"The fuck are you two looking at?"

Believe it or not, that was the first thing Alice said after waking up today.

Leon's eyes twitched the moment he heard her voice this early in the morning. He slowly turned his head toward her, adjusting his glasses out of habit, and stared at her for a brief second longer than necessary.

Ethan, on the other hand, reacted very differently.

He scratched his cheek awkwardly and looked away for a moment. This was the first time he had seen Leon and Alice interact up close.

He already knew they were close, or at least familiar with each other, but seeing it in person was different.

The biggest surprise was Leon himself.He was not cursing her back.

Leon was just… staring at her calmly.

That alone made Ethan frown slightly.

'Why is he tolerating her?' Ethan wondered.

He knew it well that Alice liked to verbally murder others. Yet Leon looked completely unfazed, as if this was normal, and a part of his daily routine.

'Maybe they know each other from childhood,' Ethan thought. 'Or maybe Leon is just so used to her that he doesn't even react anymore.'

The last part made Ethan feel pity for Leon.

Either way, it made him curious.

Alice Nightson was not just some loudmouthed student.

She was Rank 6… and not something you can achieve with sheer luck. She stood at rank six, above all the two thousands enrolled students.

Ethan glanced at her properly this time. Medium length, straight black hair with a light shade of purple end, sharp ruby eyes, posture way too relaxed like she owned the place.

Her very sight was impossible to ignore.

"…Let's see…" Ethan whispered to himself.

He focused his mind slightly and activated his world system.

A translucent status window flickered briefly in front of his vision, which was visible only to him.

'Alice Nightson,' Ethan read the first line quietly in his head.

———「Status Window」———

◆ Name: Alice Nightson

◆ Level: C+

◆ Rank: Ignite

◆ Mana Core: Bright Red

◆ Core Level: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

◆ Race: Human

◆ Age: 17

◆ Affinity: 🔥Fire/🍃Wind

———————————————

'Oh… she broke into a Bright Red core.'

Ethan studied the details further.

'One star. So she broke through recently.'

Ethan himself was a four-star Ignite rank, three stars above Alice.

"…"

She was catching up to him.

In the first year of Eclipse, the number of students who broke into Bright Red cores could be counted on one hand. And most of them were in Class S.

Even among the top ten students, none had reached Ethan's level yet. They were also among the top ten who were still stuck at four-star Awakened stage.

That was not surprising.

Breaking through a mana core to the next stage was not something anyone could do.

The higher the stars, the harder it was.

Only princes, princesses, and high-ranking nobles were given the luxury of early tutoring from childhood. As a result, most royal-blood students in Class S already possessed Bright Red mana cores.

Ethan blinked and switched the status window to view her detailed stats.

"…!"

His eyes widened.

[Stamina: S+]

'Wait… what?'

An S-ranked stamina.

No, S+.

Even Ethan, who trained relentlessly, only had a B+ stamina.

'This girl sure is strong.'

Ethan closed the window slowly.

With stamina that high, she could easily crush most students in a straight duel.

He had heard about Alice before. About her bad reputation. About her personality.

But ignoring all that, there was one thing everyone agreed on.

She was exceptional with her weapon.

'I heard she's a Stage 5 weaponmaster.'

Ethan felt a faint thrill rise in his chest.

Now, he genuinely wanted to duel her.

Once he closed the status window, Ethan saw pairs of red eyes glaring at him.

'Oh… did I stare too much?'

Ethan coughed, and third shifted her thoughts.

Before Ethan could say anything, Leon spoke first.

"Why are you sitting here?"

His voice was casual, but his eyes were already narrowed as he looked straight at Alice.

Alice's gaze shifted from Ethan back to Leon.

"What?" she said flatly. "I'll sit wherever I want."

Leon glanced around the classroom, then looked back at her.

"Almost all the seats are empty," he said. "Go sit in front."

Alice stared at him for a second.

"…What the hell?" she snapped. "Now you're being rude?"

Ethan watched the exchange in silence. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He did not have the courage to step between the two of them. Something about the atmosphere told him it would be a bad idea.

"Rude?" Leon replied, tilting his head slightly. "That's funny coming from you."

His tone was light. Too light.

It was obvious he was messing with her.

Alice noticed it too. That was probably the only reason she did not punch him on the spot.

"Tsk. Whatever," she muttered, leaning back in her seat instead of moving.

Leon smirked faintly. Talking to Alice was irritating, but it also brightened the atmosphere.

"So," he continued, "you wake up and the first thing you do is curse at people?"

Alice scoffed. "Better than pretending to be a saint."

She paused, then narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh… Or should I call you something more fitting now?"

Leon's smile stiffened.

"…what," he said.

Alice's lips curled upward.

"Oh? You didn't know?" she said innocently. "What was it again? Hmmm…"

Ethan felt a chill seeing that grin on her face.

"Light Messiah." she said it slowly.

Leon's expression visibly cracked.

"What the hell, that's a stupid name," he said immediately.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Stupid? People are calling you that everywhere, Light Messiah. It's your identity from now on. You need to embrace it."

Leon clicked his tongue.

"That's exactly why it's stupid," he replied. "Say it one more time and I'm changing seats."

Alice leaned closer, resting her chin on her palm, her eyes glinting with amusement as she stared at Leon's face..

"Changing seats?" she repeated. "That sounds very… dramatic, Light Messiah."

Leon's fingers twitched.

"…"

Leon turned his head away from her slowly.

Alice blinked.

"What? You don't like it?" she asked. "That's strange. I thought the Light Messiah would be more accepting."

Leon leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a brief second.

"This is why," he muttered, "I don't like people."

