As everyone knows, in most anime and games, the Fire attribute is inextricably linked to passion, energy, and enthusiasm. Carolina embodies this perfectly. While she may not be a social butterfly like Elysia, her approachable nature makes it easy for others to get along with her.
Scholar, however, is different. True to her codename, she's a researcher through and through—highly rational, efficiency-driven, and averse to pointless small talk. Her demeanor is typically cold and aloof.
In essence, if she can say something in one sentence, she'll never use two. This straightforwardness can make her seem rigid and, frankly, a bit dull.
It's worth noting that most White Eagle students are natural cheerleaders. Even if you sing a mediocre song on stage, they'll roar with applause, shower you with compliments, and even join in from the audience to keep the energy high.
Naturally, everyone loves having friends like that. With them around, there's never a dull moment—every second is filled with fun and laughter.
Scholar, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. In the Dragon Nation, she might have been admired as an "iceberg beauty," but in White Eagle, most people wouldn't want to befriend someone so "boring."
Scholar wasn't born as one of the White Eagle Eight. She moved to White Eagle with her parents as a child and settled there. During middle and high school, her icy personality, combined with her foreign identity, naturally led to social exclusion. While she never experienced outright bullying, her school years were far from pleasant, and she made virtually no friends.
Just after graduating high school and before starting university, a Dimensional Rift appeared, granting her a peculiar Crystal. This marked the official beginning of her legendary journey.
As Scholar's status rose, people naturally began to gather around her.
Networking isn't just about collecting casual acquaintances. True connections are those who can and will help you when you need it most. Only such people can be considered genuine connections.
Furthermore, connections aren't something you need to actively seek out. As you continuously improve yourself and become strong enough, people will naturally gravitate toward you.
Even so, for the Scholar, these connections were merely opportunistic climbers drawn to her power—hardly worthy of the label "friends." By the time she finally ascended to the White Eagle Eight, she still didn't have a single person she could genuinely call a friend.
Perhaps the other seven members of the White Eagle Eight were among the few who didn't harbor ulterior motives and could engage with the Scholar as equals. This might explain why she came to observe the new colleague about to join their ranks.
Was the Scholar someone who yearned for friendship? Not exactly. She had long grown accustomed to her solitary life, finding contentment in her daily research and experiments—a form of happiness in itself.
Yet, gazing at Elysia's dejected expression and recalling her earlier words, the Scholar inexplicably found herself saying, "I'm a rather dull person, really. There's nothing about me worth knowing."
To be clear, under any other circumstances, with anyone else, the Scholar would have completely ignored them and turned away without a second glance.
But when Elysia heard this, her expression instantly brightened as if by magic. "It's alright! Anything about you interests me, you know~?"
"And I have plenty of fun things to share with you too, if you don't mind~?"
The Scholar fell silent, completely at a loss for words. For someone with such poor social skills and no friends, she had no idea how to respond. But Elysia wasn't fazed; she quickly shifted to another topic.
Elysia's voice was exceptionally pleasant, utterly free of any annoying or grating quality. Listening to her speak was almost a soothing experience, leaving one's mind and body feeling relaxed.
Watching the pink-haired girl chatter endlessly before her, the Scholar found herself surprisingly unable to dislike her. This was clearly a unique and unrepeatable exception.
If anyone else had spoken to the Scholar in such a way, she might have sensed an attempt to curry favor. But Elysia, as one of the White Eagle Eight with equal authority, had no need to flatter her.
Moreover, Elysia was an exceptionally cute and beautiful girl. Humans are, after all, visual creatures, and it's hard not to be drawn to something beautiful. If a man had spoken to the Scholar in the same way, she likely would have been much more resistant.
Considering all this, becoming friends with the Scholar seemed to require meeting several criteria: being one of the White Eagle Eight, being female, and possessing a cute voice and gentle personality.
Among the other women in the White Eagle Eight, only the Hunter and the Prophet fit this description. However, the Hunter's temper was notoriously volatile, and the Prophet was shrouded in mystery, having only met the Scholar once.
This was why Elysia was considered an unreplicable exception.
Of course, though the Scholar didn't dislike Elysia deep down, years of habit had ingrained a cold and detached manner. Elysia might launch into lengthy, enthusiastic monologues, only to receive the Scholar's calm, understated "Hmm" in response.
Anyone else might have lost interest after such a frosty reception, but Elysia was different. She seemed to possess an endless wellspring of enthusiasm and an inexhaustible supply of topics to discuss.
It was as if time had flown by for the Scholar, perhaps for the first time ever, without her even realizing it. Before she knew it, noon had arrived.
The weariness accumulated from months of tedious meetings with the Sakura Nation seemed to vanish completely during their casual conversation.
Meanwhile, Baldy Burke glanced at the clock and approached Elysia, ready to ask what she wanted for lunch so he could prepare it. But the next moment, he froze in place.
"S...Scholar?!"
As someone who had served during the Martyr era, Baldy Burke naturally recognized the other seven members of the White Eagle Eight. His impression of the Scholar had always been summarized in two words: "difficult to deal with."
Yet now, here she was, sitting beside Elysia, sipping warm water in small sips. Could this truly be the same Scholar he knew?
Baldy Burke's gaze darted back and forth between Elysia and the Scholar. Then, understanding dawned.
Once he realized it was Elysia involved, none of this seemed strange anymore.
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TL Note: Extrovert adopts Introvert huh?