Klyden Yurei was up to something. Anyone who knew him could tell.
The way he crept through the long hall of the south wing, hugging a suspiciously lumpy sack against his side, was less "innocent classmate" and more "cartoon thief." His steps were loud even though he tried to tiptoe, and his eyes darted left and right like he was in some cheap spy play.
From her corner, Keiya Anastasia Zheka caught sight of him. She had been quietly flipping through a book when his pathetic sneaking disrupted her peace. Her eyes narrowed.
"...What is that idiot doing?" she muttered to herself.
Klyden halted as one of their classmates suddenly called out.
"Klyden! Spar with me!"
"Uh—" He jerked, plastering a guilty smile across his face. "Maybe later? I'm, uhm, busy!"
"Busy?" Keiya arched a brow from afar, closing her book with a thud. When did this idiot ever become busy?
She waited as he drew closer, sack clutched tighter. The moment Klyden spotted her standing in the hallway, his eyes widened like a criminal caught in the act. Without thinking, he shoved the sack behind him and began whistling—off-key, painfully off-key.
Keiya crossed her arms. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Klyden shot back, voice cracking.
"The one you're hiding."
"Uh… nothing?" He chuckled nervously.
"Don't tell me you stuffed that thing with stolen snacks."
Klyden flinched. "Wha—! No! Snacks? Keiya, nooo, come on. It's just some… cleaning items we'll need for the secret ro—" He froze mid-word, face contorting like someone who just realized he signed his own death sentence.
"Secret what?" Keiya stepped forward, her sharp gaze pinning him down.
"Uhhh…" He looked anywhere but at her.
She stopped one pace away and uttered his name with all the weight of authority she could muster: "Klyden."
Sweat beaded on his forehead. "I-uhhhh…"
Without hesitation, Keiya reached up and seized his cheeks with one hand, squishing them together until his lips puckered like a fish. She tilted his face toward her, making sure he looked her in the eye.
"Klyden."
"Awkey, owkei!" he mumbled through squashed lips. "Fine! We found a secret room and we're about to clean it today, okay?!"
Satisfied, she released him. He rubbed his sore cheeks, giving her the most pitiful puppy-eyed stare. "Don't tell anyone, Keiya. Please?"
She tilted her head slightly, unimpressed but undeniably curious. "Show me."
Klyden's lips parted, and he scratched the side of his face nervously. "Uhm…"
---
Not long after, Keiya was standing in the middle of an ancient, dust-choked room. The air smelled of old parchment and forgotten history. Cobwebs clung to the high ceiling, shelves sagged with decayed books, and dust motes floated thick in the dim light.
"So yeah! That's what happened." Klyden said proudly, feather duster now in hand, as though he hadn't just been caught red-handed like a fool.
Keiya scanned the room. Liora was already busy at the bookshelves, humming lightly as she dusted the spines. Wads, ever methodical, wore gloves and carefully set aside fragile tomes before wiping the shelves clean. Reiyell stood at a table, arranging papers with meticulous care.
"Good thing Keiya was the one who caught your dumb little scheme," Liora sighed.
"WHAT dumb scheme?!" Klyden snapped, pointing his feather duster at her like it was a weapon.
"Oh, right," he quickly spun toward Keiya, eyes bright. "Since you're here, you should help us!"
Keiya blinked at him. "Excuse me?"
"You heard him," Liora chimed, smirking.
Keiya sighed, muttering under her breath, "I should've walked away…" But she rolled up her sleeves anyway. She had nothing better to do.
---
The ancient room became a flurry of activity.
Liora climbed a step stool to reach the highest shelves, only to shriek as a spider crawled across her hand. "KYAAAH—!" She nearly toppled off before Klyden rushed forward.
"Don't worry, Liora! I'll protect you!" he shouted gallantly, swinging the feather duster like a sword. He whacked at the cobwebs with far too much enthusiasm, missing completely. The spider dangled onto his shoulder.
"AHHH! IT'S ON ME!" he screamed, flailing so hard that he whacked himself with the duster instead. The others nearly doubled over laughing.
Reiyell, didn't even look up. "Truly… what a warrior."
Klyden just shook his shirt violently.
Meanwhile, Wads was efficient, stacking books with quiet precision. He glanced once at the chaos and sighed. "At this rate, Klyden will destroy more dust than clean it."
"Hey! Dust FEARS me," Klyden protested, puffing his chest. He sneezed immediately after, sending another cloud of dust into the air.
Keiya, with arms crossed, stared at him. "You're unbelievable."
Klyden beamed. "Unbelievably helpful, right?"
Keiya pinched the bridge of her nose.
---
As the hours passed, the room slowly transformed. Shelves were wiped clean, stacks of paper organized, and the once-clogged floor cleared. They found strange old relics, cracked frames, and even a broken quill holder that Liora insisted on fixing.
At one point, Klyden picked up a heavy old book, blew on it, and got a face full of gray dust.
"BLEURGH—" He coughed violently, dropping it. "It tastes like… like… 400-year-old socks!"
Reiyell deadpanned, "And you would know what those taste like, of course."
"Pleasd don't mock me, Your Highness" Klyden wheezed.
Liora chuckled. "You really are hopeless."
Keiya smirked faintly but quickly hid it, turning back to dusting.
By the time they finished, the secret room looked less like a forgotten tomb and more like a space worth exploring. The shelves gleamed, the tables were orderly, and the air no longer choked with grime.
Klyden stood in the center, hands on his hips, chest puffed out. "Behold! Thanks to my leadership, this room is now spotless!"
