“My family sends me a lot of pocket money. I tried to be friends with those three and offered to buy whatever they wanted. It didn’t work out like I thought it would.” [Allen]

Sitting on the school rooftop during lunch, Allen was telling Ava about how he was friendless since coming to Sanctuary Academy. Eventually, he worked up the courage to talk to people and approached the three guys that bullied him yesterday. His method of becoming friends involved using his money to buy them whatever they wanted to break the ice. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned and he simply became their wallet.

“Ava? Are you listening?” [Allen]

The bright red-haired boy stopped eating his sandwich and looked next to him. The half-elf was staring at her hand in a daze.

“Ava?” [Allen]

“Mh, yeah?” [Ava]

He called out to her again and she finally responded.

“You were saying that you brought it on yourself, right?” [Ava]

“Well, umm… I guess?” [Allen]

In the short time Allen met Ava, he learned that she could be quite hard to deal with. Today, he searched for her so that they could eat together and he managed to get her to agree to it. Although, it felt more like she just didn’t care enough to reject him. He thought they would be able to have fun talking over lunch, but he didn’t expect her to pick the lock of the door to the roof.

“You shouldn’t show your money so easily. You shouldn’t show anything so easily. Play it close to the vest.” [Ava]

“Close to the vest? What does that mean?” [Allen]

“Basically, do your best to keep everything a secret.” [Ava]

“Why?” [Allen]

“Or you’ll get bullied. Simple, right?” [Ava]

“Play it close to the vest. Keep everything a secret. Got it.” [Allen]

Allen repeated what she said and nodded strongly. He would definitely heed her advice.

“By the way, why did you go to the back of the school yesterday?” [Allen]

Suddenly remembering this fact that had been bothering him since yesterday, Allen asked her what she was doing there. It wasn’t exactly a popular place to go to.

“That’s a secret.” [Ava]

After evading his question, Ava bit on her bread and started chewing. Seeing what she was eating, Allen looked at his sandwich and fell silent. Then, after a few seconds, he spoke with hesitation.

“Um, are you alright with eating just that?” [Allen]

“Yeah, I’m fine.” [Ava]

“I-I see.” [Allen]

“Don’t tell me you’re offering to buy me lunch?” [Ava]

“Well…” [Allen]

Allen stared at his feet and avoided matching her gaze.

“Didn’t that get you in trouble?” [Ava]

“I know, but-.“ [Allen]

“You don’t learn your lesson.” [Ava]

“I-I know, but I think it’ll be all right this time!” [Allen]

He looked at her straight in the eyes.

“You saved me yesterday, so I know you’re a good person. A-and I really want to thank you somehow.” [Allen]

Ava watched him for a second before she proceeded to munch on her bread and quickly finished her meager meal. Then, she brought her water bottle to her lips and gulped down the clear liquid. Once she was done, she turned her gaze to Allen who was watching her silently once more.

“Fine. Buy me a sandwich like yours next time.” [Ava]

Hearing the black-haired girl’s words, the grey-eyed boy’s face brightened with a smile and he happily nodded.

“Great! I’ll buy you a ham sandwich tomorrow! This is my favorite. I eat it with milk. Do you want some too, or will it be water?" [Allen]

Allen showed her the glass bottle filled with fresh milk that was placed next to him. As her sleepy-looking eyes stared at it, she lightly brought down her fist on the palm of her hand.

“Oh yeah, milk’s good. I’ll have a bottle too.” [Ava]

“Then a ham sandwich and a bottle of milk tomorrow! Hehe, we’ll be eating the same thing.” [Allen]

The twelve year old kid was softly laughing to himself since it felt more and more like he made a friend.

“Here. Although you’re a girl, that bread wasn’t enough, right? We can share it.” [Allen]

He passed her his sandwich because he was worried that she might still be hungry. Although she was smaller than him, he was sure that just bread wouldn’t fill up her stomach.

“No, I’m fine. You eat it.” [Ava]

Ava waved her hand and casually refused his offer.

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you at least go buy something else to eat?” [Allen]

“I’m in the middle of saving up my allowance, so I can’t keep spending it.” [Ava]

“Does your family not give you enough mone-?” [Allen]

Before he finished his question, he shut his mouth and covered it with his hand. He peeked at her face uneasily to see her reaction. Allen suddenly became meek because he was afraid he said something insensitive. She was a half-elf which was an existence that elves hated.

This was no secret and something that was common knowledge. Other races would also jump on the bandwagon and look down on them. Strangely enough, among all the ones born from parents of different races, only half-elves were ostracized. They were also the only ones that couldn’t have children.

“I’m, I’m sorry.” [Allen]

The middle school student mumbled out an apology.

“What for?” [Ava]

“You know… Asking about your family.” [Allen]

“Ah.” [Ava]

Ava, understanding what he was concerned about, stopped gazing at the sky and turned her eyes to her right hand.

“You think my family’s treating me badly.” [Ava]

“T-that is, well…” [Allen]

“You think they’re not sending me enough money to live here on my own.” [Ava]

“U-umm…” [Allen]

“You think I have it hard because I’m a half-elf.” [Ava]

“…” [Allen]

Allen was starting to sweat because he brought up something he shouldn’t have. He was afraid that she now hated him and wondered if she was mad. However, contrary to his expectations, the girl looked at him with her sleepy-looking eyes and waved her hand.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Relax, kid. If you start being so serious at such a young age, you’ll get wrinkles in no time.” [Ava]

“…” [Allen]

She said in a laidback manner, rendering him speechless.

