Because of the duel, most of the classes scheduled after it were postponed and rescheduled for later in the day, after lunch.

It was not even noon yet, but the Eclipse grounds were already as lively as ever.

With more than five hundred departments spread across different fields, Eclipse never truly stopped.

Every department followed its own schedule. While one class was delayed, another had already started.

Guest lecturers were common as well. Weapon masters, researchers, and specialists like Sir Tyler were invited every year to handle classes regular faculty could not.

Naturally, the institute invested heavily in Class A and Class S.

Those classes were not chosen at random. They represented students with the highest probability of producing tangible results. Eclipse was not an academy built on ideals alone. It was an institution that demanded returns.

That did not mean the lower-ranked classes were ignored.

The truth was simpler than most people liked to admit.

Resources were finite, attention was finite, and time was finite.

Investing more in those who had already proven their capability was not cruelty. It was the most efficient route.

Students in Class S had not been placed there by coincidence. They earned their position through examinations, relentless competition, and consistent results.

Calling that unfair was easy, but accepting that effort created distance was harder.

Nothing came free after all.

At the same time, Eclipse never completely turned its back on the lower classes. Professors were always watching them.

Students who proved themselves, regardless of where they started, were given chances to climb up. No one would stop them.

If you want to be in class S, then become one.

That was the system.

Alice dragged Leon through the corridors without slowing down even once.

She did not care who was passing by.

Students, professors, assistants, it did not matter to her as she used some questionable 'words'. Her grip on Leon's sleeve was tight, it was almost possessive.

"Those fuckass piss me off so much," she snapped. "So. Fucking. Much!"

Leon stumbled slightly as she pulled him around a corner. "Hey now…"

"Disqualified, he said," Alice continued, her voice rising. "Wow. Amazing. Fuck me sideways for pulling one simple stunt meant to be a bluff! It was a fucking buff. Not a fucking execution. Do I look like a serial killer?!"

Leon rolled his eyes behind her.

"Critical strike he said! My ass!" she went on. "I measured that shit. I knew exactly how far the blade would go. But noooo, apparently I'm the crazy one."

She clicked her tongue sharply.

"Every time," she muttered. "Every fucking time!"

Her cursing did not even surprise Leon anymore.

At this point, Alice without cursing felt unnatural.

People around them slowed down as they passed. Some turned their heads. Some whispered and a few stared at her openly.

Alice noticed them but she just did not care.

"Haaah…" Leon sighed quietly.

This was her alright. Loud, abrasive, and honest to a fault.

And annoying as hell.

But Leon did not pull away his hands.

He wanted her beside him.

Because beneath all that fury, Alice was terrifyingly sharp, she was a genuine genius. One that got burned simply because she refused to fit neatly into what others wanted her to be.

Leon glanced around, then frowned slightly.

"This isn't the way to the infirmary," he said.

Alice stopped so abruptly that Leon nearly bumped into her.

"Ooof.."

She turned her head halfway, looking at him over her shoulder with a flat expression.

"Yeah," she said casually. "Because I'm not going to the infirmary."

Leon blinked. "Huh? But didn't you get hurt?"

"I did," she replied. "And the professor shoved a healing potion down my throat, remember? Plus I'm not tired at all."

Leon stared at her for a second.

"…Right."

S rank stamina. Of course.

He felt a little jealous.

"Then where are we going?" he asked.

Alice turned back forward and started walking again, dragging him along.

"To eat," she said. "I want something sugary before I bite someone's head off."

Leon did not argue.

Honestly, he was hungry too. Between last night and awakening Rumi, he had barely eaten anything.

As they walked, Leon shifted his focus inward.

'Say, Rumi, he asked mentally. You can eat like a normal human, right?'

Her reply came instantly.

'I can mimic the action in my humanoid form. However, physical food does not provide me with energy.'

'But you can taste it?'

'Yes. That part is functional.'

Leon hummed.

'So that means you have something you like the taste of.'

There was a pause, it was longer than usual.

Then she answered.

'I do not remember clearly. But I remember what you like to eat, Haru.'

Leon's steps slowed slightly.

'Oh? And what might that be?'

'From what I gathered, it was called takoyaki.'

Leon smiled faintly.

"Heh… yeah. That's right," he murmured under his breath.

'But that was something my old self liked.'

Rumi spoke again, softer this time.

'Do you not like your old self?'

Leon slowed his steps.

Inside, something tightened in his heart.

'What makes you say that?' he had to ask.

'Because you separated him from yourself. You spoke of him as if he were someone else now…. Personally, I liked your past self the most. You were free. You did not hesitate to reply if someone looked down on you. You were not burdened at all.'

Leon exhaled slowly.

'Well, true. I achieved what I wanted back then. But it wasn't easy, you know.'

'Mhm. I learned about your true goal, Haru. Do you truly wish to follow it?'

Leon almost sneered. Almost avoided answering her.

But he didn't.

'I'm very close to achieving it. If you don't like it, you can tell me.'

'I don't dislike it,' Rumi replied. 'I can help you achieve it. And isn't that why you changed your goal in the first place?'

Leon's chest tightened.

He stopped completely.

"Leon?"

Alice felt the sudden resistance and turned around. Her grip had shifted from his sleeve to his wrist without her realizing it.

She looked at him.

Leon's face was tense. He looked Bothered. There was something regretful in his eyes.

"Hey…" she said.

Leon did not look at her.

His mind was still with Rumi.

Because then she asked the one thing he did not want to hear.

'Are you doing all of this because of Lumina?'

Leon's fingers twitched.

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