Just as expected, Aodhán and Daruk were nearly blinded by a flurry of camera flashes the moment they descended. However, for some reason, the reporters were hesitant to approach with their microphones and recorders, which was perfectly fine with Aodhán.

He was used to the attention of the press at this point, and even Varéc had come to enjoy the attention. Daruk, on the other hand, wasn’t quite sure how to react to the flurry of flashes. Usually, Aodhán was the one taking center stage while he stood in the background, but this time Daruk found more than a dozen cameras trained on him as he descended from his construct.

“I think they’re wary of offending principal Zatya by approaching us this close to the academy.” Aodhán muttered with a sly grin. Daruk glanced around the courtyard, noting the gazes of almost 100 people. Subconsciously, he straightened his shoulders, tapped into the chill of his willpower, and adopted a blank expression.

“Is this what it feels like to be the center of attention?” he asked flatly, and Aodhán shrugged. “More or less. Although there are usually a lot more cameras and microphones present.”

While they discussed, one of the reporters finally grew enough balls to approach them, and once he did, many others followed, their gazes intent on Daruk’s translucent construct. Before they could ask, Daruk spoke up. “Before you all get your underwear in a twist, this is not a familiar. Unlike my brother here, I’m not gifted with the ability to do the impossible. This is simply an animated construct. Her name is Cistron.”

Aodhán shook his head in amusement as many of the reporters scowled and quickly lost interest in Cistron. Apparently, the ability to animate constructs wasn’t exactly a new thing, and despite its uniqueness, it still wasn’t comparable to a familiar.

Varéc perked up as the attention of the reporters fell on him, but before they could start asking any question, Aodhán stepped forward and smiled. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, but we won’t be taking any questions today. Principal Zatya wouldn’t approve.”

Immediately he mentioned the principal’s name; Aodhán instantly felt her attention on him. It was only fleeting, as if she had only taken a glance, but the spiritual pressure of her attention caused the reporters to scatter, and the next instant, the area surrounding them was completely empty. Even the students and their guardians had retreated, leaving a space about five meters in diameter empty.

“Perks of being the principal’s pet.” Daruk muttered as he made a fist, and Citron shrank until she was only a little larger than his palms. Now that Daruk had withdrawn his mind from the construct, Citron had reverted to being an ordinary construct. Daruk’s actions seemed to have troubled Varéc greatly, and the next moment, he disappeared into Aodhán’s spirit.

Daruk placed Citron in his spatial storage and whispered to Aodhán. “Why didn’t you tell me this was a bad idea?”

Aodhán chuckled and patted Daruk’s back. “Welcome to my everyday life, Buddy. Now square up those shoulders and stop cowering behind me. It’ll ruin the image of power we just created.”

“I do not cower!” Daruk snapped; however, he straightened his shoulders and stared coldly at the crowd. It wasn’t that Aodhán wasn’t nervous also, but hiding from the press had done him no good so far, so he might as well embrace his status.

With their heads held high, they walked towards the school gate. Anyone staring at them now would see two boys filled with pride and arrogance, but that was the image Aodhán was going for this time around. He was done being humble, calm, and kind. For the rest of the semester, he wanted to be a jerk. A full-blown egomaniac with an ego the size of a planet. Well, maybe not that big, but he definitely intended to be more like Daruk. Cold, unfeeling, and calculating.

They had almost arrived at the gate when Aodhán noticed someone hiding in the crowd, and just like that, his budding egomaniac persona shattered. Grinning widely, he blinked forward and grabbed her hand before she could disappear from view. “Not so fast, Ayisha, how was your break?”

Ayisha glared at him. “Once again, Aodhán Brystion, you’re calling attention to me.”

“Ah,“ Aodhán turned around to find more than a few people staring at them. He dropped her hand and shuffled awkwardly. “I was just excited to see you.”

Ayisha’s gaze softened, and she sighed. “Fine, I cannot begrudge you your excitement.” She glanced at the crowd, most of whom were still staring, and shook her head. “How did you even see me? I had a temporal veil activated.”

Aodhán frowned, and it was only then he realized that he hadn’t exactly seen Ayisha; rather, he had sensed her core within the crowd. It was an interesting development he hadn’t realized before, but his core sense ability seemed to have grown broader, granting him the ability to sense a person just by sensing their core.

It was as if he’d gained her energy signatures, an imprint that was peculiar only to her. The fact that it had granted him the ability to see through Ayisha’s veil was astounding, as unlike illusions, her temporal veil tampered with time.

Before Aodhán could respond, Daruk came to join them and glared coldly at Ayisha. “Hello Ayisha, I hope your break was torturous.”

