POV: Thalia Arken
Orion was standing far too close to her, close enough that she could feel his presence against her body and it made her nervous.
"W- what exactly do you think you are doing?" Thalia asked, her voice coming out more breathy than she intended. She finally knew the student's name. It was Orion.
She suspected, no, she was almost certain he had hit his head somewhere.
What kind of boy would dare to approach her like this?
She froze under his presence. Her breathing shifted slightly as her hands instinctively rose to her chest, as if that could somehow shield both her body and her thoughts.
But instead of stopping, the boy took another fearless step forward and gently lifted his hand toward her hair.
Her silky crimson strands spilled over her shoulders, long enough to brush against her wrists.
"So soft," Orion murmured, his fingers carefully threading through her hair. "Touching your hair feels amazing. Whoever made you really did a good job."
Did he just praise my parents?
Thalia had no experience with men, not even as friends. Even so, she could tell that kind of praise sounded a little strange.
But a boy, no, a young and handsome man was stroking her hair while standing this close. It felt as if time itself slowed, the world slipping into something like slow motion around her.
A stunned Thalia felt her attention drift away from his words and toward the smaller details.
His hands were gentle. Long fingers, smooth, without calluses or roughness. Why are his fingers so soft? Before she realized it, her breathing deepened. Her chest rose and fell more visibly now.
"I'm Orion, by the way," he said again, a lopsided grin on his face. "And you, gorgeous?"
Thalia heard the words, but her thoughts stalled.
He just called me gorgeous. Did he truly lack any idea who she was? Or how old she was?
He thinks I'm beautiful. What am I supposed to say? I hope he has yet to realize my age. What if my voice gives it away? Should I raise the pitch, like a young girl?
In that moment, she forgot everything. The Hell Maze, the exam, the approaching monster, even her position as headmistress.
She erased every unrelated thought in a heartbeat. She even pushed aside the detail that this boy was thirty-six years younger than her.
Who cares? The answer came instantly. Not me.
It was the first time in her life someone dared to treat her this way.
"I'm Thalia Arken," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Have you truly never seen or heard me before?"
Still playing with her hair, Orion tilted his head slightly, clearly trying to recall something.
"Trust me, Thalia. If I ever saw someone as cute as you before, I would remember forever."
Cute? I'm fifty-five. What age does he think I am?
But he truly thought she was his age and he genuinely lacked any idea who she was. She could feel it. If he lied, she would know. Her abilities worked just fine.
She said nothing as Orion finally released her hair and began examining her armor instead, his expression filled with awe and curiosity, as if seeing armor up close for the first time.
Such long eyelashes… Thalia was in a strange mood. For someone who spent the entire day hunting monsters and regulating the population for the academy's exam, she felt far too excited in that moment.
Even with her heart pounding violently in her chest, Thalia managed to lift her wrist and activate the slim bracelet she wore. It was a personal artifact, soul bound to her since her teenage years.
A projection visible only to her flared to life as she quickly typed his name.
"Orion"
Dozens of results from combat candidates appeared, but none matched the boy standing in front of her.
Scrolling faster, she reached a restricted personnel list.
"Orion Vale: Academic Support and Civilian Quota Accepted"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Accepted into the Academy already. And only through the written exam. Then why is he here?
She opened the file using her highest level of access. Everything about him unfolded before her.
Midka Academy Student File
Name: Orion Vale
Date of Birth: 11th Nuvareon, Year 861 (19 years old)
Appearance: Black hair, dark eyes
Height: 179 cm / 5'9"
Weight: 71 kg / 156.5 lbs
Background: Firstborn of the Vale family, has a mother and a sister
Specialization: Advanced Academic Support / Civil Services
Mana Value: Not measured
Combat Rating: Not measured
Written Exam Score: 880 / 1000
Written Exam Rank: 191 / 440,000
What?
191?
"Rank 191! What the hell is someone like him doing here? And who was stupid enough to let him into a battlefield? She would make sure to deal with them later.
How did he even make it this far in this Hell Maze?"
There were too many questions.
Thalia was stunned by the realization. But one thing was clear. Orion was more than handsome. He had to be incredibly smart as well.
He was amazing.
As her thoughts spiraled, she felt Orion's long fingers reach out once more, this time wrapping gently around her right hand.
