Arloum watched Zhen in silence.

‘So you know to return, damn brat,’ Arloum growled, but kept half of his gaze at his “meal”.

Zhen was reading a book beside him after dumping another pile of dead animals.

‘Why’s there a fish?’ Arloum wondered, having sorted through the stash of dead animals.

Tired of his usual food, he “ate” the fish first, only for his leaves to droop.

[Energy: 12/10] …

[Energy: 11/10]

‘Why’s there only one?’ he clicked his tongue, watching as the life energy he absorbed slowly overflowed from his body.

Deciding to absorb the rest of his food later, he focused on Zhen. Strangely, Zhen was only wearing shorts, leaving the rest of his body bare.

‘Is he really trying to learn arcane?’ Arloum shook his leaves.

‘To think an elf would try learning human magic, tch,’ he almost laughed.

As he was staring at the young elf, Zhen seemed to notice and smiled at him.

“Little plant, are you curious?” Zhen asked, his voice lighter than a feather.

‘I’m curious how you'll fail,’ Arloum huffed.

In his memories, elves could never use arcane magic because of their fragile bodies. Those who attempted experience extreme pain, and if they persevered, their lifespan would be cut short.

‘Though I know one elf who managed to bypass that barrier, Ymer…’ Arloum clicked his tongue.

‘She’s the reason I'm like this!’

Zhen chuckled, watching Arloum shake his leaves as though excited. Raising his hand, he poked Arloum's stem.

“Alright, I'll tell you. See this?” Zhen showed the book he was reading to Arloum.

“It's incantation magic,” Zhen said with a smile. “Others call it ‘green magic,’” he said.

Arloum paused for a moment.

‘What in the world is green magic?’

Ignorant to Arloum's confusion, Zhen looked around, before standing up and walking out of the former's view. A few minutes later, he came back with a fist-sized spider at hand.

‘...hm,’ Arloum stared at the spider, whose legs had been plucked off.

“I'll show you,” Zhen said, closing his eyes and pointing at the spider.

Then, he started blushing, stuttering as he spoke. “Great Ymer, the ocean… the ocean… is great!”

Zhen looked away, still pointing at the spider. Meanwhile, Arloum stared at Zhen and didn't know what to think. Nevertheless, Zhen continued chanting.

“Engulf the fire, uh, Tyra!” Zhen yelled, though nothing happened.

Before Arloum could react, Zhen's brows furrowed and he held his outstretched wrist. Clearing his throat, he chanted louder.

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“Great Ymer, the ocean is great! Engulf the fire, Tyra!”

‘…’

Arloum severed his vision, focusing on his inner body.

‘What kind of chant is that?! Even a witch’s prayer for a demon has better incantations!’ he covered his stem with his leaves.

However, when he heard Zhen muttering to himself, he couldn't help but open his “eyes.”

Just like earlier, Zhen was still pointing at the spider. But this time, he was reading from the book, holding it with his other hand.

‘Oh?’ Arloum leaned closer to Zhen. ‘I'm just curious… I won't laugh… I swear.’

Oblivious to the gossiping plant, Zhen read from the book with a flat tone.

“O’ Great Ymer… the ocean engulfs flames… silence the roaring fire, Tyra,” he said, and a drop of water formed in front of Zhen's palm.

Then…

‘That’s it? All that for a drop of… water?’ Arloum stared at the droplet, and then at Zhen.

Seeing his “magic,” Zhen groaned, dropping his hand and laying on the boulder. Staring at the sky, he let out a sigh.

“I understand the full incantation and shortened it… why won't it work?”

Arloum shook his leaves, looking at the sky. Of course, he couldn't see the sky, all he saw was the void.

“Little plant, did you see that? I used magic!” Zhen turned to face Arloum, his eyes barely staying open.

‘Yes, I saw. I felt embarrassed for you… Tch, never do it again, brat!’ Arloum wanted to plead, but had no mouth.

Zhen, seeing Arloum's leaves swaying from left to right, chuckled happily. Then, he closed his eyes, but his mouth kept moving.

“Oh right, sorry about last week. The prince was announced to be missing, so no one was allowed to go out…”

‘Brat, I don’t care. Just bring me more food if you're sorry!’ Arloum cut off his vision, wishing to filter the words coming from Zhen’s mouth.

On the other hand, Zhen kept talking until he dozed off. He didn't know that snakes, spiders, and slugs crawled all over him afterward. Meanwhile, Arloum started eating his meal.

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

Horlum looked at his sketchbook. Each page, back and front, were filled with drawings of various plants and trees. However, the plant he drew the most was the strange plant he left to Zhen's care.

“Man, I wanna go home,” he frowned, staring at the drawing of a plant with three leaves. Then, he looked out the window.

‘We can’t leave the dormitory… What’s the point?’ From the window, he could see the endless forest. Though, in the horizon, he imagined a towering tree swaying gently as if waving at him.

