-Frey Starlight's Pov-
A full month had passed since my return to the Temple and the start of the second year.
"You're looking way better these days, man."
Danzo slicked his hair back as we walked together down the main path toward class—me in the center, with Danzo on my right and Ghost on my left.
"Better? What exactly changed about me?"
I'd heard the comment more than once, usually from Danzo. He always paid attention to details.
"The bags under your eyes are fading, and your aura's different. You're nearly done with your emo phase."
He noticed things I never did about myself.
"If I had half your energy, maybe I wouldn't have had any of those issues to begin with."
The guy does push-ups until he passes out. There's a limit to how insane one person should be.
"Hey, neither of you could handle my energy...especially you, twig boy." He pointed at Ghost, grinning.
"…"
Ghost stayed silent as always. Normally that'd provoke Danzo, but lately the two had mellowed. They'd grown used to each other.
"How've things been with you, Ghost? Nothing bothering you, right?"
I asked that question a lot. His answer never changed.
"Everything's fine."
He never questioned why I asked. That was just who he was.
"Why do you keep asking him that every single day?" Danzo butted in, naturally.
"No special reason."
"Oh, I get it. Just look at him ...he looks like he might drop dead any second. How does someone fight with a skeleton for a body?"
Danzo started circling him like usual. Ghost, unbothered, answered coolly.
"This skeleton's more than enough to flatten your brick wall of muscle."
There it was.
"Haha! That's great!"
Danzo laughed and rolled up his sleeves.
Seeing what was coming, I drifted away from the scene.
"Then show me, you bastard!"
They'd grown closer, sure ... but a fight was still inevitable.
I glanced back one last time. Ghost dodged Danzo's swings like they were nothing.
The silent assassin had chosen me over Snow in the end. And since I wasn't pushing him away anymore, we somehow ended up as friends.
Ding!
Ghost Umbra
Affection Points: 50
This person considers you an essential part of his life.
Available Information:
Name: Ghost Umbra
Rank: B+
Combat Style: ???
Current Thought:
I wonder what goes on in that musclehead's mind… if he even has one to begin with.
I didn't fully grasp what that last part meant. Maybe it was related to the "light and shadow" talk he was always bringing up.
Still, Ghost belonged to the Shadow Court ... an organization that felt like a constant headache for anyone in its sights.
He'd broken their code during the Victoriad by using his full power. I expected backlash.
I even used the Third-Person pov on him a few times, but nothing happened.
Maybe I didn't know my old story as well as I thought.
Either way, I waited .. for whatever was next. But it was all still hazy.
I opened the system, glancing at the quest log:
Main Quests:
—Eliminate the Darkness of the Imperial Family : 5000 Achievement Points
Failure Penalty: -5000 Points
Death of the Prince and Princess .
Yeah…
I had no idea how that quest even triggered. It had just… appeared.
I made my way to class. She was there, sitting with the others.
Sansa. Alongside Seris Moonlight and Selena Hemsworth.
For some reason, I knew the darkness mentioned in the quest wasn't referring to her snake brother.
If the target were Aegon, the quest wouldn't have popped up now. As twisted as he is, he's still smart. He'd never go so far as to kill the Emperor ... and I doubt he could, even if he tried.
No…
The real answer was Sansa.
Ever since that mission appeared, I've tried getting closer to her several times, but we've barely managed to talk for more than five minutes. It was as if some unseen force kept pushing me away.
She'd grown quieter, her eyes darker, and her once-lustrous hair had started to lose its shine.
"Hey, you."
While I was absentmindedly staring at her from my seat, Ragna turned around from the desk in front of me.
"Ragna? What is it?"
The spear-wielding brute studied me for a moment before asking,
"Is it… maybe…"
"What?"
He leaned in a little, sparking my curiosity.
"What do you think about the princess?"
That caught me off guard.
"In what sense?"
I tried to play dumb, but he went straight for the throat.
"I think you're in love with her."
"And why would you think that?"
"Are you really asking me that?"
Ragna sighed, whispering as he leaned on my desk.
"You've been staring at her for weeks now. You keep trying to approach her. There are rumors already, man!"
Ah…
"So everyone thinks that, too?"
"Yeah. Get a grip, man! Don't let your feelings rule you like some animal."
Love advice from Ragna…
"No need to worry. It's not what it looks like."
I guess it's easy to misinterpret things in situations like this ...and, truthfully, my words probably didn't sound very convincing.
Ragna patted my shoulder and nodded solemnly.
"No worries. I get it."
"Get what? Like I said—"
"First loves are always the hardest. You're just unlucky yours happens to be the princess. She's way out of your league, but don't let that get you down! One day, you'll find your true love!"
He wasn't going to listen.
"Whatever, man. Let's just drop it."
Ragna nodded again, thinking he fully understood my 'struggle.' He must've thought I looked heartbroken after being rejected.
Class started, with Sophia as usual at the front. Sitting in the back, I leaned against my chair and stared at the ceiling.
'First love, huh…?'
I chuckled at myself, dumbly reflecting on everything that had happened.
I've been completely lost ever since I lost my reason to live. So I waited… and waited in silence, until that mission appeared ... something I took as a hint, a sign.
And the moment it did, I chased after it like a child, desperate for someone to tell me what to do.
I didn't even notice the way people were looking at me ... how I appeared in their eyes.
Now that I've finally opened my eyes, I realized everyone saw it. It must've looked pathetic.
"This really isn't like me…"
I wonder… does she think the same?
Ding!
Name: Sansa Valerion
Affection Points: 50
-Sansa sees you as a weird friend, but doesn't mind having you around.-
Current Thought: I feel sleepy…
So simple…
After all, that girl can read emotions through facial expressions. She must've already figured out that those rumors weren't true.
For the first time, I was actually thankful for her strange ability.
Still, that didn't change the fact that I needed to get a better grip on myself moving forward.
But thinking back on Ragna's words… love, huh?
I remember writing something like that in the Novel.
I glanced around the main characters near me ... each one had veered so far from the path I'd originally planned.
In the early outline, the war wasn't supposed to start anytime soon. The characters were meant to live peacefully for a while in the temple.
Naturally, that peaceful environment would've led to relationships blossoming here and there.
After all, they were basically high schoolers in a fantasy setting.
But now ... thanks to the looming war and all the changes ... no romance had bloomed yet. I hadn't even seen any dating among the elite students, despite how common it once was at the temple.
Honestly, I preferred it this way.
My mental age had long since passed thirty. The last thing I wanted was to get involved in some teenage romance drama.
Yeah… let's definitely not go down that road.