The sun that now shone brightly began to lean toward the west, warm gusts of wind swept through Osteria Academy, students could be seen walking around the roads of Osteria Academy, each of them busy with their own matters.

The same gust of wind also swept through the building that became the center of the academy’s treatment facility. On one side of it, an open window could be seen allowing the outside wind to enter and sway the transparent curtains.

Inside that room, there was a patient bed occupied by a student. Bandages wrapped around his forehead, his mouth opened and closed along with his breathing, his face looked better than most sick people, the student wore blue patient clothes.

A hand began touching the shoulder of the sleeping student, that hand shook the body of the student lying down to disturb his sleep. "Hey... Alex, wake up."

The owner of that hand had long black hair tied into a ponytail, his black eyes stayed fixed on Alex who was difficult to wake up, the white shirt he wore also moved with every motion as he tried waking Alex up, while his gray pants suited him well, he was Ken.

Ken gritted his teeth, he kept trying to wake Alex who slept like a dead person, Ken who could no longer endure it finally slapped Alex’s cheeks several times.

Alex’s forehead furrowed, his closed eyes slowly opened even if only for a moment, he turned his body to face away from Ken while rubbing his cheek.

"Don’t disturb me mosquito... let me sleep," Alex’s voice sounded hoarse. "Please mosquito... I haven’t slept all night."

Ken only stared at Alex with a blank gaze, he opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out for a moment.

"This idiot!" Ken shook Alex’s body, his voice echoed through the room. "Wake up, damn it! You’ve been sleeping all day!!"

Alex stretched his body in response to Ken disturbing him. "Shut up mosquito! Mosquitoes shouldn’t talk..."

Veins appeared on Ken’s forehead, he took a breath to calm himself down, then stood straight while staring at Alex’s back.

Silence filled the room until Ken lifted the leg wearing shoes, he repeatedly kicked Alex’s back. "Wake up bastard!! Feel this mosquito kick!!"

Alex groaned in pain, after sleeping from being beaten by the principal, now he once again had to feel pain.

After some time, Alex finally became conscious, he turned toward Ken with open eyes, his throat felt dry making him scratch it.

His blurry vision finally focused and allowed him to see Ken clearly.

The pain in his head made him groan and hold it, he also held his back that felt painful.

"Ken? What are you doing in my room? Damn... I had a weird dream, friend..."

Alex swallowed his saliva to help moisten his dry throat, he stared at Ken who still stood looking at him.

"You would laugh if you saw my dream... just imagine it, I got beaten by the principal then stepped on by a giant talking mosquito..."

Ken sighed softly, he massaged his forehead while Alex spoke again.

"Water... get me water, Ken..."

Ken did not answer, he only took the glass of water on the small table beside Alex’s treatment bed.

Alex drank it hastily, his consciousness began recovering, he looked around the room where he slept.

Alex wiped his wet lips. "Where is this? This isn’t my room..."

Ken slowly sat on the chair beside Alex’s bed, he let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, the part about you getting beaten by the principal was real..."

Alex opened his mouth, his expression showed confusion. "Hah?" Suddenly his head felt painful, memories of himself getting beaten by the principal finally flooded back into his mind.

Alex held his head with both hands, he lowered his head slightly. "Damn... that old man, how could he beat his own academy student just because of taking a little water..."

Ken chuckled hearing Alex’s complaints, he crossed his arms. "I think the principal has been annoyed for a long time... you stole before too, right? I think half the lake water disappeared little by little..."

Alex swallowed his saliva, he massaged the back of his neck and his aching back. "Good grief... I only took a little just to survive..."

Alex scratched his stomach. "Just imagine if I didn’t take the lake water... we wouldn’t have been able to defeat that blood bastard..."

Ken smiled and nodded several times, he slowly stood up. "Relax, I understand... but we need to meet the others now." Ken pointed at the clothes he wore. "Your uniform is with Katarina..."

Alex stared at Ken from top to bottom, he just realized his uniform was different from before. "Tomorrow is fine, besides it’s already evening right? Don’t tell me I still have to attend class..."

Ken scratched his cheek. "What do you mean? We’re heading south this evening, the transportation will arrive soon..."

Alex fell silent for several moments, disbelief appeared on his face. "Today?! Damn it! We just came back last night and we’re already leaving again!" Alex gritted his teeth, he punched the bed once. "This must be because of that old man!"

