Zephir broke the silence.
"You have an older brother, don't you? Couldn't he help if things became troublesome?"
Shade answered before Qwarian could.
"That would mean owing him another favour."
Qwarian nodded.
"And I'd rather avoid that."
Sapphire looked curious.
"Royal family politics?"
He chuckled.
"Exactly. My brothers and I aren't enemies. But we're certainly not close. We all want the throne. So while we don't actively sabotage one another, we also don't go around solving each other's problems."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"They've apparently reached some sort of agreement amongst themselves. They don't interfere with each other's growth. As long as nobody crosses the line."
Bullshar nodded slowly.
"So — you owe one of them already."
Qwarian sighed dramatically.
"I do. And I really wish I didn't."
He waved his hand. A sheet of paper appeared.
"I traded a favour for information. Personally, I think it was worth it."
The paper landed on the table. Everyone took turns reading it. Twenty names. No explanations. No rankings. Simply names.
1. Kaida (F)
2. Bram (M)
3. Zorath (M)
4. Astra (M)
5. Nimue (F)
6. Glade (M)
7. Rift (M)
8. Drach (M)
9. Valkor (M)
10. Faith (F)
11. Solara (F)
12. Cyrian (F)
13. Celion (F)
14. Lilith (F)
15. Morgana (F)
16. Varon (M)
17. Velora (F)
18. Zaru (M)
19. Sten (M)
20. Elara (F)
Nobody recognized every name. But everyone recognized enough. The atmosphere quietly changed.
Shade placed the paper back onto the table.
"They can't openly attack us outside official duels."
Qwarian nodded.
"They can't. But making our lives miserable? They absolutely can. They can monopolize resources. Spread rumours. Manipulate examinations. Pressure weaker factions. Take missions before we even see them. And if we keep running to lecturers every time something happens—"
He shrugged. "—what do you think the instructors will write in our evaluations?"
Bullshar laughed.
"'Future history maker.'"
He snorted.
"Yeah. Probably not."
Sapphire crossed one leg over the other.
"So let me summarize. We have exceptionally talented first-years. We have second-years who've already survived this academy for an entire year. And we haven't even considered—" She paused.
Shade finished the sentence.
"The failed first-years."
Sapphire sighed.
"...Right. I completely forgot."
Qwarian produced another sheet.
"This one is much less reliable. The information is incomplete. But they're worth remembering."
He placed it beside the first.
1. Nyax
2. Maleficent
3. Zxeres
4. Dagon
5. Talon
6. Sam
7. Gordon
8. Zedo
9. Jake
10. Late
Bullshar frowned.
"So — why are these people important?"
Qwarian folded his arms.
"Because I don't know why they failed. Were they weak? Were they simply unlucky? Were they manipulated? Were they sacrificed? Were they forced out by stronger factions?"
He slowly shook his head.
"I don't know. And that's exactly why they're dangerous."
Silence followed. Everyone understood. Information — the lack of it — that alone could kill people.
Shade looked back towards Qwarian.
"You really paid a favour just for this?"
Qwarian laughed.
"I did."
Bullshar raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of favour?"
Qwarian scratched his cheek.
"...Mercenary work. My brother eventually wants me to kill one of those failed first-years."
Nobody spoke for several seconds. Finally Zephir muttered,
"...This academy is insane."
Sapphire leaned back with an exhausted sigh.
"I thought getting accepted was the difficult part."
Qwarian laughed.
"I think getting accepted was just the invitation. The real academy starts after the provisional examination."
Bullshar grinned.
"So — when do we start making plans?"
Qwarian's expression brightened.
"Immediately. Information is our greatest advantage right now. We might not be the strongest people in the academy, but we can certainly be the most prepared."
One after another, everyone nodded. Nobody looked fearful. If anything, the challenge only made them more excited. For people like them, difficulty wasn't a warning. It was proof they had finally arrived somewhere worthy of climbing.
.......
The morning began just as it always did for Dante, Lexa, and Vexion.
Dante and Vexion had their usual morning battle in the bed sheets within the bedroom before eventually heading downstairs for breakfast together.
After the meal was finished, Dante said goodbye to Vexion and Lexa, who would be heading off to meet Amber and Elric for another day of training.
Dante himself wanted to have another discussion with Amber and Elric at some point. There were still many things he wanted to teach them, especially Amber. However, for now, he had some scheming of his own to do.
One of the things he had intentionally neglected until now was understanding the overall structure of the academy — more specifically, he wanted to understand how the relationships between students actually functioned.
He wasn't planning to conduct some massive intelligence operation himself; that was one of the responsibilities he intended to hand over to Elric in the future.
Dante was arrogant and was lazy. But he also understood one thing — if he wanted to survive, and more importantly, if he wanted to live a life where he wasn't constantly looking over his shoulder, fearing stronger people, then there were certain unpleasant tasks that only he, as the leader, could do. Understanding the environment around him was one of them.
After Dante parted ways with Lexa and Vexion — well, parting ways wasn't exactly the correct way to describe it.
Vexion had transformed into an absolute pouting child.
She refused to leave.
She clung onto Dante with absolutely no intention of moving until he eventually sighed, wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her gently, hugged her, and promised her another reward once she safely returned from today's training.
Only then, only after extracting her victory, did Vexion reluctantly agree to leave. Even then, she looked as though someone had stolen her favorite treasure.
To Vexion, being apart from Dante for an entire day felt almost painful. Dante wasn't simply her master anymore.
He wasn't simply the man she loved. He had become everything — the reason her heart continued beating, the reason she found courage whenever she was afraid, the reason she could stand proudly before monsters stronger than herself.
Her confidence.
Her happiness.
Even the warmth she felt every single morning. All of it began and ended with Dante.