Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After returning to the inn they were residing in temporarily, Eruhaben left the two students on their own while he went to examine his samples. Cale took a seat in one of the chairs and let out a groan as he sank into the soft cushions. Roksu hummed softly in agreement with the redhead as he took a seat next to him. Raon was already buried in a pile of blankets on the bed, nodding off after a long day of traveling and exploring. The setting sun was casting radiant golden and orange rays of light through the window, giving the room a warm atmosphere.

“So remind me again what we have to wait a week for?” Cale muttered as he turned his head toward his friend.

“Eruhaben-nim said that the process for obtaining blood from a saint of the sun god would take up to an entire week,” Roksu answered.

“Ugh, damned church and its stingy rules and procedures…” The redhead complained as he was reminded of his past experiences with the church in his previous life.

Cale was never a fan of any of the religious groups he came across, but the Church of the Sun God in particular was a group that he would prefer not to encounter or deal with. Apart from the fact that Cale was too busy surviving to believe in the gods, those bastards were so adamant that their god is oh so benevolent and would ‘shine its light upon all’. Crazy how it would come to be known that the empire that they hailed from and their leaders were the direct causes of all the misery and death that would come to pass. The Imperial Prince Adin became a black mage who absorbed a shit ton of black mana and became enemy number one at some point in time. Cale wasn’t involved much in the subjugation of Adin since he was too busy keeping himself and his men alive. He knew Choi Han boasted about successfully capturing the man and getting some crucial information at some point, but Cale was being petty and decidedly not listening.

(He held a childish grudge against the punk that lasted till his final breath. Perhaps he acted a bit too pettily at that age, but it wasn’t as if the punk didn’t also act pettily toward him.

He knew it was the punk that dyed his robes a bright pink.

He just couldn’t prove it.)

“Should we burn the Church down?” Raon asked, sleepily perking up in anticipation.

“No.” Roksu shut down the idea while turning pale from the kid’s ruthlessness.

“Maybe one day if they make us angry.” Cale huffed in amusement as the ravenhead turned to him, aghast.

“Anyway, do we specifically need the blood from a sun god saint? Or would any saint work?” Cale asked as he sat up and stretched his arms above his head.

“I’m not sure. That would be a question for Eruhaben-nim. Why? Were you thinking of giving your blood instead?” Roksu responded, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.

“I mean, might as well. I didn’t tell Eruhaben-nim that I was a saint, so he wouldn’t have known that one of the materials on the list was quite literally under his nose this entire time.” Cale smirked as he imagined what sort of reaction the golden dragon would have. Eruhaben's in-game facial expressions were restricted to two models: neutral and deadpan. The deadpan was his default expression. So far, he's seen two new expressions! Pity and annoyance. He knows the dragon should be able to make more faces; the baby dragon makes faces every other minute, so it's not like his facial muscles aren't capable of it.

"You could. Or we could say we got a vial of blood from an anonymous donation. Though if you feel comfortable sharing the fact that you're a saint, then by all means, tell him." Roksu offered. Cale hummed in contemplation before nodding.

"He's trustworthy. Plenty of secrets already shared with him, what's another, right? Plus, having an ancient dragon as part of our group of in-the-knows gives us a boost in protection and security. It's a win-win!" He huffed with pride. Roksu gazed at the other with soft eyes, recording yet another moment to look back on.

The two went to sleep soon after. As planned, the two and the baby black dragon sought out the ancient dragon the next day to discuss the matter. They found the disguised dragon holed up in his room, examining some sort of glowing particle. Various knick-knacks were scattered around the room, making the space clustered and difficult to maneuver around. Stacks of books covered both the floor and tables. Upon closer inspection, there was a fine layer of dust on nearly every surface in the room. The golden-haired mage paused in his examination and glanced their direction as they attempted to step into the room without knocking anything over.

"Woah! Goldie Gramps, your room is such a mess!" Raon noted as he carefully flew around the room.

"Did you two get into trouble again?" He grumbled, placing down the plate containing a piece of bark he had collected the other day.

"No? How would we have gotten into trouble when we've barely started the day?" Roksu answered with slight indignation at the insinuation.

"Knowing you two, you'd find a way to do so. Well, out with it. What brings you three here?"

"Blood of the divine. Does it specifically need to be from a Sun God saint? Or can it be any saint?" Cale asked without delay.

"So long as it's a saint with direct blessings from their deity. Why?"

"Hmph, well, there's no need to wait an entire week for their blood. We can just use mine."

The professor stared at the redhead for a moment before pinching the bridge of his nose. Cale couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching up, threatening a smile at the exasperated reaction from the elder. Seeing such an open expression on one of his favorite characters was a pleasant reward.

"You mean to tell me that not only did you accept a deal with the God of Death, you also became his saint?"

"Unwillinging. I became his saint without knowing about it until he told me like... A week into this school year." It wasn't the best way to start off his school year, but he did forget about it until he was faced with his abilities in his sleep.

A frown graced the handsome face of the golden dragon before him, and eyes narrowed in concern. He had a feeling that Eruhaben was about to say something, but held his tongue in favor of letting out a heavy and long sigh.

"Your blood would indeed fit the criteria, yes." The elder dragon admitted, and with a wave of his hand, the room was tidied up in an instant, revealing a similar room layout as their own. Eruhaben gestured to one of the couches as he brought out a glass vial and a syringe.

The blood withdrawal process was relatively simple and took only a mere minute to complete. Cale gazed at the now-filled vial of blood in curiosity, but there was nothing out of the ordinary with his blood from what he saw. He turned to voice a question, but was interrupted when a cookie was pushed into his mouth. Roksu's fingers lingered near his mouth for a second, making sure the cookie wouldn't fall, before he pulled his hand away to grab another cookie. Cale tilted his head in confusion but chewed on the given treat musingly.

"Sweets help with replenishing energy after blood loss. It'll make sure you won't get dizzy." The Duke explained as he picked up another cookie, holding it out to Cale with expectant eyes. The explanation was reasonable enough for the other, so he opened his mouth and accepted the cookie. He hummed in appreciation and eyed his friend as Roksu grabbed another cookie for himself this time. His gaze trailed to the source of the treats, which caused him to pause.

"Where did these cookies come from?" He inquired.

"Oh! These are the cookies I managed to take from the Crown Prince before break! I've been saving them up! Human, you should eat more so you can recover from losing blood!" Raon insisted as he picked up a cookie and waved it in front of Cale. Cale huffed out a laugh before allowing the kid to feed him the cookie.

