"There he is… the future Captain of Rodova!" Mu Shen called out, pointing dramatically towards Leo as he walked into the mess hall.
Immediately, the entire hall broke into hoots and cheers, clapping and whistling as Leo made his way to their table.
Leo, however, showed no particular reaction to their cheers, his expression calm, almost cold, as he slipped into the empty seat beside Su Yang.
"So… how did it go? Did Principal Alric make you Captain?" Mu Ryan asked eagerly, leaning over the table with wide, expectant eyes.
However, listening to her question, Leo could only lower his head for a moment, as he felt unsure about how to break the news to the group.
After a while, he glanced up at Su Yang first, meeting his gaze before replying.
"Alric did offer me the captaincy,"
A brief spark of anticipation lit in Mu Ryan's eyes—only for Leo to crush it a second later.
"But I refused."
As listening to his response, Su Yang raised an eyebrow, not angry, just curious.
"If you refused because you think I should take it instead… I'll say it right now, we can settle it with a duel. Winner gets captaincy. No hard feelings." He proposed, as Leo shook his head immediately.
"No. I can't be Captain. Because…" he paused for half a breath, letting the weight of what he was about to say next settle, "...I'm leaving Rodova at the end of the semester."
*Silence*
The words seemed to stun the whole table into silence.
Mu Ryan blinked, confused. "Leaving? Leaving meaning what? You're skipping the hell training camp? Taking an early vacation or something?"
As Leo shook his head again, slower this time.
"No. Leaving as in leaving the academy. I'm joining the Black Serpents after the semester ends."
For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
The cheerfulness, the smiles, the easy atmosphere, all of it evaporated, as the weight of his words truly settled.
It felt like a hammer had suddenly just dropped on the table, and it seemed to affect Su Yang more than the others, as—
*BAM!*
Su Yang slammed both his palms, the impact making the plates and cups on the table next to them jump, as he startled the nearby students.
Then—
Without saying another word, he pushed himself up violently from his chair and stormed off, muttering under his breath loud enough for the whole group to hear—
"Man, this is some bullshit!"
And then he was gone, leaving Leo and the others sitting amidst the heavy, sudden silence he left behind.
The meal they had been looking forward to… forgotten.
The celebration they had been planning… soured.
And all that remained was a dull ache of something precious slipping away, even before it had a chance to begin.
"Why are you leaving though? Isn't becoming the Captain and leading your team to a circuit win the dream? We can do it Leo! You, Su Yang and me, the three of us can be unstoppable next year? Don't you believe in us?" Mu Shen asked, seemingly unable to comprehend why Leo was leaving when they could potentially be champions again next year, as in his mind there was no greater honor than being a circuit champion.
"Yes, big brother… Leaving Rodova early is not the best course of action. We can have so much fun together next year…. And you won't even have to deal with Professor David!
Why are you leaving?" Mu Ryan asked, as Leo let out a deep sigh.
"Darnell Nuna put his life in danger when he jumped ahead of me and tried to attack the Evil Cult bastards.
I owe him a debt of honor.
I can't enjoy my academy life in good conscience knowing that he's out there captured by the cult, and I'm enjoying life here unbothered." Leo answered with a straight face, as his words left Mu Ryan and Mu Shen speechless.
Had Leo gave a logical answer, they would have perhaps tried to persuade him against it using counter logic, however, since he gave an emotional one the two of them were rendered speechless.
Even if they wanted, they couldn't oppose such a noble ambition once Leo had set his mind to it, and hence although they put up some weak protests, in the end they could not say anything much about it.
However, Leo didn't care much about the two of them to begin with.
The person he wanted to convince was Su Yang, however, he did not linger around enough to listen to his reason.
'Whatever…..I still have time. I'll talk to him sometime in the coming month—' Leo thought, as he moved away from the topic for now, and focused on enjoying his first meal back, although Mu Shen and Mu Ryan looked like they had completely lost their appetite.
—-----------
Su Yang stormed through the academy courtyard, fists clenched at his sides.
The longer he walked, the angrier he got, as Leo's decision to suddenly leave the academy made him feel like he was being betrayed by a family member.
For him, Leo wasn't just a teammate.
He wasn't just another student.
He was his brother.
And deep down, Su Yang had always thought—assumed—that there was an unsaid promise between them.
An unsaid promise, that after everything they had endured together—the battles, the wins, the losses, the grind— that they would lead Rodova side by side next year.
That they would bring home a trophy of their own.
But now?
Now Leo was throwing it all away.
As not only was he leaving. He hadn't even consulted Su Yang before making the decision, which hurt Su Yang even more.
He just… informed him.
Like his thoughts on the topic didn't even matter.
Like their bond, meant nothing to him in the grand scheme of things, and it hurt Su Yang very much.
"Man, this is bullshit," Su Yang muttered under his breath again, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he reached the edge of the training grounds.
He wanted to punch something.
No—he wanted to punch Leo.
Just once. Just hard enough to knock some sense into that thick skull of his.
'How can you just decide to walk away, Skyshard?'
'How can you decide something like that without even talking to me?'
Su Yang's jaw tightened painfully as he stared up at the clear blue sky above the academy.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to fight.
But most of all…
He just wanted his brother to stay.