“That is enough.”

Prince Boren waved his hand, and Book and Curse both released their magic circles, causing the room to dim as the various apparatuses within it lost their glow. A second later, Shaden’s body emerged from nothing, reappearing in the room. He cracked his neck, stretching broadly.

“That was shorter than usual,” he yawned. “I couldn’t even finish this book.”

The man and woman, Book and Curse, simply recorded their observations on a sheet while Boren got up from his chair. After the prince had released the seal on Shaden, his visits had become infrequent. But over a month had passed with little to no results. The prince had come to observe afterwards more often.

“Is the magic too complex?” Boren asked, his dragon positioned by his feet. “How long will it take?”

“Sir, the magic isn’t part of any system we are familiar with,” Curse spoke. “The bigger patterns we’ve recorded thoroughly, but replicating them brought about nothing. We are searching for—”

“That is fine,” Boren said. “I think I understand what my father is aiming for. Curse, among the analyzers in the world, where would you rank yourself?”

“Not worse than those of the Magic Tower, sir,” Curse answered.

“Yes. You were a top student. Best in the Reaper Squadron.”

“You flatter me.”

“And yet—a month wasn’t enough.”

“I apologize, sir. There are smaller threads that—”

Boren shook his head. “I didn’t mean to admonish you. I am aware—or Markendrath is aware—of the thinner patterns. It is thinner than their magic.”

“Thinner than dragon magic,” Book muttered under his breath.

“I understand what you’re thinking,” Boren said. “Why should humans bother with such intricate magic then? Even my kindred would have a difficult time grasping a part of it.”

“Sir, you are correct,” Book said, his voice vaguely echoing a grumble.

“The answer would be to see if the magic is replicable by humans at all. Book, Curse, you are dismissed for the day.”

The two of them bowed their heads and then vanished from the room. Taking it as a cue, Shaden took off the detection shackles around his limbs and placed them on the floor, stepping out of the circle he had been placed in.

“Too intricate, huh?” he smiled. “I was expecting them to replicate it faster.”

“Your haughtiness will get you killed,” Boren said, but it didn’t sound like a threat. “Walk with me.”

“Walk?”

“I’d like to have a little chat.”

So Shaden began to walk with the prince while the dragon lazily curled itself on the prince’s neck. It was by no means a small dragon, the prince didn’t appear too uncomfortable with it.

“I’ve heard that you came from the Forest of the Lost,” he said. “All who enter it never return. And here you are. The magic you possess is nothing like I’ve ever seen.”

“We’re a little special, yes,” Shaden shrugged. “How about you? You’re a prince with a dragon and your bond, living in a palace while being the greatest gambler in the Kingdom.”

“Again with the gambling thing. What do you mean by bond?”

“You would say kindred.”

“Ah.”

“I saw you at one of the gambling houses,” Shaden said, bluntly. “You must have heard of my other abilities.”

“I know of one other. You placed markers on my sisters.”

“On their dragons. But yes, I have one on you as well.”

The prince frowned. “Really? Would you please remove it?”

“I already did.”

It was a lie. There were experiments Shaden was carrying out, such as whether or not his spells would be detectable if he mixed his stealth magic into them. The dragon couldn’t detect him when he’d been hidden, but it had been able to sense his markers. The question was, how?

“Perhaps I was on an errand, overlooking the country’s assets,” Boren snorted. “You may have mistaken me for someone else.”

“I doubt it. Here, let me place a marker on you again.”

He cast it with a small amount of stealth magic and placed it on the dragon.

“You—outrageous,” Boren gaped. “Did you not learn that casting magic on the Royal Family is a crime punishable by death?”

“Oh. I forgot,” Shaden grinned. “I will release it right away. Did you feel anything?”

“Markendrath says he felt a tiny suction,” Boren replied. “But he felt nothing when you released it. Did you release it?”

“Yes.” This time, it wasn’t a lie. “But a tiny suction?”

