It’s been a day since then. The sixth day I believed they called it. It was the same seven-day week, except names like Monday, Wednesday, or Sunday were thrown out the window. They were instead referred to by the number. It also just so happens that classes only occur from the first day to the fifth day, leaving the sixth and seventh day empty just like the weekend most people were familiar with.

That person said he had work to do and would return in a short while.

But seeing him with that woman made me realize one thing.

‘He’s him.’

The two people I saw in that distant dream were respectively him and her. He, the father; and her, the adopted daughter.

Things were starting to make sense now. We were both identical when it came to looks which explains why that woman—Melly, was it?—that was the reason she did what she did.

‘A father complex…’

I had a feeling that Benni, being the dense motherfucker he was, was completely unaware. But as with most things, I have no qualms about these taboo topics. Rather, I was satisfied.

‘I knew it.’

Instead of being worried as a supposed “friend,” I was proud of my prediction. She was indeed in some ways, crazy. And as the saying goes: never stick your dick in crazy. I can only commend him for staying oblivious for so long.

It was wonderful that I could recognize it so well, meaning that my people-reading skills from reading those behavioral psychology case studies have paid off. I was no prophet, but this confirmation of that delirious nature drove home a sense of empowerment. Sure, I knew that generalized knowledge should not be used like this, but the concept of creating portfolios as portrayed by criminal forensic psychologists in those television shows or books like Sherlock Holmes was quite appealing.

Needless to say, I recognized it was fiction having delved into the subject myself, but my reverence toward god-like existences such as Holmes only increased. In many ways, I think I aspired—wait, that’s no good. Don’t do that.

‘Eight.’

Shoot, did I miss breakfast?

Fuck, I got conditioned by Sam, didn’t I?

Even though I knew the dangers of human habit, I didn’t think it would slip my mind so easily. The knowledge in my head was passable, but when it went down to application, the concept of being conditioned like a dog to eat only when the owner was home had slithered past my conscience.

Four-dimensional chess aside, where was she? Come to recall, did I also skip last night’s dinner?

*Grrr

Yeah, my body was definitely conditioned now.

But stomach grumbling was only a response that came with hormone fluctuations molded by eating habits. Had I kept a strict habit of fasting, the response would be completely different with minimal grumbling in the first couple of days to a complete cessation.

Of course, hunger was a negligible priority for me. As long as I had water, I would be chill for a long long time. A month would usually be my limit, but seeing that I was a kid, a couple weeks would probably be my max.

I clearly don’t need to eat right now if I don’t want to. I was also in the middle of reading a book, meaning that there wouldn’t be anything more entertaining. I could even go to that training facility place right now and practice circulating my mana in tandem with throwing punches and kicks.

What else?

Ah right! Did I mention I was reading a book?

Point being: time spent eating was valuable time for other activities. There were just so many things I could do instead of wasting it…

‘Sam, huh…’

Nah, fuck it. I’m finishing this damn book.

—Samantha—

“Why is it so empty today?”

“There’s no school today and tomorrow, of course everyone’s back at their household manors,” answered Melissa.

“Then why aren’t—”

“If I go, who will accompany you then?” she gave a pleasant smile as we both took a seat.

“Say, did something happen recently?”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, unsure of her question.

“You know, Daniel.” She sent a gaze at the empty seat.

“He wasn’t hungry.”

“And he wasn’t hungry yesterday?”

“He ate somewhere else yesterday.”

She looked at me with unflinching eyes. Eyes that untangled my lines laced in deceit. That small movement which was all so subtle was something I usually missed and never anything I would focus on. Yet, the way she seemed to look at me was sending shivers down my hair.

But that look was only a fragment of a second. Or maybe it never happened.

I was reminded again that I was Melissa's friend.

“Okay…” She didn’t sound keen on further probing, completely trusting my word.

‘Why does he matter to you,’ I wanted to say.

‘He shouldn’t matter to you,’ I wanted to say.

‘He shouldn’t matter to me either.’ That was wrong to say.

“Sam?”

‘I don’t deserve to eat.’

“Ah, my stomach isn’t feeling well today. I think I’m going to rest in my dorm…”

“But we just got our food!”

“I’ll put it back…”

“Eh, I’ll take it then. It’s rude to put the food back.” She wrestled the plate out of my hand and fished a finger-sized bottle from her pocket.

“Here, it’s some healing medicine if it feels really bad.”

I looked at the foreign object standing on the palm of her hand, not reaching for it. Medicine was expensive.

“I’ll be fine, it doesn’t hurt that bad.”

“No please, just take it and get better,” she offered it to me again.

I couldn’t not accept it this time.

“T-Thank you.”

“No worries. It’s only natural because we are friends, right?”

“Frie—Yeah, friends. I’ll be on my way then, thanks.”

“Don’t sweat it. I hope you get better after some sleep.”

I left the cafeteria with a firm grasp on the bottle.

‘So this is what a true friendship is like…’

I knew I shouldn’t think about it, but I couldn’t stop the thought from surfacing.

‘This could be us, Daniel.’

It was pointless to fantasize any further. I knew that, yet, I still couldn’t clear my mind…

“Oh, I didn’t think I’d find you so easily.”

“Melithear?”

Indeed, it was that demonic woman. Why was she wandering the halls at this time of day?

“Why so surprised? I did say we were going to have a chat after the Exam, didn’t I?”

‘Did she say that?’

“What is it?” I had a feeling, it was something important seeing that she sounded less grumpy compared to the other times we’ve talked. Was she happy about something?

“About the contract. I’m going to move the schedule up ahead of time.”

“What?”

Did I hear that correctly? But this wasn’t part of the deal!

“You have until tomorrow, pack your bags.”