The courtyard buzzed faintly with the chatter of students passing by, but for us, the veterans who had lived through the invasion, it was just background noise. Three years had passed, yet the air between us still carried the weight of what we endured.
I jogged up the stone steps, grinning.
"Sorry I'm late," I said, scratching the back of my head.
Andromeda Ban turned immediately, his brows furrowed.
"You're late, Kaen!!" His echo beast, the oversized hound Junjun, barked twice as if to scold me too.
I laughed, rubbing my neck. "Sorry, hehehe."
Matthew Lomwel just shook his head slowly, adjusting his glasses with that same quiet disapproval he'd had since day one.
Lira crossed her arms, smiling faintly. "Well, now that Kaen's finally here… should we get going?"
Rael leaned against a pillar, his arms folded, his hair catching the afternoon light. His expression was calm, but the bite in his voice was the same as always.
"Hmph. Why am I even here?"