"Alright, alright. That's enough cookies." Cale said, pushing away Roksu's hand, which was holding another cookie. He felt his face heating up when he realized Eruhaben was just observing them with a blank expression from the couch across from them. Another type of reaction, but unknown as to what said reaction was. The other raised an elegant eyebrow before letting out a soft breath.

"You were probably wondering what makes a saint's blood so special compared to that of a regular human, correct?" Eruhaben inferred, making Cale blink in pleasant surprise, before nodding. He wasn't going to question how his professor was able to read him so easily. He's a mighty ancient dragon, after all.

"Saints are able to handle divine abilities due to the blessings from their respective gods. Physically, this may not affect them much aside from strengthening their bodies to withstand their newfound abilities. This may come in the form of faster regeneration, stronger immunity, or resistance to poisons. These changes are also dependent on the God that they represent.

Spiritually, saints will have stronger plates that are reinforced with a sliver of divinity from their God. This essentially changes their entire spiritual constitution and biological makeup despite only impacting what cannot be seen by the naked eye of other humans. Higher beings, especially those connected with nature, are able to sense the divine essence in them, just like how you have Death's scent.

However, your case is rather special. You told me you made a deal with the God of Death. I made the assumption that this is why your plate was doused with a thick coat of Death's presence, seeing as you had direct connections with him. But if you're his saint, then it changes your capabilities. There is no other saint that I've come across that has as much divine essence in their body. It's that essence that makes a saint's blood divine and special. More divinity, more power. Think of that as you will."

Cale took a moment to absorb and process the new information. When he first learned about his new status as a saint of that useless God, he dismissed it as an equally useless label that didn't really mean anything. When he learned about his newfound abilities, he took great strides not to take them for granted. This ability made it so he was capable of changing the future into something less tragic and dreadful. Having that capability and not taking the step to make that difference would be cowardly of him. 

(There was a time before the fall of his city when he ignored his territory’s people, his people, in favor of keeping up his trash appearance. People in the slums that he witnessed begging for food, water, or other basic necessities that he was graced with since birth. He had all the capabilities to help them if he so wanted to, but he didn’t.

It was only after the ambush from the Paerun Kingdom and their wyvern army that he let go of such qualms. It was an idiotic plan anyway, one that ultimately fell through since his entire family was dead. He had no reason to keep up the act, so he took the chance to take any and all actions to help the remaining survivors of his territory. It might have taken everyone off guard to see such a switch-up in personality, but he assumed they couldn’t bring themselves to question it when he was ensuring their survival and comfort.

No more did he ignore his people; no more did he remain neutral to their grievances; no more was the coward who turned away from problems in front of him. There was no need to fix or renew his reputation, so he kept most of his efforts quiet, and the people kept their mouths shut for peace of mind. It wasn’t until Prince Alver approached him that he was recruited to join the war efforts and assigned to the reconnaissance company. Why the prince decided that he would make a good addition to that company, he didn’t know, but he had a suspicion it was because of his acting skills that fooled the entire nation for nearly two decades.)

“I don’t see why it would change anything aside from the fucking priests being more annoying than they already are. The God of Death doesn’t even remember what abilities I have as his saint because it’s been too long since his last one. He’s quite useless for a god, you know?” Cale admitted to his professor, whose lips thinned at the slight against the deity.

“Useless…?” The blond professor repeated.

“Useless.” Roksu agreed, making the elder turn to him in confusion.

“Useless!” Raon nodded,

Eruhaben closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Nearly a thousand years of living in this world, and he had never met a human who had the audacity to outright insult a god, let alone a god’s own saint. Never mind two. And a baby dragon. It seems that this group is just chock full of surprises… Both unexpected and refreshing. A smug grin formed on his face as he regarded the two humans in front of him with a convinced attitude. 

“Alright, so long as you acknowledge your limits and potential. If someone with bad intentions were to find out, you might find yourself in even more trouble.” Eruhaben warned the student who rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“No one would have found out if it wasn’t for the stupid aptitude test, but noooooo. And here I am, being forced to assist in collecting the materials to create another device to expose me. Fucking nonsensical turn of events, huh?” Cale waved his arms dramatically as he complained. Eruhaben hummed in thought as he crossed his arms.

“Given the circumstances, I could rig the device for you so that when you do inevitably retest when the school term resumes, it won’t detect your divine abilities. It would make it much easier to rig with your blood as part of the base of the device. Just a few tweaks and it won’t react to you at all, in fact.”

“Huh. That’s convenient.”

“Indeed. Since we have collected all of the required materials, you have the rest of the break to yourselves. Feel free to go have fun. Just let me know when you wish to return, and we’ll travel back to the Roan Kingdom together.” After the end of that conversation, Eruhaben kicked the three out of his room, determined to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Of course, he should have expected that trouble would be attracted to a trouble magnet.

.

.

.

The Mogoru Empire was an interesting place, both from what Cale could remember in his memories and from what he saw of it in the game. The empire was known for its military might and technology, but more uniquely, alchemy. What the fuck alchemy entails, Cale did not know, nor was he inclined to figure it out.

He never entered the borders of the empire-  never needed to go near them in the first place. That is, until he was asked to gather some information concerning a certain ex-imperial prince turned black mage. Even then, he didn’t truly enter the empire naturally or legally, so he didn’t know what to expect from the city life outside of dark and ominous back alleyway bars and taverns. 

He watched idly as a group of children happily ran past him, chasing one another around and weaving professionally through the crowded streets. Merchants lined the streets with their wares and produce, happily conversing with their consumers and each other. The sun was high in the sky, bright and casting its warm rays onto the land that worships its respective god. A bit too bright for him as he narrows his eyes and raises his hand to block out the light.

“Hm, nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just like Huiss except there’s more sun.” Cale muttered as he observed his surroundings. He couldn’t tell which part of the city he was in, but it wasn’t as if he had a map of the area, nor did he know whether the city had subsections to it. Of course, he has been mentally mapping out the place so that he would at least know his way back to the inn they were residing in. Unfortunately, he did end up losing sight of Roksu some time ago due to the crowd.

“Weak Human, don’t worry! Even without the Lazy Human around, I’ll be sure to protect you!” The baby dragon declared from where he was resting on the redhead’s shoulders. Cale simply hummed in acknowledgement as he shuffled down the road, trying to catch sight of a head of black hair.

