"Dudeee~"
Kōya heard the drawn-out whine as he walked through the hallway while reminiscing why he hated school in the first place.
It was just too much stress.
There wasn't much difference between a high school class back on Earth and that of the Academy, despite all the fancy terminology and prestige.
It was a damn academy for Awakened warriors and mages, but they were still blabbing on and on about theories instead of actually using magic.
He could understand the logic since at some point in his past life he had worked as a teacher, but still… it was quite gut-wrenching.
Only Saki's class was remotely interesting so far.
'In any way… I can always use the System to store the answers and then copy them during tests,' he thought to himself, already planning ahead.
「Using the System for malpractice is acceptable, but you will have to pay 10,000 F.P. or the feature will stop working mid-way」
'Fuckass System,' he thought with annoyance and dispelled the screen before turning to Renji.
"Yo," he said as they walked toward the Cafeteria together.
After History class with the insufferable Shusuke-sensei, they had four more classes, and it was draining. His brain felt like mush from information overload.
"Did you know we can actually order ahead on our phones and we'll be served to our tables…?" Renji said enthusiastically, holding up his Academy phone. "You can actually reserve a table before you get to the Cafeteria, well, as long as it's with your class."
He grinned proudly.
"I already rented out a table and meals for us as well as Mio-chan, though it's in the Heimin section."
'Oh right…' Kōya remembered. 'Tables in the Cafeteria are grouped into Heimin, Nōburu, and Erīto Kizoku.'
That simply meant that it was grouped between Commoners, Nobles, and Elite Nobles respectively. The last one was the VIP section of the whole eatery scene, probably with gold-plated chopsticks or something equally ridiculous.
'Well, I don't really care, as long as I get good food.'
They walked down the hallway and were almost to the Cafeteria now, the smell of food starting to waft through the air.
"You said you invited Mio too…?" Kōya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Renji gave him a smile that could only be described as sly.
"Of course… she's a hottie, and what's an Academy life without a girlfriend?" He said matter-of-factly. "Have you even gotten a girlfriend before, Kōya-kun?"
He asked it expecting the obvious answer.
Kōya placed a hand on the back of his head and rubbed it nervously, a gesture that felt awkward even as he did it.
"No, I actually haven't."
Renji continued walking for a few steps, processing the information.
"I can understand that, I have several— What?!"
He practically fell over mid-stride, stumbling dramatically.
The people in the hallways looked at him weirdly, but he didn't care about that at all. He looked up at Kōya with genuine shock written across his face.
"You've never had one before…? Not even one?!"
"Come to think of it…" Kōya said, genuinely reflecting. "Last week was the first time I got a girl's number."
Then Renji understood the kind of guy his friend was.
He was one of those guys that acted completely oblivious to women, the type that didn't even realize when girls were interested.
Because what did he mean he could practically be a supermodel and he hadn't gotten any girlfriends before?
It didn't compute.
Renji stood up and patted Kōya's shoulder with exaggerated seriousness.
"Don't worry, Kōya-kun… I'll show you the ropes."
His tone suggested he considered this a sacred duty.
They began walking once more, and Kōya turned to him this time with a more serious expression.
"Just make sure to hide that stuff from Mio. Who knows? She might be one of the assassins sent to kill you."
"Yeah right…" Renji laughed, but then his expression sobered slightly. "But I will. I'm not a blabbermouth."
Then both of them laughed together.
…
Mio made her way to the cafeteria with quiet steps, her tired eyes scanning the room.
She looked into the Heimin section, seeing Misora sitting with some other students at a table near the center.
She also saw Kōya with Renji at a table near the windows.
She already had little suspicion on Renji being the person the Order was looking for… his behavior patterns matched some of the profile.
As for Kōya, it was practically impossible. His background was too clean and too traceable.
She walked over to the counter and went to a specific maid who had giant breasts that strained against her uniform.
They both knew the proportions were part of a disguise… padding to make her look less threatening but she was in charge of handling the drinks station.
"Hello, student~ Would you like some ALI energy drinks?" The maid asked cheerfully, her voice sounded bright and welcoming.
However, over the talk, she was mouthing words as well, her lips moving in a different pattern.
'Boss… have you discovered the target?'
"I'd like two, please," Mio said with a pleasant smile.
'No, but spike one.'
"Coming right up…" The maid said and didn't even bother to question her superior's orders.
She poured two cups of the purple ALI energy drink with practiced efficiency. In a split second, barely noticeable to anyone watching, she had spiked the left one.
She indicated which cup with a subtle finger gesture, and Mio nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Thank you very much, madam."
'I've been found out, but I'll deal with it momentarily.'
The spike itself was concentrated with enough poison to kill a two-liner easily.
It would first shut down their body functions about five minutes after drinking, then activate what would appear to be a heart attack as it spread through the victim's body, and then they died.
She estimated that if Misora took it and got the heart attack, she would die before getting to the Infirmary, even with immediate response and she wanted to act on it quickly.
She walked with the two drinks carefully, making sure not to mix them up. She went to Misora's table where there were other students sitting, and they looked up at her with curiosity.
Though on the way to Misora's table, some guys were whistling at her and calling out.
"Oi, oi! Pretty girl! Come sit with us!"
"Mio-chan~ Join our table instead!"
She ignored them completely.
