As it turned out, finding Sophia was remarkably easy.
Avoiding Sophia, on the other hand, was considered an advanced magical discipline.
One that Sam had repeatedly failed.
Usually within minutes.
Today was no different.
He found her sitting beneath a massive silver-leaf tree near the academy's central courtyard. Several students occupied nearby benches, pretending to read books while secretly watching her.
This was understandable.
Sophia Theon possessed the sort of beauty that made people forget what they were doing.
And several unfortunate students had walked directly into walls because of it.
One particularly memorable incident had involved a fountain.
And a horse.
Nobody liked discussing that event.
Sophia sat peacefully beneath the tree, reading a book.
Blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders.
While sunlight filtered through the branches above, giving her an almost ethereal appearance.
She looked less like a student and more like a goddess temporarily slumming among mortals.
Sam hated moments like this.
Not because she looked beautiful.
That part was expected.
The problem was that every time he saw her looking this elegant, he became painfully aware that he was, in comparison, himself.
A deeply unfortunate condition.
Sophia looked up from her book.
Their eyes met.
Then a smile immediately appeared on her face.
Sam froze.
"Were you trying to sneak away?" she asked.
"No."
"You turned around."
"I was stretching."
"You took three steps."
"It was an aggressive stretch."
Sophia closed her book.
"I see."
The smile remained.
The cold and sweet smile she would display when she was about to become murderous.
Sophia smiling was never the problem.
Sophia smiling while quietly observing him was the problem.
It usually meant she had already figured something out.
Sam approached cautiously.
Much like a man approaching a suspiciously friendly dragon.
Sophia patted the empty space beside her.
And the poor commoner sat down beside her.
Mostly because refusing felt somehow more dangerous.
For a moment, neither spoke.
A pleasant breeze passed through the courtyard.
The other students continue to watch while pretending to be chatting.
Their voices sounded in the distance.
Sophia at this moment tilted her head.
"Father spoke with you yesterday."
It wasn't a question.
Sam sighed.
"Yes he did"
"What did he want?" She asked with a worried tone.
"He wanted to inquire about the kiss"
Sophia paused for a few moments before eventually asking.
"Did he threaten you?"
"No." Sam replied quickly.
"Really?" Sophia seemed suprised by his reply, reminding Sam once again how close he had been to meeting his end.
"He mostly seemed disappointed."
Sophia blinked.
Then she looked genuinely surprised.
"That's actually worse."
Sam considered it.
"Now that you mention it, yes."
Sophia nodded.
"Father's disappointment has reduced grown men to tears."
"That's horrifying."
"It is."
They sat in silence again.
Sam then gathered his courage.
Then lost it.
Then gathered it once more.
Finally, he decided to ask.
"Sophia."
"Hm?"
"How many people have you kissed?"
The question escaped quickly before his survival instincts could stop it.
Silence descended upon the courtyard.
A bird stopped singing.
And a nearby student dropped a book.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
Sophia stared at him. She didn't become flustered or beet red like a normal person would have become when asked such question.
No on the contrary, her cold smile remained on her face.
Sam immediately regretted everything when he saw her reaction.
"Interesting question," she said.
Her voice remained calm.
That somehow made it worse.
Sophia closed her book.
Very slowly.
And Sam's instincts began screaming.
They had spent years protecting him from poor decisions.
Unfortunately, they usually arrived too late.
"Why," Sophia asked sweetly, "would you like to know that?"
Sam hesitated.
Should he tell the truth?
Absolutely not.
That sounded dangerous.
Then again, lying to Sophia was somehow even more dangerous.
A difficult dilemma.
And if she wanted to she could easily figure out if he was lying or not, with that mind spell her family was so famous about.
"The headmaster mentioned something." He eventually opted for the the truth.
Sophia's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What exactly did Father say?"
Sam swallowed.
"He said the academy would have an enrollment problem if he destroyed everyone who kissed you."
The courtyard became silent.
Completely silent, proving that the sorrounding students were paying attention to their conversation.
Sophia stared at him.
Then she covered her face.
To Sam's surprise, she looked embarrassed. Not that embarrassed but a bit flustered.
Which was rare.
Very rare.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Oh."
The situation somehow felt akward now.
"Sophia."
"Yes?"
"Should I be concerned?"
She lowered her hands.
"No."
That answer arrived far too quickly.
Sam became immediately concerned.
"Sophia."
"Yes?"
"How many?"
Sophia looked away.
That was never a good sign.
Normally, when people lied, they maintained eye contact.
Sophia looked away only when she was preparing to say something that would permanently damage another person's emotional stability.
"Define boyfriend."
Sam stared.
"No."
"It's an important distinction."
"No."
"It really is."
"No."
Sophia sighed.
"Officially?"
"Officially?"
"There were thirty-two."
Sam blinked.
Thirty-two.
That was already far beyond what he considered reasonable.
That was enough people to form a small military squad.
A highly motivated military squad if he had to say.
A military squad that apparently shared the same terrible taste in women as him.
He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Thirty-two."
"Yes."
"Thirty-two actual boyfriends."
"Yes."
Sam took a deep breath.
Then another.
Then another.
To Sophia's credit, she actually looked guilty.
Which suggested the real number was worse.
Much worse.