Ayisha plastered on a fake smile and extended a hand to him. “On the contrary, dear loser, it was actually quite fun. I visited the cathedral of Raol and even visited the capital with my parents.”

Daruk scowled and accepted her handshake coldly. “I see that my prayers went unanswered.”

“I can’t believe you guys are still fighting.” Aodhán shook his head. “It’s been two weeks since the simulation exercise. That is too long to keep a grudge.”

Daruk scowled. “On the contrary, it’s not long enough, and you would agree with me if you’d been the one to die by an explosion of fire and debris.”

Aodhán’s mind went back to the explosion that had occurred at the core bank in sector 3, and he sighed. “Fair enough.”

Ayisha simply shook her head and said. “We won fair and square. We will do the same in the next exercise and the one after that, because, face it, we’re just so much better than you guys.”

“Oh, we’ll see.” Daruk grinned evilly. “But by the end of the next exercise, I assure you that you’ll be choking on those words.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Aodhán quickly stepped in. “Why don’t we all head to the cafeteria and have some drinks?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

They walked into the academy compound, and Aodhán let out a small smile. Despite how stressful the academy was, he was glad to be back. They found Yurin discussing with a trio of students, and when he saw them, he rushed forward and exclaimed. “Who’s excited for another six weeks of torturous gym exercises and boring textbooks? No hands? Guess I’m not the only one dreading it.”

“You’re not.” Aodhán snorted. “Thinking about all the work gives me a headache.”

Daruk nodded in agreement. “I don’t mind the boring texts; it’s the gym exercises that I detest.”

Yurin’s face lit up, and he fished out a note from his spatial storage. “Speaking of boring texts, guess who finally perfected the rune of strength.” He opened the note to reveal a glowing rune surrounded by a mess of squiggles and runic amalgamations.

Aodhán’s eyes widened, and he let out a whoop of excitement, genuinely happy for Yurin. “You finally did it, man; professor Caldwell will be shocked.”

“I know, right?” Yurin sighed blissfully and closed the note. “I worked on it all week. Trust me when I say it wasn’t easy.”

“It’s just a mess of lines and squiggles.” Ayisha snorted. “How hard can it be?”

Aodhán and Yurin exchanged incredulous glances at Ayisha's dismissive words, and Aodhán laughed. “Perhaps you should give it a try, Ayisha; see how easy it is.”

“Perhaps I will.” Ayisha shrugged. “With {Foresight}, I could even correct my mistakes before making them. That way I wouldn’t even need to waste so much paper on practice.”

“That’s…” Aodhán exchanged a glance with Yurin, confused as to whether her idea would truly work. It seemed very plausible. If she could correct her mistakes before even making them, then wouldn’t it be impossible for her to create an imperfect rune? Resolving to ask Professor Caldwell during their next class, he muttered. “I’m positive it can't be that easy, but feel free to try your hand.”

Daruk shook his head and congratulated Yurin. “I’m happy for you, truly. That’s one down, twenty-three more to go.”

Yurin sighed, his expression shifting from blissful pride to annoyance, and Aodhán laughed. “It gets easier, trust me.”

“Right, it’s only a matter of time.” Yurin nodded, his determination returning. He returned his note to his spatial storage and asked. “So where’s Lupin?”

“I haven’t seen her today.” Aodhán replied and turned to scan the crowd, although it was only for show. In truth, he’d been scanning the crowd for her ever since they’d arrived, but it was a futile endeavor. “I’m sure she’s on her—

“Hey!” A loud voice suddenly cut him off, and they all turned to see Andrew rushing towards them. He was still a distance away, which explained why Aodhán hadn’t sensed his core, but with the speed at which Andrew was running, it was only a matter of time before he crashed into them.

His intentions were obvious, and in a swift movement, Aodhán shifted his legs, enforcing his stance so he wouldn’t be easily thrown off. Thank the heavens he did so, because Andrew crashed into him an instant later, hugging him as if he hadn’t seen him in decades. The force of Andrew’s ‘attack’ would have sent them tumbling to the floor had he not taken precaution; instead, he only took a single step back.

Only Ayisha didn’t seem surprised that he was still standing, although she raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Color me impressed.”

Aodhán just grunted and patted Andrew’s back. “Hello to you too, Andrew.”

Andrew pulled back and went to hug Daruk. “Oh, damn, I’ve missed you guys.”

“Why? Home wasn’t as fun as you thought it would be.” Yurin snorted. “I thought I was the only one.”

“I thought you were with your grandparents.” Aodhán asked, and Yurin shrugged. “I was, and if I wasn’t so busy studying runes, I would have died of boredom.”

