Liora clasped her hands, her grin suspiciously wide. "Future QnA time! First question… who's going to get married first?"
Klyden immediately sat up straight, puffing his chest like a rooster. "Me, obviously. Look at this face. Who wouldn't want to marry me?"
Keiya slowly turned her head toward him with the deadliest, driest glare. "The question was about marriage, Klyden, not a circus adoption program."
The whole group snorted.
"Hah! Funny." Klyden leaned forward, smirking. "You sound jealous."
"Jealous?" Keiya scoffed, crossing her arms. "The day I'd be jealous over you is the day shadows start paying rent."
"See, that's practically a confession!" Klyden pointed triumphantly. "You're already imagining us living together!"
Keiya's mouth dropped. "W-what—!? NO! I meant—"
"Ohhh?" Liora leaned in, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Keiya imagining living with Klyden? Interesting~"
Reiyell bit her lip, trying (and failing) not to giggle. Even Wads glanced at them, and muttered flatly, "Couple quarrel."
"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" Keiya and Klyden shouted in unison, both turning red—then glaring at each other again for shouting at the same time.
Keiya huffed, sinking back in her chair with her arms crossed, while Klyden shoved another cookie in his mouth to hide his grin.
"Yep," Liora said smugly, "definitely future newlyweds. It's decided."
"Alright, next question," Liora continued. "Who's most likely to rule a kingdom?"
Everyone immediately turned their eyes to Reiyell.
She blinked in surprise. "Ah—m-me?"
"Of course you," Keiya said. "You're literally a princess. It's not even a prediction—it's fact."
"Exactly!" Liora clapped. "Future Queen Reiyell of Ravenscroft! All hail!"
Reiyell's cheeks went red as she waved her hands frantically. "N-no, no, I-I don't even—"
"Yes," Wads interrupted in his monotone. "You already manage us. Managing a kingdom would be the same thing."
"See? Waxzi agrees." Liora grinned. "You're doomed, Reiyell. It's in your fate."
Reiyell groaned quietly into her hands while the others laughed.
"Okay, okay, I've got one," Klyden said, smirking. "Who's most likely to die first in the future?"
Everyone immediately pointed at him.
"…WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!"
"Because you're reckless," Keiya said flatly.
"And loud," Wads added.
"And you'd probably jump into a pit just to see what's at the bottom," Liora said.
"That's called curiosity!"
"That's called stupidity," Keiya muttered.
"Fine, fine." Liora waved her hand. "How about… who's most likely to stay famous in the future?"
"Reiyell," Keiya said again, without hesitation.
"Of course," Liora agreed. "She's a princess. She's already famous."
"Yeah, but for good reasons," Reiyell whispered nervously. "I don't want to be… infamous."
"Oh don't worry," Klyden said with a grin. "If anyone's infamous, it'll be ME. Tales of Klyden, the Legendary Idiot!"
"…That's not the flex you think it is," Wads deadpanned.
"Alright, last one for the future," Reiyell suggested softly. "Who do you think will still be together after twenty years?"
They all grew quiet for a moment. Then, almost in unison, Liora and Keiya glanced at Reiyell.
"…Eh?" She blinked.
"You'll still be with us," Keiya said, a rare softness in her tone. "Even if you're a queen by then."
"Yeah," Liora added cheerfully. "We'll sneak into your palace, eat all your royal snacks, and still annoy you."
"…Annoying is guaranteed," Wads muttered.
Klyden grinned wide. "So, Princess Reiyell of Ravenscroft, even in twenty years… you're stuck with us!"
Reiyell covered her face, blushing furiously, but she couldn't hide the small smile forming on her lips.
The laughter from the QnA slowly died down as everyone slouched back into their seats.
Reiyell set the papers aside, her voice calm but thoughtful. "You know… in a few months, we won't just be doing training anymore. As second-years, we'll be deployed on real missions."
That made the room fall into silence for a second. Liora blinked, then grinned nervously. "You mean, like… real real? Where people actually try to kill you?"
"Exactly," Wads replied flatly.
Klyden broke the tension by dramatically holding his feather duster like a sword. "Don't worry! I'll protect everyone with my mighty cleaning skills!" He swung it, and a puff of dust exploded right into Liora's face.
"ACK—Klyden!" Liora coughed, waving her hands around. "You're gonna kill us before the missions even start!"
Everyone burst out laughing, except Keiya who just pinched the bridge of her nose. "You can't even protect a cookie from yourself, idiot. How are you planning to protect us?"
Klyden shot her a cheeky grin. "By distracting the enemies with my overwhelming charm while you stab them in the back. Teamwork!"
Keiya gave him a long, unimpressed stare. "If you're my partner, the only stabbing I'll be doing is you."
The group wheezed.
"See?" Klyden leaned closer, whispering loudly to Reiyell and Liora, "That's called flirting."
Keiya immediately grabbed a pillow and smacked it into his face, muffling his laugh.
Reiyell smiled, watching the banter, but her tone stayed serious. "But jokes aside, Brother Razkar said second-year missions can be unpredictable. Some are easy… but some are on the battlefield. It won't be just training dummies anymore."
The mood dipped again. Wads leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Then we'll prepare properly. No half-hearted effort."
"Wow, Mr. Serious again." Klyden raised his hands in mock surrender. "We're talking about future missions, Wads, not next week. You sound like you already have a war strategy in your pocket."
"I do," Wads replied with zero hesitation.
Klyden blinked. "...Of course you do."
Liora, still munching on a cookie, tilted her head. "I wonder what kind of missions we'll get… Like, what if they send me into a swamp full of snakes? I'm NOT doing that."
"You'll scream the loudest," Keiya said without looking up, "and the snakes will just leave out of pity."
"HEY!" Liora threw a crumb at her, pouting.
Klyden leaned back dramatically on the couch. "I'm calling dibs on a mission with a fancy ballroom. Imagine me, undercover in a suit, dancing my way into the enemy's heart. Smooth."
"You'd trip on the first spin," Keiya said dryly.
"I WOULD NOT—" Klyden sat up indignantly. "I've got rhythm!"
"No, you've got delusion."
The room erupted again.
Reiyell shook her head, though she smiled at their antics. "Whatever missions we get, we'll handle them. Together."
Wads gave a single nod. Liora raised her cookie like a toast. "Yeah! To future disasters!"
"Victories," Reiyell corrected softly.
"Disasters," Liora repeated stubbornly, making everyone laugh again.
Klyden raised his feather duster like a sword again. "Then it's settled! No matter what mission comes our way—" He pointed the duster at Keiya with a grin. "—we'll survive. Because this scary lady will make sure I don't die."
Keiya groaned and shoved the feather duster away. "Don't count on it." But despite her tone, a tiny smile tugged at her lips.