Sam slowly lowered his hands.
"Sophia."
"Hm?"
"Why do I feel like that's not the full answer?"
Sophia suddenly became very interested in her book.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
"Sophia."
"There were... additional applicants."
"Applicants?"
"What does that even mean?"
Sophia hesitated.
Then quietly she said,
"There might have been a waiting list."
Sam's soul briefly left his body.
It returned a few seconds later solely because dying required too much effort.
"A waiting list."
"A small one."
"How small?"
Sophia remained silent.
That silence lasted approximately three seconds causing Sam to feel a growing sense of dread.
"Sophia."
"Yes?"
"How many?"
"..."
"Sophia."
"...one hundred and twelve."
The world stopped and the wind even stopped blowing.
Sam simply stared.
One hundred and twelve.
A three-digit number.
This was not even a possible number.
Was she conducting a census now or what?"
"Sophia."
"Yes?"
"Do you realize that most kingdoms don't have populations growing that quickly?"
"It wasn't my fault."
"It was absolutely your fault."
"They approached me."
"Did you say yes?"
"Sometimes."
"One hundred and twelve times!" Sam couldn't help but yell in frustration.
Sophia looked offended.
"That's a very judgmental tone."
Sam stared at her.
Sophia stared back.
Eventually she sighed.
"In my defense, most of those relationships lasted less than a week."
"That is not a defense."
"I feel like it is."
"It isn't."
Sophia considered it.
"Fair."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Sam's mind was still attempting to process the existence of triple-digit romantic statistics.
Unfortunately, his brain lacked the necessary processing power.
Thankfully, Sophia decided to change the topic.
"Speaking of important matters."
Sam pointed at her.
"No. We are not done with this conversation."
"We are."
"We are absolutely not."
"We are."
"Sophia—"
"The academy's exploration program starts next week."
That sentence was enough for Sam to shut up.
His expression changed instantly.
The exploration program.
Now that was something worth discussing.
Every year the Royal Magic Academy organized an expedition into unexplored regions beyond the kingdom's borders.
Students would venture into ancient ruins, monster territories, forgotten battlefields, and locations containing magical resources.
It was considered one of the academy's most prestigious activities.
Participation often led to fame, wealth, and future opportunities.
It was also incredibly dangerous leading to death and misery.
Which naturally made it popular among students.
Young mages were strange creatures.
The more likely something was to kill them, the more excited they became.
Sam had never manged to understand this kind of mentality.
And this was probably why he was manaless. Perhaps he had never been cut out to be a mage in the first place.
"You're participating?" Sam asked in a worried tone.
Knowing how dangerous these explorations were, he couldn't help but worry for his girlfriend. After all what would happen to his future at the academy, if she were to suddenly die.
The young con boyfriend coudn't help but shudder at that scary thought.
Sophia oblivious to his thoughts nodded with pride.
"Yeah l am and they made me as team leader."
That wasn't surprising but quite worrying for Sam.
Being a captain made Sophia more exposed to danger during this expedition.
'What am l worrying about? This is Sophia Theon, its probably the safety of what she is facing that l should worry about. '
After all Sophia was among the academy's strongest students and she easily fitted in the top thirty of the strongest, even though she was just a first year.
And besides that the expedition would be supervised by at least one great mage.
"Why are you even telling me all of this me?"
Sam eventually asked about the suspicious manner of the question.
Normally such event had nothing to do with him unless....
"No.."
Sophia smiled.
Sam immediately became cautious.
That smile was dangerous.
It usually ended with him doing something he hadn't agreed to five minutes earlier.
"I need a weapon handler."
Sam blinked.
"A what?"
"A weapon handler."
"What for?"
"The exploration program allows every participating team to bring support personnel."
Sam frowned.
Support personnel were not students.
They were assistants.
People responsible for carrying equipment and supporting expedition teams.
It was one of the few ways non-students could legally participate.
Sam could see were Sophia was going with this.
Sophia smiled brightly.
"I want you to come."
Sam stared.
'Ofcourse she did .
"This sounds like an incredibly bad idea."
"I strongly disagree." Sophia replied with conviction.
"You want me to accompany elite academy students into monster-infested wilderness."
"Yes."
"I could die."
Sophia nodded thoughtfully.
"You could."
"I appreciate how quickly you acknowledged that."
"I value honesty."
Sam groaned.
While Sophia continued smiling.
Unfortunately, she was becoming increasingly difficult to refuse.
"Why me?" he asked.
For the first time since the conversation began, Sophia's expression became serious.
"Because I want you there."
Sam paused. His eyebrows twitched.
"That's your reason. "
Sophia nodded casually.
Eventually Sam could only shake his head in resignation.
Sophia stood up and stretched.
"So?"
"So what?"
"Will you come?"
Sam hesitated.
The sensible answer was no.
The intelligent answer was no.
The answer most likely to preserve his continued existence was definitely no.
Unfortunately, Sophia was looking at him and she had already made the decision for him. And going against her would lead to a big disagreement between them.
And Sam did not need that in this relationship where his life depended on the princess's authority.
"...I'll think about it."
Sophia smiled.
A victorious smile.
The sort of smile people wore after winning a battle.
Which was concerning.
Because Sam had not agreed yet.
And somehow he already felt defeated.