The first day of the academic year was over.
And yet for once, Cæ didn't immediately jump into work.
For once, he took the time out of his schedule to meet his old friends who had just returned from a two-month vacation.
STEP
He entered the extravagant cafeteria of the magicademy, dressed in a casual gray over-shirt atop a white t-shirt, along with blue jeans. His eyes swept across the extensive cafeteria, drawing eyes and murmurs from the various students who spotted him entering the establishment.
"Big bro!" Kelton waved at him loudly, uncaring of the attention he drew to himself.
He grinned excitedly at Cæ.
"Come here, big bro, we saved you a seat!"
His voice had grown a little deeper in the two months that he had been away, while his thin facial hair had grown a little thicker.
He had even grown an inch taller, despite already having been taller than Cæ before.
His body was also noticeably more muscular and rugged, undoubtedly worked upon in the time that he had been away. As an aspiring magetant, ensuring that he had a strong body and was in fit shape was important.
While physicality didn't directly correlate with magical prowess in any way, it mattered much nonetheless. Health affected the mind, which affected magic; thus, maintaining good health was a good way to maximize every variable he had control over to ensure that he made the best of his elite talent as a student of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
"It's been so long!" Natana beamed at him when he arrived at their table. "We tried searching for you in the past few days after we shifted back to the apprentice dormitory, but we couldn't find you!"
She, too, had grown a bit in just the span of two months as her body had matured in a remarkably short amount of time.
He hadn't noticed too much of a difference with Sorenon, but perhaps that was because he had spent every day in the magicademy, making his growth more gradual and less noticeable.
He wasn't too surprised, however, given that all three of them were still going through puberty. Their body language had also grown more mature in their body language and demeanor as well, much to Cæ's relief.
"The two of you have grown." A small smile emerged on his face for a brief moment, leaving as quickly as it came. "I wasn't able to meet you because I was busy dealing with some urgent emergencies regarding my student council duties. Being the director of a program is not a simple thing, you know?"
"…By urgent emergencies, you mean… that incident?" Kelton asked with curious eyes.
The incident with the attack of the master mage was no small incident; it was one that had sent ripples across not just Colohen City, but the entire nation.
In fact, days after the incident and he still spotted investigators, detectives, government officials, Mage Association Executives, and journalists in and around the magicademy, trying their best to get the scoop and gain any tidbit of information from any of the students and employees who had anything to do with the incident.
Headmistress Lenolia had already called for a press conference and had issued a formal statement, of course.
Cæ was glad that he had yet to be interrogated in front of the limelight.
If it weren't for the fact that he was a member of the student council and had powerful protections, he would be the one who would have to issue statements before the press. Thankfully, the administration and the Headmistress smoothly stepped in and took over the entire issue, temporarily suspending the Student Council's authority over the matter.
It went to show that when shit truly hit the fan, the magicademy was not going to let the students dry and take the heat, and nobody would allow the magicademy to get away with such a thing.
"Yes," Cæ replied. "'That incident.' There was also other stuff relating to the slum talent acquisition program that I needed to take care of."
The lawsuit had been a source of great tension and stress, leaving him far too preoccupied to reunite with his friends after they transferred back to the apprentice dormitory a few days prior.
"I also had to meet up with the hospitalized students, especially Sorenon," Cæ remarked. "I was the director of the program, after all."
The two of them grew more anxious at those words.
"I'm planning to meet him today as well," Cæ informed them with a suggestive tone. "If you don't have too much work, you can join me. I volunteered to bring him the notes he needed to tackle all the stuff he missed today. He must be miserable about the fact that he can't come to school."
"I can definitely come, but only for half an hour, after that I need to prepare for tomorrow."
"I'm free all day, baby!" Kelton cheered.
Cæ raised an eyebrow. "You almost failed your theory exams last year. Take it seriously this time and make sure you remain ahead of the curve."
"You sound like my dad," Kelton complained. "Aren't you supposed to be a bad influence? Pass me a cig or something—"
POW
Natana slapped his thigh with a scowl. "Don't get into such habits, or I'll tell your mother!"
"Ehhh, nobody likes snitches."
"It's for your own good."
"Tks tsk, tattletale."
"I almost forgot that your families know each other," Cæ remarked, sipping some water. "That's one hell of a coincidence. I suppose that means you can't get away with anything, Kelton."
"I know, right?! I went out drinking with my friends late at night once, and she told on me!"
"You're underage!"
Cæ heaved a sigh as the two of them began bickering with each other, glancing at his watch. "Well, if you want to meet Sorenon, we will need to get going soon. Visiting hours are surprisingly short."
The three of them immediately departed from the Elendir Institute of Magic, booking a cab as they traveled to the Colohen Hospital several districts away. Cæ found himself gazing at the passing mansions and manors of the central districts of Colohen City, at the very depths of its most affluent regions.
