My vinyl had a damned scratch.

It was probably because of overuse. Letting it play every night ended up wearing it down.

It was immensely frustrating, but it was a while coming.

While I had a replacement for the vinyl, I couldn’t say the same for the z’s I had lost. Once one’s sleep was broken it rarely came back easily.

“Frustrating…”

No matter how I tried to twist and turn, I couldn’t fall asleep. With a sigh, I looked out the window. It was way too early in the morning.

About the time we used to wake up back in the army.

A defeated sigh left me.

“Guess it wouldn’t hurt to take a walk.”

***

I couldn't go and talk to the student right away. That would end up proving counter-productive.

Asking the other two to keep an eye on her was the best I could do for now.

The morning sun was yet to mark its presence in the sky, leaving the downlights around.

Even these dimmed rays were enough to make the world visible.

I rubbed my hands together as I took a stroll around the premises of the Black Rose classroom.

Soon enough, this place would start feeling rather lived-in. It would become homely. The transition every day was interesting.

I gazed at the fluttering leaves that danced in the light breeze. The flowers that adorned the wide grounds of the premise swayed gently.

The problem here was words.

It was humorous in a sense. The very tools that facilitated communication and understanding could become the prime source of miscommunication and misunderstandings.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

That was the limit of tools.

Well, there wasn’t much I could do right now. I would have intervened right away, but Iaso wasn’t wrong.

Just like words could lead to both, miscommunication and communication, a hand could either help or hinder.

It was when I was lost in thought, that an unexpected person came into my sights.

Speak of the devil.

Rushing out from the dorm building was a silver-haired student. She wore a long white gown and a coat to ward off the cold as she carried along a watering can.

Her face was just as cold as Iaso and Atlas had mentioned. She seemed fierce, almost as if she was trying to intimidate the air in front of her.

But the actions barely matched the look.

[https://i.imgur.com/QMaD5dK.jpg]

The girl gently inspected each flower that seemed withering and started sprinkling water on all of them.

A smile filled my face as I slowly walked closer. Lumine Ador was a fierce girl who seemed to be troubled. Iaso and Atlas couldn’t have put it more aptly.

I was right next to her, but the girl kept sprinkling down the water.

Oh, I walked without making any noise. Force of habit.

As I tapped my feet on the ground again, Lumine turned her gaze toward me. Her shoulders jumped in surprise, for a very small moment, before she switched back to her cold glare again.

It was a good ‘surprised’ reaction. She might just be someone fun to tease.

Lumine kept staring at me, without saying a word.

Words…

That was the problem here. She was someone who couldn’t communicate well. Maybe there was something else, but it was pretty clear that conversations did not work with her.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, humans weren’t born with language hard-wired into their brains.

One’s presence alone could converse with someone else. It was not a tool, but a connection.

So, I quietly turned my gaze toward the flowers and smiled.

Asters, daisies, roses, chrysanthemums, they all grew in neatly arranged bands. It was the perfect assortment of flowers, many of which I didn’t know the names of.

I kept a distance from Lumine and kept observing the flowers. Before long, she started doing the same.

As she took care of the expansive flowerbeds one after another, I moved along with her.

The water stopped drizzling out of the can at a point. It had emptied out.

Lumine was about to rush to get more when I stretched my hand outward.

There was no need to say a word yet. She followed my gaze on the can, and reluctantly, handed it to me.

I walked off to fill it up while the girl waited near the flowers.

The sun had finally started to come up.

When I returned, I handed her the can. Lumine hesitated for a moment but returned to work. And just like before, I continued watching the flowers.

Time passed by and Lumine had finished watering all the flowers.

In the end, she stopped and looked at the flowers before turning to me.

Her stone-cold face was still the same… for anyone else. For me, I could see the slight twitching of her lips.

“Thank you for taking care of the flowers,” I said. “Please continue looking after them.”

Lumine took in a small breath. It was a rather large reaction for someone stone-cold.

This much was enough for now.

“Rest well,” I said and turned away from the garden.

Hah…

It might be good to wake up a little earlier than usual.

The dawn sky is pretty enough to warrant a walk.

***

Prince Ier von Kelvin Bezark was faced with a problem.

He was told by his father, the emperor, that his presence in the Glorenstein Academy for the next three years was imperative.

Ever the filial son, the prince readily accepted his words and found himself surrounded by the scions of all the other kingdoms that had joined the freedom alliance.

It didn’t take a genius to figure things out. Everyone was here as a guarantee from their countries after the war left them all vulnerable.

The Empire was better off than the rest, but many countries had no choice except to send the next-in-line of their lands. Even the most promising candidate for the next saintess was here.

Thankfully, it was easy to adjust to this place. And despite their positions, they were being treated as students. There was also everything they could need, including their aides as well as aides from the academy. Life wasn’t difficult for them.

But even all of them had something that didn’t sit right with them.

And today, during a brief recess after the class on Magical Theory and Application, a question finally surfaced.

“Your Highness Ier.”

Lady Rosentea of the Scential Merchant family posed the question. Attracting the attention of the few around them.

“Do you know the identity of this professor of ours?”