He looked at me like one would look at a rock.
I stared quietly at him.
He seemed to notice my gaze.
"What is it?" Denis said, his tone dripping with concern.
I blinked once.
Then my body shook when I saw his face again.
His eyes were full of warmth and worry.
He was waiting for me to answer.
"W-why do you think Professor Damian won't be giving a lecture today?" I said carefully.
"Hahaha." He chuckled a bit.
It seemed like he thought of my question as dumb.
"The lecture started 15 minutes ago. You missed it, but a blue-robed man came in and told us that Professor Damian wouldn't be giving a lecture today." Denis said slowly.
Then he paused.
"You're reacting more strongly than usual." He said.
Usual? We'd only met a few days ago.
"Is everything alright?" Denis asked.
I took a deep breath.
That level of emotion couldn't be faked.
Even if his earlier coldness was real, his current warmth was just as authentic.
"...It's nothing." I shook my head.
He looked at me before sighing.
"If you say so." He turned around. "I'll be waiting for you at the library with Penelope."
When I saw his back disappear into the corner, my knees weakened.
I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath.
After a few seconds, my vision steadied.
It felt like I had just barely escaped a life-or-death encounter.
I started walking around aimlessly.
I didn't know where I was going, but I just didn't want to go to the library and talk to Denis again.
After a couple of turns, I arrived at the main hallway. It was packed with students, yet it felt strangely hollow.
I passed through them quickly.
I wanted to go to the place where I first saw Professor Damian.
The pond in the school park.
The wind was blowing softly at the grass and leaves. The sun shone strongly at the brightly colored surroundings.
Not a single animal or insect could be seen. The leaves fell in a slightly off manner.
I felt like I was being watched.
My chest tightened as my thoughts wandered to Denis again.
I quickly got up. I didn't want to think about it again.
Going into the hallways again, I headed for the lecture hall.
At the lecture hall, there was no one.
The sight of the empty desks comforted me for some reason.
The corner of the hall was empty.
A thought that had been erased from my mind surfaced again.
The red-haired girl.
We hadn't finished talking.
But I didn't know where to find her.
My stomach suddenly growled.
I hadn't eaten in some time.
I chuckled at that.
So what if Denis was feeling down today? I was overreacting.
I let out a short laugh. It sounded forced.
My laughter died down as I resolved myself.
I would pay Denis back and make him as scared as he made me.
*Click*
The door to the lecture hall opened.
But no one came from behind it.
A cold crept down my spine.
After waiting a few seconds, I sighed.
I left the hall and went to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was bustling with cheerful sounds and laughter.
A smile blossomed on my face. It was a little relaxing.
I got some food and chatted with the lunchlady a bit before searching for a seat.
All seats were already inundated with people.
Except one.
In a corner of the cafeteria, a red-haired girl was sitting by herself. The students near her seat were glancing uncomfortably at her.
She really likes corners, huh.
I started walking toward her.
A few of the uncomfortable students looked at me, almost like they wanted to warn me.
"Hey. What's up?" I said with a cheerful voice.
The red-haired girl raised her head from her food slowly.
When she saw it was me, a look of pleasant surprise covered her face.
"How did you know I would be here?" She asked.
I chuckled. "I didn't. I was lucky to see you."
"Oh right. We still haven't introduced ourselves." I said before extending my arm. "I'm Kyle."
"Scarlet." She said as she returned the handshake.
I raised an eyebrow. My eye flicked to her red hair and her crimson red eyes.
It was a fitting name.
"So about the-" I paused mid sentence as she glared at me.
She sighed. "Here's not the place."
I nodded at her words and started eating silently.
After a few seconds, she looked at me.
"Say, what happened when the Student Council took you?" She asked.
"Oh nothing. They just asked me about the fight this morning and about what I was doing yesterday." I answered while stuffing some soup into my mouth.
She furrowed her brows.
"All those students for just that?" She asked skeptically.
"That's what I said!" I laughed. "The Council President said it was because of the fight I had in the morning."
A hint of surprise surfaced on her face.
"Zorian?"
"Yeah, do you know him?" I said.
"A little. I've met him a few times because of my... special affinity." She answered awkwardly.
I nodded at her.
Her face hardened for a second before relaxing.
"Don't you find it really strange that they stopped our conversation the moment we almost reached the crucial part?" She said quietly.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Do you mean that they were watching us?" I asked.
"No, no. That's not what I meant." She said before leaning in. "What doesn't fit, gets corrected."
My eyes opened wide at that. How had I forgotten?
The student council came to escort me at the perfect time! Not only that, their excuse hardly made any sense.
My smile faded.
"What do you think we should do?" I asked.
"Avoid talking about the subject in places where we could be easily interrupted." She said. "This time, it was nothing big. But next time?"
"If you want to find me, I'll be in the garden by the dorms."
I nodded to show my acknowledgment and stopped talking.
After I finished my food, I bid her farewell and headed to the library to meet Denis.
The closer I got to the library, the heavier my steps felt. The corridors felt unending.
I shook my head and walked on.
A few security personnel walked by.
"Make sure you don't go toward the teacher's lounge." One of them approached me.
I told them where I was heading and they let me go.
The library was full of students searching for or reading books.
Denis and Penelope were sitting in the same place as last time.
My heart sank slightly when I saw them.
I took a deep breath and walked on.
"Took an awful lot, didn't you?" Denis commented when he saw me.
Penelope grumbled from beside him.
I swallowed.
The scene of Denis's cold eyes was still fresh in my mind.
"Y-yeah. Sorry for being late." I said.
We chatted a bit before getting to the main subject.
The blue-robed man and today's training.
"Oh right Kyle, did you receive a letter telling you about the training today?" Penelope asked. "Both me and Denis got it. I was wondering if you got it too."
"Yeah, I received it." I answered.
I hadn't actually gotten any letter, but they wouldn't know.
Denis tilted his head at me.
"That's strange." He said, "You said you didn't this morning."
My breath caught.
"Did I? I must've made a mistake." I said.
His eyes lingered on me.
"I see."
A few seconds of silence passed.
"About the blue-robed man," Penelope said, twirling her finger in the air. "What do you think the training will be about?"
It struck me at that moment.
How did they know the blue-robed man would be training us today?
"No idea," Denis shook his head. "What do you think, Kyle?"
My eyelids twitched.
"Well, based on the blue-robed man's demea-"
"You didn't meet him, though." Denis said, his eyes studying me.
I paused.
"Yeah, you weren't in the lecture hall with us. Did you meet him before?" Penelope asked.
Denis glanced at Penelope before turning back to me.
"I-I met him before the academy started." I said slowly and carefully.
It was a complete lie. I had never met him before.
"How are you sure that we're talking about the same person?" Denis asked.
I opened my mouth before quickly closing it.
I couldn't say I saw him heading for the lecture hall.
"You were in the Student Council President's office." Denis said. "So when exactly did you see him?"
Silence.
Denis looked into my eyes, not blinking.
I could say I left early. No, they'd know.
"It's already 4:20. We should start going to the clearing." Penelope interrupted our conversation.
Denis got up and started walking.
Penelope and I quickly got up and followed behind him.
"Be careful of what you remember, Kyle." Denis said without turning around. "Some things are best forgotten."
I stilled for a moment.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said.