Kaelan entered quietly.

  The hallways were filled with voices, soft laughter, normal routines.

  Normal for everyone… except him.

  He sat at his desk, set his bag aside, and stared out the window.

  The sky was clear.

  To him, it felt heavy—as if clouds were pressing down anyway.

  “I trusted you, Arverth.”

  Sona’s words kept circling in his head, an echo he couldn’t shut off.

  He hadn’t disappointed her as a leader.

  He had disappointed her as something else.

  Something he didn’t fully understand.

  And that hurt more than any blow from training.

  He took a deep breath. The Resonance vibrated beneath his skin, calmer than before… as if it were listening to something he still couldn’t hear.

  “Don’t scare me again.”

  If only it were that simple.

  “…You’re acting strange.”

  Kaelan jolted slightly.

  He hadn’t felt her arrive.

  But there was Koneko, sitting beside him as if she’d been there all along.

  Flat gaze. Snack bag. Calm aura—but curious.

  Kaelan tried to smile.

  “I’m not acting strange.”

  “Yes, you are.” Crunch. “Your aura is dim… and tense. Like when Issei tries to study.”

  Kaelan let out an involuntary sigh.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “I know.” Koneko kept eating unhurriedly. “You got scolded.”

  Kaelan’s stomach tightened.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Very.” Koneko glanced at him sideways. “You smell like worry.”

  Kaelan rubbed his forehead.

  “I don’t want to keep messing up. I don’t want to…” He paused. “…disappoint her again.”

  Koneko put the snack bag away and studied him more closely than he expected.

  “Sona-senpai is strict. But fair,” she said quietly, honestly. “When she gets angry… it’s because she cares.”

  Kaelan looked up, surprised.

  Koneko nodded once, as if it were obvious.

  “If she didn’t care… you wouldn’t be alive.”

  The words hit him like a knife and a hug at the same time.

  “I… didn’t realize it showed that much,” Kaelan admitted.

  Koneko tilted her head.

  “Your aura tells everything.” She tapped his chest with a small, precise finger. “You’re sad… not because of what you did. But because you wanted her to be proud of you.”

  Kaelan looked away.

  That was it.

  The exact point.

  The one that really hurt.

  “I guess so…”

  Koneko swung her legs lightly under the desk.

  “Kaelan.”

  He looked at her.

  She held his gaze with a seriousness she rarely used.

  “Stop punishing your aura,” she said simply—but heavily. “It doesn’t help. It only weakens you. If you want to improve… let them teach you.”

  Kaelan blinked.

  “Is that… advice?”

  “Yes.” Koneko reopened the snack bag. “And another one.”

  “Another?”

  “Saji is going to bother you. A lot. Don’t look at him. Don’t listen… or your Resonance will react. And when it reacts… Sona-senpai reacts.”

  Kaelan let out a small, bitter laugh.

  “So I’m trapped between Saji and Sona.”

  “Yes,” Koneko said mercilessly. “Good luck with that.”

  Kaelan rested his head on his hand.

  “Thanks… I think.”

  Koneko looked at him again, softer this time.

  “You’re not alone,” she said, before returning to her usual posture.

  Something loosened inside Kaelan.

  Small.

  But real.

  Outside, the bell rang.

  Issei burst in yelling something about “training harder,” Asia followed like a ray of light, and Kiba greeted them with a polite smile.

  The world moved on.

  School continued.

  Life did too.

  And for the first time since the temple…

  Kaelan felt like he could breathe a little easier.

  Kaelan slumped into his seat as if he were carrying a backpack full of bricks.

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  Tatsu looked up from his phone.

  “Bro… what happened to your face? You look like someone who just saw their life flash before their eyes.”

  Hiroshi pulled an orange juice from his bag and set it in front of him.

  “Here. You look kind of… spiritually malnourished.”

  Kaelan gave a tired laugh.

  “Nothing physical happened. Just…” He sighed. “…I got scolded. Hard.”

  Tatsu’s eyes widened.

  “By the president?”

  Kaelan nodded.

  Hiroshi whistled.

  “Oof. Sona Sitri… that woman’s worse than all final exams combined. If she called you in, you’re in deep trouble.”

  Kaelan rested his forearms on the desk.

  “I don’t know what to do. I feel like I… really disappointed her.”

  Tatsu leaned back with his arms crossed.

  “Okay, yeah, sounds rough, but… aren’t you maybe overthinking it? She’s just super strict. She yells at the wind if it breathes wrong.”

  Hiroshi nodded vigorously.

