Daybreak team won, causing a celebration for the whole dorm. When Arthur went back to the fortress, he found Jonah standing beside Alice, holding the flag with triumph.
"Alexie!"
Jonah rushed in and gave him a bear hug. Arthur felt uncomfortable to be hugged with such affection but he let it slide. He felt a stabbing glare and turned to see Oliver mumbling with a pout.
"This damn peasant, thinking he's so high and mighty. I can do better, I can…"
"Oliver," Arthur walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Instead of treating Jonah in this manner, how about you accept him as a friend?"
"Brother, I can't do that." Oliver shook his head. "Commoners know no honor or prestige, they're untrustworthy."
"Do you trust me?" Arthur was silent before asking. He didn't realize that this stereotype about commoners was that mainstream among the noble class.
Nobles were those that had a significant contribution in forming the kingdom in the past. Their ancestors were among the first to swear loyalty to the king and serve him. It has persisted until the modern day because it was fueled by the strength the nobles had, which was a deciding factor.
"Of course, I trust you!" Oliver answered without hesitation.
"Then, you can trust Jonah as well. I've tested his character. If you overlook his background, you can see that he's not that bad."
"Do you mean…"
"Yes, give him a chance…"
"Because I'm of a higher class! I need to be magnanimous, right? A lord needs to befriend his people." Oliver nodded in an epiphany. "I understand, brother. I didn't know you were so wise."
"Uh, no. That's not…" Arthur was taken aback. How did he interpret his words as such? Before he could further explain, Oliver was already walking toward Jonah.
Jonah was talking to Alice when Oliver stood by his side. Oliver was a few centimeters shorter than Jonah but still patted him on the shoulder.
"Good job today, Jonah," Oliver said with a proud expression and a nod. Jonah was stunned and so was Arthur. The words Arthur wanted to say were swallowed back. Maybe it wasn't that bad of a misunderstanding?
"Alexie," Alice walked toward him as Jonah and Oliver began chatting and bragging about beating the enemy. "Thank you for your contribution. If it hasn't been for you to eliminate Arlo, we would have taken a long time to take them down."
"Don't mention it, but what happened in the end?" Arthur asked as he was restraining Rae.
"Jonah contacted me saying he had the flag and that Miss Rae attacked the temporary base. Luckily, we were able to get to him before the enemy did. He wouldn't stop praising you, though."
"He's a bit modest. After all, taking away the flag was his plan." Arthur said with a smile and Alice nodded.
"Good work, we'll be celebrating in the dorm tonight. Make sure to be there." Alice then walked away.
Their teacher, Mr. Raymond, came over with a giant smirk on his face. His mood seemed to be thrilled at their win or it can be unrelated.
"Thanks to you guys, I won the bet against that hag!" Mr. Raymond then laughed. "Ten points for each of you. Check if your rankings increased and you have a two-hours-break before your theory class."
Jonah and Oliver invited him over to have lunch together but Arthur refused and headed straight to his dorm. He found Reece still sleeping and nudged him.
"What do you want, Arthur?"
"It's Alexie. I don't want to get confused from being called different names." Arthur sighed. "I want you to follow someone around."
"Sure, I'm free." Reece stood up. "Who is it?"
"I don't know his name, but I've taken a picture of him earlier," Arthur said and took out his phone. In it, there was a picture of the spearman that Arthur encountered. He had taken it when he was getting back to the fortress earlier.
"You want me to search every room?" Reece scowled and it was adorable in his cat form.
"Just look through the cafeteria,"
"I don't think they're okay with unidentified animals," Reece said and stood up. He walked toward the balcony and Arthur opened it for him. "I'll see what I can find."
Arthur watched as Reece started jumping over the railings. As he did, he heard a sigh coming from downward. He looked over the railing and found a blonde head on the balcony directly below his.
It was Emma, who he has only seen before they were divided today. She seemed to be down and was looking blankly at the sky.
"I have ice-cream if you want."
