I had a great night of sleep, and somehow, the world wasn’t a singed crater when I awoke as cosmic recompence. That didn’t prevent me from immediately wanting to go back to sleep, though. It was time to return to school, and the dread of doing so was putting me in a bad mood. Regardless, I dragged myself out of bed and threw myself together.

I wanted to vomit at the sight of myself in my St. Cirelia uniform again.

Gods, please let this day be over quickly.

I shambled into the living room and saw my mom sitting in front of the TV, sipping some coffee.

“Morning, mom. Dad already left for work?”

She peeked over her shoulder at me and took another swig of her coffee. “Good morning, Shinsuke. Yeah, he had to head out early, but he told me to tell you to have a great day at school.”

Mom kept glancing back and forth between my face and the TV, her disposition a touch anxious.

“Thanks, but is everything okay, mom? You seem a little edgy.”

“Well…” she chuckled nervously. “I was just watching the news, and I hate to tell you, but you and Raven are the top story. They keep replaying her outburst.”

“Of course they are. I’m getting really tired of seeing my face on TV.”

She set her coffee mug aside and stood up. She patted my shoulder and said, “at least you’re not the focus this time. Sort of.”

“I just want this day to be over and done with, mom.”

“It will go by before you know it.” She kissed my forehead. “Good luck at school, and don’t forget to take a cup of pudding with you. I think you’re going to need it.”

Truer words had never been spoken.

I grabbed one cup of the treat of the gods and left the apartment. Mizuki was waiting for me in the outdoor corridor.

“Morning, Shinsuke. What happened last night is all over TV.”

“Yeah, my mom just told me. As if a whole week of this wasn’t bad enough. Now they’ve got new red meat to chew on.”

“Thanks to that damn actress,” Mizuki seethed.

As we started our walk to catch the train, we speculated about Eva’s theory concerning Raven Blackwell. Mizuki told me that Eva forced her to watch a ton of interviews with the actress earlier in the week, and she didn’t seem the type to behave the way she did at the press conference.

“Maybe her studio put her up to that stunt, then,” I guessed. “Otherwise, I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either. But no matter the reason, I could slap the hell out of her for doing it. You didn’t need this kind of attention again.”

“Speaking of attention…”

I tried to put it out of my mind, but the entire time we had been walking, nearly everyone we passed on the street was glaring at me. That was a common occurrence since I had first declared I wouldn’t marry Cynthia, but something about these stares was more intense—more hateful.

Mizuki seemed to notice it too and returned their angry squints with some of her own. Most of the gawkers returned to minding their business, but one older man seemed to get even more irritated. As I was about to walk past him, he stuck his arm out in front of me to halt me in my tracks.

“If it isn’t ol’ Demon Eyes himself,” he spat. “It’s not enough that you think you could reject our beautiful Princess, but you also have the nerve to mock the royals of other lands, too. Now, you try to make a fool out of a talented actress. Is there no bottom with you?”

“Huh? I don’t even know who you are, sir.”

Mizuki looked ready to blow a gasket, but a vehicle sped up to us, causing the rude man to stumble back to avoid being hit. The car came to a stop, and I noticed that it was a royal car. But not a Steylian one.

The left side rear window rolled down, revealing none other than Eli York, the prince of Vosnus.

“Need a ride?” he asked, an amused smirk on his face.

Mizuki and I traded skeptical expressions.

“Would you rather ride cozy with a friend or walk the rest of the way through the trenches?” he quizzed. His eyes traced a path of all the pedestrians staring holes through me and he patted the empty seats beside him.

“Fine,” I sighed. He opened the door for us, and Mizuki and I got inside.

“Excellent choice, my friend.”

The car began to roll on as we buckled up. Eli told the driver to set a course for St. Cirelia High School and signaled for him to roll up the partition. He promptly complied, granting us privacy.

“All right, Eli,” I began, wasting no time. “Why are you still in Steylia?”

He clutched his chest and feigned a mortal wounding. “Good morning to you too, Shinsuke! I’m heading back to Vosnus later today, but I wanted to visit my good friend one more time before I left.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Mizuki narrowed her eyes at him, and he laughed.

“Oh, hey, I remember you! You were with Shinsuke the last time I dropped by St. Cirelia. I don’t think we were properly acquainted. I’m Eli York, prince of the kingdom of Vosnus.”

She waved nonchalantly. “Mizuki Wada.”

“You’re chill, I like that.” He turned back to me. “So, another press conference, another wild scene, eh?”

I knew he was going to bring that up.

“Eli, I swear—"

“I’m just playing,” he chuckled. “Sorry, that never gets old. Though it does seem like the people have it out for you after what happened last night.”

“They’ve had it out for me since I saved Cynthia, refused to marry her, defeated Emil… everything I do sets people off. This is just another one for the pile.”

“I guess you’re right about that. It’s a shame if you ask me, though. I think you’re quite likable.”

“I’d rather not spend the entire ride pondering why people hate me.”

“Fair, fair. Let’s switch gears, then. It looks like all the kingdoms are negotiating revised terms for the gauntlet with your king and queen. Pretty interesting.”

“Interesting or an inevitable pain in my ass?” I grumbled. “Are you also begging for changes to the rules?”

“Don’t get it twisted, Shinsuke. I’m not begging for anything. To my knowledge, none of us are. It’s our parents who are concerned about things and want a rework on how these fights are going to go down.”

“If the initial terms were agreed upon, why are all these kings and queens losing their nerve now?”

“You have no one to blame for that one but yourself and Emil, my friend.”