“Do you cast tracking magic without knowing about how it functions?” Boren sighed.

Shaden blinked.

“You don’t know how it works,” Boren frowned. “How are you able to cast the spell?”

“I don’t focus on the small details,” Shaden shrugged. “Would you explain it?”

“The small details determine whether or not the magic functions properly,” the prince went on. “Any kind of spell that remains on the target must be sustained by mana. It can be the target’s mana, the caster’s mana, or other sources.”

“Then my detection magic would use the target’s mana.”

“Yes. It’s very subtle.”

Of course it was. Humans couldn’t detect it, and even dragons felt a small suction. But this was valuable information.

Undetectable. He had to make his spells completely undetectable. And the only idea that came to his mind was completely saturating his spells with his stealth magic. After all, he’d been able to kill animals without them realizing that they’d been stabbed by covering his dagger with the magic. It had been his most silent kills—and very convenient.

While they talked, he placed another marker on the dragon.

“You’re expending quite a large amount of mana,” Boren noticed. “Mar, is it you?”

The dragon growled in protest.

“I was testing some things out,” Shaden said. “I suppose you can sense what I’m doing through the cur—blessing the King placed on me.”

“To an extent. And—what happened to your arm? Why is it empty?”

Shaden smiled. “Now it’s back. You can’t detect me when I’m stealthed, even with the blessing on me. That, I am sure of.”

“You sound like you wish to escape. It’s futile.”

“Not at all.”

“I’ll take that as the answer for the first comment.”

“If I tried, would you report me?” Shaden asked. “Seal my magic again? Threaten me with my family? I’m sure the King and the dragon aren’t dumb enough to think that I’m completely happy with the situation.”

“No,” Boren agreed. “You are a slave to the King and the Guardian. Just as I am.”

“The Guardian. Is that what the big dragon is called?”

“The big dragon. Ha. Haha!”

Boren chuckled, laughter echoing through the halls. “Yes, the biggest of his kind. Mar will never live to grow that large or powerful.”

“Mar—your kindred.” Shaden lowered his voice. “I’ve read the history books. It’s always one line with short branches for the family tree of Selios. Why are the children of the other princes and princesses never recorded? It’s very mysterious.”

The prince stopped, and Shaden did as well. His expression had darkened, mixed in with the smallest trace of angst. Or perhaps it was consideration. A split second later, he began walking again, as if he had made up his mind.

“They are never recorded because their children never exist,” Boren said. “I hope we get along, Shaden. Our positions are not so different.”

“You referred to yourself as a slave before. But you’re the prince. Don’t tell me the King will make you battle your siblings to the death for the throne.”

“I love my brother and sisters. I would give my life for them. But no such battle will occur.”

“It’s always the first prince who becomes the King,” Shaden recalled. “Whether they were incompetent or not during their earlier years, they always become a great king. The King I saw—your father—looked like he was being mind-controlled.”

When the blood pooled into Boren’s face, Shaden worried that he’d said too much. But the prince clenched his fists, walking on.

“Mind-controlled? That would be better. No, he is still our father. He has simply seen bigger things than himself.”

The redness quickly faded away. “How much time do I have left?” Boren muttered. “A year or two? Five years?”

He turned to Shaden. “You—will be here longer than I will be. You will see my brother become the king, then see his son become the king. There is no doubt that the Guardian will come to favor you, and favor you he must with the potential you possess.”

The prince placed his hand on Shaden’s shoulder. “Would you promise me one thing in exchange for my greatest secret?”

“Promise?”

“Tell my brother—tell the kings to only have one child,” he said. “Though I doubt they would listen to you.”

“That’s a strange request. But I’ll tell them if I’m still here.”

“Then I will tell you my secret,” Boren nodded. “I am in fact Sinkhole, the greatest gambler in the country.”

“Oh. Of course.”

“Are you surprised?”

“But I already knew that.”

