With that, the group continued eating lunch normally. Although Arthur was a little confused as to why Isla seemed quite out of it the entire time, he still didn’t ask her and simply ate his lunch as usual.
At some point, Isla seemed to return to normal which assured Arthur that nothing was wrong. After that, they all returned to the class to continue the rest of the day as normal. The lessons were of the same nature with moderate progress through the curriculum.
It made people forget the nerve-wracking test from earlier today and it gave them room to breathe and move forward. Even those who didn’t do well decided to simply focus on getting better rather than on what they did wrong.
With that, the day reached its end and the students started leaving the institution to return home and relax. They were waiting for that moment eagerly.
‘Fuuh, the training today was a little more intense than usual. But, I’m still improving considerably with each session. I might need to visit the training area in the game again.’
The first time he went there, he was able to acquire a very important skill that pushed his swordsmanship to a whole new level. Arthur knew that training was as important as actual battles so he didn’t intend to forget about it anytime soon.
“Are you leaving, Arthur?” Isla asked as she approached him.
“Hm? Oh yeah, let’s go.” He said.
The two left the training area and headed toward the main building.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Hmm, I’m going back inside the tower and heading north this time. I want to discover more of the first floor before you guys arrive. Then, I will show you the piece of land I think would be perfect to build our base inside the tower.”
“…” Isla nodded her head. “I really appreciate you securing that for us. It is really important for the future but it went completely out of my plans.” She said.
When Isla heard that Arthur had found them a good piece of land inside the tower, Isla was very delighted as realized this small yet extremely important detail had went over her head in a rare case of mishap from her side.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m here for you guys whenever you need me. That’s the least I could do. Anyway, what about you? What are you going to do?”
“The material we need to build our headquarters will arrive today at the area we have chosen so I’m going to check them, and make sure we are completely safe for the dwarves to start the construction process.”
“Hmm, I trust that you will keep Finlay and Serko safe.” Arthur smiled. “Those two must be quite excited to finally start building our new place. It is quite dangerous that we kept them in that hotel for such a long time. Hopefully, nothing bad happens before they fully move to the new place.”
“I will make sure they are safe as long as they’re near me.” She said. “By the way, how is that ‘plan’ of yours going? The huge one you told me about.”
“…” Hearing that, Arthur pursed his lips. “Well, it is currently postponed. I have to meet a few important people before I can start moving with it. When that happens, I will get really busy so I will tell you.”
“Understood.”
With that, the two reached the main hall, intending to take the elevator. However…
“Arthur! Here! Here!”
They heard someone calling for them. Turning around, Arthur saw none other than Elise waving at him from the other side of the hall. Her face was full of smiles as she approached him in a hurry.
“Oh, hey.” Arthur greeted her back with a wave.
“Good evening, Miss Isla!” Elise greeted Isla with the same positive energy. Isla simply nodded her head faintly.
“I was waiting for you! I have some free time so I thought we could leave the academy together. I want to invite you over for some coffee or tea if you’re available now.”
“… Now?”
“Yeah… Is it no good?” Elise’s smile slowly faded as she realized Arthur might be busy.
“Uh, well…” Arthur looked over his shoulder at Isla. “I have around an hour of free time now so I guess we can go.”
“Really? That’s great! Yes, an hour is more than enough!”
‘I can read all her emotions on her face. She’s really something else.’ Arthur smiled dryly before he turned to Isla.
“Well, I guess we should separate here, Isla. I will send you a message later.” He said.
“…” The girl didn’t reply as she stared at him.
“Isla?”
However, the girl simply looked at Elise. “You don’t mind if I join you two, do you?”
“… Oh, you want to join us, Miss Isla? Of course! I would actually love that!” Elise clapped her hand happily.
“What? You wanna come too, Isla?” Arthur walked closer to Isla and whispered to her. “Aren’t you going into the game?”
“I can spare an hour of time. There is no reason to hurry.” She said calmly.
“…”
‘Why does she look extremely focused as if she’s about to go to battle?’ Arthur blinked with a confused look. He really didn’t understand what was wrong with Isla that day. She was acting really odd.
Then, a weird idea came into his head out of nowhere that made him visibly cringe. ‘Is she annoyed that I’m talking to Elise? Surely not, right?’
Arthur knew Isla very well, or at least he believed he did and something like this was simply not a part of her character. Isla was too mature to have such feelings based on what he saw. She has extremely good control over her emotions and she rarely loses composure. There was simply no way she would be jealous or annoyed by Elise.
‘That would be quite ridiculous if it’s the case. But, I know for sure it’s most likely just because she’s in a sour mood. Maybe it’s one of those bad days.’ He shrugged. In the end, he cannot just jump to conclusions without any proof or that will create huge misunderstandings and that was completely unnecessary.
“What are you two whispering about, hm? Am I intruding on something?” Elise asked with a cheeky grin. She looked quite amused by how close Arthur and Isla seemed. ‘I have heard about this new person in Miss Isla’s group but to think it’s Arthur… What a coincidence. He had really changed during all these years…’
The quirky, silent boy she remembers from her childhood was nowhere to be seen. The Arthur in front of her was far more confident. The way he carried himself and the look in his eyes. He was completely different.
“Nothing. We have enough free time to go for a coffee.” Isla replied.
“I’m really glad I came at a perfect time. I know you two must be quite busy being S-Class students!”
“Very busy indeed…”
“So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go! The food is on me!” Elise said as she walked to Arthur’s side.
“Mhm, yeah we should move.”
With that, the trio left the academy on foot and took their sonic boards.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3