He didn’t get any prophetic dreams of death; which has now been dubbed as deathmares, so he has little to worry about when it comes to Roksu’s safety. Plus, it’s not like this world is in peril of imminent doom. There’s no way something bad will happen, right?

Yet he couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling he had been feeling since he left the inn this morning. Something felt off, and he couldn’t decipher what it was that was making him feel restless. He kept his guard up, looking back and forth between the individuals of the crowd. Mentally noting every person that he passed, he continued forward in his exploration of the city. He didn’t want to alert the baby dragon clinging to him and make him nervous for something as small as a feeling.

Maybe he should have at least told Raon to keep a lookout for certain faces before he came face-to-face with a certain female protagonist. Bright green eyes, wide with shock, stared back at his narrowed, reddish-brown eyes. Cale should have expected that Alruna would be in the empire since last he remembered, she was on a steadfast path down the imperial bastard’s route. With quick, fleeting eyes, he observed her current state. She was panting heavily as if she had been running previously, and he could see her body trembling with… Hm? There’s no mistaking it. She was quite visibly shaking in fear.

Huh. Now that’s a body language he hasn’t seen in a long while. 

It was during the final battle against the White Star. His men were in charge of running around and delivering aid, and calling out enemy positions. However, it became more and more common that they would arrive too late to provide help, and their own numbers were slowly dwindling when the enemy started to target them. He met up with his company one last time to give them a final task: find one soldier and stay with them so you won’t die alone.

It was a grim order, he will admit, but it was one that none of his men dared to object. No one wanted to die alone. They all went their separate ways, some off in pairs and the others off to find a survivor to keep company. Cale went off as well, but he had his own mission: Aid Choi Han in defeating the White Star. 

He traveled around in the shadows and kept quiet when passing enemies on the field. Every so often, he would find the bodies of soldiers, half-consumed by darkness from dark mana oozing all around the land from the bombs. In the middle of war and surrounded by death, a moment of silence for his passed brethren gave him some peace of mind. However short-lived they were.

As he came into the proximity of the ongoing explosive fight, he took a moment to catch his breath behind the cover of broken debris. A startled gasp caught his attention immediately, causing him to jolt in alarm. In the corner where dust covered all lay an injured soldier, clutching onto another who didn’t seem to be conscious, if not dead. Cale traced his eyes over the figures and observed the fierce trembling and shaky breathing.

“C-captain Cale…” The soldier whispered under his breath. His face was covered in grime and blood, but was clear of dead mana at the very least. Cale was unsure how he knew of him when he wasn’t part of the redhead’s reconnaissance company, but it was a good thing to be able to acknowledge an ally. Perhaps the other knew one of his men.

It was also nice to know that the soldiers outside of his company also acknowledged him by his given name. When he first joined the war efforts, the only thing he wanted was for him to be known only as Cale, for he felt he was undeserving of the Henituse title. Alver Crossman, crowned king after his father was assassinated, agreed to the simple term, but couldn’t promise that the soldiers would uphold it.

“At ease, Soldier,” Cale said softly while crawling his way over to the wounded man. A small nod was all he got in response. Not unsurprising, seeing how uneasy the soldier was. To be so full of fear to the point where he couldn’t do anything but tremble in place. At least he was alive and breathing…

But what was the point of being alive if living seemed much more challenging, more trouble than it was worth?

“Young master Cale..? Why are you here?” Alruna gasped out, trying to catch her breath. Cale raised his eyebrow at her inquiry.

“None of your business.” He answered. Why bother giving her a proper response when he was trying to avoid getting roped into her mess? If anything, he should get out of here before he’s dragged into trouble again. He was about to brush past the brunette, but she reached out and grabbed onto the sleeve of his outfit with a firm grip.

“Wait. Please excuse my audacity, but I need your help. You don’t even have to do anything! Just come.”

Cale had no choice in the matter as Alruna grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the crowd. He grunted as he allowed the other to drag him, his face pinched in annoyance at the turn of events. The dragon on his shoulders tensed up in anticipation, but Cale shook his head subtly to calm the baby from destroying the empire and causing a nationwide crisis. He already dealt with one crisis; he didn’t need another anytime soon.

“Human! Just say a word and I’ll deal with this girl!” Raon reassured his human guardian through telepathy. Seeing as they had company in the form of a certain female protagonist, Cale nodded to show he heard his kid.

The two Roan Royal Academy students maneuvered through the crowds, twisting and turning different corners with no true destination in mind. Cale’s thoughts drifted to a certain lazy duke, wondering where that guy could have gone off to. He decided that all the blame for this would be on the duke. It’s all his fault for disappearing on him. Shame on him.

Stupid Roksu.

Alruna abruptly turned into an alleyway and essentially used Cale to cover her from sight by positioning him in front of her. Cale briefly turned to face the street behind him and whispered to Raon.

“Go find Roksu and bring him as soon as you can, please. Also, tell him that you’re going to find a suitable punishment for him for slacking on the job.”

As soon as the weight on his shoulders left, he turned and glared at the brunette who was sheepishly fidgeting in place. It was annoying that she forced this interaction onto him, but he wasn’t going to ignore her now that they were here. That, however, did not mean he was going to be polite about offering her an ear. He crossed his arms and looked down at her with a sneer.

“So, why exactly have you kidnapped me to this dark and suspicious alleyway? You’re not planning on killing me, are you?” Cale narrowed his eyes as the girl in front of him jolted in shock at his words.

“No! No, no, no. Please don’t get the wrong idea! I swear I’m not going to hurt you! It’s just that… Well… It’s a bit awkward for me to explain…” She frantically waved her hands around as her eyes jumped from one thing to another, never meeting his own. He raised an eyebrow at her as he waited silently for an explanation.

“Right. Let me start from the beginning of the recess. I originally planned to return home to spend time with my family, but Imperial Prince Adin sent me an invitation to visit the Moguru Empire. I didn’t know how I could possibly reject the invitation with my status as a commoner, so I had no choice but to accept the invitation. I thought that he simply wished for me to witness his empire, but when I discussed plans about returning home, the prince laughed at me like I had made a joke! I didn’t take that well, and well… He tried to lock me in the palace; I decided to make a break for it before they could. I was in the middle of losing his guards when I ran into you, Young Master.” Alruna explained with a worried frown on her face.

