"I guess you're right… let's go then," Lilian snapped.
Orion felt more and more that this situation wasn't really about him anymore. These girls clearly had some bad blood between them.
Then they dragged him straight to the king's chamber.
"Lilian, you're back again?" The king looked surprised. Then his gaze shifted to the other girl. "Oh? Selen too… huh?...you're both together? This cant be good"
Judging by the king's tone, Orion became even more certain—these two definitely didn't get along.
"So, what is the matter this time?" the king asked.
They explained the situation in detail.
"Hmmm…" The king stroked his chin. "It is a serious crime to attack a noble. However, since Orion saved our one and only hero candidate—and since he was unaware of our kingdom's rules beforehand—I believe pardoning him this one time will be acceptable."
Lilian and Orion both sighed in relief.
"Tch."
The same couldn't be said for Selen.
"That said, you should not do this again," the king added.
Orion felt disappointed. He had thought the king was a fair man.
"If you don't mind me protesting, Your Majesty," Orion said, "are you telling me not to defend myself when I'm being attacked? Because that's not going to happen."
Lilian began to sweat, worried about how the king would react. To her surprise, the king started smiling.
"You are a fiery little boy. I respect that," he said. "That is exactly why you should join the academy. There, everyone's rank is the same. And with the academy's support, even nobles would think twice before causing you trouble."
The invitation to join the academy became more and more tempting for Orion.
On the other hand, Selen was shaking with anger when she learned that Orion had received an invitation. The king noticed her reaction and let out a quiet sigh.
The king glanced at both girls. "Don't you think it's about time you repaired your friendship?"
Neither of them answered.
The king sighed again. "Very well. You may leave."
In the hallway, Lilian and Selen went their separate ways, exchanging one last glare.
Lilian let out a tired sigh.
Orion wanted to ask what had happened between them—but hesitated.
After walking in silence for a while, they arrived at a massive garden and sat down on a bench.
"I'm sorry about Ryan's behavior," Lilian said quietly. "As you know, it's because of me that he's acting like this."
Orion nodded, then asked carefully, "What about Selen? Why are you two so hostile toward each other?"
Lilian stared into the distance, lost in her memories.
"You see… I was just a commoner, chosen by the queen as one of her prodigies. Because of that, everyone gave me a hard time. But Selen was different. She didn't care whether I was a commoner or not. We quickly became friends.
Ryan and Princess Julia were also chosen as the queen's prodigies. Among us, Selen had the most potential to become a hero candidate."
She paused for a moment.
"But things started to change after I became a hero candidate. Selen began to receive a lot of backlash because of me. Around that time, I had to travel to other countries for a long period of time, and our friendship slowly began to crack.
The final blow came when Selen confessed her feelings to Ryan… but Ryan told her that he liked me—"
"So, a typical romance drama, huh?" Orion interrupted with a dry laugh. "But you don't seem that interested in Ryan. Couldn't you just tell Selen that?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Orion realized how stupid that sounded.
Right… emotions don't work like logic, he thought.
"I did," Lilian replied gloomily. "But it didn't help."
Noticing her sadness, Orion quickly changed the subject.
"So… the academy. What can you tell me about it?"
Lilian's mood instantly brightened.
"It was created by the first heroes. In the academy, it doesn't matter whether you're a commoner or a noble—you'll be treated the same. The only thing that matters is talent. As for the rest…" She winked. "That's a surprise. You'll have to find out after you enroll."
"By the way, do you have any plans for the future, or where you'll be staying?"
Orion chuckled. "Well, now that I have a bit of money, I guess I should find a place to stay."
"Don't be ridiculous," Lilian said immediately. "You can stay at my house. It's way too big for just one person anyway."
"No, no, no," Orion protested. "A boy and a girl living together… people will get the wrong idea."
"Why do you care what people think?" Lilian replied flatly. "You're staying with me. That's final."
"…Okay," Orion gave in helplessly.
He wanted his own place—for many reasons: training freely, exploring the world at his own pace. Still…
Staying with Lilian doesn't sound that bad.
A pleasant feeling welled up in his chest.
"So," Lilian asked, "do you want to look around the capital?"
"Huh?" Orion snapped back to reality. "Oh—yeah. That would be great."
"Then let's go."
She grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the stables.
Max and Axl were there—fighting again for some unknown reason.
"You two stop this nonsense right now," Orion ordered.
The beasts reluctantly obeyed.
"Good. Here's your reward."
He tossed them a few magic stones, and then they headed toward the palace gate.
Just as they were about to leave, the guard captain came running.
"Sorry, Lady Lilian—but the princess is looking for you."
"Julia…" Lilian muttered. Then she turned to Orion. "You can explore the city on your own, right? I can't refuse a summons from the princess. I hope you understand."
Orion smiled.
That was exactly what he wanted.
"Of course. No problem. I'm sure the princess is looking forward to meeting her friend."
Lilian quickly called for a carriage.
"You can use this to go anywhere you like, and you'll be allowed back into the palace without trouble. Okay—I really have to go now."
With that, she hurried off.
Orion climbed into the carriage and grinned.
"Alright, boys," he said to Max and Axl. "It's exploring time."
The carriage rolled forward, carrying them into the capital.