Aslan walked silently through the corridor, lost in thought. His footsteps echoed faintly, but his mind was louder.
"Professor told me the ingredients of the Elixir… but finding them?" He exhaled sharply. "It's almost impossible."
The corridor stretched endlessly, but Aslan barely noticed. There was too much to think about. Too much at stake.
Meanwhile, back in his dimly lit office, Professor Elric sat behind his desk — completely still, fingers steepled beneath his chin, eyes narrowed in concern.
"How… did Aslan know?"
"How did he know the Empress was poisoned with something similar to Voidbrew?"
Even I didn't know the Empress had been poisoned with something resembling Voidbrew. Not even a handful of the Empire's highest-ranking alchemists or physicians have figured that out — and none have confirmed anything yet.
"There's no way he could've found out on his own."
He leaned back in his chair, frowning deeper.
"Maybe… he was just guessing?"
He shook his head slightly. "Yes… that must be it. A wild guess. He saw Voidbrew once and made the connection himself."
"After all, he's just a student."
But even as he told himself that…
He didn't quite believe it.
At the Academy Grounds
Aslan was walking through the academy grounds with his friends. He and Eiren had drifted a little ahead, deep in conversation, completely absorbed in their discussion.
Behind them, Cael, George, and Alice had fallen silent — trailing several steps behind. Their expressions were quiet, shadows of sadness softening their faces.
They watched Aslan and Eiren walking ahead, smiling together under the golden afternoon sun.
"He doesn't care about us," Cael muttered, his gaze lowering. "Whether we're with him or not."
George sighed. "Yeah… he never really values us. We're the ones always clinging to him."
"He's never even called us his friends," Alice added quietly, his voice tinged with hurt. "Maybe we were just fools, thinking we ever mattered to him."
Up ahead, Eiren glanced back — his brows furrowed with concern.
"Wait a minute… Aslan, I'll be right back."
He jogged toward the group, a soft frown on his face.
"Guys… why aren't you coming?" he asked. "Why are you all so far behind?"
Alice looked down. "Because it doesn't feel like he cares," he said quietly. "We… we feel like burdens to him."
"He's never treated us like real friends."
Eiren paused for a moment, then spoke gently.
"You're misunderstanding."
Cael snapped, his tone sharp with frustration. "Then you tell us, Eiren — why has he never even called us his friends?"
Eiren exhaled slowly.
"Aslan is… a bit distant when it comes to friendship. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care. He just doesn't show it the way you expect."
He smiled softly.
"He's like that with everyone — even with me. Do you know… he's never once called me his friend either? Not directly. Not out loud."
They looked at him, surprised.
Eiren continued, "He has deep trust issues. He's afraid to get attached… afraid that if he lets someone in, they'll leave. That's why he keeps people at a distance. Even when we were kids, I kept telling him, 'I'm your friend.' And for years, he never said it back."
"But I didn't stop," he added with a fond smile. "One day, he nodded. Just once. But that was enough. Even now, he never says the word 'friend'… but I know he means it."
Eiren looked at them, eyes warm.
"He does care about you. Deeply. If he didn't, he wouldn't let you stay near him at all. Trust me… he sees you as friends — even if he never says it."
Then, with a soft chuckle, he turned and walked ahead.
The three of them stood in stunned silence, eyes wide — pleasantly surprised.
Eiren rejoined Aslan with a smile. Aslan turned around and called back, "Guys? Why aren't you coming?"
Their faces lit up.
"We're coming!" they said in unison — running toward him with sudden joy.
Aslan gave a small, amused smile.
"Finally… your sulking's over," he said softly.
----
The Next Day
Professor Elric began distributing the group project topics.
"Aslan's group," he announced, "you'll be working on the Potion of Everglow."
Objective: Brew a potion that temporarily enhances mana sensitivity — historically used by mercenaries and night scouts.
Aslan frowned. "Professor, that's unfair! You gave us the most difficult one. John's group got a Speed Potion. And the others got healing potions! That's not even close in difficulty."
"Shut up, Aslan," Professor Elric snapped, clearly annoyed. "I assigned the projects according to each group's potential, not your complaints."
Aslan grumbled, and his gaze landed on the desk beside him, where Nyelle and her friends were seated.
"Alright, Nyelle. You handle the project. Once it's done, let us know. We're going out for a walk," one of her group members said.
Nyelle forced a faint smile, clearly in no mood. "Sure…"
Suddenly, Aslan stood up again, loudly.
"Professor! This is injustice!" he said. "All the other groups have six or more members. Ours doesn't. That's unfair!"
He pointed dramatically toward Nyelle's group. "They have seven! Shouldn't one of their members be transferred to our group?!"
The professor raised a brow, thinking for a moment. "Hmm…"
Before he could decide, a silver-haired girl from Nyelle's table stood up angrily.
"We don't want to work with you!" she said, glaring.
Her friends all nodded in agreement. "Yes! We refuse!"
Unbothered, Aslan folded his arms. Then calmly turned to Nyelle and asked softly,
"Nyelle… would you like to join us?"
Nyelle looked up. He was looking straight into her eyes with a soft smile.
Professor Elric stepped in. "Nyelle, it's your choice. What's your decision?"
Nyelle slowly stood up from her seat. "Professor, I have no objection."
"That settles it," the professor said. "Nyelle will now join Aslan's group."
"WHAT?!"
Her group members looked absolutely shocked and worried.
"You can't do this, Nyelle!"
Nyelle gathered her belongings calmly. "I can't go against the professor's decision."
Doesn't matter which group I'm in. I always end up doing all the work anyway… hahhh… she thought with a sigh before walking toward Aslan's group.
She sat beside them, looking unbothered.
Eiren leaned forward with a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, Miss Nyelle."
The silver-haired girl's eyes widened. "Wait… The Young Grand Duke is in this group?!"
Panic kicked in. She instantly regretted her earlier words.
"AHHHH— I wanna switch! I wanna switch groups!!" she cried and whined to no one in particular.
It got worse.
From behind, Alice and Cael stepped up. "Welcome to the team, Miss Nyelle!"
One by one, the other girls in the classroom watched in regret.
"Wait… Young Master Cael and Alice are in that group too?!"
A soft chorus of regret and groans followed as more girls realized…
They had made a huge mistake by refusing.
----