Ken chuckled seeing Alex continuously blaming the principal while Alex stared at him. "Why didn’t you bring my uniform when you came here?"

Ken stayed silent for a moment. "I forgot..."

A sigh escaped from Alex, he stretched his aching body, he slowly stood up from the patient bed, pain spread through his back, Alex closed his eyes while nodding as he wore the patient sandals.

"Alright alright... I understand, the only thing on your mind right now is Reva right?"

Silence covered the room, there was no answer from Ken to Alex’s teasing question, Alex opened one eye and stared at Ken who only stood frozen.

"Woah... is that a fact? Do you like Reva?"

Ken who had stayed silent finally opened his mouth to speak. "No comment."

Alex smiled widely at Ken’s answer, but he could not celebrate because of the pain in his back, he held his back and showed it to Ken.

"Hey, look at my back. I can feel real pain from getting stepped on by mosquitoes in my dream."

Ken almost laughed seeing the shoe prints visible on Alex’s patient clothes, he patted Alex’s back while cleaning it. "Was it really that real?"

Alex nodded several times, he groaned slightly when Ken massaged the painful part of his back. "Yeah... very real. You’re good at massaging too. You can tell where the pain is."

Ken almost burst out laughing while massaging the shoe prints visible on the back of Alex’s patient clothes.

’This guy really is an idiot.’

Ken chuckled while also massaging Alex’s shoulders which made Alex feel comfortable. "Be grateful to me. If I didn’t wake you up, maybe you would have died getting beaten by that mosquito..."

Alex nodded several times while enjoying Ken’s massage, he pointed at the back of his neck to be massaged.

"Of course friend, damn... at times like this I miss my two meter tall servant..."

Ken massaged Alex for a while as satisfaction for his guilt because he stepped on Alex in both reality and his dream, when they finished, they immediately left the treatment room and academy treatment building to head toward where Katarina and the others were.

Throughout the trip, Alex became the center of attention, some seniors and even students his age laughed, it made Alex continuously look at his patient clothes and the sandals he wore, he kept blaming Ken for not bringing his new uniform.

Ken only laughed in satisfaction seeing that, he knew what they were staring at from Alex was not his patient clothes but because of this morning’s incident.

Alex who felt embarrassed finally walked in a hurry, the two of them finally arrived in front of the first year student cafeteria.

It looked quiet there because the other first year students were busy making their own preparations.

Alex who had finally escaped from people’s stares and laughter smiled again.

He wrapped his arm around Ken’s shoulder and spoke. "Hey friend, do you really really like Reva?"

Ken only stayed silent while staring at Alex, he looked like he was thinking hard. "Maybe? I don’t know either..."

Ken sighed softly, he also wrapped his arm around Alex. "I don’t know how it happened, but I’m sure there was one moment that became the beginning..."

Alex listened to Ken seriously, their steps slowly became slower, while Ken continued. "...it was when you, Katarina, and Aril were fighting Blood Scythe while I was collapsed at the edge of the room."

Ken swallowed his saliva, he grabbed the collar of Alex’s patient clothes, while Alex only stayed silent. "Reva grabbed my collar and shook my body..." Alex swallowed his saliva listening to how serious Ken was while telling the story, he even reenacted the scene.

Ken then slapped Alex’s cheek several times, but Alex did not protest. "She slapped my cheeks repeatedly to wake me up..."

Ken stared at Alex seriously. "Do you know what I saw at that moment?..." Alex shook his head, while Ken continued his story. "What I saw was Reva’s face...." Ken chuckled, he looked slightly embarrassed when saying it. "Damn, she looked really beautiful in my eyes at that moment. Even though her lips were pale, her brown hair was rough because of the impact."

Ken smiled while telling the story which made Alex smile too. "My heart almost exploded at that moment, friend."

Ken closed his eyes, his bright smile slowly disappeared, they both stopped walking. "Do you still remember the final moment of that fight?"

Silence enveloped the two of them, they only stood quietly without anyone disturbing them.

Ken opened his eyes, he released his arm from Alex, and Alex did the same.

"At that final moment, Reva was beside me..."

Ken smiled faintly, but it was not a happy smile, his eyes became slightly watery. "And Blood Scythe’s attack was heading toward us..."