Alice smiled wider.

"So," she continued casually, "should I bow when I talk to you, Light Messiah? Or is standing acceptable?"

"Stop saying it in every sentence," Leon snapped. "It's annoying."

"Every sentence?" Alice tilted her head. "But Light Messiah, I'm just helping you getting used to it."

Leon turned his head away.

"If you keep this up," he said flatly, "I'm pretending I don't know you."

Alice laughed quietly.

"That would be difficult," she replied. "People might start wondering why the Light Messiah is ignoring me, you know after you send those damn roses to me."

Leon shut his eyes for a second.

"Haa.. stop reminding me that."

"Anyways," Alice said with a sigh, stretching her arms above her head before leaning back in her seat. "It's surprising to see a Light affinity user in this era."

Leon did not respond.

"The last time someone had it," she continued casually, "was during the Age of Calamity."

She turned her head slightly and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Would you mind showing me a glimpse of it?" she asked. "I'm kind of curious."

"No thanks," Leon replied instantly.

There was not even a second of hesitation.

Alice clicked her tongue. "Tsk. Then I'll just complain to your sister."

"Be my guest," Leon replied calmly.

Alice narrowed her eyes.

Leon knew exactly why she wanted to see it.

Alice was a research scholar herself, and someone who was obsessed with understanding how affinities interacted with natural forces.

This was not about curiosity alone, but she genuinely wanted to study him.

And that was exactly why he refused.

Light affinity was rare, and something like that was not something Leon would give away for free.

He turned his head slightly.

"If you really want to see it," he said, "then I want something equal in return."

Alice's eyes lit up instantly.

"Alright, how much?" she asked without hesitation.

Leon's eye twitched.

"I'm not asking for money, you idiot," he said, rubbing his temple. "I want you to do something for me."

Alice blinked.

"Doo…What exactly?"

Leon smiled faintly.

"It's something only you can do," he said. "Care to guess?"

Her patience thinned at that point.

"Stop talking like that and just say it," she snapped.

He replied.

"I want a custom made weapon, and I want you to make it for me."

Alice went silent.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke

Alice's field of research revolved around artifacts and weapons. Ancient relics, Mana conductors, ancient spell reactors, she studied why ancient weapons were powerful and tried to replicate those principles in modern designs.

The Nightson Dukedom itself was famous for armors and weapons. And Alice was good.

She already had multiple research papers published under her name. Her knowledge rivaled that of Eclipse's assistant professors, and that was the exact thing which let her get referred by professor Esther.

Alice also knew Leon already possessed the Moonblade.

It was a perfect weapon, one that drew unstable mana and forced it directly into the wielder's mana core.

And it was very powerful.

But without the Moonblade's unstable nature, Leon could not fully perform Lumina's sword techniques.

And yet Lumina herself could perform those same techniques with any weapon of comparable power.

That was the part neither Leon nor Alice understood.

And that was the problem they both wanted to solve.

"So," Alice finally said, "you want another sword?"

Alcie knew he was efficient in wielding swords.

But…

"No," Leon replied, shaking his head. "I want something else."

Alice's eyebrow rose along with Ethan who was listening to their conversation.

"What?" They both said.

Leon ignored both her and Ethan's stares.

"I'll be the one providing a rough blueprint," he said calmly. "You'll be the one making it possible."

That single sentence made Alice freeze.

"A blueprint?" she repeated slowly. "You designed a weapon?!"

Leon shrugged.

"Kinda. It's just a prototype though…. There could be a few flaws."

Alice stared at him.

She knew he was a genius in spellcraft and magic theory. But weapons too?

Her curiosity spiked sharply. No way in hell she was going to reject this offer.

And a whole new blueprint designed by Leon, that was never something she ever expected to hear.

Alice exhaled.

"…Alright," she said at last. "Meet me at the research club after dinner."

"Fine with me," Leon replied.

Ethan, who had been silently listening, blinked his gaze.

"Wait," he said. "You two are in the same research club?"

Leon nodded.

"Yes… Under Professor Esther. I am temporary though."

"Oh," Ethan muttered. "I knew that. Still…"

He paused, then looked at both of them.

"I really wonder what goes through your heads," he said honestly. "Are all research freaks like this?"

Leon and Alice tilted their heads at the same time.

"Like what?" they asked together.

Ethan sighed.

"The way you both understand each other," he said. "Anyone listening to you two would instantly develop an inferiority complex."

Leon and Alice exchanged a glance.

Then, without thinking, both replied at once.

"That's a skill issue."

"..."

Ethan has no words left to reply to them.

He just sighed and stared at the doorway, where several footsteps could be heard approaching.

Soon enough, several groups of students walked into the classroom, chatting and laughing among themselves.

The noise lasted barely a few seconds.

One by one, their voices dropped.

Ethan noticed it immediately.

"…?"

He followed their gazes.

And then he understood.

They were all looking at Leon.

At the boy sitting casually at the very back, beside Rank 6 Alice Nightson, and Rank 1 himself.

At the one who had revealed Light affinity to the world.

Something the King had never allowed Ethan to do it.

Ethan felt a bitter sensation crawl up his spine.

"..."

Ethan straightened his posture without realizing it, and glanced straight.

At that exact instant, a translucent window flickered into existence in front of Ethan's vision.

──────「Quest Reminder」──────

◆ Quest Name: Reminiscence of the Past

◆ Objective: Explore Evana City and uncover the truth of their Calamity.

◆ Time Remaining to Accept: 48 Hours

◆ Reward: 01 Oracle

◆ Max Assistance recommended: 02

──────────────────────────

▷ Accept

▶ Decline

He turned to look at Leon.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.