As the sun slowly rose, the noisy streets below came alive with the sounds of people talking and walking about their daily business. Phoebe stirred awake, and the first thing she did in the early morning was stretch her arms upward, her slender, curved waist faintly outlined beneath her fitted sleeping dress. She lifted her hands toward the air, breathing in deeply—when a sudden knock echoed from the door, followed by a voice calling out.
"Phoebe are you awake? Can I come in?" Said by Ryze.
"Yes Ryze, I am" Phoebe replied.
Soon Ryze comes inside the room, and she was shocked on what she saw.
"Wow, Phoebe did anyone tell you that you have such luscious figures?" Ryze said.
"W-W-W-W-What? Ryze what did you just say?" Phoebe said while being all red.
"Oh sorry if it seems rude, I'm just envious about your figures, you see mine not that great ehe" Ryze said doing tehepero post.
"Jeez Ryze you surprise me" Phoebe said with a little blush.
"Alright alright, my bad then Phoebe" Ryze said while softly smiling to Phoebe.
"Anyway, do you need help or something Ryze?" Phoebe asked.
"No, I only check if you were awake, since you don't want to be late in your first day in class in the academy right" Ryze said with a warm soft smile.
"Really? then thank you Ryze" Phoebe said with a smile.
"Oh, after you take a shower and dress up, please come below I've already made your food" Ryze said.
"Really, you're the best Ryze" Phoebe said with glistening eyes.
Soon Phoebe showered and dressed up using the academy attire, then after that she goes downstair, when she got there, Phoebe was shocked as she saw Lucas was there eating breakfast.
"L-L-Lucas?" Phoebe said Shocked
"Oh classmate Phoebe, how are you hahaha" Lucas said while laughing.
"What are you doing here?" Phoebe ask.
"What do you mean? Isn't this a famous inn near in the academy? Also, why I can't be here?" Lucas said confused.
"N-N-No what I mean is I was surprised to see you here" Phoebe said awkwardly.
"Well, the food here is known to be delicious, so of course I would go here" Lucas said unfazed.
Soon a woman's voice suddenly called out,
"Phoebe here's your food" Said by Ryze while walking toward her with plate of omelet.
Phoebe turned and saw Ryze, then smiled warmly. "Oh, thank you very much, Ryze. This looks delicious—you're the best," Phoebe said.
"Hehe, enjoy your meal then" Ryze said with a soft smile while walking away.
"By the way after this will you go toward the academy? If you want we can go there together" Phoebe said to Lucas while eating.
As Phoebe said that she didn't hear Lucas reply or said anything. "Hey Lucas can you hear me? What are you staring at?" As Phoebe follow where Lucas gaze was fixed on. She saw he was looking at Ryze.
"You…..don't tell me you have fallen for her" Phoebe said with a awkward grin.
"W-W-What? how could you accuse me like that" Lucas said while blushing.
"Then why are your eyes locked on staring at Ryze" Phoebe ask with a doubting expression.
"I-I-I wasn't looking, I was just observing the surroundings, that right I was only looking if there are some other things interesting in here" Lucas said while blushing.
"Hoo~, that good then huh, since Ryze is already with somebody" Phoebe said.
"U-Ugh…really? I see then, it's no wonder, for someone like her to have someone already right haha" Lucas said with a low tone.
"Pfff, just kidding, Ryze is totally single and not seeing anyone yet" Phoebe said teasingly.
"R-Really!?, she really a single then?" Lucas said with a brighten expression.
"What, it got your hopes up" Phoebe said in a teasing manner with a grinning smile and a smirking eye.
"Ugh…damn you" Lucas said with a flushed red face.
"Ha, anyway what did you say earlier?" Lucas asked changing the topic.
"Avoiding the topic I see, well what I said earlier is after your meal here would you perhaps wanted to go in the academy together since both of our destination is there right" Phoebe said.
"Oh, that's a good idea, fine then, by that I can also learn something about my future rival" Lucas said while grinning.
"What up with the rival stuff again, also don't you mean it's a good idea so you can learn more about Ryze~" Phoebe said in a teasing manner.
