The afternoon vanished beneath preparations. Silver himself didn’t know how time passed by him. He found himself standing in front of a mirror wondering whether a black jacket looked better than a dark gray one.

"..."

Silver stared at himself, then immediately hated what he was doing. He was a fully grown man and here he was debating over clothing.

Eventually, he settled on something simple. A dark tailored coat, black trousers, and practical boots, it was nothing extravagant. The elite district already contained enough people trying to show off and he had no interest in joining them.

More importantly, he had finally chosen a location. The area is commonly referred to as the Upper Ring. It was located in the upper district, specifically in the northeast part of the Sanctuary, where major, expensive restaurants and boutiques were situated.

The restaurant he’d selected occupied the upper floors of a luxury hotel. It was expensive, private, had good food, and most importantly quiet. He didn’t see a reason to choose something below standards when he was wealthy. Silver checked the time.

He headed downstairs. A family vehicle already waited, one advantage of possessing Academy recommendations. A lot of people suddenly became much more cooperative.

The driver bowed.

"Young Master."

Silver climbed inside.

"Let’s go."

The vehicle moved through the gates and into the lower districts.

The contrast between districts always felt strange. The closer one approached the outer edges of the Sanctuary, the more obvious the difference became.

The upper districts were basically paradise while the lower districts were basically for survival. People here worked harder for less. Contractors fresh from the outer zones mixed with merchants and laborers.

Silver watched through the window; eventually, familiar buildings appeared.

The Contractors Hotel.

The place Ravenna called home, at least temporarily. The vehicle stopped. Several nearby pedestrians immediately noticed that this was because expensive vehicles rarely visited the area.

Silver stepped out. The driver remained behind. The hotel itself looked exactly as he remembered functional and affordable.

The receptionist looked up and recognition appeared instantly. Apparently, she remembered their first encounter and seemed to finally recognise who he was.

"Young Master Silver."

Silver nodded.

"I’m looking for Ravenna."

The woman smiled knowingly. Which immediately made Silver uncomfortable.

Five minutes later, Mallory answered the door. She looked at him, then looked behind him, and then back at him.

"...You actually came."

Silver blinked, his lips lifting into a small smile.

"I said I would."

Mallory looked impressed. As if reliability were a rare superpower, which, admittedly, it probably was.

She stepped aside.

"Wait here."

Silver entered. The room wasn’t large, a small sitting area with basic furniture, enough for comfort. The reality struck him again, this was how Ravenna lived. She was alone and far from home or family without any support except for Mallory.

A strange feeling settled in his chest. Before he could examine it, the bedroom door opened.

Silver looked up, then completely forgot what he was thinking for several seconds. Ravenna had clearly put effort into her appearance, it wasn’t excessive but just enough.

Her white hair remained loose today, falling across her shoulders. The simple dark dress somehow made her gray eyes stand out even more.

Silver suddenly understood why so many people in the novel lost their minds around beautiful women. His own brain seemed suspiciously unreliable at the moment.

Ravenna noticed immediately.

"...Why are you staring?"

Silver recovered, mostly.

"You look... Beautiful. "

The answer escaped automatically. Ravenna’s eyes widened slightly then she looked away.

"Oh," she mummbled," Thank you."

Mallory immediately covered her mouth. Silver suspected she was enjoying this far too much. Fortunately, Ravenna rescued both of them.

"We should go."

"Right."

The awkwardness returned briefly then followed them outside.

.

.

.

The ride toward Upper Ring took nearly thirty minutes. The atmosphere in the car kept shifting from awkward to less awkward then back to square one then eventually settled into something manageable.

Silver considered that a victory. Ravenna sat beside the window, watching the Sanctuary pass.

The lower districts gradually gave way to wealthier areas. Eventually, they reached the gates to the upper district. There were massive reinforced barriers, security checkpoints, and contractor patrols.

Ravenna stared then sighed heavily. He glanced towards her. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Is something the matter? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" Silver asked slight worry in his expression.

Ravenna shook her head.

"It just brings back memories," she smiled, a small smile, then continued, "When I came to find you, it was hard getting past these gates but now we’re entering so easily."

Silver paled a little. "I apologise. I’m sorry you had to go through that."

She chuckled, tucking a loose hair behind her ears.

"It’s okay, I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty."

Silver met her gaze and could see she meant it.

"Okay."

The gates opened and the vehicle entered, breaking any moment they had.

Silver’s gaze went out the window.

.

.

.

An hour later, dinner had arrived. The restaurant occupied the top floor of the hotel. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Sanctuary. The view stretched for kilometers with a sea of lights beneath the night sky.

For a while both simply enjoyed it, then Ravenna spoke.

"This is expensive."

Silver laughed mirthlessly.

"A little."

"A little?"

Silver hesitated. That hesitation answered everything.

"Oh my god."

He looked away. Ravenna sighed then laughed despite herself. It was the first real laugh of the evening. The atmosphere relaxed immediately.

Eventually, the conversation shifted naturally.

"What are your plans?" Ravenna quietly asked.

Silver was silent for a moment, contemplating.

"I got selected today for the Academy recommendation letter," he quietly started," there was a competition this morning to choose who was to qualify for the recommendation and I got one of the two."

Ravenna listened carefully without interrupting him. Her expression never changed throughout.

"Congratulations, it must have been hard."

Silver chuckled, suddenly feeling shy for no reason. He didn’t know how to respond to that.

"No, but thank you."

"So you’ll leave Delta-3."

"Eventually."

"Which alpha Sanctuary will you be going to?"

Silver was silent for a moment.

"Alpha-2, the recommended academy is there."

Ravenna looked thoughtful. What she said next surprised him.

"I want to go too."

Silver blinked then smiled.

"Good."

She looked slightly confused.

"Good?"