“Now you know for certain. Now then! Join me for a drink in the streets. I have quite the personality as Sinkhole. You could say that I truly feel like myself down there among the people.”

“Er—I heard that the Royal Family was after Sinkhole.”

“Ah yes, it makes it that much more exciting, doesn’t it? Let’s be partners in crime, shall we?”

And out of the blue, Shaden found himself as the prince’s accomplice in his small adventures around Raconel, exploring the depths of the streets where no prince would have been expected to roam during any point of the day.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“So. Practol was your teacher as well?”

Shaden raised an eyebrow. “You learned from him too?”

“Of course. I was his best student.”

Shaden chewed on a slice of cured meat that was a little too salty for his tastes. It also had a strange, cheesy scent to it, which he didn’t enjoy as much. But it was okay with the bread and soup, so he ate without complaints.

The prince, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it very much. He ate the food with his hands, though his princely manners remained.

“Then you must be good at illusion magic,” Shaden said. “Maybe you could teach me a thing or two.”

“Perhaps I can,” Boren agreed.

“Skewered duck, buttered and fried. The meatballs are a service for the boy,” the waitress winked, placing two plates before them. “Is he a relative?”

Boren smiled. “Something like that.”

“Enjoy your meal!” the waitress said cheerfully. She quickly moved away to serve the other tables. It was a busy restaurant with noises all over, a rowdy environment where no prince would have been expected to eat at.

“Are you two…?”

“I’m a frequent customer,” Boren said, taking a drink. “I tip very well.”

“Ah.”

“But perhaps my face adds a little allure to it,” Boren smiled, touching his chin. “What do you think?”

Needless to say, the prince’s face and hair were disguised by magic, similar to the kind Shaden had learned. The disguise was impeccable, and without the marker or his keen sense of mana, Shaden would never have guessed that they were the same person.

“I can tell that you spent a lot of time on it.”

“Not that much. Magic was rarely difficult.”

He had a dragon to assist him. While the small dragon wasn’t present, they were still linked—Shaden guessed.

“It’s like that for me as well,” Shaden said. “Magic feels a lot simpler than what people say.”

“Then we are similar.”

“Similar.”

Shaden took a drink of his juice and frowned. Goodness, it was sour. But it washed away the strange flavor of the meat.

“You’ve been saying some weird things, like how you’re a prisoner,” Shaden muttered while aiming for a meatball. “But here we are, enjoying a nice meal. I would say we’re pretty free if I ignore the curse—sorry, blessing on me.”

“Curse. That might fit it better.”

“Wouldn’t the Guardian be enraged if he knew we were talking like this?”

“The Guardian can’t read thoughts, only the flow of mana. Only a god would be able to tell what people are thinking.”

“Do you believe in gods?”

“Not particularly. But they exist somewhere, ignoring everything that happens in the world.”

“For a person with a good life, you speak like you’ve been through a lot of suffering.”

“There is nothing sadder than knowing when you and your loved ones will die,” Boren smiled weakly. “My life is lavish, but it expires too quickly.”

“How old are you?”

“Two years until thirty.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Shaden admitted, enjoying the meatballs much more than the dish before. “But let me take a guess. Everyone besides the crown prince will be killed when the new king is appointed.”

“Not killed, but sacrificed.”

Boren took a long drink out of his cup, putting it down to refill it after. He emptied the cup a second time, setting it down.

“There is no escape, just as there is no escape for you either,” he said, picking up a skewer. “No escape at all.”

“You think that escaping is impossible.”

“The Guardian has taken control of your spirit,” Boren said. “Can you destroy it? Can you erase the dragon’s curse? For centuries, our nation has remained strong. Power comes with a price, and the King and his family must pay it.”

“What? Will the Guardian eat you or something? I’m pretty sure there is a graveyard for members of the Royal Family near the palace.”

Boren scowled. “Being eaten would be horrific. We’re not savages.”