Cale couldn’t help but mentally yell at the world. Of course, the protagonist had to get stuck on the route with the most mentally unstable and insane character in the game. The character he did his best to avoid while playing the game and after he settled in this world. The one character that he did not play a single route for because the flyer had described his romantic route as fatal and dangerous.

Who would even find such traits appealing? 

“And?” Cale asked. She blinked in confusion, tilting her head for him to elaborate. He rolled his eyes at her in exasperation.

“What does that have to do with you kidnapping me? What does it have to do with me at all?”

“O-oh. Well, I figured that it would be best if I made sure that the prince did not find either of us. You know how I’ve sought you out after the Autumn Festival to speak, right? Well, before I managed to briefly get your attention, I spent an extended amount of time trying to map out your schedule to make seeking you out easier! It was while I was observing you that I noticed that you were actively avoiding certain students, Imperial Prince Adin being one of the several individuals.”

This girl was more perceptive than she makes herself out to be, especially compared to how she was depicted in the game. The game did little justice in showing any traits of the female protagonist outside of her perseverance, kindness, and understanding. This is based solely on her narration and different choice options when it comes to her responses that impact a target’s affection levels.

“I could very well have avoided him without your intervention-”

“Oh? You’re avoiding someone, Young Master Cale?”

Cale could barely hold in his groan of irritation at the new company that appeared behind him. He glared over his shoulder and shuddered as a cold chill ran up his spine. There he stood -bright rays of the sun embracing his figure- the imperial prince of this empire, Adin. A fake yet polite smile graced his face as his brown eyes lazily trailed between the redhead and brunette before him.

“Yes, I am. Not that you’re allowed to be privy to such information.” Cale said passively-aggressively with a neutral face. He was putting on his best act so as to limit the amount of interaction with the other as much as possible. Seeing as Cale wouldn’t be giving much more of a reaction or response, Adin turned his attention to Alruna.

“Miss Alruna, you may not be aware of the proper etiquette, but leaving during an audience with royalty could be akin to a criminal offense,” Adin said with a glint in his eyes.

“A-ah, well, I do apologise for abruptly leaving earlier, but I needed to leave because… Well, because I, uh…” Alruna stammered through her excuse. She kept her eyes glued to the ground.

Cale couldn’t fault her for not being able to find a plausible excuse to convince this specific individual. Adin was known for being conniving and manipulative in a cruel and malicious way, unlike Alver Crossman. He was greedy and selfish, and thus, all that he does is in his favor and not in anyone else's. While the God of Death alerted him that people of this world carry a different fate from his original world, Cale couldn’t help but believe that their personalities wouldn’t be all that different compared to the people he knew of. This has only been proven by all the characters people that he’s had the displeasure of running into.

The question now: does he offer his help in this situation?

If he offers his hand, the possibility of being dragged into the mess that is Adin’s romance route is undeniable. He wouldn’t be able to avoid the imperial bastard as much as he’s been able to so far anymore. This means the likelihood of being killed is exponentially increased. In fact, any sort of interaction with the man would steadily increase that chance because he was that psychopathic.

The redhead did not want to deal with that.

On the other hand, he could ignore the poor girl in front of him and leave before he could sink any further into the trap. He would get away from this scene and return to his inn room, stay there for the rest of the vacation period, and not have to worry about the story progression between the female protagonist and the imperial prince. All he would need to do is take that step away and walk away from the alleyway.

Simple, right?

So why couldn’t he bring himself to take that step? His eyes silently observed the faint tremors that encompassed Alruna’s body as she fought to stop shaking in fear. In a way, she reminded him of an injured animal that was being cornered by a hungry predator. She seemed so weak… So–

Cale was gasping for air as he pressed himself against the wall behind him.

Before him was a towering being, one made of stone and seeping of deadly, black liquid.

He glanced around in desperation, hoping to find an escape route.

No good. It’s a dead end he found himself in.

No way out besides direct confrontation.

Unlucky.

Gritting his teeth, he turned his glare to the golem.

Was this the end for him? He didn’t even get to enact revenge for his family yet! Surely he could get out of this.

But what could he do against this thing? Made of stone, his sword was dubbed useless; liquid black mana warded off physical contact. There was only so much he could do.

He was only human.

So little could he do against this enemy. There was naught that he could do.

This was his end.

Resignation… What a terrible, terrible feeling.

Cale clicked his tongue in annoyance and crossed his arms. The sudden noise from the previously quiet redhead made the other two jump in realization and turn their attention to him.

“You speak of her ignorance, and yet here you are ignoring your own manners. I’m still present at the moment, you know? In fact, you interrupted my conversation with this commoner and even overheard some rather sensitive information. How rude of you to casually dismiss me without another word. I thought you, of all people, would be better than that, Imperial Prince Adin.” Cale spoke with an air of arrogance. He watched passively as the baffled prince was at a loss for words from the lout’s impudence.

Cale was taking a major risk with this move, putting all his faith in his reputation as a lout and trash to try and sidetrack the prince. After all, the redhead was pulling all of this talk out of his ass. Adin was the prince of this empire. There was absolutely no reason why he couldn’t dismiss Cale as if he were air. His word is absolute, if anything.

Here’s to hoping that Cale was able to stupify him enough to forget this fact.

“I suppose you have a point, Young Master Cale. I do apologize for my bad manners just now. Perhaps I could make it up to you by extending an invitation for you to my palace.” Adin smiled placatingly with a dark glint in his eyes.

Cale does NOT want to go anywhere with this maniac.

“I cannot care less for such endeavors, truly. Now, before we were so rudely interrupted, I’d like to continue my conversation with this commoner. Alone.” Cale emphasizes with a tilt of his head. With a thinned smile, Adin nodded in acknowledgement before stepping out of the alleyway. Cale could see that the prince was approached by his guards immediately, and Adin glanced back at them. Adin waved his hand to his men and lingered within eyesight of the alleyway, leaning against a stall and tapping his foot impatiently.

“Cale… I can’t thank you enough for this.” Alruna spoke with a shaky voice and trembling lips. Her eyes were watery but full of appreciation and wonder as she met his eyes.

“Don’t speak to me with such familiarity. I wouldn’t have needed to do that if you didn’t drag me into this mess.” Cale snapped. He could feel a headache steadily growing, and he feared that spending a moment longer outside would only cause it to grow worse. It was a gut instinct, but his instinct has yet to fail him. Although perhaps he should stop failing to trust his instinct. Maybe then he would be able to evade trouble better.

