Seeing Athen's expression immediately turn grim, Kai began frantically waving his hands before continuing.

"Don't worry...Ren, I used your name as well! I'll admit it was a bit hard to find it, though. I had to wait until every student besides us two entered and then find the only name left unchecked beside mine."

"Trust me...awkwardly waiting by the teacher for over two hours while watching countless students pass by you is not the play."

Nodding his head sympathetically, Athen returned a smile and noted the name that Kai had called him by.

Then, before Kai could continue garnering sympathy from him, Athen interrupted.

"I go by Athen now...and thanks for waiting, but why?"

Although Athen's memory of yesterday was foggy due to his experience in the pitch-black void, he could vaguely recall being told by a girl that Kai was some sort of celebrity.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

That's when Athen saw it.

On the collar of Kai's shirt was a nametag that read, "Ren."

How had he managed to sew that name onto his shirt so fast...?

Letting out a dry cough, Kai anxiously glanced around for a second, making sure nobody was listening, before finally replying.

"Ah, Athen, I was wondering if we could switch places for the day...!"

When Athen saw Kai's empty seat before the stage, he had considered the option as it would get him some attention, but his memory wasn't hazy enough to forget what had happened with Alice.

He would surely be caught by Alice, if not by someone else when he tried impersonation again.

Ignoring Kai's desperate gaze, Athen glanced upwards at Kai's assigned seat, spotting Alice, Delphi, and a couple of other students alongside numbers behind each of their seats.

All of them had their chins up high, perfect posture, luxurious accessories like necklaces and rings, and flawless, well-groomed facial features.

In other words, they were the opposite of Athen.

Vehemently shaking his head, Athen turned back to face Kai and pointed ahead with one figure and at himself with the other.

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"Really? You want me to go up there?"

Masking his laughter with a clearly fake cough, Kai took a second to regain his composure before also pointing ahead.

"Look at him; you guys are pretty similar!"

Following Kai's finger, Athen spotted a boy much taller than him with spiky-brown hair and a friendly expression sitting on the seat marked #2.

Despite their differences in physique...Athen did see Kai's point somewhat.

The boy clearly stood out from the other top-ranked students sitting next to him.

His posture was clearly forced, with his back trembling, and while the others wore emotionless expressions, his eyes were sparkling with excitement.

He wasn't a noble or from a wealthy background; that much, Athen could figure out.

Snapping back to reality, Athen grabbed Kai's hand and redirected it at the figures sitting next to the boy.

According to his memories, those top-ranked students had already gone to dinner with Kai, so his disguise would easily be seen through.

"If I go up there, it'll be obvious to everyone I'm not Kai. Look, I'm grateful you let me borrow your uniform, but I'm not trying to get expelled on the first day."

Putting down his hand, Kai sighed before gesturing for Athen to lean downwards and whispering.

"No, I'm faceless."

"..?"

"No, I literally am; no one has ever seen my face...besides you and, of course, my family. Even at the dinner party before orientation with everyone, I wore a mask the entire time! I'm being serious!"

"And when I was a child, my family shielded me from the public, so I have never left my house without any form of protection to shield my identity...not that I left my house often."

"Wait...you really don't know who I am!? I thought you were trying to act like you didn't so you could get me to trust you...which kinda worked?"

"I mean, it was either you being the only person to know my face or every student in the academy knowing it when I came to orientation as Kai."

"That's why I was relying on you to...you know, switch places with me for a bit."

"Well, you might not know me...but you definitely know my family name, right? Valorian, you must know my father, right?"

As Kai continued to ramble on, Athen suddenly clutched his head, feeling a sharp pain envelope his head.

"...faceless?"

Completely tuning out the sounds around him, Athen fell to the ground, unable to withstand the sudden surge of pain.

Kai's first words repeated over and over into Athen's head...until finally they were distorted to form a new word.

Timeless.

And when that single word echoed in his consciousness, the pain abruptly ceased.

It felt as though the last puzzle piece had clicked into place in Athen's head, completing the picture at last.

His mind was so clear...and his worries began to fade away, letting a calm and serene sensation spread throughout his head.

Then, a sudden thought possessed him.

'I should do as he says.'

It was like someone had whispered directly into his brain...

However, nothing else was said.

His body didn't force him to follow the instructions, and his mind became silent as if waiting for his decision.

"..."

The voice, sounding the exact same as his own, had given a piece of advice, and Athen had no reason to refuse it.

In reality, he was planning to listen to Kai's words anyway...just in a different way.

Shaking his head, Athen dusted his pants off and stood up, seeing Kai silent and staring at him with a confused expression.

Reaching out his hand, Athen smiled and said.

"The Valorian family...of course, I know them!"

Brightening up, Kai took Athen's hand before responding.

"So...are you willing to switch? I can't tell you exactly why I've been trying to hide my face...but I'd be willing to help you in another way...as long as it doesn't involve my family."

Nodding his head, Athen turned around and began walking forward...without letting go of Kai's hand.