said Sallia. Sallia paused, before she continued.

I absently flipped through the workbook that mister Delmont had given to the class, as I thought about Sallia's words. Eventually, I nodded, before I realized Sallia couldn't see me nodding.

I said.

said Sallia.

I froze.

I… hadn’t thought of that.

One of the biggest issues we had right now was that we lacked information. It was obvious that Lives in the Market were guarded by something terrifying, but we had no idea what that terrifying thing was. If we knew what we were going to fight, we could spend future lives building up the perfect skills to counter it. That could make a massive difference.

I said, expanding the conversation between Sallia and I to include Felix and Anise.

Anise and Felix froze. Their pens stopped in midair as they stared at their worksheets blankly, and I could see them struggle to keep their self-control for a moment.

said Felix.

<30,> I said.

Felix winced, causing Iselde, who was sitting next to him, to give him an odd look.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I also winced, and nodded. When Felix put it that way, my new basic grade ability was pretty expensive.

said Felix, after a few moments.

I said.

said Anise.

I said.

I saw Anise hesitate, causing Vance to give Anise a dubious look. Iselde and Vance were staring at the three of us now, as if wondering why we kept making weird expressions. I took a few moments to compose myself. Old Mo had been cracking down on us making weird expressions recently. He said it was an obvious sign that something weird was happening. I had been so excited that I slipped up. I spent a few seconds getting my face back under control.

said Anise.

I said, even though I knew that I would never take my friend’s Achievement for free. They were working just as hard as I was to earn more and improve. It wouldn’t be fair if I got all of the rewards.

As I got lost in my thoughts, I felt a shadow loom over me. I looked up, and saw Mr. Delmont standing over my desk.

“Are you having problems with the worksheet, Miria?” He asked, sounding a bit concerned.

“No, Mr. Delmont,” I said, wincing.

“Are you sure?” he leaned in a little closer, so that none of the other nearby students would hear him. “I know that you struggle a lot with essence manipulation, but you can still get somewhere with your education. Alchemy prep school doesn’t just train future alchemists, even if that’s the primary goal. We teach a lot of other things, too. Reading, writing, history, math… you’ll use these skills in the future, no matter what career you have. There isn't a single job that won't benefit from a little more knowledge of the world and basic literacy. Don’t give up on yourself or your learning. Even if you aren’t that great at binding and alchemy, you can still become a great healer.” Then, Mr. Delmont gently smiled at me. “In fact, I hear you already are.”

I felt the urge to bury my head under the table. Was that what all of my behavior looked like? Giving up on myself?

...Admittedly, I had started talking to my friends more often in class. Especially Sallia. She didn’t have a chance to go to school, and I didn’t want her to feel left out. So I often livestreamed our classes whenever Sallia was awake. I also frequently chatted with her whenever she was awake, because I didn't want her to sit in the void and feel bored all day. I really hadn’t expected Mr. Delmont to give me a pep talk because of my frequent distracted behavior. I tried not to blush as I nodded.

“You’re doing a decent job, Miria. Keep up the good work and don’t get distracted. You can do it,” said Mr. Delmont, before he moved off to help another kid with the math worksheet.

asked Anise.

I found myself blushing harder.

Anise gave me a speechless look, and I resisted the urge to wince.

I said, feeling an even stronger urge to bury my head under my desk.

The three of us continued working on our worksheets in silence until the end of class came. I made a mental note to work harder on Old Mo's suggestions. As much as I was getting better at acting like a normal kid, I was clearly still messing up.