“Listen closely because I will not be repeating myself.” He voiced softly so as to avoid any other ears from listening in. Understanding the severity of the situation, Alruna leaned in closer and put her full attention on Cale.

“On my signal, we will leave this alleyway. Our prime objective is to avoid the fucking imperial prince. Just keep in close proximity to me, and we should be able to make our way through the crowds without drawing attention. From there, we find a suitable place to split, and then you’ll have to manage on your own. Got that?”

“How in the world are we supposed to leave unnoticed?”

“Nothing you should worry about. Just be ready to leave at any moment.”

Cale crossed his arms and closed his eyes, leaving the brunette to mentally prepare herself to sneak around in a busy street. He was pleasantly surprised that she was taking this as well as she has been, after all, she is but a commoner dealing with two infamous high-standing nobles. Other commoners would probably have collapsed under stress at this point.

It took a few more minutes, but as soon as he felt a familiar weight on his shoulders, tension fell from his shoulders. His kiddo was back.

“Human! The lazy duke is waiting for you across the road! He was worried about that guy over there and thought it would be better to stay back for now. Is that guy a bad guy? Should I kill him?” Raon asked as he shuffled closer to the redhead’s neck. Cale shuddered at the vicious question and shook his head slightly before muttering under his breath.

“Tell Roksu to meet me at the central plaza. You know, where that large water fountain was. If you don’t mind, as soon as we leave the alleyway, please cast an invisible spell with an area large enough to hide me and the girl.”

“You got it, Human! Oh, and the lazy duke said to pass on this message to you! He said to try not to get into too much trouble without him around to help you! Although his worries are unnecessary because I’m here! I’m great and mighty!”

Great and mighty his kid was. Cale opened his eyes and lifted his hand toward the brunette who held her breath. As soon as he dropped his hand, the two dashed out of the alleyway and entered the crowd. Cale gave a slight glance toward where Adin jolted in surprise before shouting at his men. Just as he expected, Adin sent out his men to scour the streets discreetly.

Or, well. As discreetly as a bunch of robed mages and armored soldiers can be. Too bad for them, so long as Cale doesn’t come into direct contact with anyone, he should remain hidden from their sight. While he doesn’t turn around to see, he could tell that the protagonist was following closely behind him, having little trouble evading everyone around them.

Good. Looks like she’ll be good on her own.

Once they reached a clearing where he couldn’t see any knights or mages, he turned to the girl and nodded.

“This is where we’ll split. Bye.”

Just as he abruptly entered that situation, he left her alone and swiftly made his way through the streets and toward the plaza. He quietly whispered to Raon to dispel the invisibility barrier since it was no longer needed. Just a few more corners until he’s back with Roksu and they’ll be able to go home and sleep for the rest of the recess-

He ducked just as an arm rushed past the top of his head in an attempt to grab him. Raon’s grip tightened on his shoulder as he continued to dodge and weave from his pursuer. From the looks of it, the figure targeting him was wearing a robe that covered their face and most of their body, with the exception of their hands and lower arms that were reaching out towards him. Their hands and arms were tipped in dark red and faded the further up the arm they went. Faint golden streaks decorated their wrists and fingers. Their nails were pointed and styled rather neatly. This was the same robed figure that he ran into twice before: at the Autumn Festival and at the pier not too long ago.

“Excuse my impoliteness, Young one. But I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. If you could just. Come. With. Me!” A low yet feminine voice came from the hooded figure.

“Yeah, that’s going to be a fucking no from me. Stay the fuck away from me, you creep!” Cale jumped back as they lunged toward him.

“I just want to know who you are! Or more importantly, what you are! Your very existence is messing up my whole operation! It’s very sensitive, and then you come barging in from nowhere!” They snarled at him with growing aggression. Just as Cale was backed against a wall and they made a grab for him, a tan hand interrupted the hooded figure.

The two followed to whom the hand belonged and were greeted with a firm frown on a beautiful face. With hair as pitch black as the night sky and eyes as brown as the jungle trees, the young lady glanced between the redhead noble and the hooded figure with questioning eyes. Behind her stood a tall, muscular man with wild brown hair and a multitude of scars littered across his skin. He looked interested in the hooded figure, completely disregarding Cale’s presence.

“I apologize for interrupting you two, but seeing as the young lord wasn’t even fighting back, I’m sure my interference was for the better. Surely you don’t plan on hurting this young man who doesn’t look like he can fight back, right?” The young miss reprimanded, sending a particularly hard stare at the hooded figure. The hooded person clicked their tongue in annoyance and yanked their arm back.

“You have no right to butt into this matter.” They mumbled before glancing at the redhead.

“Keep away from Alruna. Stay out of matters that don’t involve you, and I won’t have an issue with your continued existence. However, if you continue proving to be a nuisance to my plans as an unpredictable entity, I will personally come to eliminate you, variable.” And with a flash of bright light, they were gone.

How rude. It wasn’t as if Cale was intentionally putting himself into situations like this. He’s been trying his hardest to remain a neutral presence, if anything! The protagonist is the one who sought him out. She was the one who dragged him into this mess to begin with! And now, he’s faced with another headache-inducing scenario. He grimaced as he faced the two individuals who were still standing with him.

There in all their glory stood the Queen of the Jungle, Litana. Behind her lingered a certain barbarian warrior known as Toonka. The two were side characters in Oh My Dearest that made their debut during the tournament arc. Cale was unsure why they were here in the Mogoru Empire of all places, but this was way too early to deal with new characters people. He didn’t even have time to plan for this!

“Are you alright?” The black haired lady asked him with a concerned look on her face.

“I had that handled,” Cale responded with a huff. She gave him a blank stare with eyes filled with doubt. Even Tooka scoffed and pointed at him rudely, his brown eyes looking Cale up and down.

“You? Pah, you’re just a weakling! That other guy would have taken you down in seconds if you didn’t keep dodging.” He brazenly pointed out, making Cale’s eye twitch in annoyance.

