The act he'd been executing flawlessly for the past two months crumbled before his eyes like dust in the wind.
Azriel's mind went blank.
He sat there frozen, wide-eyed, staring at Ragnar as the words echoed in his ears.
'Engaged?'
'Me?'
'But… I'm just an ordinary high school student…'
'Oh. Right.'
'I'm Azriel Crimson now.'
'Leo is gone.'
Aeliana stifled a laugh behind her hands as she watched her son, oblivious to the fact that the girl beside him wore the exact same stunned expression.
Since arriving at EASC, Azriel had mentally prepared for almost anything—an assassination attempt, a void rift, a titan toying with his sanity, even betrayal.
But this?
This word had never crossed his mind.
Engaged wasn't in his vocabulary.
Why would it be? In a world where death could strike at any moment, who had time to plan for a future that might not come?
And now, they wanted him to get engaged—not just to anyone, but to Celestina Frost, princess of the Frost Clan, a main character in Path of Heroes, and a central figure in the protagonist's future harem?
There had been absolutely no way to predict this.
From the memories of the previous Azriel, he knew that relationships—romantic or otherwise—had never been a priority. The same had been true when he was Leo.
Surprisingly, as Leo, he had been confessed to regularly—every two to four months, in fact, from middle school onward.
But he'd always politely declined. Not out of arrogance or disdain, but because... he just didn't care. Or perhaps, he'd been afraid.
So while others might kill to be in his position now, Azriel felt none of that excitement.
He wasn't interested.
And the only logical response seemed obvious: just say no.
Azriel parted his lips to object—
And then froze.
'W–what...?'
Leaning casually against the wall beside his parents and Ragnar, arms crossed and expression far too amused, stood the last person Azriel expected to see.
Before he could move or even speak, the figure lifted a finger to his lips and grinned.
"Don't do anything stupid. We don't want your future wife thinking you're crazy. Though, the fact that you can see me already proves you are... not that we didn't know that."
Azriel inhaled sharply but managed to calm down.
'That was close.'
He had very nearly attacked him on instinct.
"Oh, please. Maybe try using [Void Mind] all the time so you can start thinking rationally for once, you animal."
Azriel flinched at the voice in his head.
'You... You can hear my thoughts?'
The figure didn't respond. He just kept smiling.
Then, as if trying to return to the forgotten conversation, Ragnar spoke again, attempting to ease the awkwardness hanging in the air.
"Back when Joaquin and I were in the academy," he began, "we made a promise. If we ever had children—a son and a daughter of the same age—we'd have them engaged."
He turned to look at Azriel.
Azriel didn't return the glance. His eyes were still fixed on the impossible figure, making his parents and Ragnar exchange confused looks.
"We were supposed to talk about it last year, but... well. You know why we couldn't."
No reaction.
Neither Azriel nor Celestina seemed to register the words.
Ragnar sighed.
"I know this must feel sudden, but there's no better moment than now. Since both of you are heading to the Hero Academy next week… we'll leave you to talk it over."
In other words...
It wasn't an order.
Ragnar and Joaquin could have forced the engagement, and neither Azriel nor Celestina would have had much say.
But instead, they were being allowed to choose.
Azriel didn't even realize they had left until he heard the door click shut behind them.
Celestina was still silent, lost in thought beside him.
His eyes narrowed toward the figure.
'How are you here...?'
The figure—himself—snorted.
"How else? Because of that beautifully unhinged mind of yours, mongrel. Try sleeping more than four hours a night, yeah?"
Azriel clenched his jaw as the figure tapped his own temples with both fingers.
He had just discovered something new.
Being insulted by himself was exponentially more irritating than he expected.
Because, of course—
The bastard standing across from him… was Leo Karumi.
"What're you staring at me like that for?"
They locked eyes.
The same eyes.
The same fury.
They glared at each other like it was a competition.
Until—
"Tch. Whatever. You do realize you're trying to pick a fight with yourself, right? How much more pathetic can you get, you narcissistic coward? Stop looking at me when there's a gorgeous girl sitting right next to you! Gods, I hate myself."
'How much more are you going to insult me!?'
Azriel was genuinely close to snapping.
How much more could he take?
And what the hell was Leo talking about—just being in his head?
He wasn't crazy.
...Definitely not.
"Argh! Still thinking about yourself, huh!? We can interrogate each other later. Right now, you've got something—no, someone—more important to deal with."
Leo jabbed a finger at Celestina, still sitting silently, still staring at the floor.
'What's going on with her...?'
Her face was completely blank.
"Probably thinking about the engagement. Which, by the way—why the hell would you want to object to it?"
'Huh?'
Azriel blinked.
'Isn't it obvious? Why would I accept it?'
Leo scoffed.
"Wrong question, idiot. Try flipping it: what reason do you have to deny it?"
Azriel paused.
And for once… he didn't have an answer.
What was his reason?
There wasn't much to lose. In fact, being engaged to Celestina could even be beneficial.
Leo leaned in.
"Listen. What are you doing in this world now? What's your goal?"
Azriel frowned.
'I mean… surviving?'
"Exactly. That's it. You just keep diving headfirst into every major event like some martyr. For what? A café? Helping the heroes? What's next—becoming the villain for fun?"
Azriel had no retort.
'You're saying I should accept the engagement… to give myself something worth fighting for?'
"Yes! Would you look at that, I'm not completely useless!"
Azriel looked at Celestina again—at her delicate face, her calm posture—and felt something shift.
Something subtle.
But it wasn't love.
'I've never been in love,' he thought.
'Not once. So why would this be any different?'
Leo sighed dramatically.
"How can I be this pathetic? Fighting entire organisations is fine, but falling in love is too terrifying? Seriously?"
Azriel turned his gaze away.
"Look. You're only gaining here. If you fall in love with her, amazing—you finally have something real to fight for. If not, well… there's always someone else. This world is huge. You'll find something. Or someone."
'...You're right.'
It wasn't about love.
Not yet.
It was about possibility.
'But aren't we forgetting the most important thing?'
Leo tilted his head.
"Important?"
Then he followed Azriel's gaze toward Celestina.
"Oh."
Both of them fell silent.
And in that moment, one question echoed between them:
'What does she think of this engagement?'