Mira and Han exchanged nervous glances as the girls’ hints began to pile up. The tension was visible in their small shoulders.
“Han,” Taro intervened, noticing their discomfort, “what kind of questions have they been asking you? The adults seem very interested in you two lately.”
Han scratched his head, avoiding eye contact. His fingers trembled slightly as they ran through his messy hair. “It’s nothing important… I just told them I skipped some of Wei’s classes.” He shrugged, trying to appear casual. “Sometimes I hide to sleep in different places because my roommates are too noisy at night.”
“Han!” Taro scolded, though concern tinged his voice. “That’s bad. What if Wei fails you?”
Mira’s cheeks flushed crimson, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her uniform. “I… I’ve done it too sometimes,” she admitted in a whisper that barely carried. “The dormitory with Cass can be… tense.”
“You’re lying,” Luna stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of irritation and worry. The shadow wolf’s influence made her gaze particularly penetrating. “I can sense some falsehood in your words. If you won’t be honest, I might mention these… half-truths to the adults who show such interest in you.”
Lie detection again…
The effect was immediate. Han and Mira visibly stiffened under that scrutiny, having faced it too many times this week already.
“It’s not… it’s not just that,” Han finally sighed, his shoulders slumping under an invisible weight. “It’s also my sister.”
“Your sister?” Larissa leaned in, genuine interest replacing her usual playful demeanor.
“She’s very sick.” Han’s voice dropped to barely a whisper, as if the words themselves hurt to speak. “I write to her almost every day, but…” His eyes drifted to a distant point. “My dormitory is the same as that idiot Jin’s and his crony Kai. I didn’t want them to mock my…”
“Are you ashamed of writing to your sister?” Liora asked softly, her gentle tone free of judgment.
“No!” Han protested immediately, his voice cracking. “It’s just that… it’s already hard enough to endure that room without them knowing. Jin has a way of making even the most important things sound stupid…”
Mira clenched her fists, gathering courage. “I… I practice with my mana coverings,” she blurted suddenly. “And hiding. A lot…”
“Why?” Taro asked.
“Because…” Mira swallowed hard, her throat working visibly. “Because when I leave school, I’m going to run away from home. I won’t let them force me to marry that fat, ugly noble I’ve never even met in person.”
Stunned silence fell over the group like a heavy blanket.
“You’re going to break an arranged marriage?” Luna whispered, her eyes widening in shock.
“My family says it’s an honor,” Mira continued, the words tumbling out like a broken dam. “That I should be grateful someone of his position is interested in our family. But I…” Her voice cracked, raw emotion bleeding through. “I just want to be free.”
“That’s why you practice so much with the coverings,” Liora murmured, understanding dawning in her eyes.
“And why you hide sometimes,” Larissa added. “You’re preparing.”
Luna, Larissa, and Liora exchanged meaningful looks. Suddenly, the absences and strange behaviors took on new meaning.
“You know,” Larissa began, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, “I know some excellent hiding places.”
“And I know quite a few stories from grandmother about breaking arranged marriages,” Liora added, a spark of rebellion glinting in her eyes.
Mira and Han exchanged glances. The tension in their shoulders began to ease, if only slightly.
“Besides,” Larissa added gently, “some of us understand what it’s like to have to keep secrets.”
“And how important it is to protect them,” Luna completed, her hand unconsciously touching where she kept a certain letter.
Mira looked at Taro, who nodded slightly. “Maybe…” she began, hope creeping into her voice, “maybe we could talk after class.”
“After we get some answers about certain… synergy theories,” Larissa added, earning another warning look from Luna.
“And after Min checks that nose,” Taro insisted kindly.
“He won’t mind?” Mira asked hopefully.
“Not at all,” Taro smiled. “He always says he needs practice… Though with Lin as a teacher, I think he gets more than enough practice healing our muscles.”
The bell rang, interrupting the group’s laughter.
“Speaking of Lin,” Han sighed as they hurried along. “Think she’ll make us run while carrying weights again today?”
“It’s Lin,” they all responded in unison.
“And do you think Yang will make us practice combat today?” Han asked, his voice regaining some of its childlike innocence.
“I hope not,” Mira made a comic grimace. “My nose isn’t ready for more adventures.”
The group’s laughter echoed through the hallway, mixing with other students’ conversations. For a moment, they were just children heading to class, sharing a moment of normalcy amid jokes and worries.
Even if some of them had more secrets than others.
“YOU’RE 5 SECONDS LATE!” Lin’s voice resonated across the field.
“Speaking of trouble…” Han muttered.
“ONE HUNDRED EXTRA LAPS!” Lin continued, though her smile suggested she was more amused than angry.
♢♢♢♢
“You got me?” Taro panted while keeping pace with Ren and Min during their laps around the field.
“I just have to heal Mira?” Min adjusted his stride to maintain conversation. “No problem…”
“Thanks,” Taro nodded.
“But there won’t be time after class to help them with cultivation today,” Ren added, his voice low but firm as he continued running. “I need you to help me make another tunnel today.”
“Another tunnel?” Taro nearly stumbled. “Today? But the others wanted…”
“I don’t want them following us down,” Ren shook his head. “It’s risky enough with just us.”
Taro scratched his head as they completed another lap. “About that… I think they’re going to follow us anyway. You’ve seen how everyone’s been lately, especially after I evolved.”
Ren sighed, his mushrooms pulsing with what seemed like resignation. “I was afraid of that.”
“We could divide them into groups,” Min suggested. “Take turns or something.”
“Actually…” Ren increased his pace, ensuring no one else could hear them. “It’s allowed to take a group of six down to 200 meters.”
“Two hundred?” Min whistled low. “That doesn’t sound…”
“Only if we have two bronze rank in the group,” Ren specified. “Though I want to go down to 300… I guess the last meters will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“The last meters?” Taro frowned. “300!?”
Ren’s mushrooms pulsed with a glow his friends had learned to recognize as contained excitement. “Enough to reach where we need.”
“And what exactly do we need?” Min asked while trying to keep Ren’s pace.
“A small vein,” Ren responded simply. “For cultivation.”