Cain stretched his shoulders as the group left the training grounds. The sun was starting to dip toward the horizon, washing the Academy in soft gold light. It made the cracks in the training yard floor gleam faintly behind them, a reminder of the duels that had shaken the ground itself only moments ago.

Jayden immediately latched onto his right arm, hugging it tightly as they walked. Her ears were perked forward, tail swishing in sharp little motions that betrayed her mood. Her jade eyes kept darting toward Kiyomi with the same intensity a guard dog might give a passing intruder.

Kiyomi, for her part, looked amused rather than bothered. The fox girl strolled along on Cain's left side, three tails swaying lazily behind her. She tilted her head and smiled whenever Jayden glared at her, as if the wolf girl's possessiveness was nothing more than a minor curiosity.

Cain sighed inwardly. He could already feel a headache forming.

The others followed a few steps behind. Maris walked with her spear balanced across her shoulders, silent and brooding as usual. She had barely spoken a word since her duel with Cain. Mira walked beside her with her massive shield strapped to her back, humming lightly under her breath, though she gave no sign of what she was thinking.

Cain's eyes flicked around the courtyard as they left the training grounds, half expecting to see Anna waiting somewhere nearby. But she was gone. He had not seen her since before the duels began.

Did she leave while they were getting acquainted with his teammates?

Cain shook the thought off for now. They had a destination. The Registration Desk for the tournament was set up in the middle of the Academy's main courtyard. He could already see the line forming ahead of them, students waiting their turn to sign up for the event.

The walk there was… uncomfortable.

Jayden kept close to his right side, hugging his arm like it belonged to her, glaring at Kiyomi every time the fox girl so much as breathed in Cain's direction.

Kiyomi ignored her. Completely.

She hummed a soft tune as they walked, occasionally flicking her sapphire eyes toward Cain with a teasing smile. Once she even leaned closer, as though about to whisper something in his ear, only to straighten again at the last moment, clearly amused when Jayden stiffened and growled softly under her breath.

Cain pretended not to notice any of it. He focused on the path ahead, telling himself that as long as no one started fighting in the middle of the courtyard, he would be satisfied.

When they finally reached the Registration Desk, the line shifted as students noticed them approaching.

More accurately, they noticed the group of women surrounding Cain.

Conversations faltered. Curious glances turned into full-on stares. A few people whispered behind their hands as Jayden tightened her grip on Cain's arm, her tail flicking irritably behind her like she was daring anyone to say something out loud.

The student running the desk looked up from his ledger. He was a thin boy with sharp glasses and the tired expression of someone who had been dealing with impatient tournament hopefuls all day.

Then his eyes widened.

Cain watched confusion flicker across the student's face as the boy's gaze swept from Jayden to Kiyomi to Maris and finally to Mira.

Recognition dawned.

The boy's mouth fell open slightly before he caught himself.

Cain raised an eyebrow. What was that reaction about?

The student's eyes flicked back to Cain himself, and the confusion only deepened.

Cain could practically hear the thoughts running through the boy's head.

Four of them? At once?

He had no idea what was going on, but the longer the boy stared, the more students in the courtyard started to notice the group as well. The murmurs grew louder. Cain caught pieces of conversation drifting across the open space.

"Is that… all of them?"

"It has to be. Jayden, Maris, Mira… and that fox girl Kiyomi too…"

"They are on the list, aren't they?"

"The Beauty List, yeah. The top spots."

Cain blinked. Beauty List?

Before he could ask, the student at the desk cleared his throat awkwardly. His gaze kept darting toward the women surrounding Cain like he was not sure if he should be impressed or terrified.

"Uh… names?" the boy asked, voice cracking slightly.

"Cain Sinthorne," he said. "And the rest of the team can give theirs."

Jayden gave her name first, tail still swishing irritably behind her as she glared at Kiyomi. The fox girl followed, her voice soft and teasing as she introduced herself like she was telling a joke only she understood.

Maris gave hers bluntly. Mira was flashing a surprisingly professional smile when she spoke to the student.

The boy scribbled the names down quickly, still sneaking glances at the group with open disbelief.

Cain leaned slightly toward him. "Something wrong?"

The student coughed into his hand. "No, sir. It is just… all four of them at once, huh?"

Cain stared at him blankly.

The boy lowered his voice like he was sharing some grand secret. "The Academy keeps an unofficial Beauty List. Every year the students argue over who belongs on it. Your… companions hold the top spots."

Cain blinked slowly.

The student leaned even closer. "They are also known as the Poisonous Flowers. Beautiful, yes. But the kind no sane man touches." He hesitated. "Most who tried regretted it. Publicly."

Cain glanced toward the women behind him. Jayden was still hugging his arm like she was ready to bite anyone who got too close. Kiyomi caught his glance and flashed him a wink that was in no possible way innocent, tails swaying lazily behind her. Mira was politely advertising her shop to a few onlookers like this was the most normal thing in the world but her eyes were cold as she she lgnored the lustful gaze some men shot her way. Maris stood stiff and silent, her expression unreadable but Cain could see a few girls were staring at her like they were some sort of lovestruck fangirl. .

Cain exhaled slowly.

Great.

He could already imagine the rumors this would spark.

Some poor student would see him walking around with them later and by nightfall the whole Academy would be whispering about it. By morning the story would probably claim he had tamed four demons with his bare hands or something equally ridiculous.

"Done," the student said quickly, sliding the registration papers forward for Cain to sign.

Cain scrawled his name across the page while the murmurs around the courtyard grew louder.

This was going to be a headache.

He could feel it already.

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