The unpleasant feelings Dante felt slightly worsened as he returned to his dormitory. Sara couldn't keep him in class and simply had to accept that Dante was doing what he wanted. Now, Dante was in the shower, sitting on the floor while water fell on his head. His eyes were somewhat lifeless, and his hair lost its black color; once again, it was red.
"I have to overcome this somehow."
"I can't go on like this..."
"Damn dreams."
He left the shower and got dressed again. He skipped two classes, but there were still two more to attend, so he had to go.
While changing, Dante glimpsed the sheath of his sword hanging over the bed's headboard.
"I need to fix that, but where am I going to find a blacksmith?" was the main problem Dante had now.
His carelessness had turned his first weapon, given to him by Valentina, into nothing more than shattered glass, thousands of pieces due to the enormous destruction caused by Durandal.
Mana strengthening on the blade helped keep the pieces together, and it might be possible to recover it, but it's uncertain. If the blacksmith isn't someone very skilled, there's no chance of restoring the blade, and Dante was feeling a bit desperate.
Why? Why did the blade matter so much? The blade itself didn't matter; he was just finding an excuse not to think about his bigger problems. The blade itself was more important as a gift from his beloved Valentina.
It was something more emotional than functional. Valentina would say it's just a tool, but Dante saw it as a present that meant "Use it to protect yourself."
Their mindsets were different, and that's why many things Valentina said, Dante took as teachings that may or may not be beneficial. Unlike Valentina, Dante wasn't cruel and didn't treat weapons as mere objects, but often her teachings and perspectives clashed to see which one prevailed.
"I need to fix this..." he muttered and got up, leaving the dormitory and descending the stairs.
"The town isn't far. Maybe I can find an experienced blacksmith to fix it."
"Even if I find one, I won't have enough money to pay for the repair. Damn it, Mom... why didn't you give me money?"
While Dante was having a tough day, on the other side of the school...
Sara was sitting with a girl of oriental appearance like herself, a longtime acquaintance named Akiko Tanaka.
She had long black hair cascading down to her mid-back, and her eyes were ordinary but quite expressive, with amber coloration. She looked like a typical Japanese student.
"Akiko," Sara muttered as she lowered her head, ignoring all the explanations from the History teacher in front of her.
"Yeah?" She asked, confused by Sara's casual way of speaking, one of the main changes she had sensed, the casualness Sara had begun to adopt since she arrived at this school.
"I'm feeling strange," she said as she covered her tired and melancholic face with her arms and laid her head on the classroom desk.
"What are the symptoms?" Akiko asked monotonously. She knew Sara would say something unthinkable, and she already understood the mind games of her childhood friend, so she didn't want to try to figure out what she wanted.
"Dante... he's making me feel strange," Sara said softly, and Akiko stared at the girl's bowed head on the table. She felt a slight urge to smack the princess's head, but she took a deep breath and tried to understand.
'Damn it, Lady Lyriana... I won't be able to do this!' Akiko recalled the words of her Empress. 'Don't let Sara fall in love with anyone! It's an order!'
[Complete Silence.] Akiko cast a small spell that covered only their voices so the teacher wouldn't notice.
"Sara, no," she said a bit louder, and Sara raised her head, realizing the small sound barrier around them.
"As your confidante, I say no. Stop getting involved with Dante Scarlet," she said again, and Sara's eyebrows slightly arched in surprise and confusion.
"I think you're confusing things, Aki—"
"Sara, you're already in love with him," she said instantly, not letting Sara finish, and Sara's face blushed slightly.
"See!" She said in a louder tone. "Sara, think it through!"
"I'm not in love with him, damn it!" she said. "I just want to understand what happened!"
"Is that all?" Akiko raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Yes! Just that!" Sara retorted and turned her face, which continued to be slightly flushed.
The spell dissipated, and the class continued calmly as the teacher left the room, and then a voice came from the back.
"Did you hear? That guy got into a fight against 4 students." A boy said to another who sat behind Sara and Akiko.
"A weakling, must have taken a beating," they said, and for a few seconds, the whole room started whispering about the incident.
"I heard one of them was the son of the Wolf King." One of them said, and Sara raised her eyebrows. She hadn't identified the boys, as when she arrived, she only saw them unconscious and with their faces covered; to her, they were just demi-humans.
"Where did you hear that?" Sara commented, turning around and staring at the two students.
"A guy from class 1-D. He said a guy from his class was getting beaten up in the bathroom, and this guy from our class tried to intervene but ended up fighting one against four and got beaten up," he said.
Sara felt an astronomical urge to kill this guy, and her eyes glowed slightly golden. She tried to get up, but her arm was held back by Akiko.
"Not, Princess," she said in a commanding tone, making Sara sit back and huff slightly.
'Where are you...' were her only thoughts. Everything for her was utterly confusing.