  “Seriously, man. We once saw her scold a teacher because the laser pointer was crooked. Crooked. That woman has military-grade standards.”

  Kaelan smiled faintly, then looked back down at the desk.

  “I wish it were just that.”

  Tatsu narrowed his eyes.

  “Hey… is this serious? Are you actually not okay?”

  Kaelan didn’t answer. He just took a deep breath.

  Tatsu softened.

  “Hey. Everyone screws up sometimes. You can learn too. It’s not the end of the world.”

  Kaelan opened his mouth to reply—

  But a shadow fell over the desk.

  “Well, well.”

  All three looked up.

  There he was.

  Genshirou Saji. Second year. Model senpai: tries way too hard to look intimidating.

  Arms crossed. Chest puffed. A gaze that judged and evaluated at the same time.

  Tatsu muttered under his breath:

  “Oh no… it’s the blond enforcer. He always shows up with ‘I’m about to write you up’ energy. Careful.”

  Hiroshi straightened like he was facing a government inspector.

  “Saji-senpai… good morning… do you need something?”

  Saji didn’t spare him a single glance.

  His eyes were locked on Kaelan.

  “Arverth,” he greeted, his tone anything but friendly. “Got a minute?”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  He didn’t want to do this in front of his friends, but he couldn’t run either.

  “I’m… busy, Saji-senpai,” he said evenly.

  Saji raised an eyebrow.

  “Busy sitting. How fascinating.”

  Tatsu murmured:

  “This guy is scary without doing anything. That’s an unfair talent.”

  Hiroshi nodded solemnly.

  “It’s like a club leader calling you into their office… but in real life.”

  Saji exhaled impatiently.

  “Sitri-sama wants us training together after classes. You remember, right? Or do I need to send you a reminder with little drawings?”

  Kaelan felt pride heat his veins—but he breathed deeply.

  “I’ll be there,” he replied seriously.

  “Good,” Saji said, turning slightly. “Don’t make me wait.”

  He started to walk away—

  Then stopped.

  Without looking back, he said:

  “And Arverth… don’t repeat what happened yesterday. Some of us like things done properly.”

  And he left.

  Silence hung like a taut wire.

  Tatsu leaned toward Kaelan, eyes wide.

  “Dude… what did you do to make that guy talk to you like that?

  Burn his house down? Kick his dog? Eat his lunch?”

  Hiroshi stared at him like he had social superpowers.

  “Bro… Saji-senpai is famous for shattering half the second-years’ self-esteem. You talked back to him like an equal. Are you insane or blessed?”

  Kaelan rubbed his face.

  “Nothing… we just… have to work together.”

  “And that’s bad?” Tatsu asked.

  Kaelan let out a bitter laugh.

  “Let’s just say Saji isn’t the type to smile while training.”

  Hiroshi slumped back.

  “Man… your life is like a school anime, hardcore edition. If a prefect yelled at me like that, I’d drop out.”

  Tatsu patted Kaelan’s shoulder.

  “Hey. Seriously. If Saji and Sitri push you, it’s because they see potential. Teachers don’t waste time on lost causes.”

  Kaelan fell silent.

  Staring at the desk.

  At his own shadow.

  Thinking about what he had to improve. About what he had promised.

  About what Sona had said:

  “Don’t die again without my permission.”

  Tatsu shook him by the shoulder.

  “You alive?”

  Kaelan nodded.

  “Yeah.

  And… I really need to get my act together.”

  Hiroshi raised his juice.

  “Let’s toast to… I don’t know… surviving the day.”

  They clinked bottles and cans.

  For a moment—just one—Kaelan felt normal again.

  Dusk. Reinforced barrier. Complete silence.

  Kaelan arrived on time.

  The cast was still there. His arm hurt. His head did too.

  He took a deep breath.

  He couldn’t fail. Not after the talk with Sona.

  When he entered, Saji was already standing at the center of the tatami.

  Upright.

  Solid.

  A serpentine aura coiling around his body like a living rope.

  He wasn’t in a good mood.

  “You’re here,” Saji said without turning. “Good. For a moment, I thought you’d waste my time again.”

  Kaelan closed his eyes briefly.

  Don’t answer with anger.

  Don’t lose control.

  Don’t let the Resonance react.

  “I’m here,” Kaelan said calmly. “Let’s train.”

  Saji turned slowly.

  He wore the kind of smile you get right before a brutal evaluation.

  “Good.

  Because today we’re not doing ‘aura synchronization.’

  Today we’re doing something simpler.”

  He cracked his knuckles.