Ken massaged his head, while Alex only looked at him and listened in silence. "I knew that attack was aimed at me, but because Reva was near me, I became afraid if she got hit by that attack too..."

Ken raised both shoulders. "Yeah you know right? Reva was the one sealing the room at that time?" Alex nodded agreeing with Ken.

Ken massaged his neck that felt warm, he looked at Alex. "I got nervous, friend. I should have been able to counter that attack..." Alex nodded, he understood Ken’s abilities, while Ken sighed. "But in the end I failed..."

Ken covered his mouth. "I also feel guilty toward Aril. Because I failed, he lost his right hand and had to withdraw from the academy..."

Ken lowered his head, silence occurred between them for a moment.

A faint smile slowly formed on Alex’s face, he wrapped his arm around Ken again and spoke. "Aril won’t blame you..."

Ken looked at Alex, while Alex smiled and spoke again. "You might have a bad view because you saw Aril’s painful face when his hand got cut off."

Alex pointed at himself. "But I had the best view, friend. I saw his back. Do you know what I saw?"

Alex sighed as he remembered that moment again, while Ken listened. "It was the back of someone who would never stop running..."

Alex squeezed Ken’s shoulder. "He won’t stop because of anger, he won’t stop because of his conviction..." Alex pointed at Ken’s body. "...he won’t stop because of the opportunity his friends gave him."

Alex smiled widely and nodded several times. "He won’t blame you, he would instead thank you."

Alex started walking toward the cafeteria again, Ken followed his steps. "Besides, you know too right? Fights can’t be predicted. There are too many possibilities..."

Alex sighed and chuckled. "Now you already know what makes you nervous during battle, so just fight for it properly."

One of Ken’s eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?" Alex shook his head in disbelief because Ken did not understand. "What else? Reva of course!!"

Ken swallowed his saliva hearing Alex’s words while Alex rubbed his chin while staring at him. "Want me to help? You know, I’m quite an expert at things like this."

Alex’s confident words were immediately laughed at by Krystal inside Alex’s mind.

’This shameless guy, he himself is dense, but he wants to teach other people...’

Alex gritted his teeth, he held back his anger while Ken spoke again.

"Ahh you also talked like that when I liked Katarina... but you didn’t help me."

Alex clicked his tongue, they finally entered the cafeteria that had started becoming quiet, they saw the table occupied by Katarina, Julian, Eve, Reva, and Arthur.

The two of them walked toward that table with Alex still wrapping his arm around Ken, he cleared his throat. "It’s not that I didn’t help, I was just waiting..."

Ken looked at Alex suspiciously while Alex continued again. "...you know? Teenagers are unstable, so their feelings could change anytime. And it was proven right because you could like another person as easily as flipping your hand?"

Ken released Alex’s arm from around him. "Ahh you talk like you’re not a teenager."

Alex clearly saw where the others sat. Katarina sat in one row with Julian, Eve, and Reva. Meanwhile Arthur sat alone in front of the four of them.

Ken finally sat at the edge of the seat opposite Arthur, he sat facing Reva. Alex sighed seeing that, he wanted to sit between Arthur and Ken but Arthur spoke first.

"Hey... don’t sit here, just sit over there." Arthur pointed at the narrow gap in the row of Julian, Eve, Reva, and Katarina.

Everyone chuckled hearing Arthur’s complaints while Alex ignored him, he still sat between Arthur and Ken. He even leaned closer toward Arthur which made Arthur furious.

"Bastard!! I already told you not to get close!" Arthur moved away from Alex who kept approaching.

Alex only smiled teasingly, he spoke softly to Arthur, his index finger slid across the cafeteria table toward Arthur.

Everyone laughed seeing Alex teasing Arthur. Meanwhile Arthur sprayed cleaning liquid to chase away Alex’s finger approaching his table territory. "Don’t come near me bastard!"

Alex pretended to be hurt when his finger got sprayed by the cleaning liquid, he became even more excessive in teasing Arthur.

Alex poked Arthur’s side stomach. "Hey... what are you doing darling, even though we’ve already touched each other here and there." Arthur’s body immediately jerked when Alex’s finger briefly touched his stomach covered by a white shirt.

