The required classes had ended.
This is the point where everything will change for Atro.
"Goodbye, Mr. Alen!" Cecil waved at me with his usual smile as he exited the classroom, followed by Theo, who also waved as he left.
After them, Isadora Von Themys left as well, with Fran following behind her.
For a moment, Fran looked over his shoulder at me before finally leaving.
Both Atro and I waited until we were the very last ones to exit the classroom.
"Let's go to the arena, Atro."
We started walking together down the wide halls of the academy. Students passed by, following the same route as us.
"Oh, Silva! Let's go," I said with a smile once Silva stood next to me and nodded silently.
She still barely talked and clung very close to me—not that I minded having more friends.
Due to my interference in the game's story, I seem to have created a new event that wasn't there before.
Originally, Kaida would have gone to the city, triggering an event that caused the main challenge for the week. However, these duels to defend ranks look like they might take over as today's main event.
We arrived alongside the crowd at the arena where the duels would be fought.
Arena 3 is relatively big compared to the other arenas in the academy—perfect for long duels meant to push duelists to their limits. Dead trees lie sideways, making perfect temporary cover, while others stand tall and thick, ideal for climbing to gain a height advantage.
"It's a nice arena to fight in," I commented while we looked for a place to sit in the stands.
"Alen! Come here!" a female voice called out to me.
"Sit with us!" Cole said with a smile as he made some space for both of us to sit with their group.
Yani grabbed my arm and yanked me down to sit next to Kaida.
"H-hi... Alen," Kaida said, a blush on her cheeks as she gripped the hem of her skirt.
"Kaida, I wasn't expecting to meet all of you here," I said with a smile.
"These duels are the events everyone in the first year at Aurum Academy wants to see," Yani said as she sat Silva far away from me.
We ended up sitting in this order:
Yani, Kaida, and I were on the same row, while Silva, Tirino, Cole, and Atro sat on the row below us.
"After your duel against Prince Lyon and Cecil, everyone wants to see what the S Class has to offer," Cole said, looking around at the stands, which were full of first-year students who had come to see the fight.
"And with the lowest-ranked S Class students being trained by the highest-ranked, everyone wants to see what the one you trained has to offer—especially since he's also been trained by Prince Theo, Princess Von Themys, and Cecil," Tirino added, apparently oblivious to the fact that he had helped us train Atro.
"Uhhh... Tirino... Atro is—"
"Anyway, how was the S Class today, Alen?" Yani interrupted Cole.
"I'd... rather not talk about that..." I looked away while Atro began sweating as he remembered his encounter with King Nemeor.
"Is something wrong, Kaida?" Cole asked when he noticed Kaida looking just as uncomfortable as me.
"N-no... nothing! It's just that... it must have been really hard to be there," Kaida stammered, her hands trembling.
"Not only was Princess Von Themys there, but also her mother. That classroom must've felt like hell," Tirino said with crossed arms, earning an aggressive elbow from Cole, who was sitting next to him.
"Tirino!" Cole whispered, gesturing with his eyes toward me.
"What!? I won't hide how much I hate that bi— Ouch!" This time, it was Yani who slapped Tirino on the back of the head.
"We're very sorry, Alen," Yani apologized for Tirino.
"It's... okay, Yani. I know what people think of her," I tried to laugh it off, but a feeling deep inside me started to form.
The atmosphere around us turned somber.
Kaida... due to the event that caused her to be a sinner, her self esteem takes a kick whenever the highest ranked nobles are involved.
Even though she wasn't the one to be blamed for what happened, years of being told and treated as if she was the main culprit made her accept how everyone else treated her.
That's why she never really stands up to Fran, or any other person that bullies her.
I rested my hand on Kaida's shoulder and quietly rubbed it.
She snapped her head to look at me with a blushing expression.
I simply smiled at her in an attempt to silently help her go through those things from her past that still haunt her.
While I couldn't directly talk with her about it, I still wanted to help her in any way.
This, seemed to make Yani giggle, causing Kaida to get even redder and more flustered.
---
Franchesca Von Themys clenched her fists as she silently walked behind her mother through the now empty halls of Aurum Academy.
Up to this point, she had been pretending not to know Alen to protect him from her mother. Fran knew all too well how her mother could react to people outside of nobility, due to things that had happened in the past.
