Arthur turned to his friend who had already stood up and approached him. “How did you do?” She asked as she leaned next to his table.
The rest of the students watched that scene with their mouths hanging open. They could not believe Isla would be that close to someone, let alone a guy.
‘If I was in his place, being looked at by her from up close… I don’t think I will be able to keep a straight face.’
‘Lucky bastard!!!’
‘Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!’
‘I’m going to use dark magic on him and curse him!’
Naturally, the male students were cursing Arthur to high hell from all angles. They could not believe someone could be that lucky in life and still get away with it. Their jealousy was slowly turning into hatred without them realizing it.
However, the target of these deadly glares was completely unbothered by it. He knew how these people looked at Isla so he didn’t care. In the end, they simply could never be in his position because they aren’t hil.
‘Say I’m lucky all you want. I never asked for this nor am I letting it go. Isla is my friend.’ He thought to himself as he stared into the girl’s eyes.
“So, how did you do?” She asked casually, her hands resting on the table.
“Better than I expected. Didn’t find many problems answering the questions. Though, I’m not going to get a full score.” He shrugged.
“Well, it is still the first test. It is good you performed well.” Isla nodded calmly. “I’m sure you will improve tremendously in the coming days.”
“To be honest, as long as I’m passing the tests, I’m satisfied. But, I will still work harder to make sure I get really high scores. I can’t risk my ranking or I will end up in trouble.”
“That’s the spirit.” She said as she turned around to go back to her seat. But, at that moment, Arthur lifted his hand to call for her.
“Hey, Isla…”
“Hm?” The girl looked over her shoulder.
“…” But, before the boy could speak, he stopped and then thought for a moment. “Actually, it’s nothing…”
“…” Isla frowned. “Is everything ok?”
“Yeah, yeah, I just forgot what I wanted to say.” He nodded.
“…”
Although Isla didn’t believe his excuse, she still didn’t try to push him any further. Arthur was very much aware that she was ready to listen to him no matter what and the two trusted each other to always be clear and honest with each other. That was how their friendship worked. Trust above everything else.
“Ok, if you remember, just tell me.” She said, then walked back to her seat.
Meanwhile, Arthur simply sighed. ‘I can’t tell her about Lamenter now, as she is in the middle of lessons. It will be too long of a conversation and besides… She already has too much on her mind. I will simply avoid him completely and things should be fine.’
Making up his mind, Arthur noticed that the professor came back to start the second lesson so he shook all those thoughts out of his mind and focused.
***
The second class passed quietly and the bell rang, announcing the end of the first half of the day. Arthur and Isla left the class to head to the cafeteria for lunch. They met with the others along the way and the group reached their destination a few minutes later.
Quickly, they scattered across the place to gather whatever they wanted to eat. This was silently the favorite time for everyone, including Isla. The food being served by the academy was top-notch even by the high standards. It was so good, it almost was weird how good it was.
In a sense, it reminded Arthur of the delicious food in the game. Although that one was good because mana amplifies the flavor and makes it way more rich.
‘Hmm, what should I get today? I’m feeling more carnivorous today so maybe some chicken.’
As he was contemplating his options, Arthur heard some people talking next to him. As they were walking, he could see from his peripheral vision that it was a group of girls. They carried several trays as they seemingly headed to the tables to take a seat.
However, one of them didn’t see Arthur and without realizing it, she bumped into him and lost her balance.
Arthur’s instincts quickly kicked in as he looked to the side. He saw the girl’s tray shaking as the plates were about to fall. So, he quickly and precisely grabbed her hand, stopping her from falling, and then held the tray with the other hand, stopping its potential fall.
‘Well, that was a little dangerous.’ He thought to himself. ‘Though, my reaction speed is really looking sharp. I wouldn’t be able to move this fast usually.’
“Woah!” The girl made a small scream as she held into Arthur’s arm.
“Easy there, Miss.” He said as he pulled her up. “You almost fell.”
“… O-Oh, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t loo-” As the girl was about to apologize, she suddenly halted as she stared at Arthur with squinted eyes. For a few seconds, her expression was as if she was stunned.
“You…” She slowly pointed her finger at him. “Have we met before?”
“Hm?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. Taking a second look at the girl, she was quite the pretty girl with very beautiful blonde hair and green eyes. However, Arthur couldn’t remember meeting someone like her before.
‘I would remember if I met a pretty girl before.’ He shrugged.
“No, I don’t think so. Maybe you mistook me for someone else.”
“Elise? Are you ok?” Her friends quickly surrounded her when they noticed the scene.
“Mm… Yeah, I’m fine.” She nodded her head and then looked at Arthur again. She seemed completely distracted by him. Her mind raced through countless memories in her head and then, in a sudden moment of realization, her eyes widened greatly.
“Wait… Arthur? Is that you?” She asked in a quiet tone, almost unable to believe herself.
“… Uh, yeah that is my name,” Arthur replied, even more confused than before.
Upon hearing that response, the girl’s face lit up slowly. “You attended Glorian Primary School, right?”
‘Ok, what the actual hell?’ Arthur blinked silently.
“Yeah… I did attend that primary school.”
‘One of my least favorite places in the world.’ He thought to himself. ‘A dark piece of the past I don’t want to even remember.’
That was when the girl’s mouth slowly hung open as she took a step back. “Oh my god! It’s you, Arthur!!” She exclaimed.
“What? Elise? Do you know that person?”
Her friends looked equally confused as they didn’t know why she was this surprised to see him.
“… I’m really sorry, but I really cannot remember you at all,” Arthur said. His memory from primary school consisted mainly of horrible bullying and loneliness. He rarely talked to people and spent his time alone so it was just brutal.
“It’s me! Elise! We used to read books together in the library after school every day!” She said.
“Read books… School?” Arthur squinted his eyes. Then, as if her words activated a deeply hidden piece of history in Arthur’s head. A piece of memory so distant and so vague, that he couldn’t believe he still remembered.
Then, slowly, an image of a girl formed in his head. Someone he didn’t even talk to or consider a friend. But, weirdly enough, a sense of warmth slowly filled his heart.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3