Emeris
Among the seven new students, she was the most distinctive in everything, whether appearance or strength.
Her long hair flowed behind her back like strands of pure silver, while her eyes shifted between gray and pale blue every moment.
No matter how much someone stared, they wouldn’t understand whether they were blue or gray.
She sat there between Valia and Naira, listening with great interest while curiosity filled her eyes fixed on Naira, who kept talking nonstop.
Ivan walked toward them with a happy smile on his face because he had found company to eat with.
It would’ve been sad if he had to sit alone without anyone to listen to his conversations.
With every moment, he got closer until he could finally hear their discussion among all the noise... or more specifically, what Naira was telling Emeris.
"After that, we woke up inside the train and found out the Artifacts were being stolen, and all the guards accompanying us had died."
"But under the princess’s and Elliot’s lead, the thirteen of us managed to stop the theft long enough for reinforcements to arrive."
Emeris smiled as she tilted her head with an excited look, her beautiful voice echoing through the place. "Amazing, it’s just like what happens in movies... but weren’t there fourteen of you?"
Naira nodded, her wavy hair moving with her. "Yeah, but that person didn’t join us and stayed hidden somewhere until the vice principal arrived."
Her brows furrowed in confusion as she asked. "That person?"
Valia answered from the side. "Caius Astroweild."
"Oh, but why do you always call him that person... does his face get forgotten easily or something?" Emeris asked, filled with curiosity.
Valia scratched her head while leaning against the chair. "To be honest, no... his face isn’t forgettable at all... it’s just, let’s say..."
She looked hesitant to continue, but someone else didn’t.
"Absolutely unbearable." Naira finished instead of her.
"And Elliot is more handsome than him... and kinder and—" she added enthusiastically as if wanting to switch to her favorite topic.
Valia shook her head upon seeing her friend start this topic again, but the sudden voice interrupted her thoughts as she turned her head to the side.
"Hello ladies, may I sit here?"
Valia looked at Ivan with boredom as she answered without hesitation. "No."
But the latter smiled happily while pulling the chair before sitting down with his tray in front of him.
As a result, Valia clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Annoying."
"Damn you, Ivan, you came and interrupted me while I was telling Emeris the story." An angry expression appeared on Naira’s face, not because he interrupted the story itself, but because he interrupted her favorite part.
Ivan ignored the two girls while staring at the stunning figure before him. "Hello Lady Emeris, I hope you’ve gotten used to the Axis and that these idiots aren’t bothering you too much... and you don’t mind me sitting here, right?" His tone was excited and cheerful.
Emeris stared at him with those gray-blue eyes as she answered with an amused smile on her beautiful face. "No, I don’t mind."
Ivan nodded happily at that while giving the two girls a glance. "See, you two should learn some manners from her."
Emeris laughed softly, while Naira clicked her tongue and Valia ignored him while looking at her food.
He redirected his attention toward the girl before him as he spoke. "Anyway, by coincidence I heard you talking about our amazing mission while I was coming here... oh, and that reminds me of those beautiful days when our class was united and at full strength."
"I always wonder if those days will ever return."
He spoke as if years had passed since then even though it had only been two months.
But in the next moment, he realized his mistake and looked at Emeris apologetically. "Don’t misunderstand me, Lady Emeris. I’m happy you’re here, and the others are great too, unlike these two miserable girls here."
Emeris leaned closer to the table while resting her head on both hands in a cute manner. "Why are you apologizing? And why are you calling me Lady?"
A certain memory from a week ago returned to Ivan’s mind, when the muscle-head called her an annoying girl, and what happened afterward during practical training was something Ivan would never forget.
"Well... I thought you might get annoyed or something."
Emeris smiled while waving one hand as if brushing something away. "No, why would I? Just call me by my name."
Ivan nodded while putting a spoonful of food into his mouth before quickly swallowing it.