“I have the feeling that you’re intentionally being vague.”

“The princes and princesses of Melern sacrificing themselves for the nation is common knowledge. You’re the one who’s strangely unaccustomed to our culture,” Boren snorted. “And you call yourself a Melernian?”

“I’d rather call myself a Zone Thirteener,” Shaden said.

“A—what?”

“Nothing. But all these years, not a single prince or princess has run away or revolted.”

“There must have been a few. But none were recorded. All have failed. I’d like to take a gamble, Shaden from Skotos, from the land where no one has returned.”

Shaden blinked. A spell had been cast around them, muffling their voices. “A gamble, you say?”

“I’d like to see how long I can hide before the Guardian decides to simply end me,” the prince grinned. “I will need your help for that.”

“You want to play hide-and-seek.”

“Of sorts.”

“The Guardian can track me through its curse.”

“I know. But I have been granted permission to go on a trip,” Boren smiled. “Now, tell me—will a dragon be able to return from the Forest of the Lost?”

“You want to go to Skotos.”

“I would be delighted to.”

Shaden had never thought about Skotos as a place where people would never be able to return from. Then again, they had always traveled through the tree portals, never walking out of the estate directly. Given the thick fog and low clouds that covered the area, he was willing to believe that Skotos was located within an enchanted forest that no traveler would be able to escape from, even if they could fly.

“It sounds dangerous,” Shaden admitted. “I don’t want a dragon to destroy Skotos.”

“I will return if it comes down to that,” Boren promised. “But the magic of the Forest is—I’ve heard—uncanny. If, perhaps, it can sever the link between the Guardian and us…”

The prince spoke no further, but Shaden got the idea. “Do you have the blessing as well?”

“Not the one you’ve received. We are born with our kindred, and from birth, conjoined in spirit with them. If I die, Mar dies. If Mar dies, I die.”

“You’re saying some dangerous things.”

“It’s not particularly hidden.” The prince took a deep breath. “You have a rebellious spirit. I’d like to put my trust in it.”

“And if I tell the King about this?”

“I doubt he’ll do much other than forbid me to leave Raconel.”

Shaden nodded. He’d earned a lot of valuable information through the conversation—as well as a potential ally. Bluntly, he’d been lost as to how he would carry out his plan, but it was why he was on the lookout for pieces he could use in the future. Never would he have expected Prince Boren to be a piece. Still—

“How can I trust you?” Shaden asked. “I like the freedom I have now. Who knows if the Guardian decides to chain me down and make me his battery until I die.”

“Battery?”

“Energy supply.”

“We aren’t savages,” Boren grunted. “The Guardian’s rule has always been just and fair.”

“But you wish to run away.”

The prince remained silent for a moment, looking down at the table. A slight, sullen smile came unto his lips.

“Sometimes I wish that I’d been born a commoner,” Boren said. “To cry, laugh, and scream whenever and wherever and suffer for the smallest things. To have freedom.”

Freedom. “Is that why you gamble?” Shaden asked.

“Gambling is a hobby of mine. It doesn’t free me. But yes…maybe I’ve tasted some freedom through robbing the nation’s reserves. Ah, but don’t think of me badly. I use the money for the common people.”

“Through giving tips.”

“Through giving tips,” Boren agreed. “Now, how full is your stomach? Shall we go for another meal, or toss some coin at pretty women or street musicians?”

“I’d like something sweet.”

“Something sweet. You’re like my youngest sister. She’s similar in age to you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But nothing fancy today. For something sweet—do you like pies?”

Shaden nodded. “I like anything and everything.”

“That’s a good thing. It shows that you were born free.”

Shaden didn’t quite get the man’s words, but he nodded. Free food was always welcome, especially when the prince knew of many tasty places to eat from. The locals knew best, and Boren knew the streets of Raconel like the back of his hand.

