The rest of the day blurred together—math, literature, and science. He tried his best to follow, but half the time his mind wandered back to the parasite, transmigration, and the concept of a new life. What if the parasite had a hand in his transmigration?
He even decided to study his classmates. They all looked like students from influential, wealthy families, but their faces were expressionless, and he couldn't read their minds at all.
'Typical rich kids who've learned the ways of politics from their families.'
Yet, his mind drifted to Kieran. The bastard had overconfidence written all over him, and to think he was sitting right behind Zephyros. Zephyros felt Kieran belonged to a very influential family, given the way he was respected and followed around.
His second point of interest was the pink-haired girl who sat in front of him. Her presence was cold and commanding, but Zephyros didn't fail to notice the fragility in her voice when she later poked him with her pen.
"Ouch."
By the time the final bell rang, he felt like his brain had been through a battle more draining than any fight with monsters.
He walked out of the building slowly, stretching his arms. The sky was painted orange by the setting sun. Students spilled out in groups, laughing and waving goodbye.
Zephyros stood alone at the gate, waiting for the car. The pink-haired girl passed by and glared at him before entering a sleek white Bugatti that pulled up in front of them.
Zephyros couldn't help but smile.
'Of course… a Bugatti. This world is just a copy of my previous life, or was my previous life a copy of this world? Aah… too confusing.'
The next person was Kieran, who tapped his shoulder and teased him before hopping into a red sports car.
'Is his father a musician?'
Driver Han pulled up a few minutes later in the sleek black vehicle that always felt too formal for him. The man rolled down the window and gave him a small smile.
"How was your first day, young master?"
Zephyros groaned. "Don't call me that. And it was… fine. I didn't die."
"That's good enough, isn't it?" Han chuckled as Zephyros slid into the backseat.
They chatted on the way home, with Han trying to cheer Zephyros up.
****
Back at the mansion, dinner was already on the table. Riven sat with her usual calm expression, eating slowly. Darius leaned back in his chair, smirking.
"So, dairy boy," Darius drawled, "did you solve the case of fitting in with high schoolers?"
Zephyros shot him a glare. "Shut up."
Riven raised an eyebrow. "Did anyone bother you?"
"Just the usual stares," he said. "And some idiot named Kieran."
"Want me to come to school tomorrow?" Riven asked, her voice casual but her eyes sharp. She would definitely kill for Zephyros.
Zephyros quickly shook his head.
"No. Absolutely not. The last thing I need is for people to see my girlfriend and think I'm her kid brother."
Darius laughed so hard he nearly choked on his food.
The dining room fell silent again until Darius broke it.
"You said… Kieran, right?"
"Yeah. You know him?"
Darius shook his head. "I've heard that name before… Aah, yes. Kieran Aurelith. He's the youngest of the Aurelian Conclave."
Zephyros swallowed hard. So, he was a member of a conclave. That made things more complicated. No, wait…
"Are most conclaves on good terms?" Zephyros asked.
"Hmm. Good terms aren't guaranteed among conclaves. Some form alliances, but it's just politics. So, no, there aren't really good terms among any conclaves. If you're planning on being friends with Kieran, I'm fine with it. Just don't make things personal between you two."
Darius ended the last part of his speech with a commanding tone that reminded Zephyros he was still the younger brother… even to the extent of scaring Detective Le Wei.
Zephyros nodded and continued with his food while pondering the matter.
'Will I be able to get some information about this world now?'
Kieran was the perfect choice, given he belonged to a conclave, but that could lead to war between their conclaves if Zephyros wasn't careful. He had to think this through.
The influential students were his best option for gaining information without arousing suspicion or involving the Miasma. And these students were deadly in their own ways. What could be worse than this?
What were the chances these students were all from conclaves? Conclaves, governments, or just rich kids—it made no difference. The question was: would they be able to answer Zephyros's questions?
Later that night, after everyone had gone to their rooms, Zephyros sat at his desk. After a brief conversation with Riven, he decided to jot some things down in the blue diary. Riven wasn't sleeping with him today.
'No…. She won't sleep beside me. That's the correct phrasing.'
The round mirror reflected his tired face. His uniform was folded neatly on the chair, and he was back in simple clothes.
On the desk lay the blue diary. He picked it up, flipping through the empty pages until he reached the first one.
Taking a pen, he began to write.
"Day One. First day of school."
He paused, tapping the pen against his lips. Then he continued.
"I survived. Barely. People stared. I got called a kid. Made a sarcastic enemy-friend named Kieran. Turns out the bastard is also a conclave member like me. Aurelian Conclave. He teased me a lot today. Riven would kill him if she met him, so I guess I'll keep them apart. And a girl poked me with a pen. She's scary."
"School is… weird. Normal. Too normal. After everything I've seen, sitting in a classroom feels like pretending. But maybe pretending is what I need. Maybe it's good to just… be normal for a while."
He stopped and stared at the words. Slowly, a small smile tugged at his lips.
He closed the diary and set it back on the desk.
For the first time that day, he felt a little lighter.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, "I'll try again."
Then he switched off the lamp and climbed into bed.
