Arin stared at all three of them. They had the same face, just different hair colors. The one on the left had white hair, the one on the right was blonde, and the one in the middle had brown hair.
"Is a staring competition the standard greeting for new roommates here? Because I'm confused," Arin finally asked, breaking the heavy silence. Only then did all three blink.
"Is it… us this toad just spoke to in that manner?" the blonde one tilted his head slightly as he assessed her with his siren eyes.
Arin realized he was trying to intimidate her with his piercing gaze, so she turned away from him and focused on the white-haired one, who was starting to speak.
"He's clearly new here and people have failed to inform him about us. Maybe we should use him as a lesson to remind others. what do you think, brothers?"
"Actually," Arin cut in before they could respond. "I was well informed. I'm told the roommates I will be grouping with for now till I get my own individual room have heavenly spiritual veins that I can manage."
"Manage? Us?" Blonde hair on the right scoffed out.
"Yes. Though you don't exactly look the part. Maybe I was brought to the wrong room," she said, giving them her best unimpressed look.
"And who should we peg you to be that you undermine us? Another heaven veined student?"
The one in the middle with the brown hair finally asked.
"No, even better. I'm Dual veined." Arin wasn't sure if that was how it was phrased but she administered confidence in her words and the look of shock on their faces were priceless.
"Dual..? Both heavenly and…" the one on the left began to question with intrigue but suddenly a knock came on the door.
"Arin child? Are you still in there?"
Although the person who had spoken sounded terrified to her hearing, Arin sighed as she looked at the boys with pitiful eyes.
"I knew they had brought me to the wrong room. I hope to see you around. Maybe I could teach you a thing or two," she said, and gave them a big smile before she opened the door and stepped out.
Once the door closed behind her, Arin closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. She had expected them to pounce the moment her back was turned, but they surprisingly didn't. She opened her eyes after calming her nerves and saw Roldar watching her closely, as if expecting her to emerge bruised.
Arin straightened, not wanting him to look too closely and start to suspect her identity. "You called for me?"
He stopped searching and looked at her. "Yes. You've been summoned by the Maesters. They want to conduct their own inspection to verify what I've told them. And who knows? You might even be given your own room, since your tier surpasses every student here. Come," He enunciated, dragging her along with barely contained excitement.
Unknown to Arin, the boys stood gathered at the door the moment she shut it behind her. They exchanged sharp looks as Roldar's words drifted through the wood.
They pulled away only after they heard the footsteps of Arin and Roldar dispersing.
"Rhory, Tiago, did you hear that?" the white‑haired one whispered to the others. "That means the toad did not lie."
Tiago, the blond haired male, scratched his head with a long sigh. "At least we don't have to deal with him in our room. We get to maintain our image as the Top Three."
Koa clicked his tongue. "We get to maintain that position in this room… yes, but that's about to change in the Academy with a new ability that surpasses ours. Don't you understand that?"
Koa reasoned and Tiago, who had tried to dismiss the situation before, frowned as he realized Koa was right.
"And did you hear and see how the toad spoke back at us?" Koa pressed. "If he dares that in front of others, they'll laugh behind our backs. Our respect will crumble."
Tiago frowned deeper. "We should have handled him immediately like we handled the others who crossed us. It would have made him fear us and stop his running mouth if we had acted fast. But instead, we set the impression that we were afraid of him."
"I think staying put was best," Rhory finally said. His tone was calm but firm enough to draw their attention at once.
"Why is that?" Koa and Tiago asked in unison.
"If the registers thought to admit him into the Academy and bring him here to our dorm immediately after he underwent the test, that means he had shown them an extraordinary power. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve, he might be small… but his aura is mighty."
Koa nodded slowly while Tiago shifted, uneasy.
"You're right, Rhory. So what do we do now?"
"We could make him disappear like we did to that bastard." Tiago chipped in eagerly.
Both Rhory and Koa turned to him sharply.
"We are never to speak of that again," Rhory said. His voice held no room for argument. Tiago swallowed and stepped back, giving a stiff nod.
Rhory continued. "We cannot turn to killing each time. What happened in the past was a single choice, and it was well justified by all three of us. But that cannot happen again, unless we are licensed for war. We broke enough rules that night."
Koa and Tiago nodded in agreement.
"As for this matter," Rhory said, lowering his voice, "we need a path that asserts our strength without dragging us into petty fights. If we challenge him or lose control, the students will turn from us. If they sense someone stronger in the Academy, loyalty will shift fast."
"So what do we do, Brother?" Koa asked, his voice tinged with impatience and sounding almost like a whine.
A slow smirk pulled at Rhory's lips. "We take the higher ground… for now."
Tiago raised a brow. "Meaning?"
Rhory stepped forward and straightened his tunic. "Meaning we speak with those who guide the Academy."
Tiago blinked. "The maesters?"
"Who else?" Rhory murmured. "If the so called Arin truly carries power beyond ours, then we need to know how the Academy intends to use him."
"And if this higher ground fails? What then?" Koa asked, still not satisfied with the plan.
"Then we walk the lower path." Rhory said simply as he opened the door.
Koa frowned "Meaning?"
"It means Tiago's idea wouldn't be unlikely anymore." with that said, Rhory stepped out of the room.
Koa's eyes widened as he followed him out, and Tiago lingered for a heartbeat, an eager grin forming as he muttered to himself before stepping through the doorway.
"And I get to hold the blade this time."