Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Wait you were in an orphanage?"

Arnos nodded. "I was. Now, don’t go telling anyone about it." He pointed at Marcus and turned to Mabel. "You too, okay? It’s kind of awkward with all the sympathy and stuff. But yeah, I know the comments I’ll get here, and they’ll be anything but sympathetic."

Mabel nodded. "Sure, I won’t tell anyone. And I guess... I mean, if that’s what you want, then yeah, sure."

Marcus nodded as well, agreeing with Mabel’s comment.

-- -- --

As Arnos, Mabel, and Marcus quietly walked down the hallway, Marcus noticed a familiar figure standing alone Emily was standing alone, accompanied by her butler.

Marcus thought to himself, Did she not find any friends?

“Huh, Emily, what can I do for you?” he thought to himself with a tinge of frustration.

Turning to Arnos and Mabel, Marcus spoke again, “Do you two mind if I bring an extra person along for sightseeing?”

Arnos said nothing but quickened his pace. Mabel, however, grabbed him by the collar and asked, “Where do you think you’re going, mister?”

The three stopped walking and moved to the side of the hallway, about fifty steps away from Emily.

Looking awkward, Arnos said, “I think I would mind. Hey, Marcus, you can hang out with her. That’s fine by me, Just don’t drag me into it if possible.”

Marcus, confused, asked, “Wait, you can read minds? Is that the special ability you were talking about?”

Arnos shrugged. “I can’t read minds, no. I just knew that’s what you wanted to do. You were all, ‘She isn’t bad’ or ‘Wasn’t bad previously’ to others. You obviously care about her. But I, man, I want to stay away atleast for now. Bye bye, see you soon he added.”

With that, Arnos waved and started walking towards the opposite direction.

Mabel watched him leave and then looked at Marcus with a disappointed expression. Sighing, she said, “Guess I’ll look after him. Sorry, Marcus, I really didn’t want to leave you alone, you know, but...”

Marcus smiled and waved his right hand dismissively. “Ah, don’t sweat it. It’s not a big deal. Emily was kind of bad with him, it's obvious. Well then, let’s be on our way Bye.”

Marcus moved toward Emily, while Mabel quickened her pace to catch up to Arnos.

When Mabel reached Arnos, she slowed down. Arnos turned to her and asked curiously, “You didn’t go with Marcus?”

Mabel gave him a scared look and said, “You know, Princess Emily might have gone all out on me like she did to you in the morning. It was scary and all.”

Arnos smiled knowingly. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

Mabel’s expression shifted to mild shock. “Wait a second, how do you know I was lying?”

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

“From experience, I think,” Arnos replied simply.

"Wait a second, is reading minds really your secret ability, Arnos?"

"It’s not," Arnos replied in a slightly louder tone.

The two left the Celera Institute’s main building through the western exit.

"Where do you want to go for sightseeing?" Arnos asked, looking at Mabel.

"Hmm, how about we go check out the Ares dorm? You know, to get some motivation," she replied, chuckling slightly.

"You totally stole that idea from those students sitting in front of us, didn’t you?"

"I did not! I don’t know why you’d even think I’d steal something," Mabel said with a sheepish look, turning her gaze aside.

"Whatever, Let me get the directions then. But we’re not going inside, okay?" Arnos said firmly.

"Huh? Why not?" Mabel asked, looking disappointed.

"Because we shouldn’t intrude on our senior’s day off, that’s why. Understood?"

"Whatever," Mabel muttered.

It’s not like I need his permission to decide whether or not we go in, she thought, laughing maniacally in her head.

Arnos approached a male instructor, who was standing there likely to help students with directions, and asked where the Ares dorm was. After receiving the directions, Arnos and Mabel walked with a few small talks along a pathway lined with expansive gardens of magical herbs on either side. After about ten minutes, they arrived in front of the Ares dorm.

The building was an immense two-story C-shaped structure with a curved exterior. It was made up of white marble, making it appear more costly than the Celera Institute’s main building.

Mabel stared at it in awe. “That’s freaking awesome. You guys are lucky.”

Arnos nodded. “It is awesome, I’ll agree with that. But I bet it’ll go against my whole idea of living a simple life.” He chuckled softly. “Gotta rank down, you know.”

Hearing this, Mabel lightly hit the back of his head. “If you’ve got an opportunity, it would be idiotic to waste it. Don’t you dare try to lose on purpose.”

Arnos glanced at her, noticing the serious look on her face. He nodded. “Sorry. I won’t lose on purpose. I think it’d be worse if you end up ranking up and I rank down. Then I’ll be the target of all the nobles.” He sighed. “I guess I’ll try my best.”

"Yeah, that you should," Mabel added, still slightly pissed.

"Scary," Arnos muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Mabel asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing," Arnos quickly replied.

Mabel pointed to the gate of the Ares dorm, which was made of black metal. “Do you really think we shouldn't go inside?”

Arnos crossed his arms and tilted his head in thought. “I am not too sure, But I’d say we probably shouldn’t intrude. I mean, our seniors might be pissed at us for disturbing them.” Turning to look at Mabel, he realized she was nowhere to be found.

“Let’s go in. We’ll see what happens,” Mabel called out. She had already walked through the gate.

“I don’t think we should do that!” Arnos shouted, hurrying after her.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen. I mean, our teachers did say we can check out institute buildings and areas, didn’t they?”

“I guess they did,” Arnos mumbled quietly. “Well, whatever. It is the dorm assigned to me. We can always make something up.”

"Now you’re talking like a perfect rebellious kid," Mabel chuckled.

"Hey, what are you, my mom? Enough with the weird dialogues," Arnos shot back.

As they talked, they walked further inside, taking in the building’s close-up details. A garden stretched from the main entrance of the dorm to the gate, filling the area between the C-shaped dorm and the outer boundary. A giant fountain, created using water magic, stood in the center, radiating a surprisingly bright glow.

Mabel approached the fountain, examining the light’s source. “This fountain is made with the help of light and water magic,” she said, looking at Arnos with excitement.

“Too bright,” Arnos muttered to himself, glancing at her.

He then moved toward the main building’s entrance at the center of the structure. Inside, he found the Ares dorm’s main hall, which was spacious and lavishly decorated. A red carpet covered the floor, while golden-white paint adorned the walls. Numerous golden chandeliers lit up the hall with their glow.

“That’s really nice,” Arnos remarked, staring at the chandeliers on the ceiling.

“Taken aback by the decor, huh? Step aside if all you’re gonna do is gawk,” Mabel teased, mimicking Emily’s tone from earlier.

“Wow, that was a surprisingly good impression," Arnos said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Shut up, idiot,” Mabel retorted.

Just as they were doing this a voice called out, “Who’s there?”