The two in front of him were distinct in character, but somehow very similar in the way that they acted. While Toonka didn’t truly care for the weak, he did make it a point to be aware of who he thought was strong enough to face him in battle. He didn’t involve weaklings because he’s only interested in strength and thus usually leaves everyone else alone or ignores them. Unless they were a mage. He had some unresolved conflict with them that Cale was unsure about. On the other hand, Litana was a strong upholder of justice and was incredibly sympathetic to the weak. Like, incredibly gullible if you play up on the act of being weak. If these two were still active and participating in the war in his past life, Cale wouldn't be aware, since they would have been operating within their own territories. A couple of words here and there were all he came to know of their factions.

What he does know is that in this world, if you get on their bad side, they’ll make sure to beat you to the ground. Cale was not looking to interact with them earlier than planned, so he needed an out right about now.

Just as he was planning an escape plan, Cale felt someone tug him backwards into a firm yet warm embrace.

“There you are. Sorry to interrupt this gathering, but Eruhaben-nim is looking for us; we'd best get back to the inn.” The familiar deep voice of the Duke of the Ha-Na kingdom came from behind him. He almost let out a sigh of relief, but settled for simply leaning his weight onto the other student, pressing his back against his friend’s surprisingly comfortable chest. As he leaned most against his friend, he felt the other’s arm adjust to hold him better by wrapping it around his waist. 

It was a nice position, but he’d rather get out of this situation ASAP.

“You’re the one who got lost, dumbass.” He glared up at the Duke’s unimpressed face.

“Hm. Whatever you say, Cale.”

Roksu practically dragged him away after that quip, and only after a far enough distance away from the two supposed strangers did he gently let his hold on the redhead go. With wary glances around, the two humans and baby dragon finally let all the tension out of their system. Cale let out the biggest sigh he could and dragged his hand through his hair. A groan escaped him as he rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe the building headache. He felt Raon’s scaly tail repeatedly thump against his back.

“Human, that was so close! I didn’t know what to do when that hooded… Thing! Tried to grab you! They didn’t smell human nor like anything else I’ve smelled before! Whoever that hooded guy was, I'll be sure to blast them skyhigh if they try to do anything to you!”  The little black dragon cried in anger. Roksu raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that statement.

“Hooded figure? Was it the same guy from the pier?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

“Hah, I’m pretty certain it was. The only difference was the voice, from what I can remember.” Cale admitted as he straightened up and turned to his friend with his arms crossed.

“What did they do?”

“Nothing. They couldn’t even lay a hand on me before they got stopped by that woman. Said some shit about leaving that Alruna girl alone or they’d eliminate me. They called me a variable, whatever that means.”

“Alruna? That’s an unfortunate coincidence. So not only is she the target of ‘Heart’ but she also has a connection to this hooded individual that’s made contact with you twice now-”

“Thrice. It was my second run-in with them at the pier. The first run-in was during the feast at the autumn festival.” Cale said offhandedly, making Roksu grimace.

“Three times, right? You know that one saying? Once is a mistake; twice a coincidence; more than that is a pattern. Whatever it is that this person wants, they’re seeking you out intentionally.”

“That’s right, Lazy Human! That guy was trying to take my human away to talk! That’s called kidnapping!” The baby dragon tattled.

“Abduction. I’m not a kid, Raon.” Cale weakly corrected his kid. His friend softly hit his arm in exasperation.

“Same difference,” Roksu grumbled as he started walking away, expecting the other two to follow.

They soon returned to the inn and locked themselves in their room. Cale immediately crawled under the blanket of his bed and buried his face into the pillow. Roksu huffed out a laugh and went over to sit on the edge of Cale’s bed while Raon made himself comfortable on the Duke’s bed.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Roksu asked vaguely.

“I’d much rather just ignore their existences until I’m forced to acknowledge them,” Cale muttered as he turned his face to the side and glared at nothing in particular.

“That’s a valid course of action.”

“Just thinking about dealing with any of this is stressing me out. Why can’t everyone just leave us alone? I’m not even actively interfering with the plot progress! Maybe this world just has it out for me. Listen, Roksu. Don’t ever leave me alone when there’s a possibility of running into maniacs or that Alruna girl, you got that?”

“Mhm. I didn’t mean to lose you in the crowd earlier. I do apologize. Also… Plot progression?”

“It’s whatever. I’m just ranting. Let’s just sleep, and then we can tell Eruhaben-nim to take us back tomorrow. I’m so over the Mogoru Empire.”

.

.

.

The academic semester started back up once more in full swing. Students began to fill the halls once more and were chattering about what they did over the three-week vacation. Friends were giving each other some souvenirs and goodies that they were allowed to bring onto campus grounds. The staff members were busy organizing their plans for the week while also setting up for the upcoming events. A certain blond high mage was currently overseeing the rest of the aptitude tests for the remaining handful of students who were unable to test because of a troublesome duo. This time, they decided to call each student to enter a room individually for the sake of ‘privacy’. At least, that was the official reason the staff members were told. The disguised dragon knew the true reason was because of the spectacle with Cale Henituse Thames. In addition, several priests who were given permission were also present in the room, but they were placed off to the side where they couldn't disturb the test or bother the student.

The freshly made aptitude orb sat polished and firm on the table as each of the students successfully assessed themselves. So far, everything was going smoothly, and there haven’t been any issues or unpleasant surprises among the students. Of the remaining students, the only few that Eruhaben had any worries about were Cale, Roksu, and that girl they call Alruna. Originally, the girl wasn’t supposed to take the aptitude test because she was in the mage division, but after the incident with the young Henituse showing he had divine blessings, the staff thought it would be wiser to let all the commoners in the exchange program participate in the assessment. Speaking of her, she was the next student to come into the room.

“Hello, Miss Alruna. Are you familiar with this process?” One of the other teachers asked with a polite smile on her face. The student fidgeted slightly as she observed the magic apparatus in front of her.

“I haven’t interacted with this before, but I have a couple of friends who explained what I have to do and what the test does. All I have to do is place my hand on the orb, right?” Alruna asked with bright eyes.

“Exactly. The apparatus will then activate, and it will change colors depending on what you’re compatible with power-wise. This will include mana compatibility, ancient powers, awakened powers, and, of course, divine blessings of any level. Now, just place your hand on the orb and relax.”

The brunette took a steady breath in and nodded. She placed her hand on the orb delicately and watched in awe as the orb lit up a light pink color. Green eyes glanced up at the teachers in expectation. Several mutters from the priests could be heard as they gossiped with one another in their corner of the room, making the girl shuffle away from them uncomfortably. The teacher hummed in interest before addressing the girl.