"Class Rep…" Mio said, arriving at Misora's table with a smile. "I got you a drink. It's been quite a while since I had such an exciting physical fight, and I want to appreciate you for it."
She was faking the most incredulous smile known to man, pouring sweetness into every word. Misora took the spiked cup and looked at it, examining the purple liquid briefly.
"Thank you very much, Mio-chan. I hope to spar with you more in the future, ne?"
And then, to Mio's happiness and internal satisfaction, she drank the whole thing in several long gulps.
She dropped the empty cup back on the table.
"Don't worry, I'll return the cup later."
"Good," Mio said, maintaining her pleasant expression.
She walked off toward Kōya's table, and her tired eyes gained some light when she saw his face up close. He really was handsome.
But they died immediately when she saw Renji's face, especially the eyes he was giving her… that look guys got when they thought they were being smooth.
But then again, she sat down anyway. She needed to get information on Renji after all.
He looked very dumb, and that meant he was dumb enough to spill his secrets to a pretty girl with minimal effort.
"Thank you both for having me," she said with a small bow of her head. "Most of the other seats are taken."
"It's no—" Kōya started.
"Ah-ah-ah… you didn't pay. I paid." Renji interrupted, pointing at himself with his thumb.
Of course he was petty about it.
This was quite a beautiful girl they were talking about, after all.
Kōya shook his head with mild exasperation and then brought out his regular phone from his storage ring.
For some reason, the outside network didn't work here at all… there was no signal whatsoever.
So he brought out his Academy phone instead, and it was automatically connected to the Academy network.
Apart from the Mobile Textbook app, Dictionary app, Academy Friends app, Browser app, IP app, and a few more utility apps, there was nothing else on the phone.
There were no games, no entertainment, and no nothing.
It seemed that ALI wanted their students to be completely focused on academics and training.
Mio resisted the urge to glare daggers into Renji's head for his comment.
She had wanted to rent out their own table for hanging out but decided to join them to check on Renji's background instead.
"Alright, since she's here, let's eat!" Renji announced enthusiastically.
He had ordered three Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls for 30 IP each… which was a good deal, honestly.
The food looked amazing. Grilled chicken glazed with teriyaki sauce over perfectly steamed rice, garnished with sesame seeds and green onions.
They came with their own chopsticks resting on small ceramic holders.
As soon as they opened the food containers, the other two placed their hands together and closed their eyes in prayer.
Kōya did the same, though he was still weirded out about the whole praying to the White King thing.
It felt cultish.
"May the Light of the White King guide our path, strengthen our Crests, and protect this world from the darkness beyond," they recited in unison. "We eat, we live, and we strive… under His blessed radiance."
There was that sensation again, like something being pulled from his chest… a subtle tugging that felt wrong on an instinctive level but it vanished almost immediately.
This time, he tried to pinpoint what had been taken, but he couldn't trace the feeling properly.
So naturally, he asked the System.
'System… what was taken from me?'
「You have donated 0.5 minutes of Lifespan」
'Ehhhh?'
Kōya's mental voice carried genuine shock, his internal composure cracking.
So the whole prayer stuff was a way to steal the lifespan of the world's citizens without them even knowing.
It didn't look like much… just half a minute per prayer but if each time someone prayed, which almost everyone if not everyone did in this world multiple times a day…
Then the White King was most probably receiving an astronomical amount of lifespan daily.
He did some quick mental math.
If 1.5 billion people living in the four Supercities prayed even just three times a day, that was 1.5 minutes per person, which was… over 4,200 years of lifespan harvested every single day.
It made his stomach turn a bit, disgust and horror mixing together but he calmed down, forcing his expression to remain neutral.
He wouldn't do it again, that was certain but he also had to stop his sister from doing it as well, somehow without making her suspicious of him..
"Itadakimasu!" Renji said cheerfully, picking up his chopsticks.
"Itadakimasu," Mio echoed softly.
"Let's eat," Kōya said simply.
They immediately dug in, lifting their rice bowls with their left hands and using chopsticks with their right to bring the teriyaki chicken and rice to their mouths.
Kōya took his first bite, and the food was genuinely good… the teriyaki sauce was sweet and savory and the chicken was tender and perfectly grilled.
Then Renji smiled as he looked at Mio while chewing, clearly working up to something.
He swallowed and leaned forward slightly.
"Might I ask what brings such a beautiful lady like yourself to the Academy?" Renji asked with what he probably thought was a charming smile.
Mio raised an eyebrow while bringing another bite of rice to her mouth.
"I came here for the same reason as you, Renji-kun…" she said after swallowing, her tone deliberately vague.
She looked at his body language carefully, watching for tells, but it didn't give off anything particularly suspicious.
"But I have a question of my own."
She took a sip of the juice that came with the meal… a light citrus blend.
"Kōya-kun offended Akari-sama… I offended one of Akari-sama's brothers… what did you do to a noble? I was really considering the name Trouble Trio after all."
She smiled as she said it, making it sound casual and friendly.
"I…" Renji started, then remembered what Kōya had warned him about earlier.
But he also wanted to look cool in front of this pretty girl, and the truth wasn't exactly impressive… hitting on a big noble's daughter wasn't a cool origin story.
He leaned in and smiled like what he thought was a cool guy, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
"Me? I killed a noble."
He whispered it like it was the most badass thing in the world.