Everyone became silent because of Alex, only Katarina enjoyed Alex’s performance.

Even Arthur only stared blankly at Alex, Alex then touched Arthur’s neck and stroked Arthur’s cheek which made Arthur tremble in fear, he immediately stood up from his seat. "This bastard!! I’ll kill you damn it!! We were never like that!!"

Katarina burst out laughing seeing what Alex did, while Alex immediately looked at the others who only stared frozen thinking it was real, he crossed his arms. "There’s no way I would do that damn it!! I still like women, I mean I fought him before and punched his stomach then his face." Even after giving clarification, Alex’s body became goosebumped, he also felt nauseous from what he had just done.

Katarina who saw that laughed even harder, she repeatedly hit the dining table while the others only stared at her silently. Julian, Eve, and Arthur had never seen Katarina laugh like that.

They ended up staring at her silently, especially Julian who looked at her from the side. He stared at Katarina without blinking, and unknowingly a smile formed on his face.

Arthur who felt frustrated with Alex immediately spoke to Katarina who laughed freely. "Hey Rina, if you’re that happy. Sit beside that bastard..."

Katarina nodded agreeing, she sighed, her smile still remained on her face, she wiped the tears that accidentally came out, she stood up and sat beside Alex.

Julian stared at Katarina in disbelief, when he saw Katarina change seats from previously sitting beside him to beside Alex.

Meanwhile, Alex still felt nauseous because of what he did. Katarina sighed, she sat down and patted Alex’s shoulder.

Katarina clicked her tongue. "You slept for quite a long time huh?"

Alex sighed, he shook his head. "What do you mean? I fainted not slept!"

Eve tapped her fingers on the dining table. "Eii it’s okay if you slept, academy entertainers need enough sleep to entertain us..."

One of Alex’s eyebrows rose, he looked at Eve who sat on Julian’s right side. "What do you mean, pink girl? Entertainer?"

Veins appeared on Eve’s forehead, she gritted her teeth. "Didn’t you realize how strong the principal’s attack was?"

Alex tilted his head, he tried remembering the principal’s final attack that looked like a rain of swords.

Eve stretched out her hand to point at Alex. "Ahh you’re amazing. You even managed to summon students, professors, and academy guards while they were still wearing pajamas."

Alex’s face froze, his mouth opened and closed several times, he saw Katarina covering her mouth while holding back laughter, he also saw Julian and Arthur doing the same thing.

Suddenly a memory from earlier attacked his mind, he remembered himself constantly being stared at by the students.

He gritted his teeth and turned toward Ken, Alex immediately pounced on Ken and shook his body. "Bastard!! Why didn’t you tell me!! I thought they were staring at me because I was wearing patient clothes and sandals!!"

Everyone suddenly laughed except Reva, she only stared at Ken who got pounced on by Alex.

Ken whose body was being shaken by Alex wanted to answer but he accidentally saw Reva staring at him with a blank expression.

Ken gritted his teeth, he whispered to Alex, unfortunately his whisper was also heard by Reva. "Hey... didn’t you say you wanted to help me! Why is it like this bastard!"

Alex who heard Ken’s whisper finally realized his anger, he glanced at Reva who shook her head while the others laughed.

An awkward smile formed on Alex’s face, he then sat down quietly again.

Julian who was satisfied from laughing immediately looked at Alex, he joined his fingers together on the table. "You’re close with Ken huh? I didn’t expect that... even though we’ve known each other since childhood, we’re not that close."

Ken looked at Julian while fixing his white shirt, while Alex only raised both shoulders, he wanted to answer but Julian cut him off first.

"Ahh you two already shared moments of life and death together huh..." Alex’s expression that previously looked careless turned cold, while Julian continued speaking. "...you two already tried killing each other."

Alex closed his eyes, he smiled in an unusual way, Ken could see it clearly.

Alex wanted to speak but Julian once again spoke first. "But I’m curious, how could you come out alive from there? Wasn’t one person supposed to die-"

Katarina who had only been laughing until now finally spoke, she interrupted Julian and stared at him with an expressionless gaze that made the atmosphere slightly heavier. "Stop it Julian..."

Everyone looked at Katarina, including Julian who looked slightly surprised by Katarina’s tone of voice, Katarina continued speaking. "...the demonic energy healing potion I gave you could exist because of Alex and Ken’s sacrifice... you should thank them."