"Even your hand is beautiful, Thalia. Why is it so smooth and soft?"
Thalia Arken, the most powerful human on the planet, took an emotional hit. A direct, critical strike to her heart.
Her mind stopped. Completely.
Thalia abandoned reason or maturity. She wanted this moment. She wanted to enjoy love like how other women enjoyed in the past few decades while she was killing monsters in filth.
She forgot how to breathe. Her gaze locked onto the boy's face, Orion's face. His eyes looked kind, innocent, genuinely curious.
He's holding my hand. A young and handsome man was holding her hand.
Her cheeks burned deep red as Thalia, the almighty headmistress, locked eyes with him. He looked at her as if she were some rare, precious treasure.
Then a strange possibility surfaced in her mind.
"What if I became selfish for once and acted like a new student?"
"Am I not allowed to bloom late?"
And then another thought struck her.
"Does Orion realize he is naked right now? I can see everything.
It is big—I mean, he truly is my type.
Is he single?
Doesn't matter.
No one can take him away from me anyway.
I saw him first.
He is mine!"
For a dangerous moment, she considered taking him by force.
"But I don't want him to hate me." Panic washed over her, scattering all those bold thoughts in an instant.
--
Orion was feeling far less secure and confident inside than he appeared outside. He had started to feel slightly afraid of this red-haired woman. The blood-covered roads and the fact that only Thalia stood around made the situation very clear.
A woman capable of killing thousands of giant creatures could not be young, or a student.
But a voice inside told him that acting this way with Thalia would help them get along. He never felt like this before but somehow knew she wouldn't hurt him as long as he played along.
Could these feelings come from the previous owner of this body rather than stats?
Was the old Orion a womanizing playboy?
As one more question joined the ones awaiting answers, Orion smiled, eager to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Thalia. I do not know if you noticed, but I am naked. Do you have anything I could use to cover up?"
Orion was fully aware of his lack of clothing. But after enduring so much pain and dying countless times, it barely affected him anymore. Besides, this body belonged to someone else.
He never had abs this smooth or a chest this firm. As far as he remembered, he always carried a bit of a belly. If this were his old body, he likely would have died of embarrassment.
"I may have something in my bag. One second." Her face carried a slight blush when she said that.
As Thalia crouched down to dig through her small bag, Orion's eyes locked onto the figure visible even beneath her armor. Curvy and dangerous.
He swallowed. Then leaned forward, pretending to look at the bag but edging close enough that his shoulder lightly brushed against hers. Orion reached out and placed his hand gently over her left hand, the one holding the bag.
He saw her blush earlier when she caught a glimpse of his body. So now he planned to charm this woman even more. These new playboy instincts urged him to keep flirting with increasing boldness.
Though Orion presented an innocent appearance on the outside, his thoughts ran differently. She does nothing to stop me.
Their faces were now side by side. Arms touching. Thalia froze mid-search, her right hand still inside the bag.
She spoke with a trembling voice, "There is nothing in my bag to cover your body, sorry. Maybe you do not need to wear anything. It is very hot here, we could just hang out like this."
Orion wanted to avoid revealing awareness of her gaze on his naked body. Still, he asked with an excited voice, "It will not bother you, right?"
"I do not mind at all." Thalia looked like an innocent little girl. But her tone carried something different. She felt too excited.
Her lips trembled beneath her sweaty red hair as she turned her face toward him. Their proximity was so close that her voice fell to a whisper.
"I looked again, but there is nothing to use as a cover." She gave the bag no serious look while saying that.
Her eyes darted nervously between his shoulders, chest and lips. She tried to open her mouth to change the subject from the clothes.
"Orion, this pl—" But Orion moved even closer. He applied a bit of force to make her release the bag, sat down on the ground and gently pulled her with him.
"I'm really tired. I just need to rest a bit."
He slung his arm around her shoulder. She offered no resistance. Thalia remained clearly dazed and excited while Orion pressed lightly against her gear.
Yeah, she wore armor, but this spot near the campfire felt far too hot. Honestly, the cold of her gear felt refreshing.
Thalia relaxed beside him, letting her legs stretch out. Sitting like that helped Orion feel more at ease.
"I saw some weird stuff on the way here. Where exactly are we?" Orion expected a dramatic lore explanation, but reality differed.
"We're in the exam."