"You’re actually here... gods, you’re really here."
Grace’s voice trembled slightly as it escaped her lips, filled with disbelief, relief, and sothing deeper... a tangled flood of emotions she herself couldn’t fully describe.
Elysia hugged her back gently and whispered, "Thank you for worrying about ... But I’m fine now, really. I’m safe and well."
Grace, unable to hold back her emotions any longer, buried her face into Elysia’s shoulder and began to sob softly.
At the back, the principal stood, observing the emotional reunion like a silent spectator to a play. He hadn’t interrupted once, simply allowing the mont to unfold on its own.
Ash stood there, watching the whole scene, and suddenly shuddered slightly.
Why do I feel a little creeped out all of a sudden...?
Ah!! Must be because if a guy had hugged like that, I probably would’ve blown his head off without a second thought...
Ahem... ignoring those thoughts floating in Ash’s mind, Ash looked towards Elva, after all she was staring at him as if burning holes into his body.
She had recognized Elysia imdiately, of course... but Ash? No. It had taken her several long seconds....seconds filled with shock and disbelief—to even accept that the boy standing calmly beside the principal was the sa Ash she had once known.
The change was that drastic.
And even after recognizing him... she said nothing. She simply stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Ash, naturally, noticing her intense stare. Offered her a small, polite bow paired with a soft smile, he turned his attention back to the emotional reunion playing out in front of him.
Elysia gently pushed Grace back, her hands resting on the girl’s shoulders.
Even though her personality had changed quite a bit over the last few weeks, Grace was still her first friend in this world. That connection... she couldn’t ignore it. No matter how different things had beco.
Then, as if they had been waiting for that mont, the others stepped forward—and without hesitation, they all jumped at her together.
Of course... they were all girls.
Ugh... really? Even them now? What is going on here?
This ti, it was Elysia who found herself caught off guard. She had always thought that the other girls around her—especially Lyra and Alia—only saw her as a normal friend, soone they respected or perhaps admired in battle, but nothing deeper than that.
But looking at the way they held her, the emotions in their eyes, and the tears that stained their cheeks... she began to question that belief.
Do they really see as sothing more than just a companion...? Could it be that they actually regard as a true friend...?
She didn’t know. Because from her past experiences, friendships between girls were... complicated.
Toxic at tis, twisted with jealousy, competition, passive-aggressive fights, and painful betrayals. There was always so form of gossip, backstabbing, and those typical girl-world problems she had co to hate.
It was rare—very rare—to find soone who genuinely cared.
And in her eyes, Grace had always been that rare one. A pure soul, soone she considered not just a friend, but almost like a little sister who held her own place in Elysia’s heart.
Eventually, when Lyra and Alia also moved away, quietly wiping their faces with the back of their sleeves and pretending nothing happened, the warm yet heavy atmosphere seed to shift slightly.
That’s when Ray stepped forward, his expression unreadable, but just as he opened his mouth to say sothing—
"Ah!! Hellooo!!!"
That cheerful, lodic voice echoed through the air, instantly snapping everyone’s attention to the side.
Every single person turned their head without delay, their eyes locking on the source of that unexpected voice.
Even though they had seen him earlier when he entered along with the Principal, none of them had truly paid attention to him. They had simply assud that he was so senior student or soone important, perhaps a representative of another class, and dismissed him without a second thought.
But now that their eyes properly focused on him, now that they were seeing him up close and clearly—sothing shifted within them, a quiet yet undeniable realization blooming in their minds.
...that he was handso. Strikingly so, in a way that made them forget everything else for a mont.
Ironically, after Elva, it was lissia who recognized him. Unlike the others, she had not gone rushing toward Elysia. She had never liked her to begin with. There were far too many complicated and unresolved emotions buried deep in her heart regarding that girl, emotions that made her avoid eye contact, made her silently turn away whenever Elysia was near.
So instead of focusing on Elysia, lissia’s eyes had landed on the unfamiliar boy standing next to her, and her sharp senses kicked in almost imdiately.
She wasn’t soone who missed subtle details. Within just a few seconds, she could tell—he was wearing sothing. A concealnt artifact and so sort of mana producing artifact.
Sothing was clearly hiding his presence or changing how others perceived him.