Shaden didn’t have good memories of Royalty. He’d half-expected Boren and his siblings to treat him as their father had done—like a servant or underling. So far, he’d only met Boren, but perhaps they weren’t as bad as he’d believed them to be.

“I still haven’t forgiven you for sealing my magic back then,” Shaden grumbled. “It was a horrible experience.”

“From my observations, you attacked first,” the prince replied, waving his hand, “so a punishment was necessary.”

Shaden felt his cheeks heat up. “He threatened me.”

“And you were provoked by his words.”

“You—see me as a child who can’t control himself.”

“You are twelve. You are a child.”

Shaden looked down at his hands. The experience of powerlessness had allowed him to think properly for once. And the prince’s actions hadn’t been illogical. Still, it had hurt his pride. He wanted to be at the long end of the stick. How the heck had Reycan managed to be so cool while destroying all of his enemies?

“Age-wise,” Shaden admitted. “I’m still sorting my thoughts out.”

“You speak strangely.”

“I’d say the same about you.”

“I speak like a philosopher. Not everyone can comprehend it.”

Seeing Shaden’s frown, the prince chuckled. “Let’s not allow our bickering to ruin our taste for delicious pie.”

“That, I can agree with.”

“Now you’re talking like an adult.”

What difference was there between a child and an adult? Combining both the waking world and the dream world, he’d lived around twenty-eight years, similar to the prince. But he didn’t feel like twenty-eight. He felt a little over twelve as Shaden, and sixteen as Demund, not combined.

Still, while eating pie with the prince as the man chugged down a jug of milk, Boren didn’t feel that much older. As Shaden, no one had felt that much older.

He realized—that it was because there hadn’t been anyone he could properly rely on. There was no one he could properly trust. They were all weaker than him, every single one of them.

The prince was putting his trust in him. How easy it would be to remove his head from his neck. How easy it would be to create a giant fireball and rain it down on the city, destroying everything the Guardian sought to protect.

Wait—no.

“What’s the matter? Is the pie not to your liking?”

Shaden cleared his throat with a glass of milk, shaking his head. “It’s good. I was thinking.”

“Thinking is good.”

“So—your Highness. Does that mean I won’t need to be observed every day from now on?”

“I will let you roam free. But let us first create a bond of trust with each other.”

“Trust,” Shaden muttered. “What does your dragon think? Does it have the same thoughts as you?”

“Our lives are shared. What I decide to do, he will follow.”

“Even when that means betraying the Guardian?”

“It’s not a betrayal, but merely running away,” Boren replied.

“I still don’t understand why it would want to kill you.”

Boren stopped his fork midway in the air and put it back down on his plate. He pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly.

“Another time,” he told Shaden. “I don’t want today to become heavier.”

Shaden nodded.

For a man who was planning to go against the King’s—the Guardian’s—wishes, Boren was incredibly relaxed and uncautious. His dragon had been given to him by the Guardian. Was it not something to watch over him with then, like a sentry? Boren was likely enchanted with stronger magic than what he had, and without the tools he had, there would be no way he would be able to resist the Guardian.

“If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, unfortunate,” Shaden said. “Is that what you’re thinking?”

The prince clinked his finger on his cup a few times. “It’s similar,” he agreed.

“If I helped you, I would be risking my family. The Guardian wished to kill me for simply putting magic on the other dragons. He would kill me if I assisted you in escaping.”

“That is why we will meet together to discuss,” the prince shrugged. “Exciting, isn’t it?

Shaden sighed internally. The prince was not a bad man. But he was incredibly careless in his ways. This person was the greatest gambler in the nation? Either the authorities knew and didn’t touch him, or they simply didn’t care. The prince had mentioned dying. Perhaps because they were destined to die, they were allowed to do whatever they wished.

He was certain he could escape with his family without any problems. Having the prince as an ally had seemed beneficial, but now he was having second thoughts. He would have to observe the situation carefully. Never again would he make stupid mistakes again.

“Yes, it’s exciting,” Shaden smiled.

