Chapter 286 (Patreon)

The academy courtyard buzzed with a restless kind of energy, the kind that came from too many voices speaking at once and too many thoughts colliding in the same space, as students gathered in uneven clusters before the massive board that now stood at the center like a silent judge, its surface filled with names that carried more weight than ink alone ever should.

Kana stood among them, her gaze tracing  the lists, while the familiar presence of her group settled around her, their quiet tension blending into the hum of the crowd, because this wasn’t just about first year students' results.

Not anymore.

Before, the board had been reserved for incoming first years—new faces waiting to see where they belonged in terms of class—but now it had changed, expanded, grown into something far more encompassing, displaying not only the new but the existing, reshuffling the order they had grown used to and forcing everyone to look again at where they stood.

“I guess we all passed,” Rin said, her voice carrying a note of relief that she didn’t quite bother to hide, though her lips curved into a small, satisfied smile as her eyes moved down the list. “Even Toby made it to mythril class. I mean… I was actually worried about him.”

There was a lightness in her tone, but also sincerity, the kind that came from knowing exactly how close someone had been to falling behind.

“We also have some names I don’t recognize,” Yuri added, her brows knitting slightly as she leaned in just a bit closer to the board, her eyes scanning carefully. “I think some of them came from the silver class.”

Kana nodded quietly, her attention momentarily changed as she adjusted her grip on the new student handbook resting in her hands, its weight noticeably heavier than the one from the day before, as if the added pages alone were enough to signify how much had changed overnight.

They had handed it out to everyone.

And whether they liked it or not—

Everyone had to adapt.

Rin’s gaze drifted then, moving  away from the board as something else caught her attention, her expression softening slightly as she looked toward Suri.

Suri, who stood just a little apart from the rest.

Quieter than usual.

“Are you alright?” Rin asked, her voice gentle but laced with concern, as if she already sensed that something wasn’t quite right.

Suri shook her head slowly, her hand lifting to press lightly against her ear as her expression tightened in mild discomfort.

“For some reason,” she said, her voice lower than usual, “I keep hearing a bell… and something like… a holy sound. It just keeps repeating.”

Kana let out a small chuckle, unable to help herself as she glanced at Suri, amusement flickering across her face.

“It’s a long story,” she said lightly. “It was her first time attending something like that in church. I bet she won’t go again.”

Suri didn’t respond.

Didn’t even glance her way.

Instead, she continued to shake her head slightly, her fingers brushing against her ear as if she could physically remove whatever sound lingered there, her focus entirely on the discomfort rather than Kana’s teasing.

The moment lingered briefly before the group naturally split, their movements guided more by habit than discussion, as the girls turned toward a familiar direction—the well-known establishment owned by Rin’s father.

Meanwhile, the boys—

They had other priorities.

They moved ahead with a different kind of energy, their attention already shifting toward the first-year students gathered nearby, their gazes scanning with a focus that was anything but academic, lingering just a bit too long on certain faces as curiosity took on a more shameless form.

…

Suri let out a low, frustrated grunt, her arms folding tightly across her chest as the laughter around her refused to die down, echoing far longer than she felt it deserved, especially considering she had just finished explaining—very clearly, in her opinion—what had happened during what was supposed to be her first date.

Or at least—

What she thought was a date.

Kana, Yuri, and Rin were not helping.

Not even a little.

Because the more Suri tried to clarify the situation, the more the story seemed to unravel into something far less romantic and far more ridiculous, until even she wasn’t entirely sure what to call it anymore.

“There was an event,” Suri insisted, her voice edged with lingering irritation as she leaned forward slightly, as if that might somehow force them to take her more seriously. “At the church. I didn’t know about it beforehand.”

Her brows furrowed as she recalled it, the memory clearly still fresh—and unpleasant.

“There was this bell,” she continued, her hand lifting instinctively toward her ear again. “It just kept ringing from time to time.

The words came faster now, as if she was trying to push through the memory before it settled too deeply again.

“And Hen wasn’t even beside me,” she added, her tone sharpening slightly. “He was the co-host of the event.”

That alone seemed to irritate her more than anything else.

Kana pressed her lips together, but the moment she glanced at Yuri and Rin, whatever composure she had tried to maintain broke instantly, and laughter slipped out again, lighter this time but no less persistent.

Suri’s eyes twitched.

“Not to mention,” Suri continued, her voice rising just a fraction as she pushed forward, determined to make her point, “it wasn’t just me. There were so many girls there. And all of them were focused on him.”

Her expression darkened slightly, her frustration sharpening into something more pointed.

“It was like they were hypnotized.”

“Yes, like you.” Yuri muttered,”But I can’t blame you.

That—

That didn’t help.