"Ugh….hey look I'm done already, lets go" Lucas said changing the topic while rushing to go.
"W-Wait I'm not done yet" Phoebe said.
"What? why? You're so slow" Lucas said.
"Damn you… just wait," Phoebe muttered with an annoyed expression, hurriedly continuing to eat.
Soon after Phoebe done eating, she and Lucas walk toward in their way to the academy. As they walk together phoebe seems to have a question in her mind, soon she spoke to Lucas while walking.
"Hey Lucas, aren't you a noble too? You have a surname right? So where is your carriage? And where is you manor??" Phoebe asked curiously.
"You were able to remember little details like that? Well, I am from a fallen noble family, so I don't have anything like that, also I am currently staying in a nearby inn not in a manor" Lucas said unfazed.
"Oh, you were? Sorry to hear that then" Phoebe said being apologetic.
"Why would you? My life has been way better compared when I was a noble" Lucas said unfazed.
"O-Oh really? but isn't being a noble great? Like you have wealth, fame, and power?" Phoebe said.
"That what it looks like, but when you are the one experiencing it, it's a pain in the ass, you need to always laugh and smile even there is nothing funny, you always need to be careful to not tarnish your household, or always paranoid as when will your enemy factions will slash their blade in your throat, and the most of all you need to kiss the ass of any strong rankers or nobles who have strong ranker backing them, its chaotic I tell you, all there is really was bloodshed and treachery" Lucas said with a annoyed face.
"But aren't your empire in the domain of the hydro sovereign, how does she let those vile things happen in her domain?" Phoebe asked.
"Yes, our empire is in her domain, but things like politics between empires or kingdom, all sovereigns don't bother themselves in those stuffs. The five sovereign are guardians of the crystalized tree which entrusted to them by the three great gods. Outside the scope of guarding the crystallized tree, developing their domains, and preventing destructions in their domain, other than those three things, they are indifference in any other matter even if there are people suffering" Lucas said with a gloomy expression.
"Oh, is that so, but I heard the domain of the hydro sovereign lives in prosperity, right? she shared her inventions all around the three continents" Phoebe said puzzled.
"Well you are right, her domain is the most advance in all of the continent in term of technologies. But that only it, since a lot of people are experiencing an extreme poverty there as the cost of living is sky rocketing everyday due to the advancement of the technology in her domain, also crime rates in her domain are vast, there are a lot of gangs and syndicates roaming and ruling everywhere there. I can tell you all these because I was young back then when our family became a fallen household, soon to survive I roamed and lives in the slums thinking a way to survive, that why I know more about the slum rather than a noble household" Lucas explain.
"I-I see it seem not good at all then, oh anyway I am curious why did you enter the academy?" Phoebe asks changing the topic as she saw lucas gloomy expression.
"Heh, what else, it's to become a ranker, I want to reach the top one day, its way enormously better than playing pretend like those nobles right" Lucas said while grinning.
"Oh, so your aiming to be one too" Phoebe said.
"Too?" Lucas smiled faintly. "I see—you're aiming for it as well, I assume. So, why do you want to become one?" he asked.
"I wanted to reach the top, so that I can see all of the wonders this world has to offer" Phoebe said with a glistening eye looking in the sky.
"I see," Lucas replied with a smile. "That's a very reasonable goal. To enter the restricted areas across the three continents—which where most of the wonders are—you need to become a high-Ranker, after all."
"Yes, in my entire life, I will definitely see every wonders in this world" Phoebe said with an admiring expression.
"Hahaha, that really worth it to make you my rival then, I who want to sit in the highest ranking, and you who want to reach the highest ranking to see the world, let's see which among us reach the top first then" Lucas said with a friendly grin.
"Ha, you're on, I'll definitely reach it before you do though" Phoebe said while grinning.
"Ha, let's see your best shot then" Lucas said while grinning.
Soon both keep continuing talking while the street were busy with people walking and talking to the others, later on they reach the academy gate, soon they enter the warp gates and go towards where their room is located base on what professor Niel said yesterday. As they were walking in the corridor of the building, they found their room to be in the center room of the 4th floor of the building. Soon both of them push the door gently and came in to the room.