The walk home from school felt longer than usual. The day had been a whirlwind of subtle observations and suppressed frustration. Ren's mind was still replaying the chess match with Hiroshi, the chilling sight of Valerius's symbol, and the quiet, unsettling understanding he now shared with Li Wei. The mundane world of textbooks and cafeteria food felt increasingly like a thin, fragile skin over a deeper, more dangerous reality.
He pushed open the front door, the familiar scent of his mother's cooking a brief, comforting anchor in the swirling chaos of his thoughts. He kicked off his shoes, trying to appear as normal as possible.
"Ren! You're home!" his mother called from the kitchen, her voice bright.
He stepped into the living room, and immediately, he sensed a shift in the atmosphere. Maya was sitting on the sofa, not engrossed in her glowing rectangle as usual, but staring intently at him. Her arms were crossed, and there was a distinct pout on her face. Her usual playful exasperation was replaced by something akin to... possessiveness.
"So," Maya began, her voice unusually flat, "I heard some interesting things at school today."
Ren's internal alarm bells, honed by years of political intrigue, immediately began to clang. "Oh?" he managed, trying to sound nonchalant. He had anticipated this. The "couple" misunderstanding was proving to be a more persistent nuisance than he'd initially calculated.
"Yeah," she continued, pushing herself up from the sofa. "Like, how you and Li Wei are suddenly 'inseparable.' And how you're having 'secret meetings' in the student council office." She took a step closer, her eyes narrowed. "Are you two, like, dating or something?"
Ren felt a familiar surge of bewilderment.
"Dating? Maya, we are merely... collaborating on an academic endeavor of significant complexity." He tried to sound authoritative, a tone that usually worked on his imperial courtiers. It had no effect on Maya.
"Academic endeavor, my foot!" she scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Everyone's talking about it! You, Ren, getting a girlfriend? And Li Wei, of all people! She's, like, super smart and serious. What do you even talk about?" Her voice held a note of genuine pique, almost like a betrayed confidante.
He sighed. Explaining the ancient war, the reincarnation, the Awakened, would only lead to more confusion, perhaps even concern for his sanity. "We discuss... historical events. And future projects."
"Uh-huh," Maya said, clearly unconvinced. "Well, just so you know, you better not forget about your actual family. And you better not let her distract you from your studies, because Mom's already freaking out about midterms."
Midterms. The word struck Ren with the force of a physical blow. He had heard it mentioned in passing, a vague concept that had slipped past his overwhelmed mind. He had been so focused on Valerius, on Li Wei, on simply surviving each day, that the mundane academic calendar had utterly escaped him.
"Midterms?" Ren repeated, his voice hollow. "When are these... midterms?"
Just then, his mother walked in from the kitchen, a worried frown on her face. "Oh, Ren, thank goodness you're home. We need to talk about your midterms. They're in two weeks! Two weeks! And you haven't even started reviewing, have you? Maya's already got her study schedule all mapped out." She wrung her hands, her anxiety palpable. "This is so important for your future, sweetie!"
Ren felt a cold dread spread through him. Two weeks. Two weeks until another "examination" with Valerius, one he was utterly unprepared for. He had been so consumed by the shadow war that he had neglected the very battlefield he was currently inhabiting.
"Two weeks?" he murmured, the reality of it sinking in. He had faced down armies, negotiated peace treaties, and outmaneuvered countless political rivals. But the thought of a "midterm exam" in two weeks, when he barely understood the subject matter, filled him with a unique brand of terror.
Maya, momentarily forgetting her "brother complex" and the Li Wei rumors, looked at him with genuine concern. "You really didn't know, did you? Mom's been talking about it for ages."
Ren could only shake his head. He had been too busy fighting a war, a war no one else could see. Valerius had likely known, had probably factored this into his plans. Another subtle move on the board, a way to test Kaelen's adaptability, his ability to juggle the ancient and the modern.
He looked at his mother's worried face, at Maya's exasperated but caring expression. They were stressing over something so trivial, so utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, yet so monumentally important in this world.
He, Emperor Kaelen, had to pass a high school exam. The absurdity of it was almost unbearable.
"I... I shall prepare," Ren stated, his voice firm, though his mind was racing with frantic calculations. He had two weeks. Two weeks to master the intricacies of modern mathematics, science, and history.
Two weeks to prove to Valerius, and to himself, that even in this fragile, unfamiliar form, the Emperor's will remained unbroken. The war had just gained a new, unexpected front.