He raised his hands like he was saying not to shoot the messenger.

“Huh? How?” I asked.

“Because everyone thought it was a guaranteed squash. You know, he’d stomp you into dust and it would all be over quickly. No one thought it’d get bloody, that he’d nearly kill you, or that you’d fry him like a damn fish at the end.”

“So, you’re saying the royals are surprised that this stupid, dangerous gauntlet with world changing implications nearly drove one of the combatants to kill the other?”

“More like they didn’t think you’d be an opponent that would push anyone to the point of killing you. You were able to badly injure Emil and defeat him, and your interview after the fight made you look insane. They couldn’t care less about you, but they’re concerned about the safety of the royals and what you might be capable of.”

“Oh, so they take me seriously now. Is that it?”

“Not quite,” he explained. “The way I understand it is while they definitely want extra safety precautions for the royals, they want to use this as an opportunity to gain some other advantages I’m not in the know about.”

“Whatever. If nothing else, it prevents the next fight from happening too soon. They can waste as much time as they want.”

“Agreed on that. I could use a break from all the pomp and circumstance myself.”

Quiet crept in, and the three of us watched the streets go by in pleasant silence for a bit. I’d have preferred to keep it that way, but there was something I needed to say. Or, rather, a message I needed to pass on.

On behalf of Emil LeClair.

“Eli,” I called. “You watched the press conference, yeah? I assume you saw the media grill me about why I knew Emil’s situation when they didn’t.”

“I did. I appreciated the discretion in your response. In your own, Shinsuke way, of course.”

He was grinning, but his tone was knowing. I continued.

“I’m sure you realize by now that Emil knows you told me about him and his mother.”

“I do.”

I waited a beat, giving us both a chance to process what I was about to say next.

The only reason I was able to defeat Emil LeClair despite my inadequacies in magic was through manipulative provocation of Emil’s traumas. Traumas I knew about because Eli York had willingly disclosed them to me. Traumas that Emil had confided in Eli with confidence, under the pretense of the latter being his trusted friend.

“After the fight, I spoke to Emil. He told me to tell you that he’ll never speak to you again.”

Eli nodded; his expression unsurprised but not unbothered. He seemed somewhere firmly in the center of indifference and wistful. “Yeah, I expected that. Thanks for passing the message along.”

“You seem to be taking it better than I thought.”

“It’s like I told you the last time we talked in this car, Shinsuke. We all have a choice. I made the choice to tell you his history. You made the choice to use it against him. We made our choices, and we have to live with them. Whatever respect that remained between me and him may be gone now, but that’s the way it goes.”

“I see.”

I had a feeling there was a lot more to it than that, but I left it alone.

The car pulled up to the front of St. Cirelia and attracted quite a bit of attention—as royal cars tend to.

“Looks like we’re here!” Eli declared. “I guess we won’t be seeing each other in person for a while, but you got my number, so expect to hear from me.”

“Is that a promise or a threat?” I asked.

He chuckled and nudged my shoulder. “You’re too damn much, I swear. Take care of yourself, man. You too, Ms. Wada.”

I opened the door and stepped out with Mizuki. Eli shut the door and rolled the window down again.

“Oh, and one more thing. If I end up your opponent this time, best of luck to you.” He held out his fist to me. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

I bumped his fist with my own.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Well, my airship is waiting for me. Till next time, Shinsuke!”

He winked and waved to us as his car drove off.

“He really seems to like you,” Mizuki observed.

“You think so?”

She nodded. “But he’s still in your way.”

“And I’m in his.”

Sooner or later, that would be a problem.

We walked across the path to the school building, enduring stares from our peers with every step. Like earlier in the day, the vibe was much more hostile than before.

I didn’t miss this…

We barely made it inside before I was noticed and immediately heckled.

“Look who decided to show up!” someone hissed.

“Why would he come back after what he did to poor Prince LeClair?” whispered another.

“Or after what he did to Raven last night…” someone replied.

What did I do? She’s the one who made a scene, not me. Morons.

More whispers and antagonisms bounced off the hallway walls as Mizuki and I made our way through the angry crowd.

“Just ignore these idiots,” Mizuki advised. She gnashed her teeth to hold back her rage.

“Don’t worry, I am.”

We got to class, but things weren’t much better there, either.

The second I entered the room, I was greeted by a male classmate saying, “you got some nerve coming back here, you ugly ass bully!”

Bully? Really?

I shook my head and replied, “you’d make a fine projector, you just need someone to jam a light bulb in that big mouth of yours.”

“Stop it!” the teacher intervened. “Today isn’t the day for this nonsense. I have an important announcement to make, so everyone take their seats and be quiet. Don’t make me say it twice or I’ll toss you out of here myself.”

The teacher was unusually firm, but I was grateful for that. Everyone did as they were told, including me and Mizuki.

“Now then,” the teacher started. “We have a new transfer student today. I’m warning you all to be on your best behavior. She should be here momentarily.”

Screams began to echo from the hallway outside the classroom, stoking caution and confusion in the room.

“Settle down,” the teacher ordered. “Everything is fine.”

But it didn’t sound fine. The screams kept getting louder and closer. In fact, it sounded like a stampede was going on outside the room. A herd of footsteps barreled towards the door, accompanied by gasps, squeals, and endless group chatter. In the midst of the chaos, I was able to make out a barely audible knock.

“Come in!” the teacher said, his voice oddly shaking with what seemed like excitement.

The door slowly swung open, and in walked the new student.

In walked Raven Blackwell.