Rylan smiled as he returned to the group.

"I'm back," he said while looking at Hayden and Jasmine, who were smiling at him.

Lucian stepped forward, drawing Rylan's attention to him. The young man extended his hand.

"I'm sorry you had to go along with our childish request," Lucian said with a grin as he glanced at the others. Leonard harrumphed. "Once again, welcome to the student council."

Rylan shook his head firmly.

"It's my pleasure."

Lucian then shook Hayden's and Jasmine's hands before stepping back and pointing at the student council's building behind him.

"Now, as I was planning to before this whole thing began, I'm gonna give you guys your uniforms."

Jasmine's eyes almost shone as she glanced at Jennifer and Faye, then at Ophelia.

"Is it the same one as the one you guys wear?" she hurriedly asked, making Rylan smile.

Jennifer proudly nodded.

"The very same," she replied. "It looks cool, doesn't it? It's rare for the boys and us to agree on something. It's a simple design, but it works."

"I wanted a pink one, though…" Ophelia mumbled, loudly enough that everyone could hear her. Jennifer threw her a glare, but she only looked away while crossing her arms.

"You're already too pink," Lucian replied, looking at her. "We've been through this. Can't let this building get any more pink."

Ophelia gave him a glare of her own, but he only smiled and turned back to Rylan, Hayden, and Jasmine.

"Now, follow me," he continued.

Rylan nodded. A moment later, so did the other two. Once they began following Lucian inside the building, the others came along. Oliver was staring at Rylan with a complicated expression, Leonard by his side. Jennifer was whispering to Faye – naturally, Rylan could hear all of it – about how 'hot' Rylan had looked when he had dodged all the stone shards. He shook his head with a grin and kept looking ahead, at the backs of both Lucian and Ophelia.

The way they look at me has changed.

Honestly, it was an expected result that could be considered almost unavoidable, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. Deep in his heart, Rylan had wished for his new teammates not to care too much about his strength. At the same time, 'Roland' knew it was almost impossible for that to have come true. In a world like this, power reigned supreme, which was also why he had chosen to do this. By revealing part of his power, he had only hoped that the student council would turn to him if they needed support. With the future looking grim, it was the best he could do.

Inside the building, Jennifer, Faye, and Oliver stepped to the side and waved at Rylan and his two friends.

"Well, we have some minor stuff to do, so we'll be going for now! It was nice meeting you guys!" Jennifer said in a cheerful tone, her gaze lingering on Rylan for a bit too long. Next to him, he could see Jasmine frown.

Faye slightly bowed at them again, and Oliver stared at Rylan for a few seconds.

"I'll win next time," he said in an almost amusingly stubborn voice, like an upset child.

Rylan smiled at him.

"I'm sure you'll be even stronger then," Rylan replied, then looked at Jennifer and Faye. "See you, girls."

Jennifer smiled and Faye nodded. Then they turned around, and walked toward the stairs to the second floor, but Oliver walked toward the main door to the building. Leonard followed him after nodding at Rylan and his two friends. Rylan gave them a glance before following Lucian and Ophelia again. They walked inside a large room with a circular wooden table in its center. Apart from the chairs that matched the number of student council members with the three of them included, there were three beautiful white robes on the table. Just like those of the other members, they had golden linings that seamlessly joined over the chest area to create the image of a golden blaze. One of the robes was smaller than the other two.

Jasmine smiled and walked toward it, while Rylan grabbed one of the two other robes once he got close enough.

"We're glad to have you guys on board," Lucian said from the side, making Rylan look at him.

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He was standing next to Ophelia with his chest puffed out and a bright smile, but Rylan could see the questions in his gaze whenever Lucian looked at him.

One day, I'll explain.

Rylan turned to look at Jasmine, who seemed to be very satisfied with her uniform, and at Hayden. Hayden looked back at him, nodding and holding his own robe. Rylan nodded back and looked at Lucian.

"We're glad to be here."

It was the start of his plan to help the Academy and the Ceotha Kingdom as much as he could before he was chosen to head to the battlefield.

***

Jason Cousteau listened to the end of his colleague's report.

"…And since a few days ago, Rylan Flameheart, Hayden of Lindsor, and Jasmine Lamollet have joined the student council and started their activities as members. We've been told that they seem to be especially interested in participating in combat assignments and events."

Jason sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his black hair. The sun shone on his dark eyes as he turned around to look at Barcus.

"So, in the end, it has come to this," he said in a low tone.