  “Let’s see if you’re useful in a fight.”

  Kaelan clenched his teeth.

  “Sona-sama said we should train together, not—”

  “Training together means seeing if I can trust you when things get ugly,” Saji interrupted, stepping forward. “And sorry, Arverth… you haven’t proven that yet.”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  “I don’t want to fight you.”

  “Neither do I.” Saji smiled. “But I want to know whether I’ll have to drag you out when Sona sends us on a mission.”

  Kaelan felt it.

  That was the point.

  Saji wasn’t cruel for fun.

  He was cruel out of fear.

  Fear of losing.

  Fear of failing Sona.

  Fear that Kaelan would ruin something bigger.

  Saji raised a hand.

  The Absorption Line ignited like a golden serpent.

  “Lesson one,” he said. “In a real fight, no one asks if you want to fight.”

  Kaelan barely had time to react.

  The line shot toward him.

  A violent tug at his chest.

  A metallic heartbeat.

  His aura trembled.

  Kaelan staggered back, heart racing.

  “Hey! I can’t use this arm! I’m in a cast!”

  “And in a real fight,” Saji advanced, imposing, “no one asks if something hurts.”

  Kaelan dodged by inches.

  The golden cord grazed his aura.

  BOOM.

  The room’s barrier vibrated.

  Kaelan felt his Resonance explode inside him, ready to counterattack like a wounded animal.

  No.

  No.

  Don’t react like that.

  Saji raised his hand again.

  “Lesson two: don’t trust your own power if you don’t know how to use it. Your Resonance explodes over every little thing.”

  Kaelan knew Saji saw the symptom… but not the cause.

  “I’m trying to control it!”

  “Trying is useless.” Saji circled him like a predator. “Control it or die. There’s no middle ground.”

  Anger rose in Kaelan’s chest.

  Heat.

  Lights trembling.

  Not now. Not in front of him. Not in front of Sona.

  “Deactivate it, Saji,” Kaelan said. “I don’t want to lose control.”

  “Good.” Saji smiled maliciously. “Then don’t.”

  And he attacked head-on.

  Kaelan had a second to leap aside.

  His legs burned. The cast throbbed with pain. The Resonance roared inside him, begging to respond.

  Saji didn’t stop.

  “MOVE, ARVERTH!” he shouted. “I don’t care if it hurts! I don’t care about your cast! I don’t care about your excuse of ‘I can’t control my aura’!

  If you want to stand beside Sona-sama, YOU HAVE TO ENDURE!”

  The blow hit Kaelan in the pit of his stomach.

  Not physical.

  Emotional.

  Saji knew where to strike.

  He knew exactly where it hurt.

  Kaelan clenched his teeth.

  “I don’t want to fail her!” Kaelan shouted, barely dodging another Absorption Line. “I don’t want to disappoint her again!”

  The blue-red aura pulsed.

  The floor trembled.

  Saji stopped.

  For the first time—surprised.

  Kaelan breathed as if the air were fire.

  “You don’t know what it’s like to see her disappointed!” His voice shook, but not with fear. “You don’t know what it feels like when she looks at you like you put everything at risk!”

  Saji lowered his hand slowly.

  His expression shifted—from arrogance to something more serious.

  “Yes, I do,” he said quietly.

  “Much more than you think.”

  Kaelan blinked.

  The Resonance stilled.

  Saji continued:

  “I disappointed her once. Just once. And since that day, I work like I’m burning alive. Because losing Sitri-sama’s trust… is worse than any fight.”

  A knot formed in Kaelan’s throat.

  Saji clicked his tongue.

  “So don’t come at me with ‘I don’t want to fail her.’ Do something so you don’t. Show me you’re not a walking hazard.”

  A tense silence followed.

  Heavy.

  Charged.

  Kaelan lifted his gaze.

  “Alright,” he said firmly. “Then teach me.”

  Saji evaluated him for two seconds.

  Then lowered the Absorption Line.

  “Good.” He crossed his arms. “We start from zero. No powers. No aura. Let’s see if you can keep your balance without your Resonance blowing up over your soap-opera emotions.”

  Kaelan felt his chest calm.

  “Alright,” he said.

  “Perfect.” Saji smiled—this time with a hint of respect. “First real lesson: I don’t want you as a rival. I want you as a teammate… when things get truly ugly.”

  Kaelan swallowed.

  “I can try.”

  “Don’t try.” Saji pointed at the tatami. “Do it.”

  And he lunged again—

  but this time, not to hurt him.

  To train him.

  As an equal.

  As another Sitri Pawn.