‘I wonder if that lazy-bones kept his promise and fed the plant,’ Horlum laid on the desk, using his arms as pillows.

After a while, he stood up, packing his notebooks into his back. As usual, he was the last to leave the classroom, and even the teacher, Kier, had left a while ago. However, as he was packing his things, he heard footsteps echoing in the hallway.

‘Is it teacher Kier?’ Horlum guessed, stuffing his sketchbook and pencils into his bag.

However, as he turned to look at the open door, the footsteps halted. Moments later, no one appeared.

‘I guess not,’ he shrugged, wearing his bag.

Then, he went to the door when an elf walked in, nearly bumping against him. The elf’s long hair was tied to a ponytail, and he was adorned with round eyeglasses.

‘Isn’t he the one from the library?’ Horlum raised an eyebrow, walking around the bespectacled elf.

“Um, Horlum, right?” The elf called out, startling Horlum with his soft voice.

Horlum turned around, flashing a shaky smile. “Yeah? Do you need something?”

The elf shook his head. “My name is—Fredrinn,” he said, before rushing away. Watching his retreating back, Horlum scratched his head.

“That’s weird.”

After Fredrinn turned to a corner, Horlum shrugged, turning around only to stare into someone’s flat chest. Looking up, he saw a blindfolded elf.

“Teacher Kier?”

“Horlum,” Kier smiled. “Do you mind coming with me to the office for a bit? There were… some problems with your performance today. It’s quite concerning.”

Horlum chuckled, looking sideways.

‘So what?’ He frowned.

‘I’ve been horrible at subjects since day one,’ Horlum nearly rolled his eyes.

“Teacher Kier, what’s it about? I’m sorry I made mistakes…”

Kier chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, it’s not hard to fix. However, I need to address something while we’re at it. Please, follow me,” he nodded, gesturing at Horlum before walking away.

Horlum shivered. ‘I… I’m not in trouble, right?’

It took them both a dozen minutes to reach the faculty room, where Kier sat on a chair behind a desk. Horlum sat in front of him.

“Teach?” Horlum asked, looking at the elf’s blindfolded face.

For some reason, he always felt a chill when looking at the elf.

“Horlum,” Kier spoke, his voice lower than usual.

His smile was a bit flat today, too.

“Firstly, you made mistakes on the Theory of Green Magic,” he said, passing a piece of paper to Horlum.

Horlum took it, reading it with a glance. “Um, I didn’t study well…”

“It’s alright,” Kier smiled, tapping his fingers on the desk.

“And now, I wanted to ask you something,” he stared at Horlum through his blindfold.

Horlum nodded silently, watching him with his heart pounding.

‘I didn't commit a crime, did I?’ he started nibbling on his tongue.

‘I mean… I only stole a pencil… from you…’ he gulped.

Kier’s smile stretched a bit wider. “Horlum, I heard you were getting bullied lately.”

“Huh?” Horlum blinked.

“I was?” he asked, faking a shocked look.

Inwardly, he scoffed. ‘Wow, I didn't notice at all!’

Kier nodded, his smile slowly flattening. “I talked to a few students, and apparently, you… degraded some of the girls.”

Horlum’s eyebrows nearly touched, his lips twisting into a frown. “I didn’t! I barely even say a word to any of those shi—those guys!”

Kier let out a sigh. “Calm down, Horlum.”

He then smiled, trying to soothe Horlum's anger. “Don’t worry, tell me what happened. I won’t blame you.”

Horlum stared at the blindfolded elf, before letting out a deep breath. Though, his mind was stirring like a disturbed wasp nest.

‘Something’s wrong,’ he pinched his thighs.

As a half elf, he wasn't new to schemes and framing others. Heck, he even stabbed some people before, though that was in self defense.

‘I don’t know any of the elves… aside from Fredrinn and teach Kier… but that's only at school.’

Shaking aside his thoughts, he spoke up. “I really don’t know what happened, teach. I promise I’ve never talked rudely to anyone.”

For a moment, Horlum saw Kier’s eyebrows twist, his lips turning into a grin. Blinking, Holrum squinted his eyes, seeing Kier’s smiling face as usual.

‘Did I see wrong?’ he licked the back of his teeth.

“It’s okay, Horlum,” Kier spoke gently. “Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. If you encounter any trouble, feel free to come to the faculty office.”

After bidding goodbye to Kier, Horlum went straight to the library. But, as he sat down, a few elves passed by him. Then, his ears twitched, hearing their hushed voice.

One of them whispered, “I heard the freak got in trouble?”

“Someone saw him pushing down a girl,” another one said.

Then, the elves walked too far for him to hear. Horlum was left staring at an empty table, wondering if he had a doppleganger.

‘When did I push down a girl?’ he huffed. ‘No, scratch that, when did I go near a girl? Please, I only like books!’

The next day, he found himself cornered by three older students.