Because now Kana laughed openly, Yuri covering her mouth as her shoulders shook, while even Rin, who had tried to hold it in the longest, finally gave in, her laughter softer but just as genuine.

Suri stared at them.

“So it wasn’t a date,” Kana managed between quiet laughter, her tone carrying a teasing edge that only made Suri’s expression flatten further.

“It wasn’t even close,” Yuri added, shaking her head slightly as she tried to compose herself.

Rin wiped at the corner of her eye, still smiling as she spoke. “That might be the worst first date I’ve ever heard.”

Suri exhaled sharply through her nose, turning her gaze away as if distancing herself from them would somehow restore her dignity.

The noise of the street blended into their conversation, the liveliness of the area surrounding Rin’s father’s establishment far more intense than usual, the once-familiar place now overflowing with customers to the point where even finding a seat required patience.

They stood waiting just outside, watching as people came and went, the space inside packed tightly enough that even the staff moved with careful precision to avoid collisions.

“It’s gotten more popular,” Kana noted, her eyes scanning the crowded interior as she shifted her weight slightly.

“Yeah,” Rin replied, though her attention had already drifted elsewhere, her gaze moving past the restaurant and toward the street beyond.

Kana followed her line of sight.

Boots.

Marching.

Not in formation.

But frequent enough to be noticeable.

Groups of soldiers passed by at irregular intervals, their presence heavier than before, their armor catching the light as they moved with purpose rather than routine.

Rin’s expression shifted slightly, her earlier amusement fading into something more thoughtful.

“There are a lot more of them recently,” she said quietly.

Kana frowned faintly, her mind connecting the dots faster than she liked.

“Is it because of the people who went mad?” she asked.

Rin nodded.

“Yes,” she said, her voice steady but lacking its earlier lightness. “Since they’ve been turning violent—and most of them can’t control their skills—those who specialize in direct combat are more effective in dealing with them.”

….

The next day arrived with a quiet sense of transition, the kind that lingered in the atmosphere before something officially began, as if the academy itself was holding its breath in anticipation of the changes about to unfold, because although classes had not yet started, the rhythm of routine was already shifting into place.

It was orientation day for the first years—a tradition the academy upheld every year without fail—but this time, the pattern had changed, stretched wider to include not just the new students, but the existing ones as well, pulling everyone into the same current whether they were ready or not.

New structure. New advisors. All students. No one was exempt.

Kana walked alongside the others toward their designated room, the halls busier than usual as groups of students moved with varying degrees of curiosity and reluctance, their conversations blending into a constant murmur that echoed faintly against the stone walls.

Some were excited.

Kana remained quiet, her thoughts steady, her attention drifting briefly to Leo, who walked a little ahead, already engaged in conversation with a few familiar faces—gold-class students from the previous year who had successfully advanced into mythril class, their expressions carrying a subtle pride that hadn’t yet settled into arrogance.

They entered the room together, the space larger than their old classroom, the arrangement more structured, more refined, yet somehow less personal, as if the increase in size had come at the cost of something less tangible.

Rin glanced around, her expression softening slightly as a hint of nostalgia surfaced.

“I miss our copper classroom,” she said, her voice quieter than usual, touched with something that lingered between fondness and loss.

Kana nodded in agreement, her gaze sweeping across the room as she took in the unfamiliar arrangement.

“Yeah,” she said, settling into her seat. “Twenty students feels… a bit much.”

But it lacked the familiarity they had grown used to—the smaller space, the closer interactions, the sense that everyone knew each other not just by name, but by presence.

Here—

It felt different.

They sat, conversations rising and falling in small pockets around the room as students settled in, the atmosphere light but edged with curiosity, because one question lingered quietly among all of them.

Their advisor.

“Wonder who it’s going to be?” Suri asked, leaning back slightly in her seat, her earlier irritation from the previous day now replaced with interest, her tone casual but attentive.

Rin opened her mouth to respond, a faint hint of realization crossing her expression.

“Uhm—”

She didn’t finish.

Because at that exact moment—

The door opened.

And someone stepped in.

alf the class reacted first, their hands coming together in spontaneous applause, the sound sharp and welcoming, filled with recognition and enthusiasm.

The other half—

Grunted.

Exchanged looks that carried far less excitement and far more skepticism.

Mixed reactions spread across the room like ripples, dividing the atmosphere into two distinct halves.

Kana didn’t need to ask why.

She already knew.

Because the figure standing at the front—

Was familiar.

Wor-en.

He stepped fully into the room, his presence steady, composed, carrying the same quiet authority that had defined him before, his gaze sweeping across the class not with surprise, but with calm acknowledgment, as if he had expected every reaction exactly as it came.

He was their advisor. Again.

Post note:

Sixth chap of the week.

Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂I’m going to have a little  free time so the next chap should be on time except for Monday(will post a bit late).

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