The warm light of the evening Sun gently illuminated the splendid homes, creating a picturesque district of homes that looked like the cross-section of a utopia.
Even the automobiles that drove through the district were ostentatious and affluent, leaving a deep impression of the wealth that was concentrated in the very epicenter of Colohen City.
VRMMM…
They stopped before a truck at a red light.
It was an ordinary truck.
One, like any other one, would spot anywhere else in the city or anywhere else in the country, for that matter.
And yet, Cæ's expression darkened.
[Elenel Motors]
His eyes grew ferociously intense as his face hardened.
Ever since he had learned about the culprit for the accident that took Lilia's life, he had begun seeing the company everywhere.
It had always been everywhere.
But before, it was just a name that blended in the background of his life.
Now, it had come to the very forefront.
And yet, he was powerless to do anything about it.
He could only grit his teeth and tolerate it, even though every bone in his body wanted him to rush over to the headquarters of the company, storm the CEO and founder's office, and choke the life out of the man.
He wasn't entirely unable to act.
He had already decided that one of his long-term projects was to create an automobile company to destroy Elenel Motors and take over this market.
That was, of course, vastly harder than creating a successful car company, which was hard enough.
Cæ already knew that this goal exceeded even his Trinity Housings project in terms of difficulty. He was dealing with an oligopoly in a massive industry led by a tycoon oligarch who was one of the most powerful men in Elendir.
Destroying him and the empire he built was an unfathomably difficult task that would take many years, even for Cæ and the gift that Elenel Motors had given him by putting him in a coma for six months.
He could keep it as a long-term objective, but for now, he needed more short-term projects that would give him the wealth and power he needed to have even a chance of success against someone of the likes of Bardur Elenel.
"Cæ…?"
He broke out of his little stupor as he returned to reality to find Natana and Kelton learning away from him with a fearful expression.
"Y-You okay, man?" Kelton gulped. "You looked like you were going to kill somebody."
The adolescent clearly was terrified of being that somebody, sitting right next to him.
Natana remained silent, frozen in fear.
Cæ was intimidating even when he simply sat with a composed demeanor.
The iris of his right eye blended in with the white sclera in an eerie and unnerving manner, while the scars running across his face and neck didn't do him any favors, after all.
However, when he was actually angry, they felt like they were in the presence of a predatory carnivore, eying them hungrily.
It was perilous.
Cæ heaved a deep breath, calming down as he shook his head. "Sorry, I… have had some issues lately."
"…"
Natana and Kelton exchanged an uncertain gaze.
"If you need somebody to talk to, we're here," Natana tried her best to be a good friend.
Cæ huffed lightly. "Thank you for that."
He glanced out the window, raising an eyebrow.
"Looks like we're here."
Colohen Hospital spanned a large area and multiple complexes of buildings dedicated to different categories of sub-specialties.
CLACK
The three of them shut their doors as they departed from the car.
"It's as big as ever," Kelton murmured.
"How will we ever find Sorenon in this maze of a hospital?" Natana gaped.
VRMMM…
The car drove away after Cæ paid the driver.
"I know where he is, of course," Cæ remarked as he walked towards the front gate of the building. "Follow me."
And they did.
However, ten minutes had passed by the time they reached Sorenon's medical room, traversing through the crowds and the large complex of the massive hospital.
"Does this hospital employ, like, all the doctors in the city or something?" Kelton murmured.
"We're here," Cæ remarked as he unlocked the door, peering into the room.
"Cæ!" Sorenon lit up with enthusiasm. "You're here again!"
He winced as he felt a flash of pain in his chest.
"Don't stress yourself," Cæ remarked with a measure of concern. "Also, it's not just me this time."
Kelton and Natana popped in after, as the three of them reunited with a boisterous exchange of greetings.
Cæ glanced around the room, relieved that there were no parents.
He didn't want to get scowled at once more.
He turned towards Sorenon, who delighted himself in speaking with his friends after two months.
"I heard you got your ass kicked by a master mage," Kelton teased light-heartedly.
"We didn't even fight!"
"Does it hurt?" Natana asked with concern.
"Not as much as a few days ago. They gave me some pain-reducing medication that makes me feel better," Sorenon replied with a friendly tone. "But until I'm assigned a heart healer, I'm still bedridden."
Cæ frowned. "You haven't gotten a heart healer yet? Despite your condition?"
Sorenon shook his head with a wistful tone. "Apparently, the wait list is large. They can't even tell me when they have an open slot."
"Strange…" Cæ frowned. "I saw a sign that said they have hundreds of heart healers at their beck and call."
CLACK
The door to the room opened once more as a doctor entered the room.