The situation had taken a completely unexpected turn. They were staring at , but without saying a single word, which only increased my discomfort.
"C... can I sit down?" I stamred, my voice shaking a little, due to the tension that had been created.
"Sure," Cynthia replied, becoming indifferent again, while still concentrating on her book. Although she didn’t show much interest, I could notice how she threw furtive glances from ti to ti.
Aziel on the other hand just kept looking at , without looking away for a second...
"What’s wrong?" I asked, bewildered, my mind barely managing to keep up with what was happening around .
... (silence)
After a few seconds, Alia, with her haughty and penetrating gaze, broke the silence.
"Did you cut your hair? It’s not that you’re unrecognizable, but... there’s sothing different about you."
My thoughts clouded over for an instant. My relationship with Alia had never been easy. I felt a slight irritation whenever I thought about that unfortunate couple that had been caught in the battle between guilds. I couldn’t bla her... but still, it wasn’t easy.
’Argg. What a pain...’ I thought
I ran my hand through my hair, a habit I did when I was stressed.
"Wow!" Aziel let out a small sound of surprise, quickly covering his mouth, as if he had said sothing inappropriate.
...
"Maybe it’s just the light," I replied, ignoring Aziel, although my voice trembled slightly.
Regaining his composure, as if the previous had been a lie, Aziel leaned forward, his gaze fixed on my face, as if he could see sothing beyond my skin. "It’s as if... sothing has changed in you, not just physically. As if the energy surrounding you is different."
Erwing, with his usual calm, nodded slowly, his eyes shining with a slight intensity, as if sothing inside him was recognizing a change. But due to his nature he preferred not to delve further into the subject.
I remained silent, observing each of them. I didn’t know what to answer. All of this was overwhelming . The fact that they had noticed it so clearly was disconcerting . How damn intuitive could they be? Sothing wasn’t right. I guess that’s why they are the protagonists.
"I don’t know... maybe it’s just the situation," I answered, downplaying it as I tried to calm my mind. I was already tired of standing, so, with a sigh, I dropped into one of the nearby chairs.
"Ah... yes," Erwing nodded, as if the answer made sense.
Alia, still watching , shrugged, but her eyes didn’t leave for a second.
—Maybe... but we’ll see —she replied, letting out a slight smile as she elegantly took her cup, a blush barely visible on her cheeks.
—Well, changing the subject... have you decided which stand to join? —Erwing asked, perhaps noticing my discomfort.
I relaxed instantly, grateful that they were grateful to change the subject but thinking about what he said.
In this world, stands were more than school clubs, places where students t and shared, but there was also sothing different. Most of them focused on mana and combat.
At that mont, Alia and I spoke at the sa ti:
—Gurtd —we said, in unison.
Erwing let out a slight laugh, as if he was delighted that we had the sa choice.
Alia and I stared at each other, and the silence between us lengthened a bit.
—And you, Cynthia? "Have you decided which one to join?" Erwing asked, diverting the conversation back to her with a smile.
Cynthia looked up from her book for just a few seconds, pausing to consider the question before answering, without missing a beat.
"I’m joining the chess club," she replied firmly, but without emotion, as if that were the most obvious answer.
Erwing arched an eyebrow, visibly surprised.
"Wow!" he exclaid, slightly impressed.
Cynthia just shrugged and went back to reading, as if the conversation was already over for her.
Three-Dinsional Chess was a radically different concept than traditional chess. Instead of simple wooden or plastic pieces, players summoned materialized incarnations through mana. In this new format, you didn’t move pieces around a board, but instead commanded armies of holographic soldiers, each following orders with absolute precision. Also, the playing field was no longer static; you could modify it at will, creating and destroying obstacles, changing the configuration of your battlefield in real ti.
In fact, when I first saw it in the novel I wanted to implent it as a computer format, but I was scared of a copyright lawsuit.
"Interesting..." Erwing murmured, looking at all of us. Then, he turned to the left with his peculiar smile. "So, Aziel, which club are you going to join?"
Aziel thought for a mont, clearly mulling over the question.
"I don’t know... Maybe Club Madison. I got an invitation yesterday."
We all looked at each other, a little surprised.
"Madison?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Club Madison?" Erwing repeated, his expression quickly turning from curiosity to concern. "Are you sure you want to join that?"
Aziel frowned, clearly confused.
"Why not? It doesn’t seem so bad," he replied, oblivious to what was hidden in that club.
Erwing grimaced slightly, as if he couldn’t believe he was considering that option.
"Listen, Club Madison is... complicated." It’s a place where nobility and their vassals gather, yes, it also has many privileges, but behind the facade of connections and alliances, it’s actually a nest of vipers. If you’re not careful, you can end up being another piece in their dirty gas.
Aziel thought for a mont, but still didn’t seem completely convinced.
"Is it that bad?" he asked, almost jokingly.
"I’m serious," Erwing replied, his tone now more serious. "In that club, if you’re careless, you could end up stabbed in the back, and not figuratively. It’s not a place for people like you."
Cynthia, who had been imrsed in her book the whole ti, finally looked up.
"Erwing is right," she said bluntly. "It’s better to stay away. There are things in that club that you wouldn’t want to find out."
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