But the mont she truly looked at the boy standing there, the mont her gaze lingered on his features—the doubts in her mind began to waver.
His pure white hair was tied back loosely in a top knot, a few unruly strands falling freely over his forehead, giving him an almost unintentional charm.
His skin was pale, not in a sickly way, but in a manner that resembled soone who had spent a long ti in a cold, sunless place.
It gave him an ethereal, almost distant aura. His build was athletic—not too bulky, not too lean, perfectly balanced in a way that made him look naturally graceful rather than trained.
He was tall and there was a gentle, calm smile resting on his lips, with eyes of deep azure, flickering with a quiet spark of life.
W-wait... is that...Ash..?
lissia’s breath hitched, her thoughts stumbling.
She rembered Ash being much shorter. His skin had always had a bit more color, and though he had white hair back then, it shimred with a faint silver shine that was missing now.
His expression had always been distant, blank, and his eyes had been surrounded by faint dark circles, as if sleep had long abandoned him. His face had always been devoid of emotions.
But, this boy looked nothing like that. And yet... sothing about him scread familiarity.
How...?
That was the only thought that echoed in her mind, her confusion growing by the second. She couldn’t comprehend it. The boy in front of her felt like a stranger, and yet sothing deep inside whispered that it was him.
It was Ash.
And even before she could consciously process those thoughts, even before her mind could settle on a conclusion—her body had already reacted. Her legs moved on instinct, pushing her forward, and she began running toward him.
Attracting everyone’s attention just as Ash was about to say sothing else, lissia suddenly leapt toward him. Naturally, Ash noticed her movent, but it was already too late to stop her now.
His thoughts raced faster than the speed of her fall.
Ugh... damn it. If I step aside now, she’s going to fall straight to the ground. But if I catch her, she’s definitely going to pull into a hug without hesitation...
Sigh... what a troubleso situation this is turning out to be...
Even though he had taken precautions and ntally prepared himself to avoid unnecessary drama, situations like this always found a way to sneak up on him.
With a loud and clear shout, "Ash!"
She crashed into him. Though Ash reacted quickly enough to catch her before she could fall, just as he had feared, she still wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him into a warm and rather intimate hug.
A strange and heavy silence instantly fell over the entire area.
Ash looked up slowly, only to find that everyone around was staring directly at him, their eyes wide in disbelief. So stood frozen, stunned by the unexpected na that had just been called aloud, while others were completely astounded by the dramatic changes in his appearance and presence.
anwhile, there were those whose attention wasn’t on his na or his transformation, but rather on lissia’s sudden and bold behavior.
One such person was Ethan.
The very mont Ethan saw lissia hugging Ash so openly—and the shocking changes in Ash’s appearance—his fists tightened with such force that blood began to seep from between his fingers.
His entire body trembled with rage, and an uncontrollable fire burned within his heart, one fueled by jealousy, confusion, and sothing deeper he couldn’t even na.
Ash noticed it all.
Thanks to the Soul Library, his perception and observational abilities had reached a whole new level. His eyes picked up on even the most subtle of reactions, and that allowed him to clearly read the emotions on every face around him.
And at that mont, he understood.
Sigh... looks like even more trouble is about to knock on my door... but then again...
A faint grin ford on his lips as a thought passed through his mind,
So what? I’ve already decided. I’ll bulldoze my way through all these unnecessary flies, no matter who stands in the way...
But then, just as his gaze casually drifted toward Elysia, his expression shifted slightly. She was staring at him with the piercing sharpness of a hawk, her gaze filled with an intensity that made him feel as if he were being dissected under a lens. The sheer weight of her focus was enough to make him pause.
Sensing her gaze and the building tension in the air, Ash slowly and gently pushed lissia away from himself.
"Cough!!"
He cleared his throat, trying to dissolve the awkwardness that had suddenly settled around them like a heavy mist. Then, without missing a beat, he slowly turned toward Elva, his expression gradually shifting back to composed.
With a faint, polite smile tugging at the corners of his lips, he masked the chaos within and adjusted his posture accordingly.
His voice held a calm and respectful tone, appropriately formal for addressing a superior, without overstepping or sounding overly familiar.
"Nice to see you again after such a long ti, Instructor Elva."
***
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