Aoi was leaning against the wall of the hallway, three meters from the library entrance.

She had her backpack slung over one shoulder and was looking toward the other end of the hallway. When she heard Takeshi’s footsteps, she turned her head.

"There you are."

She said with relief. Takeshi asked, 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Did you wait long?"

He walked over to where she was, and the two of them started moving toward the stairs.

"What were you doing in the library?"

Aoi asked.

"Returning the book I checked out yesterday and looking for another one."

"On the same subject?"

"Yeah, basic magic."

Aoi nodded and didn’t ask anything else about it. They went down the first flight of stairs and stepped into the first-floor hallway, which at that hour was almost empty.

"I was at sword practice until twenty minutes ago."

Aoi said.

"How did it go?"

"Pretty good. The instructor adjusted the guard exercise I’ve been working on. I had it almost automatic already, so the change was minor."

Takeshi listened without interrupting. Aoi spoke about the training with a level of technical detail that he couldn’t always fully follow, but it wasn’t necessary to understand every part to keep the conversation going.

Takeshi remembered and checked Aoi’s attributes.

[Strength: 90]

[Speed: 40]

[Magic: 10]

[Endurance: 70]

[Precision: 90]

They reached the side exit of the building and Aoi pushed the door open. Outside, the courtyard was bathed in afternoon light, still scattered with a few groups of students.

They walked along the edge of the courtyard toward the school’s main gate.

"And you?"

Aoi asked.

"Were you just in the library?"

"Yeah... Well, I also met someone while I was returning a book."

"Who?"

"A first-year elf named Nyx."

Takeshi said it without pausing or changing his tone, since there was no reason to. He looked straight ahead as he spoke.

It took him two seconds to realize that Aoi had stopped walking.

Seeing that, Takeshi decided to check her stats.

[AOI MIZUHARA]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 52%]

[Trust: 97%]

’Why did her stats drop!?’

Takeshi kept the conversation going.

"Do you know her?"

He asked, as if the question were a natural part of the exchange.

"No."

Aoi’s curt reply was followed by a direct question.

"How did you meet her?"

"We bumped into each other in the stacks. She was carrying too many books and wasn’t looking where she was going. All the books fell, and I helped her pick them up."

"I see."

Takeshi checked the stats again.

[AOI MIZUHARA]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 52%]

[Trust: 94%]

’It’s still dropping!’

He hadn’t said anything that justified that yet. Just her name and that they had bumped into each other.

He needed to clarify the relevant part before it dropped any further.

"She offered to teach me the basics of magic..."

Takeshi continued.

"As thanks for helping her with the books. We agreed to meet tomorrow during the long break."

Aoi didn’t answer right away.

Takeshi glanced at her sideways. She was looking straight ahead with a serious expression.

[AOI MIZUHARA]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 50%]

[Trust: 90%]

"It’s just going to be about learning magic..."

Takeshi went on.

"Nothing more. I need to understand the basic process, and she knows the subject. It’s a straightforward exchange."

"I didn’t say anything."

Aoi replied.

"I know, but the stats..."

"Stats?"

Takeshi tried to steer the topic away.

"The stats I get from your reactions..."

They kept walking and reached the area where the courtyard opened up toward the main entrance. There were more students there, some in groups, others alone waiting or heading toward the exit.

"It’s not that it bothers me."

Aoi spoke after a moment.

Takeshi waited.

"It’s just that I don’t know her, and suddenly she’s going to be spending time with you."

"A forty-minute session on elemental magic."

"I know what you said."

Takeshi was about to reply when he heard a voice from the left.

"Mizuhara."

Both of them turned.

The girl approaching had light blonde, straight hair falling in neat strands that framed her face, clear blue eyes, and a uniform with a badge on the upper left pocket that Takeshi hadn’t seen on any other student before. She walked straight toward them with the posture of someone who had no doubts about where she was going.

She stopped in front of them, and Takeshi managed to see her stats.

[LANSHOLT MERWYN]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 100%]

[Trust: 50%]

She looked at Aoi first, then at Takeshi.

"Hello."

She greeted him.

"I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Lansholt Merwyn."

She paused for a second.

"Student Council President."

"Takeshi Fujimoto."

"Nice to meet you."

Merwyn turned toward Aoi.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I need to talk to you about something regarding the council. Can we?"

Aoi glanced at Takeshi for a moment.

"Sure."

Aoi replied.

"Thank you."

Merwyn glanced briefly at Takeshi again.

"See you around."

She then took a step back, waiting for Aoi.

Aoi adjusted the backpack on her shoulder.

"See you tomorrow."

She said to Takeshi, who returned the farewell.

The two of them walked off together toward the right wing of the building. Takeshi watched them until they turned down the side hallway and disappeared.

He stood still at the edge of the courtyard.

’In the end, I couldn’t recover Aoi’s trust.’

Ten points lower than when they left the library. The conversation had lasted less than five minutes, and he hadn’t finished explaining anything because Merwyn had cut in at the exact moment Aoi was processing what he was telling her.

Takeshi started walking toward the exit.

’If I have time tomorrow, I’ll pick the conversation back up with Aoi.’

Takeshi left through the main gate and began walking toward the apartment.

He had a magic book under his arm, Aoi’s trust ten points lower than it should have been, and a student council president who had just appeared out of nowhere.

He checked his own stats as he walked.

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 60%]

[Points: 9]

’One thing at a time.’

He used one point to raise his sanity.

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 70%]

[Points: 8]

’Tomorrow’s going to be really busy, but before I forget, I need to talk to that damn god.’