He had many tools, and time as well. The Guardian would pay.

He would bring the dragon to its knees.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

That day, Davis didn’t come to the club room.

“Ho, did you see that?” Rhyne said, frantically pointing towards the bucket of water. “It moved. I made it move. I felt a connection.”

“You sure?” Riley grinned. “Maybe someone hit the table. Try it again then.”

There was a pause while Rhyne stretched his hands out towards the bucket, his face turning red from focusing too much. Nothing of significance happened.

“I promise, I made it move,” he muttered, snorting out loud. “Demund, you mind giving me another feel?”

“After I’m done with Kacy,” Demund replied without turning his head.

“You can go ahead,” she said. “I’m not improving.”

“Don’t say that. Come on, one more try.”

Out of all of them, Kacy was still the only one who hadn’t been able to reproduce any form of magic. He was still taking his time to help her whenever he could, but as the days passed, her enthusiasm dwindled. It wasn’t anything obvious. Her lips were lower when she smiled, and her eyes had a blank look to them. Had he not learned from Shpiel, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Kacy sighed, trying to muster her magic. Demund wished his sensitivity to mana was greater. If only he had a portion of Shaden’s abilities, things would be so much easier.

“You’re doing something,” Demund commented, feeling a tingle in her hand. Only by skin-to-skin contact could he tell if their mana was moving.

“Mhmm,” Kacy reacted.

While he held hands with everyone to teach them, it had become somewhat awkward to hold Kacy’s hand as of late. Since there was no progress and she said that it would be fine if he didn’t teach her, his insistence seemed like an excuse to hold her hand, which he hadn’t previously thought about. Giving up now would be rude.

“Do you think I could teach her?” Alina suggested while the other two were experimenting with water. “It’s making magic through the other person’s hand, right?”

Demund nodded. “Yeah. But putting your mana through other people is harder than you’d think.”

“I could still try. Is it dangerous?”

“I wouldn’t think so.”

“Okay. Kacy, give me your hand.”

The room brightened as the air before Kacy’s hand began to glow. Demund squinted.

“Through the hand,” he corrected. “You’re just making the light yourself right now.”

“Then like this?”

“Kind of. Yeah, that’s better. You’re good at this.”

“It’s similar to my ability, after all. Can you feel anything?”

“I think so,” Kacy nodded, looking thoughtful. “Something feels clearer.”

“Is it difficult?” Demund asked. “Do you feel resistance?”

“I do,” Alina admitted. “It’s like trying to blow through a piece of cloth. But it doesn’t feel that bad.”

“Try to cast the magic through her wrist then,” Demund suggested. “Or her whole arm. She’ll be able to feel it better.”

He’d tried it as well, but that day, the club hours had ended early because he’d been exhausted just after a few minutes. He’d overestimated his mana pool, but Alina’s would be larger than his. To train his mana paths within his body, he would need to save his mana as well.

He watched as Alina held Kacy’s elbow. The light appeared on Kacy’s hand.

“I suddenly feel tired,” Alina said, letting the light go. “Oh, now I’m okay. It feels like blowing through a block of hay.”

“But you did it,” Demund said with a large smile. “From now onwards, you can be my assistant.”

“Um, assistant?”

“I leave you in charge of Kacy.”

So it was decided that Kacy would be taught by her friend. An hour hadn’t passed when Kacy gasped, and Demund thought that something had gone wrong. Was there a side of magic he wasn’t aware of? But Riley’s remark said otherwise.

“You did it!” he clapped, nodding his head slowly. “Finally, all members of the Magic Club can use magic.”

“We’re the Making Abilities Globally Intelligible Club, but okay,” Kacy grinned, her face much brighter than it had been before. “The arm thing did the trick. Something clicked.”

“Which means—more learning time for me!” Rhyne cheered. “Yo, one more demonstration. I think I almost have it.”

Demund’s eyes met Alina’s who smiled and shrugged.

