step*! step*! step*!
William walked silently through the corridor, the sound of his boots echoed against the ceramic flooring.
Beside him, Seraphine walked with her hands clasped tightly together in front of her chest, her fingers interlocked as if she was afraid they might start trembling again if she let go.
William was dressed in his clean white academy uniform with a few wet patches of tears on his full neck white coat.
while Seraphine’s steps were slightly uneven, her attention was clearly not on where she was walking.
Her gaze remained fixed on the floor ahead of her shoes, and a faint blush threatened to bloom across her cheeks at any moment.
The redness had not yet fully faded from her face after the long session of crying and tight, desperate hugging they had shared earlier.
[She is a crybaby host, I advise you to keep some wipes in your inventory]
Now that her emotions had finally settled enough for her breathing to steady, words refused to come to her mouth.
Her thoughts felt tangled and embarrassingly loud inside her head.
William noticed her embarrassment and smiled faintly.
Together, they exited the dormitory halls and stepped out into the wide open campus.
The morning air felt fresh and the vast campus of the World Academy stretched out in front of them, filled with stone paths, trimmed greenery, and tall academic buildings.
They walked towards the first-year block where their classes would be held.
Students could be seen moving about in small groups, some chatting excitedly while others walked briskly with focused expressions.
"What time is it?" William asked casually as he tried to break the thick awkwardness that hung between them.
Seraphine startled slightly, then quickly flicked her spatial ring.
A green-colored pocket watch appeared in her palm with a soft shimmer.
She opened it and stared at the ticking hands for a second longer than necessary and then color drained from her face almost instantly.
"We are late," she said, her voice sounding urgent, her expression was clearly screaming, shit, I messed up
"Then let’s go," William replied without hesitation.
Before Seraphine could process his words, William reached out, took hold of her, and lifted her off the ground in a clean princess carry.
Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.
"Wha....?" was all she managed to let out in those few seconds..
William did not give her time to finish. Radiant Flash Step activated, and in the next instant, they vanished from where they stood.
Boom!!
A burst of blinding light exploded across the campus, powerful enough to make nearby students flinch and spin around in alarm.
For a brief moment, some even thought another cult attack had begun.
Dust swirled, leaves trembled, and startled murmurs broke out before the light abruptly vanished.
The flash ended directly in front of a large classroom door with a signboard marked S1 .
William came to a smooth stop.
In his arms was Seraphine, clinging to him tightly.
She had buried her face into his chest during the movement, her fingers were gripping the back of his neck as if letting go would send her flying away.
Her hair, which she had carefully combed and styled for nearly an hour that morning, was now a complete mess, strands flying in all directions in sharp contrast to its earlier elegance.
William gently lowered her onto the floor and steadied her as she swayed slightly, dizziness washing over her.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded quickly, still too disoriented to speak properly.
William reached forward and slid open the massive classroom door, then stepped aside and gestured for Seraphine to enter first.
She hesitated for a fraction of a second before walking inside as her hands combed back her messy hair, and William followed right behind her.
Seraphine barely took two steps into the room before she froze.
Standing at the front of the class was the homeroom teacher.
William raised his head as well and saw a blonde woman with striking red eyes dressed in a professor’s uniform.
Her presence made the atmosphere chilled and heavy. William recognized her from her red eyes and blond hair, a smirk flickered across his face before he straightened and bowed slightly.
"Good morning, miss," he said politely.
Seraphine quickly mirrored his movement, bowing silently beside him.
The woman looked at both of them with an expression colder than ice.
"On the first day of the academy," she said calmly, "you two have committed three violations of academy rules together."
Her gaze did not soften in the slightest.
"According to the academy rule book, you are both charged a penalty of one hundred and fifty academy points."
Seraphine nodded immediately and apologized to Miss Bloodrose in a soft voice before moving to an empty seat near the window and sitting down quietly, for her who was among the top ten, 150 points was a minor deduction.
William, however, felt sweat forming at his temples. He had barely two hundred points left, carefully saved for food, and now most of it was gone.
[Hehe, yea boi!]
William ignored the system’s mocking tone and cleared his throat.
"Miss, may I know what the three violations are?" he asked respectfully. "As far as I remember, we were just late."
Bloodrose’s red eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him.
"First violation," she said, "Mr. Kaiser and Miss Sylvaris arrived late."
"Second violation," she continued, "you performed a spell on academy grounds, and Miss Sylvaris was in your support."
"She was not supporting me in any way," William tried to clarify.
"Oh?" Bloodrose tilted her head slightly. "Then why was she on you the entire time from the academy dorms to the classroom?"
"I was giving her a ride,"
"Are you a taxi service," Bloodrose asked "or a student of the World Academy?"
William immediately shut his mouth.
Bloodrose did not get her name for nothing.
She looked like a rose, elegant and beautiful, and bled her enemies just as easily.
Currently, she was bleeding him dry of academy points.
"Third violation," she said, while gazing at the black Archon badge fixed at William’s belt, "as the Archon of the first year, you violated two rules on the very first day."
[I was wondering why she was staring there, so it was your badge... hehe, seems like I misunderstood.]
"Now, " Bloodrose finished, "will you take a seat, or would you like a fourth violation on your name for rebellion against your homeroom professor?"
William’s expression darkened slightly, but he said nothing.
He walked forward quietly and sat down beside Seraphine, thinking about how to manage meals on 50 points for a whole month.
After a few seconds, his gaze turned to Sera who was staring out the window with an unusually intense focus.
What William did not know was that inside her head, Seraphine was completely panicking.
"What the hell did she mean by saying I was on Will?"
"And why did he say casually that he was giving me a ride? That sounded so wrong!!"
Her thoughts spiraled wildly, her face heating up again as she recalled the feeling of being held so close.
William remained blissfully unaware that his innocent Seraphine had already been exposed to sinful and indecent novels by her red-haired friend.
Across the classroom, Katherine sat in the opposite corner, her red eyes resting on William with clear interest.
"My cute little blood bank," she muttered under her breath.
Then her gaze shifted toward Seraphine.
Her smile darkened slightly.
"Sorry, dear Sera," Katherine whispered, "it seems I might have to juice out some blood from your little honeypie boyfriend"