It had been a week since Seraphina dropped that little bomb about the Divine Artifact descent happening in a month.

And honestly, I would be lying if I said I did anything remotely productive since then.

I just continued my peaceful little retreat, only leaving the villa a few times to check out potential classes.

Every student had to choose at least three different courses other than common mandatory classes… and there was no upper limit if someone wanted to torture themselves with more.

And, I had already settled on the ones I planned to take.

Still, it was kinda fun sitting through dozens of classes just to see how each professor taught.

I could've gone full typical transmigrator mode and picked whatever classes the main characters were taking… but honestly, that felt stupid and unproductive.

I would rather focus on my growth than stalk those idiots and it's not like I won't see them anyway, we all share the common classes.

In any case, today was the official first day of the academy. The day of the first homeroom and the start of the common courses.

The last two weeks didn't have any homeroom or common classes at all.

I looked at myself in the mirror and honestly, this academy uniform was starting to grow on me, even if I had only worn it twice so far.

The double-breasted white blazer, the matching trousers and my sentient white cloak draped just right…

It almost made me want to stand there admiring myself a bit longer.

But I was already running late and I really didn't want that demon Azriel unleashing whatever mysterious anger he has been reserving just for me.

I headed downstairs from my bedroom and spotted Bearlo cleaning the living room while casually practicing Voidsteps.

I paused.

Wait… when was the last time I trained my martial arts?

Watching him glide across the floor with that move with controlled and almost graceful movements despite his massive frame, yeah, it hit me.

He still couldn't evolve the technique past the level he copied from me due to his skill restrictions but he had somehow managed to adapt that footwork to a body built like a fortress.

Honestly, that was respectable as hell… and it snapped me right out of my lazy streak.

Yeah, I really do need to train my martial arts again.

Thankfully, the martial-arts battle art course I enrolled in should help me fix that little problem.

"Hey, Bearlo, good morning," I greeted him.

Bearlo turned and bowed slightly. "Good morning, my liege."

And that was it. Without any extra words, he just went right back to cleaning.

He had been way too quiet these last few days.

The poor guy was still disappointed in himself after "failing" me a few times…

Not that he was ever much of a talker to begin with.

"See you then, Bearlo," I said, waving as I headed for the door. "Take care of the house."

I pushed the door open and…

"What the fuck?" I blurted instantly.

Bearlo rushed to my side almost instantly, already dropping into an attack stance.

But I barely paid attention to him.

My eyes were glued to the intruder standing just outside the door.

A woman stood there, her martial artist robe doing a questionable job of covering her… proportions.

Even the little that was visible would've been enough to scramble the brain of any easily-flustered student.

And the way she was leaning forward against the doorframe, like she had been trying to eavesdrop?

Yeah. That didn't help at all.

But I wasn't one of those stupid hormonal idiots, so I just stared at her calmly.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The woman visibly panicked and tried to straighten up, only for her own monstrous level of clumsiness to betray her as she toppled backward.

"Ouch."

She let out a tiny sound of pain, then popped back up a second later like nothing ever happened.

She lifted her chin with ridiculous confidence and flashed a smug smile.

"The great me was simply passing by when I sensed a truly talented individual… so I decided I shall take him as my disciple."

She said it with pure, unfiltered haughtiness, even puffing out her chest like she expected applause.

Who the hell was this idiot?

From the looks of her, she definitely wasn't a student.

An assistant professor maybe?

I was honestly speechless.

Woman, you were literally eavesdropping on my door ten seconds ago and now you're lying with the confidence of a con artist on a deadline.

Even I cannot be this shameless.

Still, I really didn't have the time or the patience to deal with random lunatics.

"Sorry but I am not interested—"

Before I could even finish rejecting her "offer," she cut me off.

"Who the hell is asking you, kid?" she snapped. "Just stay quiet for a moment, will you?"

Kid? Stay quiet?

A vein practically popped on my forehead. I could feel the anger rising… but thanks to my lovely little flaw, showing emotions properly was a whole different struggle.

So instead, I just smiled with my teeth clenched so hard they could probably crack stone.

"So," I asked sweetly, "who exactly are you talking to?"

I mean, there were only me and… then it hit me.

Before she even opened her mouth, I slowly turned to the crimson bear standing right beside me.

Right on cue, that absolute nutcase pointed straight at him.

"The one I came here for is…" she declared proudly. "Bearlo. That crimson bear."

"Huh?" Bearlo grunted, completely confused as he felt both our gazes drilling into him.

But honestly, his dumb, bewildered face wasn't even the main issue right now.

What bothered me way more was how the hell this woman knew his name.

Still, I didn't feel angry.

I didn't feel anything, really.

Instead, I just lifted my eyes to the sky, stared at it for a moment in complete silence and then walked forward without saying a single word.

The world is awfully quiet today, huh?

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