“Well, my break was actually fun. I attended the capital and the cathedral—

“We heard you the first time.” Daruk cut her off. “We get it. Your weekend was fun.”

“It bears repeating.” Ayisha scowled and turned to Andrew. “Perhaps ease up on the cursing for the rest of the semester. It grates on my ears.”

Andrew frowned. “How am I supposed to express myself without cursing?”

“You can pretend you’re in front of the king or something.” Aodhán offered teasingly, but Andrew’s eyes widened, and he immediately took several steps back from Aodhán. He wasn’t the only one; Yurin and a few other students that had been conversing around them did the same thing.

Ayisha scowled at them. “It’s an unfounded rumor.”

Aodhán exchanged a confused glance with Daruk and asked. “I’m not quite sure I understand what’s going on.”

“Don’t mind them.” Ayisha waved a hand dismissively, still glaring at Yurin and Andrew. “The king won’t smite you down just for saying his title.”

“Stop saying that word.” Yurin hissed as he glared at the sky as if expecting the king to drop down from the sky at any moment. “He wasn’t listening when Aodhán said it, but he could be listening now.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Ayisha asked incredulously.

“It doesn’t matter whether the rumor is true or not.” Andrew muttered awkwardly. “The man is scary.”

“The man is our king.” Another voice cut in, and they all turned to Alesh, who had been standing behind them for a few seconds now. Aodhán had of course sensed him the same way he’d sensed Ayisha, but he’d learned that keeping the extents of his abilities secret was essential for staying alive.

Alesh draped a hand on Andrew’s shoulders and smiled. “You should address him properly; he can probably hear us.”

Yurin winced again, and Aodhán frowned. Granted, he hadn’t read much about King Ragnar III, but the fact that no one was contesting the idea that the king could hear them all the way from the capital troubled him. How was that even possible? They were thousands of miles away from the capital, and even calamities didn’t have such an extensive hearing range. He would have asked how it was possible, but such a question would only reveal his ignorance, which, considering the king’s abilities were widespread knowledge, would seem weird and absurd.

Daruk’s spoke up next. “Although I’ve never heard of the rumors circulating, I believe Ayisha. I doubt the king will smite me down just for stating his title.” Despite his brave words, Daruk watched the sky for a moment before proceeding. “See, I’m still alive.”

“For now.” Yurin snorted, and Alesh chuckled. “The king's peculiar abilities for self-enhancement are potent, but I doubt they cover the entire realm. Besides, I’m sure a thousand people call the king’s name each minute; surely, if the rumors were true, thousands would be dying daily.”

“Thank you.” Ayisha grinned and glared at Andrew and Yurin. “That’s what I’ve been saying.”

Daruk snorted. “Unfortunately, you aren’t smart enough to put it together so articulately.”

Ayisha sneered at Daruk. “You think yourself so smart, don’t you?”

“I don’t think, I know.”

“Yet you failed, woefully, I might add, the last simulation exercise. So much for being smart.

Daruk and Yurin gasped in outrage, but before the argument could devolve further, Andrew suddenly pointed at the gate and shouted. “Look, Lupin’s here.”

Aodhán turned immediately, his gaze narrowing as he sifted through the crowd of blazing cores until he found Lupin’s. She was dressed in a black gown more elaborate than what she usually preferred, and her white hair, which once fell in lush waves past her waist, now fell just below her shoulders, jagged and uneven. It was obvious that she had cut it, and Aodhán’s mind sank as he realized what it meant. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she'd been crying.

As if she could sense his gaze, she turned to stare directly at him but jerked her gaze away the moment her gaze met his. Aodhán wouldn't let her do that. Without a second thought, he moved, his heart pounding in his chest, and the next instant, he stood in front of her, his arms reaching out in an instinctive offer of comfort.

Lupin tried to resist his offer of comfort, but her knees wobbled, and she collapsed into his arms. She soaked in the warmth of his body, the primal strength he exuded, and just like that, her meticulously created façade of strength and composure cracked, and then the tears came.

Like a flood, they poured out, and Lupin finally gave voice to the pain that had been eating her for the past week. She sobbed uncontrollably, uncaring of the attention she was drawing or the effect her actions might have on her new status. Aodhán held her tightly, his own heart aching at the sight of her pain. “What happened, Lupin?” he asked softly, his voice gentle and soothing. “Talk to me.”

Lupin clung to him as if he were a lifeline, and in between disgraceful sobs, she choked out. “My father... my father is dead.”

Aodhán’s arms tightened around her, his own eyes stinging as her words echoed in his mind. He tried to find the right words to comfort her, but when he found none, he simply held her tighter, offering what little comfort he could in the face of such a profound loss. “I’m sorry, Lupin... I’m so very sorry."