"I saw how well you're doing here. It's going exactly as planned with you right at the top," Isadora finally broke the silence with her powerful voice.
"Yes, Mother. The gap between Prince Theodore and me is slowly closing," Fran replied in a cold, emotionless tone.
"You're already ahead of him in the subjects that matter most," Isadora said.
While Theo held the number one spot in the S Class, it was all thanks to his knowledge and intelligence. He excelled in written subjects and had the best scores in all the required classes.
Meanwhile, Fran had been raised by Isadora to master their kingdom's warrior culture ever since she was a small child. Making her excel at fighting against others.
"Yes, Mother. I made sure to focus on becoming a true warrior."
"But it's not enough..." Isadora muttered coldly. "Prince Theodore's bodyguard is catching up to you in the subjects you should be best at. And that peasant..."
Hearing the anger in her mother's voice, Fran was grateful that she and Alen hadn't interacted today.
Once they reached the room where the most important kingdoms would hold their meeting, Fran stood as straight as her mother.
"Queen Von Themys. Student Von Themys," Director Goldenlaw said, sitting at a fancy desk while the others sat in chairs arranged in a circle around her.
"Goldenlaw..." Isadora frowned at the blonde woman, who kept a faint smile.
"My, it seems today will be a calm meeting," Goldenlaw said sarcastically.
King Edgar Der Botcam sat on a chair with his two sons—Julius and Theo—at his sides.
On Theo's left, King Nemeor sat with one leg crossed over the other, his son—Lyon—seated to his left.
On the other side, at Julius's right, the princess of the Zelueva kingdom—Yulibeth Boscosa—sat. Her conversation with Julius seemed to have been cut short by Montanev's arrival.
To Yulibeth's right, her mother sat with a calm expression.
"You seem to be having a difficult day, Goldenlaw," the Elven Queen giggled behind her hand.
To the Elven Queen's right, the King of the Viavoule kingdom—a man with tanned skin and black hair topped with two fox ears—sat with his arms crossed. "You've got a lot of guts making us wait, Montanev."
"You should forgive them, Daddy," said his daughter, who sat on his right. She was a fox demi-human with blonde ears.
"Let's get straight to the point, Goldenlaw," Isadora ignored everyone else and walked right up to the blonde director. "What were you thinking, allowing that pest into the S Class?"
"Student Alen? If you read what the teachers wrote about him in his record, you'd know he more than deserves his spot as the fifth-best student in the first year," Goldenlaw said calmly, gesturing for the queen to take a seat.
"You've heard him strategize, haven't you?" King Nemeor asked while resting his hand on his son's head. "It's no wonder he beat my kid."
"Julius could beat him too..." King Edgar said with a cough, making everyone look at him. "Just sayin'."
"My daughter could handle him as well, King Nemeor," the Elven Queen added, though no one paid her much attention.
"My darling daughter could beat his ass too!" the fox demi-human king shouted proudly.
"Now, let's not turn this into a competition. We have other topics to discuss," Goldenlaw said in an imposing tone.
"Like that kid, right? He seems to be everywhere in the academy," the Elven Queen said, glancing at her daughter for confirmation.
"I don't know, Mom. We've never been in the same place at the same time. But I did hear that he and Julius fought last week," said the blonde Elven princess.
"He dealt with a lich in a dungeon that changed difficulty, faced the prodigal son of the Raychmen kingdom, defeated two of the strongest students in his year—my son and that bodyguard. What else has he done?"
"We owe that kid a lot for saving my dear daughter in that shifting dungeon," the tanned fox king said, tears in his eyes.
"We're friends, so we could talk with him later. What do you think, Daddy?" said the fox-eared girl with a giggle.
"Why are you the only one who hasn't interacted with him, Yuli?" the Elven Queen asked her daughter.
"I don't know why he's interacted with everyone else but me, Mom," said Yulibeth with a pout, which earned a chuckle from Julius.
"Where is he from, Goldenlaw?" Isadora asked from her seat at Lyon's left.
"I understand why the girl born in this city is ranked fourth, but this Alen kid is completely unknown to us," King Edgar finally said, steering the conversation back on topic.
"Sadly, I've done a promise to keep any information of student Alen a secret" Goldenlaw said with a fake smile, her left eye twitching as she was getting tired of this meeting already.