Julian’s blue eyes widened, he raised both hands. "Ahh right..." Julian looked at Alex and Ken. "...I apologize and thank-" Julian’s voice was suddenly cut off by a voice echoing throughout the cafeteria.

"ATTENTION TO ALL FIRST YEAR STUDENTS WHO HAVE NOT GATHERED YET, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY GATHER AT THE ACADEMY FIELD!"

Julian smiled faintly, he wanted to continue his words amidst the noisy announcement, but Alex ignored him.

Alex looked at Katarina. "Where’s my uniform?"

Katarina took out Alex’s uniform from her smart bracelet and handed it to him. "Have you eaten?"

Alex stood up and shook his head. "Not yet..." Katarina also stood up. "Do you want me to buy something?"

Alex smiled widely, he nodded several times. "Ahh I like this side of you..." Alex slightly raised his voice. "...a beautiful, kind, caring princess. Thank you..."

Alex slowly left the others and headed toward the bathroom, while Katarina spoke to the others. "I’ll catch up later..."

Everyone nodded except Julian, Katarina finally headed toward the food tenant in the cafeteria while everyone else left.

Julian only stared at Katarina’s back in silence, a faint smile formed on his face, a whisper accidentally escaped from his lips. "Ahh... you’ve changed, Rina."

Julian finally left the cafeteria together with the others.

After not much time passed, Alex came out of the men’s bathroom wearing his new uniform.

The long sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up and his white shirt was tucked into his gray pants.

Alex combed his hair, the bandage still wrapped around his forehead. His black eyes widened, he saw Katarina already waiting, Alex approached her while Katarina handed him a plastic bag of food filled with several skewers of sausages and meat.

Alex exclaimed while receiving it, while Katarina smiled while tilting her head. "You don’t like sweet things, so I think you like spicy food?"

Alex chuckled and nodded several times. "Yeah I can eat this, thank you..."

The two of them finally left the cafeteria which was now quiet, orange sunlight greeted them on their first step outside the cafeteria building, gusts of wind swept through Katarina’s dark red hair.

The two of them walked leisurely toward the academy field. Alex ate the sausages and meat Katarina gave him, he offered some to Katarina but she always refused.

Alex stretched his body which still felt sore especially his back, Katarina turned toward Alex, she clicked her tongue.

"You worked really hard huh, to the point of stealing lake water?"

Alex turned toward Katarina while biting a sausage, he raised both shoulders. "Of course! I already imagined how hot it would be, so cold lake water would definitely fit perfectly!"

Katarina nodded in understanding, she smiled. "I didn’t expect you to cry because of stealing lake water..." Katarina tapped her smart bracelet.

Alex stopped eating his sausage, he turned toward Katarina, his black eyes widened, his sausage almost fell to the ground.

There Katarina showed a picture of Alex crying on the lake surface while laughing in satisfaction.

Alex who saw that immediately tried reaching for Katarina’s hand, but Katarina who already expected it immediately avoided him.

Alex kept trying to get Katarina’s smart bracelet, but Katarina successfully avoided him without getting caught, until finally Katarina ran ahead of Alex, she turned her body around, her red hair fluttered, orange light covered her hair and face, her smile looked even more beautiful when her eyes smiled together with it.

Alex only stood frozen for a while as his black eyes reflected Katarina’s beauty, something sharp pierced his heart, but he ignored it, he only smiled and immediately chased after Katarina.

His smile became wider as he tried catching Katarina, his black eyes did not dare shift away from Katarina’s back.

And behind the darkness of his black eyes, something dark and silent appeared.

A cold soundless room stretched out together with endless darkness, only an orange light could be seen illuminating the room.

That orange light came from a large rectangular screen, the screen displayed Katarina’s back being chased by Alex.

In front of that screen there was only one viewer watching it, she was a girl with long lavender hair, she sat while stretching her bare feet, the white dress she wore touched the black ground, both of her hands covered her mouth and nose while her black eyes shone and sparkled.

Her toes moved as if unable to endure something, the girl’s voice echoed through the silent black room. "That bastard!! Why can’t he realize it already!! He obviously likes her!!"

Silence once again enveloped the room as the girl fell silent again and watched the rectangular screen in front of her.