Chapter 36
“Again! Again! Again, second place… I can’t believe it.”
Sasha crumpled the report card in her hands and shook with rage. Next to her, Stefan floated about with a dazed, blissful look on his face.
“Right? It’s unbelievable! I’ve never gotten grades like this before!”
Sasha tore her report card into shreds.
“It’s such a disgraceful score. I have to get rid of it right away.”
Stefan stroked his report card with tender hands, as though handling some fragile treasure.
“Second place in the monster mock exam! I’m framing this and passing it down as a family heirloom. Didn’t I do great?”
“I’m not even worthy of enjoying life anymore…”
“I deserve a reward. Since I did so well this time, it has to be something really special. What do you think, Sasha? Don’t you agree?”
“What are those two even doing?”
Adrian, sitting backwards on a chair with his arms hanging lazily over the backrest, muttered.
“Uh… who knows.”
Neither Sasha nor Stefan was actually listening to the other. Each just blurted out whatever they wanted to say.
Still, the conversation somehow kept going. Whether it really qualified as a “conversation,” though, was debatable.
“W-well, at least it’s good that we scored well too, right?”
Jaylin unfolded her report card again, rustling the paper, to check her monster mock exam results.
“Yeah. Too good, actually—that’s the problem.”
Adrian sighed heavily. Jaylin didn’t understand why good grades would ever be a problem, but since Adrian was always hard to figure out, she decided not to question it further.
“How about the rest of your scores? Were they good too?”
“Mm. So-so.”
Jaylin answered modestly, but her grades were objectively impressive.
She ranked near the top in her major courses, and though her general education scores weren’t the highest, she was consistently in the upper middle range.
On the monster mock exam, she placed 7th.
If the soldiers hadn’t moved out of formation in the middle, her team might have placed higher. But since every team had to deal with the same conditions, it wasn’t unfair.
Every soldier had abandoned formation at some point, so it wasn’t an issue unique to her team.
The exam had been fair. Naturally, the teams who adapted fastest to sudden disruptions got higher marks.
And 7th place was by no means a poor result. Out of all the teams that took the exam, 7th was firmly in the upper tier.
Just then, Stefan jumped to his feet.
“That’s it! We’re going out to have fun!!”
“Fun? Now? This is the time to start preparing for finals.”
Ignoring Sasha completely, Stefan darted over to Jaylin, grabbed her arm, and clung to it.
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go! The exams just ended. We can’t waste our youth rotting away here! Let’s go crazy in the capital!!”
“W-what exactly do you want to do?”
“Uh… well… I’ll figure that out later. The important thing is getting out of the academy. You can’t have real fun stuck here. Let’s head downtown, eat delicious food, and shop until we drop!”
Stefan’s face lit up at the thought of splurging. Jaylin hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“T-then… can we see the Imperial Palace too?”
“Of course. But do we really have to? The palace is such a bore.”
Stefan made a sour face.
“True. Just a bunch of stuffy old people crowding around.”
Adrian buried his chin in his arms and looked utterly uninterested at the mention of the palace.
“Oh! So you’ve been to the palace before, Adrian?”
“…Is there anyone who hasn’t?”
“I-I haven’t. I’ve never seen it before. I want to know what it looks like.”
Sasha’s eyes went wide in surprise.
“What? You’ve never been to the palace?”
“Y-yeah. This is my first time in the capital…”
“Where are you from, then?”
“From Eduardo territory.”
“Ah, that explains why you knew Lionel.”
“Mm…”
“Great! Then let’s go!”
Sasha leapt up from her seat, shouting.
“Eh? Go where?”
Stefan stared at her in disbelief.
“You said we were going out to have fun. I’m coming too!”
“No, but… why you?”
“What do you mean, why? You’re the one who said we should all go play.”
Sasha looked at him blankly.
“When did I ever? I was talking to Jaylin. I still don’t get why you’re here tagging along…”
They were in the cafeteria. Adrian, Jaylin, and Stefan had been talking, and Sasha just happened to plop down and insert herself into the group.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
Sasha clenched her fist, her voice silky smooth but full of menace.
“N-no…”
Wilting under her pressure, Stefan pouted and muttered.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“N-no, no! Of course it’s better with everyone. The more people, the more fun it’ll be, right? Woohoo!”
Stefan clapped and gave a half-hearted cheer.
The fist was closer than the law, and Stefan was a pacifist. There was no need to hand his friend a reason to start swinging.
Definitely not because he was afraid of Sasha’s fist. Not at all.
The next day, when Jaylin arrived at the plaza fountain to meet Sasha, she found an unexpected person standing with her: Lionel.
“What’s this? Tagging along like a goldfish dropping?”
Adrian scowled at the sight.
If it had been Nathan standing there, it wouldn’t have been surprising. But Lionel—who almost never joined unofficial social gatherings—being here was a real shock.
“Why’d you bring him? He’d never join something like this on his own.”
Lionel smiled warmly and spoke.
“You’re here too. Why shouldn’t I come?”
“I asked him to give me a ride since he already had business in the city today,” Sasha explained, stepping between Adrian and Lionel.
“Then finish your business and leave already. Stop hanging around.”
Adrian didn’t bother to hide his hostility.
“Sorry, but my appointment’s at lunch. Until then, I’ll be with you. I’ve got the morning free.”
Lionel’s pleasant smile only made Adrian bristle more. He was unbearably irritating.
“Ha. Why did I even come out here? I should’ve just stayed home and slept.”
Stefan, who had begged Adrian into coming, tried to lighten the mood.
“Aw, come on. Since we’re already here, let’s enjoy ourselves! It’ll be more fun with more people.”
Adrian stared at him.
The intense gaze made Stefan frown.
“What?”
“It’s not fun. It’s joy.”
“…Same difference.”
Adrian rubbed his temples, sighing deeply.
Unlike Adrian, who clearly despised the situation, Jaylin was thrilled.
She had only ever seen Lionel in his academy uniform or combat gear. Today, he wore casual clothes.
Beneath the fresh morning sunlight, Lionel shone as always. His shirt collar was perfectly pressed without a wrinkle, his whole outfit as neat and tidy as ever.
The sapphire cufflinks on his sleeves glittered extravagantly, but paired with the simple, patternless outfit, they didn’t feel overdone.
Just seeing this new side of Lionel—a side she never got to see at the academy—was enough to make Jaylin happy.
Maybe she stared too long. Lionel’s eyes met hers.
He smiled politely, and her cheeks grew hot. Unable to look at that smile head-on, Jaylin quickly turned her head away.
“All right, everyone, take one of these!”
Sasha raised her voice to grab everyone’s attention and handed out sheets of paper. Jaylin scanned the one she received.
10:00 Gather at the plaza fountain
10:00–10:15 Move to Imperial Palace
10:15–12:50 Palace tour
12:50–13:10 Move to Trafalgar Street
13:10–14:00 Lunch
14:00–16:00 Trafalgar Street Shopping I
…
19:00–20:00 Stargazer Tower night view
21:30–22:00 Return to Academy
The page was filled with an endless itinerary.
Adrian looked at Sasha in disbelief after reading it. The schedule even broke down travel times into exact minutes.
And it ended at 10 PM. Twelve straight hours, from morning to night, without a single real break. It was insanity.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am.”
Sasha answered with utmost seriousness.
“U-um, Sasha… what is all this?”
Jaylin, after carefully reading through the schedule, asked hesitantly.
“This is today’s plan! You said it’s your first time in the capital, right? I went through the top 50 must-see attractions and put together the most efficient route. Isn’t it perfect?”
Sasha proudly puffed out her chest and waved the itinerary in front of Jaylin.