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” she said, puffing her chest out. “There you have it.”

“Congrats,” Demund said. “Do you like magic better now?”

Kacy crossed her arms. “I never disliked it.”

“You looked pretty grumpy.”

“No, I didn’t! I just needed a better teacher.”

“Wow. That hurts.”

“Well, Alina gave me the last push,” Kacy said, turning her head to the side. “Thanks for teaching me, I guess.”

“Now it’s time to learn more.”

“Argh, please. Even light was this hard.”

“Maybe you’re just bad at teaching?” Rhyne chuckled, slapping Demund on the back. “I could try teaching too. Can’t be that hard.”

“Haha, yeah.”

Was he worse at magic than he’d believed?

Currently, he only knew various spells and ways to control his mana because of his experience in the other world. He’d never learned anything new as Demund, only copying from Shaden. Maybe he wasn’t that talented after all, seeing how Alina had been able to teach Kacy so quickly. His friends learned quickly as well. Since there was no proper way to gauge their talents, he couldn’t be sure, but there was a chance that he was worse than them. Only practice had allowed him to get this far.

He had to do better. He needed a way to increase his mana. Breathing hadn’t done much—he needed to find a proper technique. The next time he went to bed, he would be sure to ask Boren about it.

“I guess you could say we’re all—enlightened,” Rhyne joked, causing the whole room to groan. But Demund appreciated it. He liked the lame jokes and everyday occurrences. It became even funnier when Kacy blinded Rhyne with her finger, causing him to cry out in pain while holding his eyes.

“Ow, I thought you were bad at this!” he complained, rubbing his eyeballs.

“My bad. I’m not good at controlling it yet,” Kacy apologized with a grin. “This is fun. This is wonderful. Is it really possible to learn to control water?”

“And much more,” Demund said confidently. They were essentially learning chantless magic, causing the difficulty to spike, but it was working. He knew it would work, seeing Kacy succeed.

“I look forward to it!” Kacy laughed, hugging Alina. “I have two superpowers now.”

“Good job,” Alina said, patting Kacy’s head. “I can teach you in the future too.”

“Yes. You were good at it.”

Ouch, Demund thought. But it wasn’t a bad feeling. Though, maybe a sad one.

They ended the club a little earlier since no one was able to focus after the buzz of Alina’s success. Riley and Rhyne rode home together, and while Kacy offered to take him home with Alina in her car, he refused since his bike was at school. Before they separated, Kacy thanked him wholeheartedly, suddenly giving him a hug before she entered her car.

“You don’t know how much this means to me,” she told him. “I’ll be looking forward to your future lessons.”

“It would be my pleasure,” he smiled. “Glad you made it.”

She nodded, then got in her car to drive away. He watched the vehicle leave the school grounds before heading toward his bike.

Oh, right. He had to turn in his weekly report.

He rode his bike across the campus to the infirmary where Ms. Clarn was. She wasn’t present, so he slid the document into her mailbox before heading out when he heard something strange coming from the side of the building. A series of small thuds, like someone was hitting a punching bag. But the Battle House was too far away.

Demund tiptoed to where the sound was. It was coming from the bathroom. Most of the other clubs were in the other building, so he wondered who would still be there given the time.

“......think you’re something?”

Demund leaned forward, focusing on the sound.

“...only that? Get something more, you idiot. What’s a light show gonna do?”

A chill went down his spine. He recognized the voice.

“Don’t think about coming back before you’ve learned something that’s actually substantial. You like it there, don’t you? Maybe you should just stay with them.”

The hits resounded across the hard walls.

“...pay. I need it.”

“Oh, this? Take it and scram.”

But before anyone came out of the bathroom, Demund had already run, hopping onto his bike and pedaling out of the school gates, telling himself that what he’d seen was nothing he should associate himself with.

As Reycan had said—

Meddling with others’ problems never resulted in a positive outcome.