"Yo! Ednar!" A young man dressed in a thick hooded sweater yelled out, catching sight of his friend who had just stepped down from a mana-powered carriage.

"Brent? Heh, you actually came early for once in your entire life," Ednar laughed, watching his friend approach through the crowd.

"With all the pressure back home, I had to," Brent replied with an exhausted look plastered across his face.

"Let me guess… the festival?"

"What else? Ever since that day those cheats fought, Father won't let me rest—not even a wink of sleep. I literally trained the entire month straight," Ednar complained, his teeth gritted in frustration.

"You're not alone, brother. Mine was hell too. I finally came to realize my instructor had been going easy on me all this time," Brent said, ruffling his own head with a small, weary smile.

"Sure."

With that, the two of them headed toward the teleporter that would transport them straight to the academic city—a place now crowded to the brim with students just like them, all returning for the new term.

"What's the hold up?" someone amongst the crowd shouted in irritation at the never-ending snaking line ahead of them.

"This is going to take forever," another student groaned.

….

…

..

.

Meanwhile, deeper within the academy halls…

"Well, well, if it isn't the Son of Light himself," a young man with rich blonde hair and striking golden eyes called out in a teasing tone.

"William," Jason said flatly. He had been walking beside Lisandra through the chaotic corridor when he heard the voice and turned to face the young man and his entourage of followers.

"Yes, the one and only," William smiled smoothly before his gaze drifted over to Jason's companion. "And well, if it isn't the gorgeous Lisa."

"What do you want?" Lisandra cut straight to the chase, her expression guarded.

"What? Nothing, of course. I was just greeting my two favorite people," William said with false warmth as he casually slung his arm over Jason's shoulders. Jason didn't react in the slightest to the unwanted contact.

"I don't remember us being friends, William. What's the game this time?" Jason asked coolly.

William released a breath and squinted slightly, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I heard from a very reliable source that two students will be transferring into the academy."

"So? Students transfer all the time. What's new about that?" Lisandra asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"Into our class," William clarified, his smile widening.

"What?" Both Jason and Lisandra frowned at once.

"That's not normal, right? I thought so too," William said, stepping back toward his lackeys, who all wore matching cold expressions behind him.

"Why are you telling us this?" Jason asked, his eyes narrowing. "You're not one to be… helpful."

"Oh, you hurt my feelings there," William made a dramatic show of clutching his chest in mock pain before his expression shifted to one of amusement. "Don't get me wrong, I'm no gossip. I just thought I might get something interesting out of sharing this information because, you know, one of those students apparently shares some sort of relationship with Annabelle."

At this, Jason's expression darkened considerably, his frown deepening.

"Relationship?" He took a step forward, his tone suddenly sharp and probing.

"From your reaction, I take it you know nothing about this. What an epic waste of time," William said dismissively. His expression turned disinterested as he waved to his lackeys. "Come on, let's go." They all began walking away through the crowded hall.

"See you later, Son of Light. And you too… Gorgeous," William called over his shoulder before vanishing into the endless stream of students wandering in and out through the corridor.

Jason stood still for a moment, processing what he'd just heard. "Lisa, have you…"

"...Heard anything from Annabelle? No, I haven't," Lisandra finished his sentence before he could complete it, her voice tight.

"This is getting serious," Jason said, his expression troubled and distant.

BAM!

A sudden punch connected with his abdomen, forcing the air from his lungs.

"Ah… what the hell was that for?!" Jason demanded, glaring at Lisandra, who returned his glare with equal intensity.

"I've had it with you constantly whining about Anna! Why are you always worrying about her?" Lisandra snapped.

"...She's our friend. Isn't it normal to worry?" Jason countered defensively.

"She's our friend, yes, but she's not a child, Jason."

"I know that, but…"

"But what, Jay? What?! I'm getting sick of hearing 'Anna, Anna, Anna' every single day!" Lisandra's voice rose as she turned and walked away.

"H-huh?! Wait!" Jason ran after her and caught her by the wrist, completely unbothered by the curious stares from other students around them.

"Let go," she commanded, her voice stern and unwavering.

"Come on, don't be mad. I was just worried, alright? I didn't know it would upset you this much," Jason said, his expression apologetic and confused.

"Don't you get it? That's exactly what makes this even more frustrating!" she shot back, glaring at him with barely contained emotion.

It had been three whole months since Annabelle changed.

At first, she had still been the tsundere girl they all knew—the one who OBVIOUSLY had feelings for Jason but would rather die than admit it. But as the days passed, she began to transform into someone different.

The changes started subtly. She would become absentminded when they were all together, sometimes staring off at the clouds for no apparent reason. Other times she would grasp her own wrist and fall deep into thought, as if wrestling with something only she could perceive. These were the earliest stages, barely noticeable at first and easy to dismiss as simple distraction.

But with time, the changes became more pronounced. She grew increasingly distant, finding excuses to be alone even when JASON himself reached out to her. It only got worse from there—she would flinch when someone approached her unexpectedly, and she'd become completely exhausted despite doing practically nothing physically demanding. The pattern continued and escalated, building toward the festival.

Then came that fight with the Princess—a match Annabelle should have lost by all accounts. Yet at the very last moment, she somehow accessed a surge of mana from god knows where, completely overturning the match in her favor and securing an impossible victory. After that moment, she just… became different.

The strangeness that had plagued her for months suddenly stopped. She no longer ran from them or made excuses to be alone. In fact, she seemed to have been completely cured of whatever had been troubling her. She was present again, engaged, almost like her old self.

However, there was something fundamentally wrong.

Something every single one of them noticed, even if they didn't speak of it openly.

She didn't give a damn about Jason anymore.

Though, strangely enough, Jason himself didn't seem to notice this particular change.

For the remaining week before the term ended, Annabelle hung out with their group, laughed and had fun just like in the old days. But that obsessive need for Jason's attention—the one that had defined so much of her behavior before—was completely gone. She didn't even seem to care about ANGELICA anymore, her literal archnemesis in the battle for Jason's affections.

No matter what Angelica did, no matter how inappropriate or deliberately rage-baiting her actions became, Annabelle simply ignored it all. She never rose to the bait, never got flustered, never competed. She had simply… stopped caring entirely.

And somehow, that absence of reaction was more unsettling than anything that had come before.

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