“It seems that you have very high compatibility with magic, which was already established with your high grades and outstanding performances in your classes. However, are you aware that you have a divine blessing?”

“I do, although I’d rather pretend that it doesn’t exist. Hard not to notice when it affects the majority of the people around me…” She admitted sheepishly while scratching her head.

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like a significant blessing, and it poses no harm to anyone. Although it is a blessing from the God of Love. Any blessing from her is bound to be more beneficial and harmless to its recipient! You are a very lucky girl to have received this blessing.”

Alruna gave the teacher a blank smile, to which Eruhaben had to turn away to hide his amusement. The girl so obviously holds the blessing in disdain, yet the mortals around her can only view the blessing as some sort of miracle that can only bring good. It will be a good idea to keep an eye on her since he was told that she might have a deeper connection to the phenomena he was sent to observe. 

She left soon after, and the next student to come in was a certain infamous redhead. Seeing the young lord come in, the priests from the church of the God of Death perked up and watched intently as the lout skipped any pleasantries and slapped a hand onto the apparatus. After a quick moment of no reaction, the redhead huffed and crossed his arms impatiently as the teachers spoke with one another. Even the priests were at a loss for words, unsure what to make of the turn of events. Eruhaben remained silent but met eyes with reddish brown ones and gave a knowing look.

“It really does seem like it was a false alarm. We apologize for taking up your time, Young Master Cale.”

“Damn right you better be sorry. Fucking waste of my goddamn time.” He scoffed as he made a move to leave, but one of the priests from the corner called out.

“Wait! I- I still believe it would be wise for you to come visit the church! At least just to take a tour-”

“No. Fuck off, creeps.”

The redhead slammed the door behind him, leaving everyone shellshocked. After a couple of seconds, Duke Roksu calmly opened the door and walked in. He silently placed his hand on the orb, and the teacher in front snapped out of her daze and noted that the Duke had a couple of awakened powers as well as a couple of ancient powers. He nodded, unsurprised by the information.

“May I leave now?” He asked politely. After getting nods of confirmation, he turned around without another word and silently left just as quickly as he entered. The room was filled with silence before Eruhaben cleared his throat.

“That was the last of the remaining students that needed to be tested. Let’s record their information in their files and continue with our days, shall we? We have a long few weeks coming up, and we'd best prepare for them. We don’t want a repeat of the festival after all.” The professor warned as he packed up the magical apparatus and stored it away properly.

“Right…”

.

.

.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the school semester returned in session, and Cale was feeling better than ever. He’s been successfully avoiding people like Adin and Alruna like the plague while also avoiding interacting with anyone else outside of his circle. It was fun catching up with Paseton and warning him about the hooded figure. The half-whale prince might have worried and fretted over him for a moment, but after a fierce glare and scolding words, he settled down and said he would keep his guard up. Archie even poked fun at him, which Cale decided to counterattack with annoying remarks and taunts. Everything was going well.

A little too well.

Cale was pacing back and forth in Roksu’s room as the other was sitting on his bed, reading a book. Raon was sitting on the bed, eyes going back and forth as he watched his human with interest but also confusion.

“In a couple of days, the foreign students will be entering the academy as part of the school’s annual competition tournament. This gives students representing each outside school a chance to participate and form a friendly relationship between the schools. It also acts as a networking program for the students to get to know one another and connect. I don’t particularly care about the tournament, nor do I plan on joining any of the competitions. The thing I’m most worried about is the students coming in. This part of the story always allowed for the protagonist to meet secret characters. I don’t want to risk running into them. Hmm… The simplest course of action is to just stay in my room, right? But that didn’t work the last time I tried that… Plus, I’ve already run into two of said secret characters.” Cale muttered to himself, not worried about whether the other two heard his words. Cale groaned as he opened the journal he brought with him. Opening to a new page, he started to note down all the information he remembered about the tournament arc.

There were a few weeks between when the foreign students entered the academy and the start of the event. During these few weeks, the protagonist would be able to explore and meet all the different kinds of hidden characters and secret love targets and build up affection levels using the time-limited bonus boost for certain choices and gifts. Cale… Well, because he was so focused on the completion of a certain character, he didn't really find the chance to meet many of the extra characters during this arc, besides Litana and Toonka. The only reason why he was even aware of these two was because Roksu interacted with them once or twice during this entire arc. Hell, these two weren't even romance targets. He knew that there were several more hidden characters

As for the main event, there were three different competitions for the students to join during this part of the story, and they were open for any and all to join should they wish to. The first of the three was the simplest: the battle category. This is where the students duke it out and fight to their hearts' content and compete to see who is the strongest. Several professors and certified medics were stationed for this tournament to make sure all students are fighting fairly and that they don’t end up killing each other. Cale has only participated in the battle category twice, and it was when he was playing through Choi Han’s routes. The battle category’s prize to be won was a badge of prowess that the protagonist was gifted if her chosen target participated and won the battle tournament.

The second category was one of knowledge and smarts. It was just a glorified pop quiz that they host in the library to let students who were more book smart take part in the event. It was the competition that Cale knew about the most because it was in the same location where he could find Roksu most often during that arc. However, Roksu never actively participated in the event because he thought it would be too troublesome and unnecessary. He didn’t want to gain a reputation, so there was no need to network or spread his name. Cale was unsure what the prize for winning the knowledge category was, but if he was to hazard a guess, it was probably some sort of book or artifact.

The last of the three categories was a showcase of talent. Surprisingly enough, the very first playthrough of the game had Cale participating in this category since Crown Prince Alver was one of the judges for this competition. The protagonist herself would participate in the talent show and would receive a gift from the prince regardless of whether she won or not. Cale was still learning the controls at the time, so he failed the quick time event that was featured. Because he lost, he only knew the gift of a glass rose that the prince would give to lift the protagonist’s spirit. 

While this arc was interesting with the potential of discovering new characters to interact with, Cale was never too invested in it since it felt a bit silly. Plus, Roksu wasn't into the whole competition event either, so Cale didn't have to worry about it while he was playing through his endings. 

Based on Choi Han's routes, he managed to play before officially starting his life here, the protagonist typically only actively participates when she enters the knowledge or talent category. When Cale chose to enter the battle tournament, the protagonist would instead sit in the audience and cheer for any of the characters with high affection levels to increase them. Quite boring, if you asked him.