She flinched when Arthur called out. She turned her head and looked upward to see Arthur standing there with a smile. True to his words, he held a cup of chocolate ice cream.
"Are you the ice-cream genie?" Emma smiled. "It's rude to sneak behind a sad lady."
"Even ruder to make her sad, everything is alright?" Arthur threw the cup and she caught it with a smile.
"Kind of, yeah." She opened the ice cream and took the spoon glued to the lid to eat.
"You wouldn't be eating that if that was true." Arthur rested his chin on his hand. "I may not be a nobility, but I can hold a secret."
"I think you can hold a secret precisely because you're not." Emma smiled but hurried to correct herself. "I mean, of course, you are…"
"I know, but I don't consider myself to be one. I haven't done anything to earn it." Arthur shrugged. "So, is everything alright?"
"Well," Emma placed the cup down. "You know I'm engaged to prince Caleb. However, we became in different dorms. When we won today, he was mad at me too."
"That's unreasonable." Arthur was taken aback. "Does he expect you to lose?"
"I don't know, maybe I should."
"I'm reporting you to the dorm's leaders then."
"I'm kidding!" Emma laughed. However, her smile disappeared with a helpless expression. "It's not like I chose to be in a different dorm." She sighed.
"You don't need him to approve of you," Arthur said. "He might be your fiancé, but you still got here by your strength."
"That's true, but…"
"Didn't you get here through the scholarship?" Arthur asked again. "While all of us paid for tuition, they paid for you to be here. I've watched the apprentice's cup. Your runes were amazing."
"T-thanks." Emma stuttered. "They weren't amazing enough to prevent what happened." She sulked again and Arthur berated himself inwardly.
"Yes, it was a shame," Arthur said with a nod. "Do you still believe that your friend…"
"I don't believe, I know."
"Hah," Arthur sighed and didn't say anything. He knew Emma was in denial. Even if she was right about him being alive, she had no proof. "I hope you find your evidence." She looked at him silently.
"I already have it. He's alive." She then went inside her room leaving Arthur there, bewildered. What kind of evidence did she have? If that was true, then it was a must that he destroys.
He has yet to gain enough strength to reveal himself. He needed more time. Time to kill monsters and time to… study runes.
***
The next day, Arthur woke up early. The rest of yesterday has been boring to him at least. They had a theory class where they took the Monsters Bodies module.
It explained common monsters and their weakness. As he was handed a textbook, Arthur estimated its weight to be about two kilograms. A giant monsterpedia that gathered illustrations of monsters and their weakness.
This inspired Arthur to learn a rune about speed-reading or information assimilation. After all, it would be quite useful in the long-run.
Today, he had a minor class day. Jerano worked in this system to give students the ability to pursue other professions other than hunting and killing monsters and also the time to train on their own.
He wore his uniform and headed downstairs. Sadly, Oliver and Jonah had different minors than him. Oliver was studying Mechanics and Jonah was studying Magical Medicine.
Yesterday at the party, Oliver didn't stop telling them about his dream of building the biggest flying ship in the world. He said he would build a ship that transcends space.
As for Jonah, he said that he was simply interested in Magical Medicine. It was a new field of science where mana was used to treat illnesses and genetic deformities. How that worked, exactly, Arthur didn't know.
As he reached the reception, Arthur ran into Emma. She looked a lot more cheerful than yesterday and the two greeted each other with a smile.
"Runes Research Department?" Emma asked with a smile and Arthur nodded. "Let's go together then." As they walked, they talked about yesterday's class and Arthur explained 'Jonah's plan.'
He had asked Jonah to keep it a secret that it was his plan. After all, taking out Arlo was enough achievement for him to be a bait. He didn't need to gather more attention.
As they reached the Runes Research Department, both of them were amazed. It was an ancient building with fully black walls and windows. It was as if someone burned this place to the ground.
As they were standing there in front of the entrance, an explosion occurred in one of the rooms and the flames destroyed the windows on the side.