"Anyway, Ivan, everyone says your missing classmates were extremely strong, especially the first and second ranks." Emeris asked curiously, while Ivan nodded enthusiastically after finding another chance to chatter.
"Well, they were strong, but only the first two were truly special compared to the rest. I mean, the others like me are strong too... speaking of that, I fought the princess and almost won during the test."
He realized he was about to drift off-topic.
"The important thing is, if you’re curious, there was Elliot, and I can say he was the strongest in our class... I mean, he has three or maybe four abilities... I’m not completely sure."
Ivan scratched his head uncertainly about the number of Elliot’s abilities, and at the same time Emeris waved her hand, asking to change the topic. "I already know that. Naira told me every little detail about him, from how strong, handsome, charming, and kind he is... I don’t know, but I think she’s in love with him."
"Pffft— Emeris!" Naira spat out her juice before shouting, redness appearing across her face.
But Emeris ignored that and simply smiled. "Tell me about the first rank. Is he really an evil, cheap, cowardly scoundrel... and devilishly handsome?"
This time it was Ivan’s turn to be stunned as he opened his mouth for a few moments. Even though it had already been three weeks since Emeris joined them, he still didn’t fully understand her personality.
She also hadn’t interacted much with them until recently because she had been busy adapting, catching up, and taking many tests.
He quickly closed his mouth and smiled awkwardly. "May I ask where you heard those descriptions from?"
She answered without hesitation. "Not much, just some small conversations here and there... and it seems Valia and Naira don’t like him."
The two girls nodded.
Ivan’s smile relaxed as he shook his head. "No, he’s almost none of that. The others just don’t understand him... look at these two, they said he didn’t help during the fight against the Artifact thieves, but he was the one who got us out of the dream when—"
Ivan stopped midway through his words while placing a hand over his mouth. ’That was close.’
He almost accidentally told them that Caius was the one who killed Professor Lux.
He quickly changed the subject. "Like I said, he’s really strong, and well, that lunatic wouldn’t hide from any battle. Would you believe me if I told you he slaughtered half the criminals in the city alone and somehow blew apart a Rank 3 monster’s head... well, he said he fed it his arm, but I don’t really believe that."
"Oooh... that sounds exciting."
Ivan nodded. "Yeah, he’s a bit rude, but you can’t call him a devil... and about that, he really is very handsome... of course I’m also very handsome, but I don’t know what demons have to do with the topic. These teenage girls just exaggerate things."
Emeris nodded enthusiastically while listening to him. "Yeah, they love adding drama to things."
The two of them kept talking nonstop while Valia and Naira exchanged looks as if they were stunned by how well those two got along.
Time passed with Ivan telling this girl many stories, and in the end it turned into him giving her a summary containing almost everything about the others.
Emeris leaned back on her chair. "This is amazing... far better than these boring days."
She placed her hands together while asking something else. "So what exactly happened to them, and more importantly, when will they return?"
For a moment, the three stopped eating at that question before Ivan answered after swallowing his food. "Honestly, we don’t know what happened. We were sent on a different mission when they disappeared."
Naira spoke from the side. "But it was said they’re alive, which means they’ll return."
"Elliot will return..." she muttered quietly before falling silent and staring at her plate.
They didn’t know exactly what happened to their classmates, and they hadn’t been told anything except that they were still missing... and still alive for now, while efforts were being made to bring them back.
Some believed that, while others did not.
But for Ivan, the possibility of them being alive was far smaller than their deaths, and the Axis’s words held no meaning to him. It was obvious they were merely fabricated nonsense.
He was certain that if they had been ordinary commoners or lower nobles, their deaths would’ve already been announced... well, there was nothing to do except hope for the companions’ return.
When Emeris noticed the atmosphere, she changed the topic while glancing at her phone. "Well guys, class will start soon, so we should leave now before we’re late."
Ivan nodded.
"Yeah, I don’t want to get scolded by that grumpy professor."