Everyone groaned in unison.
"Leadership?" Keiya muttered, twitching an eye.
"I mean—teamwork! Definitely teamwork." He grinned sheepishly.
Reiyell snorted, and Liora just rolled her eyes. Wads shook his head with a tiny smile.
For the first time in a while, laughter echoed warmly within those dusty walls. They all slumped down in their chosen spots, exhausted but satisfied.
Klyden, with a triumphant grin, reached into the infamous sack and slapped a wrapped bundle of cookies onto the circular table.
"Hehe!" he announced proudly, like he'd just revealed buried treasure.
Keiya tilted her head, crossing her arms. "See? You really did put snacks in it."
"Guilty as charged," Klyden laughed, tearing open the bundle. "But hey, at least I shared."
He shoved one into his mouth and plopped beside Liora on the long couch. Keiya claimed the soft chair opposite, legs crossed in perfect composure. Reiyell, across her, barely glanced up from the papers she was flipping through, though her lips curved slightly at their antics.
"Alright, alright!" Liora suddenly clapped her hands. "Let's do a Q&A!"
Klyden blinked. "Q… and what?"
"QnA. Questions and answers." Liora leaned forward, eyes sparkling with mischief. "We all take turns asking a question, and everyone has to answer. Truth only. No dodging."
"Oooohhh!" Klyden lit up like a child at a fair. "I like this game. But wait—what if I don't wanna answer?"
"Then you have to eat three cookies at once." Liora smirked.
"That's not a punishment. That's a reward!" Klyden said through crumbs already sticking to his cheek.
Keiya sighed. "Why am I even here."
"Because you're fun to annoy," Liora shot back sweetly.
Wads, who was still meticulously stacking a row of dusty tomes, grunted. "Not interested."
"Oh, come on, Wads!" Liora called out. "You can't just stand there acting like a librarian forever. You'll join once we start. I'll make sure of it."
Wads ignored her and adjusted a book until it was perfectly aligned.
"Okay, first question!" Liora declared. "What's your biggest fear?"
"Ooooh juicy." Klyden pointed his feather-duster-turned-snack-stick dramatically at her. "Easy. Mine's being eaten alive by a giant frog. Like… what if it swallows me but I'm still conscious inside the stomach, slowly dissolving?"
Everyone stared at him.
"…What goes on in your head?" Keiya muttered, rubbing her temple.
"I agree with her," Reiyell added flatly, flipping another page.
Liora giggled. "Alright, alright. My biggest fear… losing my voice. Imagine me, not being able to talk. Tragic, right?"
"Peaceful," Keiya said immediately.
"Rude!" Liora gasped, clutching her chest in mock betrayal.
Reiyell finally set the papers aside, her expression calm. "Fear? …Failure. Not protecting those I need to."
Her quiet seriousness made the others pause for a beat. Until Klyden ruined it by leaning forward.
"Does that include protecting me? Like, if I'm about to be eaten by the frog, will you—"
"No," Reiyell cut him off.
Everyone laughed except Klyden, who pouted and shoved another cookie into his mouth.
From the back, Wads' voice came, dry as ever: "Frogs don't grow that big."
Klyden perked up. "Aha! So you are listening!"
"Shut up," Wads muttered, stacking another book with more force than necessary.
"Okay, okay, my turn!" Klyden shot his hand up like a student. "If you were a vegetable, what would you be?"
Keiya gave him the flattest stare. "…You had all the questions in the world, and you chose that?"
"Yes," Klyden said proudly.
"Fine. I'd be a chili pepper," Keiya said, crossing her arms. "Sharp, fiery, and not for the weak."
"Ohhh, scary," Liora teased. "I'd be a potato. Versatile, delicious, loved by all."
Klyden gasped. "I was also gonna say potato!"
"Of course you were." Reiyell sighed. "I'd be… spinach."
"Spinach?" Klyden repeated. "Why spinach?"
"Nutritious, quietly helpful, often overlooked," Reiyell answered simply.
Liora leaned toward Keiya, whispering loudly, "See? She's deep even when being a vegetable."
Then, to everyone's surprise, Wads' voice cut in: "…Eggplant."
They all turned to him.
"Because it's… purple?" Klyden asked carefully.
"No," Wads replied, still stacking. "Because people underestimate how useful it is."
Klyden tilted his head. "Huh. Never thought of eggplants that way. Respect."
"Okay, okay! Next question." Liora grinned wickedly. "Who here would you trust the least with your life?"
"Ohhh, spicy!" Klyden slapped the table. "Keiya. Absolutely Keiya. She'd probably let me die 'for character development.'"
Keiya didn't even deny it. "You're not wrong."
"Liora," Reiyell said calmly. "She talks too much during fights."
"Excuse me!" Liora gasped. "That's called boosting morale!"
"More like giving away our location," Keiya muttered.
"And I," Liora said with exaggerated drama, "wouldn't trust Klyden with my life. Because the moment things get tense, he'll trip over his own shoelace and drag me down with him."
"I object!" Klyden shouted. "I double-knot now!"
The whole room burst into laughter.
Keiya leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. "This is ridiculous."
"Ridiculously fun," Liora corrected. "C'mon, Keiya. Admit it. You're enjoying this."
Keiya hesitated, then finally allowed the smallest smirk to tug at her lips. "…Maybe a little."
Klyden immediately pointed. "AHA! Got her to admit it!"
"Don't push it," Keiya warned, tossing a cookie wrapper at his face.