From the entrance walked a group of three striking youngsters. On the left was Max, dressed in the formal college uniform with his collar button undone and his tie hanging loose. A pair of goggles rested on his forehead, an accessory that seemed oddly out of place with the overall attire.

On the right walked Chloe. Her lean figure was clad in a tucked in, clean white shirt and high waisted formal black trousers, neatly ironed. A matching black blazer was wrapped over the shirt, its front button left open. Her straight lavender hair was tied into her usual high ponytail. In her hand, she carried a paper cup, its straw resting against her baby pink lips.

At the center was Vlad, wearing a skin fitted formal attire similar to Max’s. What made him stand out was the striking long red coat draped over his shoulders, worn atop his uniform. The coat’s empty sleeves swayed back and forth with every motion as he walked with his hands resting in his trousers pockets.

"You didn’t do justice to his looks by merely saying that he’s handsome. Look at his facial features, his posture, his sense of style, everything is top-notch," a girl from the group exclaimed.

"His eyes are red!? Is he wearing contact lenses? I’ve never seen such an eye color before."

"Woah!! He’s so hot. And look at the girl beside him. She looks like a doll. The gods truly have favorites. With her by his side, I don’t even stand a chance."

As the girls continued to gush about them from afar, Leo clenched his fists and strode toward the group, his expression darkening with every step.

---

"Chloe, you should wear your tie," Vlad said. "There is a fine of five credits for uniform defaulters."

"I don’t know how to tie it." She pulled the tangled tie from her pocket. It had been knotted at several points, revealing Chloe’s failed attempts to tame it.

"Let me teach you." Vlad took the tie from her hand, placed it around his own neck, and began tying it slowly, making sure Chloe observed every step with careful attention.

Learning things with a single observation was one of the many qualities that Vlad admired about her.

He took the tie from his own neck, slipped it over Chloe’s head, and tied it firmly before folding her collars down neatly.

"Here you go," Vlad chuckled, giving her head a gentle pat.

Chloe covered her face behind the paper cup, and said with her lavender eyes fixed on Vlad’s smiling face, "It’s difficult. I didn’t understand."

"Eh?" Vlad raised an eyebrow. "That’s strange. Should I teach you again?"

"No. I can’t understand it."

Now Vlad was genuinely concerned. What had happened to her learning ability? He was about to probe further when Max tapped his back and said, "Bro, it’s just knotting a tie. Let her brain focus on more important things. Can’t you just knot the tie for her every day?"

"That’s not the problem," Vlad said, shaking his head. He turned to Chloe and asked, worry evident in his voice, "Chloe, are you feeling well?"

He could not help but think about the potion she had drunk the previous day. Could she be experiencing side effects?

"I’m fine. I don’t want to learn it," she replied firmly, finally moving the cup down that hid her face.

"Alright," Vlad sighed. "I will do it for you from now on." He leaned closer to her and ordered, his expression soft yet serious, "Still, you need to tell me immediately if you feel anything strange with your body, hmm?"

Chloe lowered her head and gave a silent nod.

"We should hurry to the cafeteria," Vlad said, turning around as he glanced at the analog watch on his wrist. "Only twenty minutes remain before the lecture starts."

As he moved ahead, Max stepped beside Chloe and said in a playful whisper, "How about paying for my breakfast as a thank-you?"

"I don’t know what you mean, Mango Boy," she replied before moving ahead to follow Vlad.

They were about to enter the cafeteria when a sharp voice called out from behind.

"Stop there, commoner."

The group turned around to find Leo standing before them, his arms folded and brows furrowed.

"What’s with your uniforms?" he demanded.

"Oh, a familiar face," Max chuckled, a smile of amusement spreading across his face.

"Those goggles aren’t part of the uniform," Leo said, pointing at Max’s head. His voice turned polite as he looked at Chloe and added, "She should be wearing a skirt, not trousers."

Turning once more, a mixture of irritation and anger twisted his face.

"And you... why aren’t you in a skirt? Just you wait. Once the seniors from the Student Council find you, you’ll be in big trouble."

"Oh, my innocent Leo," Max said, shaking his head in pity as he stepped beside him. "It was the Student Council that permitted me to wear the goggles, allowed Chloe to wear trousers instead of a skirt, and gave Vlad the custom Crownbearer coat."

"But he should be wearing a skirt as punishment," Leo protested, pointing at Vlad.

Vlad moved closer to him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said,

"If there is something you can’t buy in the Academy, it means you don’t possess enough Credits."

With that, Vlad turned and entered the cafeteria with Chloe.

"Good luck surviving the Academy with your pitiful amount of Credits," Max laughed as he followed them inside, as though he hadn’t been equally shocked when he first saw Vlad in that uniform.

Last night, Vlad had requested Sophia to accept Credits in exchange for allowing him to escape the punishment of cross-dressing. Sophia agreed, but he had to pay thirty-five Credits, five Credits per day for seven days, the cost of the uniform he could not retrieve. Nevertheless, it was a small price to pay to preserve his dignity.

He was also asked to choose the color of the Crownbearer coat, and naturally, he went with red. It was delivered to his dormitory early the next morning.

Similarly, on their way back to the dorms, Chloe asked Sophia if she could receive trousers instead of a skirt since she wasn’t comfortable wearing one. Her request was approved after Sophia confirmed it with the President, although she had to pay one hundred Credits for the last-minute alteration. Again, it wasn’t a significant amount for the rich Chloe.

Once the trio finished breakfast, Max separated from the group and headed to the Research Department. Students who had already formed their cores were not required to attend the lecture.

"Chloe, aren’t you excited?" Vlad asked as they arrived at the classroom door. "Today, we will learn how to use mana."