply.

"Oh come on now, Don't be like that" Arthur chuckles.

Jeanne upon seeing us in an uplifting celebration gives out another announcement.

"One last thing. Before the end of the school year, we graduating students in this club will have a visitation activity to various branches of the military so that you all will know what course to pick. It'll be a week-wide activity so plan ahead of time, —oh don't worry about the excuse letter, I've already got it sent to all of our professors.

"Whoa, really?!"

"Let's go!"

"Nice one Prez!"

The entire room again erupts into a loud celebration.

**********

It was now the evening, after the club activity was done, everyone except for me and Prez had now returned to their dorms.

"Prez, Everyone has left the club now" I announced as I double check all the equipment in the club armory.

"So why did you ask me to stay Prez"

"Nothing in particular" Was her reply as she cleaned up her office table.

"I just want company, you wouldn't let a frail girl like me walk alone in the evening now would you?"

"That frail girl is also the same person who just peppered me with rocks and shards, it still hurts you know" was my reply

"You're funny" Prez chuckles as we then kill all the lights and lock the club building.

"Sigh... You should have asked me from the start, I thought it was something important"

"Well, it was important you know! Besides, we live in the same dorm anyway, so going home together should've been a given!"

"Sigh... What a forceful woman" was my only comment.

"Fufufu"

As we exited the campus gate we were then greeted by the busy main road filled with students walking home from their busy school day.

"Haaaa~ I'm so tired today" Prez let out a yawn and she stretched out her arms in the air.

"Yep, thank you for the hard work today Prez" was my subtle praise for her.

"Umn! Thank you!"

Turning a corner we then arrive at a market street that's full of food vendors.

Catching a whiff of delicious food around, it seemed that my stomach couldn't help itself and began to grumble.

"Go, I'll wait here" was her immediate reply to my talking stomach.

"But I haven't said anything yet" I embarrassingly defended myself.

"Fufufu. I know, Just go"

"Sigh... Thanks"

********

"Here" After a short wait, coming back from a stall, I immediately offered Prez some pork barbecue on a stick.

"Honestly now, you're offering a noble lady street food?"

"You don't want to? more for me then!"

"—Wait I'm just kidding!" Was her immediate reaction as she hopped behind me and grabbed the entire box of barbecue from my hand.

"Hey now" I let out a sigh as we both continue on our way home.

"By the way, I heard something from Arthur earlier, did you two get into another trouble again yesterday?"

"That's classified information my lady" was my reply trying to escape another scolding.

"Honestly now, you think you can keep a secret from me? I'm a daughter of Margrave remember, all it takes is just one order, so just give up and spill it out"

"Just another reason why the empire is slowly transitioning away from its feudal society! You nobles are just full of tyrants!"

"You talk as if you're not a son of Baron yourself"

"W-What? I don't know what you're talking about" Taken aback I immediately feigns ignorance.

"Words travel much faster in high society, I also heard that your family now lives in a grandiose manor, don't forget to invite me sometimes"

"Kh—! Ok ok, you got me, so how much did you hear from Arthur?"

I'm going to kill that guy tomorrow!

"So something did happen!"

"W-Wha—"

"Fufufu, what I said earlier was a lie of course, I just got surprised when my uncle, who's one the officials in the police force, sent me a letter requesting an investigation regarding two male students whose campus is similar to mine bearing the name Rey Argent, and Arthur Ruela. I've grown suspicious, —But now you've just confirmed it, So what happened?"

"Sigh... Nothing much, know the classics. Arthur being Arthur, causing trouble, dragging me along, fighting breaks out, and lastly Arthur and I being in deep trouble in the end"

"That indeed sounds like the classics" Prez then laughed at my very brief comedic summary.

Munching on her barbecue Prez then let out a very long sigh.

"Haaa~ We're finally graduating huh, just a couple more months left"

"So what are your plans, Prez?"

"Good thing you ask 'cause I want to know what's yours too. Ok I'll start, mine is the same as before, as you already know, I'm the only child and my parents, and with the threat of losing the Margrave title along with our territory to our branch family, I need to study hard to be able to inherit all the responsibility of guarding the empire's border. For that, I'm going to enroll in the command officer course. You?"

"I got two paths Vanguard Officer Course or Command Officer Course, I'm more inclined to go to the Command Officer Course cause it's more fulfilling... —wait why are you taking notes!" As I was in the middle of giving my answer, Prez out of nowhere pulled out her notepad and started writing stuff up.

"No reason, go on, continue"

"Sigh... No!"

"Oh come on!"

"Why are you so persistent?"

"—Cause you're being too difficult today!"

It was then that we both exited the market street and arrived in the park.

"Prez?"

Nonchalantly sitting on one of the benches, Prez then gestures for me to also sit beside her.

"I want to rest for a second"

"Fine" I then sat on one of the other benches.

"No not there, over here" Prez again gestures for me to sit beside her.

"No"

"Rey, Stop being so difficult and come sit over here..."

"Ugh... Just what's with you today?... —Fine!" annoyed, I let out a sigh of defeat and sat beside her.

Relaxing herself, Prez then lowered her shoulder and began to look at the sky.

"Man, you're really hard to please, even with all the signs you sure don't take a hint huh, I'm losing my confidence here"

"Don't give me that Prez, I already know how you operate. So what do you need"

"Blunt as ever... Nothing really, I just noticed that the night sky was full of stars tonight, it kinda takes me to back then"

"You don't mean"

"Yep, back when we were just kids. Though I still can't believe you're that same Rey from back then" Prez then reached out to her pocket and took out a brooch that was shaped into a star.

Raising her hand to the night sky the brooch then shimmers under the starlight.

"That's..."

"My most precious treasure..." Prez answered with a bright smile.

"..." Upon hearing those words, I could only remain silent as I suddenly felt a tightening feeling in my chest.

"Sigh... Still, what a glow-up, can't believe you were avoiding me during our freshman years though"

"Well, a lot happens"

"Well, I'm just glad that the two of us finally got reconnected"

"..."

"—But I'm still sad though, why are you so reluctant to talk about the past, afraid to be called weak face again?" Prez chuckles for a bit.

"Something along that line..."

"You know I'm still in touch with Railliana, do you have any plans of talking to her at all? I can arrange a meeting" It was then that Prez shifted her tone to a sad one.

"No" Was the only answer I could give as I gulp my saliva.

"But you two and Alicia... Please you nee—"

"I said no" It was then that I reluctantly didn't want to hear anything more and cut her off.

"—Sigh... you know what, never mind, I don't want to end the day in a depressing tone. Sorry for bringing it up"

"No harm done"

Prez then quietly stood up from the bench and continued on our way. The travel was relatively quiet from that point on.