Barcus, who looked ordinary as always, nodded. His eyes, however, were cold, as they always were.

"They moved first and reaped the rewards. This is on us."

Jason sighed again.

How disappointing.

Truthfully, he had already expected Lucian to act so quickly. It was only natural for the student council to desire such powerful, talented new students. However, Jason had thought the three of them would have considered the implications of their choice and explored their options before committing to any faction, especially because of Jasmine Lamollet, who was part of the kingdom's high nobility.

Why did she not say anything?

Much more than the other two, Jasmine was aware of the current situation in the Academy and the conflicts between the different noble houses and the factions they were part of. Had she really chosen not to tell her friends anything? Or was something else at play? Jason frowned.

"Frowning won't solve anything," Barcus quickly snapped in an icy tone. "You need to choose what to do."

Jason didn't even blink at the sharp remark. He already knew Barcus too well.

"…What have the others decided? What were their moves?"

Barcus shook his head.

"For now, nothing. Just like you, they're all waiting to see what their next move should be based on the others. This has created a situation where nobody is doing anything and the student council is perfectly getting away with it," Barcus' voice grew gradually sharper as he spoke.

Jason gave him a dismissive wave.

"Being angry about it won't solve anything, either. I thought you knew that."

Barcus swallowed his reply and only stared at Jason. Meanwhile, Jason rubbed his chin in thought.

"Well," Jason said after a few seconds. "The way I see it, there are really only two options here. One, we convince them that siding with the student council was the wrong choice and make them come over to us. Two, we break those we can't bend. I have no desire to have enemies as talented as the three of them."

Barcus scoffed.

"That's gone through the minds of everyone else. We need a real method. How are you going to convince them? And how are you planning to deal with them if it fails?"

In response, Jason only smiled at him.

"Sometimes, the simplest answer is the right one. Where are they right now?"

Barcus furrowed his brow before looking at the paper he had been holding all along.

"Battle Fundamentals. The three of them are serving as sparring partners for the other students."

Jason nodded and started to walk toward the door.

"Let's go. We need to have a little talk with them."

***

Rylan dodged the Firebolt by slightly tilting his body and pointed his wand at the brown-haired student.

"Magic Missile," he cast. The arrow of blue mana took shape in less than a second.

The student blinked, but was too late to react. The Missile shot through the air and grazed his cheek, creating a small wound before disappearing in mid-air.

"Be aware of your defenses at all times!" Rylan heard Alice shout. "Next!"

With a dejected look, the student walked out of the small arena and was replaced by an eager-looking, black-haired girl. She bowed less than two seconds after stepping into the arena.

"Thank you for your help!" she said loudly.

Rylan blinked and nodded at her with a smile. She smiled back and got within position. A moment later, their mock battle began. The girl lasted a bit longer than the previous brown-haired student, but in the end, Rylan managed to pierce through her defenses all to easily. The moment the Firebolt was about to strike her in the face, he dismissed the spell, watching the flames turn to nothingness in the blink of an eye. The girl was shivering in place, making Rylan send her a kind smile.

"You'll get used to it with time," he said. "You did well."

The girl belatedly nodded and only moved again once Alice's voice rang out once more, telling her to leave the arena.

This pattern repeated itself more than twenty times. Each time, a new student would face Rylan in a spar, only to end up defeated shortly afterward. Even though Rylan wasn't anywhere near trying his hardest, the students were far too inexperienced to pose any threat at all, despite their Circles. Some time later, Rylan was given some time to rest, even though both he and Alice knew he hadn't strained himself at all. In this brief lull, Rylan looked at the other two arenas.

Hayden and Jasmine were fighting in them, guiding the students like he had been a moment ago. Hayden looked bored out of his mind, but Jasmine's expression told Rylan that she seemed to be concentrating on each fight.

It's a good opportunity for her.

Even though these mock battles wouldn't improve her monster-hunting abilities by much, they would at least help her become more familiar with her spells when in battle, while also teaching her how to react to spells from other Mages. Of course, the tournament had done so as well, but she wasn't at the level where 'too much experience' was a concern. Rylan smiled at her.

After some time, he started sparring with the others again. Eventually, the class ended as the sun reached its peak. Rylan watched the students wipe the sweat off their foreheads and talk to each other in low tones, smiling and throwing glances at Rylan and his two friends. Rylan smiled at them and waved.

Now…

Rylan's gaze gained an edge. He looked to his left, at the stands. Several groups of people met his gaze.

…I need to deal with those.

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