Cale had no intentions of entering any of the categories, and if he were to choose one, it would be the knowledge one, since that's the one he was least likely to get killed in unless the world decided to drop a bookshelf on him. He contemplated for a moment before writing at the bottom of the page his plan for this period. 

STAY INSIDE ROOM = 0% CHANCE OF ENCOUNTERING NEW PEOPLE.

STAY WITH ROKSU BECAUSE HE'S GOOD AT HIDING.

The lout nodded in satisfaction with this plan. Plus, if he went down, he’d drag Roksu down with him. It’d be better to deal with whatever problems arise together than alone.

The redhead nodded and smiled innocently at his friend, who was now sending him a glare full of suspicion. Ah, the wonders of having friends.

Well. Friend.

“Are you done with your manic episode?” Roksu asked nonchalantly as he snapped the book he was reading closed.

“I wasn’t having a manic episode; I was preparing myself for imminent disaster. This time, my plan is bound to work out, after all, you’re involved.” Cale responded as he stuffed the journal into his pocket and stretched his arms above his head.

“Human, am I also involved in your plan?” Raon asked with a tilt of his head.

“No. There’s no need for you to be involved in such mundanities. It’s below you. Although if someone makes me angry or annoyed, we can go prank them together. Other than that, you can just sit back and relax. The next few weeks might get a bit unpredictable.”

And unpredictable it was. Cale made an effort to stick as close to Roksu as possible for the next couple of days. When asked about it, Roksu shrugged and explained that it didn't differ much from before the break. On the plus side, it seems that people were more likely to leave him alone if he was with Cale.

That didn't mean that there wasn't a possibility for students to approach them. Especially students who aren't familiar with their reputations. 

Cale and Roksu were making their way to the cafeteria to grab some lunch when they encountered two familiar faces. The duo and invisible dragon arrived at the entrance to the cafeteria at the same time as the young lady and burly guy that Cale had the displeasure of running into when they were in the Mogoru Empire. 

“Oh my. I didn't expect to run into you here, Young Master Cale.” Her eyes lit up with recognition at the sight of his bright red hair. 

Cale had a few choices here. He could acknowledge her and greet her like a normal person; ignore her and pretend she and Toonka didn't exist; or he could act as if he didn't know her and treat her like any other stranger. 

“And who exactly are you?” She was the jungle queen; there was no way he was going to ignore her and possibly rile her up to the point that she beats him up. 

“Oh, my apologies. I forgot that I didn't have the chance to properly introduce myself during our previous meeting. I am the representative for the Jungle, the queen of my people. You may address me as Litana.” She introduced herself with grace and allure. She glanced behind her in annoyance at the barbarian who was sniffing at the air. 

“Hmm? Hm. I smell something powerful! Ahhh, but there were so many powerful people all around! Ahahaha! Can't wait for a chance to fight them all! Including you, Lina!” Tookna remarked as he leaned down with a smirk. With quick movements that Cale was able to follow, the queen twisted around and thrust her fist straight into his stomach, causing him to double down and hug his stomach. She smiled at Cale and Roksu before striding off past the cafeteria, leaving behind a heaving Toonka. 

“Hah-! What a feisty young lady she is! Hah… I'll be sure to fight her sooner or later-!”

“Sir Toonka. How many times must I warn you that duels are to be kept at the training grounds?” 

With a professor now present to distract the barbarian warrior, Cale grabbed Roksu's wrist and dragged him away from the scene. He could already hear students around them beginning to gossip, and he was not about to stick around to hear what they had to say about the queen knowing him. 

A couple more days passed, and he's been feeling optimistic about his evasion of running into more unwilling interactions. Roksu has been a huge help in this, thanks to the various places that he likes to visit to be alone. It's been nice just hanging out with him and Raon. He's even been able to teach Raon some tricks to handle annoying people without having to kill them. 

It is slightly worrying that he hasn't seen much of Alruna ever since school started back up, but Mary was constantly updating them every day about her before class started. Why? Who knows. Maybe she just wanted to make some small talk with the students whom she shared a table with. Or perhaps she sees them as friends? That would be something he wouldn't mind seeing as she had a reasonable head on her shoulders. 

At the moment, Roksu was currently inside a classroom assisting a professor with something he didn't care to snoop about, so Cale was waiting out in the hallway for him impatiently. He yawned as he stood up from where he was leaning on the wall and started to pace back and forth. 

He should have paid more attention to his surroundings. 

Just as he was turning around to pace back toward the classroom Roksu was in, the door to the classroom he was passing opened abruptly, and the person coming out in a rush ran into him. The sudden collision sent them both to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Students in the hallway watched in bated breath as the two groaned in pain. 

“Get the fuck off me!” Cale grunted as he shoved at the student on top of him. He wasn't able to get a clear view of the other yet, since his vision was being blocked by a mess of… 

Red hair? 

Cale blinked for a second, which gave the other enough time to push themselves up onto their elbows and knees. Now he was effectively caged on the ground by this student who hovered above him from an uncomfortably close distance. 

Reddish brown eyes gazed up into slightly lighter reddish brown eyes. Longer red hair spilled over the other student's shoulder like a curtain made of silk. A structured face with narrowed eyes and a sharp jawline was what met Cale's eyes as he processed who was on top of him. 

There was no way. 

“What were you thinking, standing right outside a classroom door like that?” An extremely familiar voice echoed in his ears as the male student on top of him grumbled out in irritation. 

“... Now that I think of it, it's a bit uncanny how similar we look. Hm… How interesting.”

“Hm? Your time is warped. How interesting.”

It was him. The White Star. The bastard who burned him at the stake. 

Instincts kicked in, and before he knew it, Cale wrapped his legs around the White Star's waist and flipped their positions so that he was now pinning the other student under him. With a fist gripping the collar of the cloak the White Star was wearing, he glared unseeingly into the surprised eyes and reared his head back. Then, with as much force as he was capable of in that position, he threw his head forward and headbutted the other redhead.

Cale scrambled to stand up after he saw that his hit was effective and stomped away from the scene as quickly as he could with the growing crowd of students. He pushed and shoved his way through the gathering and only stopped when he felt someone grab his shoulder in a firm grip. He turned to find Roksu, who looked at him with wide, concerned eyes. The redhead would have asked why he was making such a stupid face if the world hadn’t started to tilt and he felt something warm drip down his chin.

Ah, he got a nosebleed.

Well, seeing as his friend was now here, he allowed himself to trip into his warm embrace and fall into the realm of unconsciousness.