“Well, you’re a good kid. Maybe you’ll grow up to be a good person.” [Ava]

“Um… Thanks?” [Allen]

He really didn’t know how to deal with her sometimes. Why was she so relaxed? How could she not be troubled by her own situation? Why was she calling him a kid when they were the same age?

“Besides, growing up wasn’t that bad. I actually had a pretty luxurious life. A clean room, a warm bed, three meals a day, fresh clothes and my own bathroom. Even a tutor was given to me. The family that took care of me was quite soft, to be honest.” [Ava]

The bright red-haired boy didn’t know if she was acting tough or not, but seeing her calmly reminisce about her past didn’t make him happy. He wasn’t admiring how strong she was like when they first met. For some reason, he only felt sad.

“Yeeah, I was living with some pretty rich people. What about you?” [Ava]

“Me?” [Allen]

“Yeah, what’s your family like?” [Ava]

Ava asked him while scratching her head. She hadn’t taken care of her black hair since she began living at the dorms. As a result, the long hair was messy from lack of combing and her bed hair was a sight to behold.

“My family… My parents aren’t bad.” [Allen]

Allen started slowly talking without noticing that she was deliberately changing the topic. When her father sent her off, he had warned her to not tell anyone that she was from the Luceran clan. Since revealing that fact would cause her nothing but trouble, she had no intention of letting others know either.

“Well… Let’s see…” [Allen]

“Just talk. I don’t mind.” [Ava]

“O-ok, then, my father always looks strong and proud. My mother is strong just like him and gentle too. They’re both great and they, um, they expect a lot from me. But, I’m not good like my older brother and sister. That’s why they sent me to Sanctuary Academy to study.” [Allen]

As he talked, the young student with bright red hair started playing with the half-eaten sandwich in his hands unknowingly. Hurriedly stopping, he took a bite and savored the taste of bread, ham, cheese and lettuce. Then, noticing that he was in the middle of speaking and Ava was waiting for him to continue, he quickly chewed his food and swallowed.

“*Gulp* T-they said that, I would learn more here and that I’ll definitely become a great person.” [Allen]

“They have high expectations, want you to become a great person and they send you a lot of money. Are you from a wealthy family? An important one at that?” [Ava]

“H-huh? N-no. What makes you say that? B-besides, it’s bad manners to ask someone about their family in here.” [Allen]

He was suddenly being questioned and this made him panic. In this school, some students came from rich and powerful houses. There were different reasons why they enrolled. For example, one person would want to attend Sanctuary Academy because it was famous throughout the world.

Another one might be a problem child that was shipped off to learn some manners. However, whatever their reasons may be, to ensure that these young ones had a peaceful school life, they were allowed to hide their identity. As such, prying into someone’s background was forbidden.

“Are you from a merchant family?” [Ava]

“M-maybe.” [Allen]

He gave a vague answer while averting his gaze from her face.

“You’re not, huh.” [Ava]

“How do you know?!” [Allen]

The poor boy exclaimed loudly with wide opened eyes before realizing that his reaction was the same as affirming what she said.

“You’re not very good at playing it close to the vest.” [Ava]

Ava ignored Allen who was covering his mouth with his hand and started passing her fingers through her unkempt hair.

“More importantly…” [Ava]

She suddenly and unceremoniously changed the subject.

“‘More importantly’…? Um, Ava, were you just teasing me?” [Allen]

It would appear that she wasn’t really interested in where he came from. She made him sweat bullets and her joke could have landed her in trouble. Allen was starting to wonder if this half-elf wasn’t just too free-spirited.

“This hair’s bothering me. I need to cut it.” [Ava]

“Huh? Why? You’re cute with long hair.” [Allen]

“Don’t call me cute.” [Ava]

The half-elf casually rejected his innocent praise and grabbed a handful of her hair.

“It’s grown past my waist. Time to trim it a bit.” [Ava]

“That’s it?” [Allen]

“What do you mean that’s it?” [Ava]

“You’re not going to cut it really short? Like a guy?” [Allen]

Given her personality, Allen thought that she was going to go for a tomboyish look when she mentioned that she wanted a haircut.

“Can’t. I’ve been forbidden from cutting it too short.” [Ava]

“Forbidden? Was it… Your family?” [Allen]

“Pretty much.” [Ava]

Ava wasn’t allowed to have short hair and was forced to grow it out to a certain length ever since she was born.

“Huh? Why won’t they let you?” [Allen]

Allen found it strange. It was the black hair that the elves detested. It was the proof that she wasn’t one of them. With that being the case, he believed that it would’ve been more logical if they forced her to cut it short or even shave it.

“Who knows? But, maybe…” [Ava]

Ava looked up at the blue sky and casually muttered out her opinion.

“Maybe they don’t want a half-elf to walk around and pretend that she’s an elf.” [Ava]  

A soft gust of wind blew across the roof as silence descended between the two of them. Allen’s bright red hair was being ruffled up. Ava’s black hair was gently swaying about. Looking at her profile from the side, it reminded him of their first meeting.

“Aren’t you gonna finish that sandwich? Lunchbreak is going to end soon.” [Ava]