The night was quiet. No mist, no monsters, no howls in the forest. Just the soft hum of crickets outside and the slow rhythm of a boy learning how to live an ordinary life.
****
"Out you go, computer science class is over," a man wearing a brown shirt and black trousers announced to the students, who were busy staring at the screens of their monitors.
Zephyros closed the tabs and sites he had opened. One was a Google search showing the face of a man with brown hair and a beard, wearing a black suit as he sat in a well-furnished office. Another was a picture of a little girl with brown hair.
Zephyros sighed.
The next day was like a repeat of the previous day during the first half until lunch break. A shadow fell over him again. This time, it wasn't Kieran... it was the pink-haired girl.
'Now what does she want? Stab me with a knife?' Zephyros frowned but yet found a way to smile..weakly.
To his surprise, she smiled at him.
He almost choked.
'What the hell?'
The smile wasn't the sharp, cold one he expected. It was… soft. For a second, he almost forgot the pen-stabbing incident… almost.
'And why didn't I notice before? She's beautiful… dangerously beautiful. No, nope. Not falling for the pen-wielding assassin. Besides, Riven would skin me alive.'
"Zephyros, right?" Her voice was calm, low enough that only he could hear.
He blinked. "…You know my name?"
"You sit behind me. Hard not to." She tilted her head, her pink hair catching the light like strands of rose-gold. "Besides, people talk."
'Great. Gossip already. Day two and I'm trending in the rumor mill.'
"What do they say?" he asked, leaning back, trying to sound casual.
"That you're… different." Her smile widened just a little, but her eyes remained unreadable. "Erm… weird."
'…Okay, that's not new at all.'
"And you? What's your name?" he asked, more to fill the silence than anything.
She tapped her pen against the table... the same one she'd jabbed him with yesterday.
'Why bring a pen to the lunchroom? Who's weird now?'
"Selene."
"Selene…" he repeated, testing the sound of it.
The way she said it was simple and confident, making it clear she expected him to remember it.
"Why did you stab me with your pen yesterday?" he blurted before he could stop himself.
Selene's lips curved into something between amusement and mischief. "I have very handsome men in my family, and I just wanted to see your reaction."
Zephyros stared at her. "…That's not normal behavior."
"Neither are you," she said smoothly, turning back to her food like the conversation was over.
He sat there, dumbfounded.
'What the hell does that even mean? Who is this girl?'
Finally, he gazed at her with seriousness and sighed.
Selene raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"I should be asking you that, Selene. What do you want?"
"What… what do you mean?" she stammered.
Then Zephyros smirked and explained himself.
"I had a chat with Kieran yesterday, Selene. Mondays and Tuesdays, remember?"
"Yeah? What about them?"
Selene tried to act confident, but her expression betrayed her.
"Mondays and Tuesdays, you don't eat in the cafeteria. For some reason, the school allows you to eat at the restaurant down the street."
"So? Can't I change? What are you yapping about?" she frowned.
"Hmm. Yes, people can change. But I still wonder how your hair changed from brown to pink. The hair dye must be of very good quality."
Selene flinched… or maybe froze?
'Got you.' Zephyros smirked.
"So what? You know the natural color of my hair. I'm so scared," she hissed.
Zephyros's grin turned into a wide smile.
"No, no, Miss Selene. I don't just know that. For some reason, your pictures can only be found on sites that aren't publicly accessible. But not for me. I'm Zephyros Milnar."
Selene laughed. "Such a fool. A conclave member saying his surname out loud."
Zephyros remained unfazed, his wide smile intact.
"I don't see the point in hiding one's identity when the person comes from a very important family. Sooner or later, everyone will find out. Take Kieran, for example. He doesn't care. Everyone knows."
Then his smile slowly curved into an evil grin.
"I don't know why your conclave is like that…" he paused, "…Selene Notcis."
Selene gritted her teeth in anger. Her plan had failed. She stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria.
"You could have taken your recording device," he said, picking up the pen she left behind.
***
The previous night…
"Ehm… most students in schools like that tend to change their names to avoid, erm… what's it called again? Politics, I think," Riven answered.
"I understand what you mean, Riven. So Kieran isn't a fool. It's just that Aurelian is one of the strongest conclaves and plays a pivotal role in the government system," Zephyros analyzed.
"Yes. Aurelian isn't our arch-nemesis, though. They're much stronger. Kieran can boast all he wants; he's practically untouchable," Riven clarified, stroking Zephyros's hair and pecking him continuously.
Riven sat at the edge of the bed while Zephyros sat on the floor, resting his back against the bed between her thighs.
"So who's our arch-nemesis? Shouldn't every conclave be our nemesis?"
"Two or more conclaves fight for sectors within an area. Here, only three conclaves are present: Crimson Milnar Conclave, Aurelian, and… Notcis."
Zephyros sighed. Kieran wasn't a problem anymore… for now. Since this sector had three conclaves, Aurelian wasn't the issue... it was Notcis. What were the chances a Notcis member attended the same school as him? High.
He had also engaged Kieran in a chat earlier during lunch, and it turned out Aurelian knew almost everything, no matter how much you tried to hide it.
Darius was being reckless again, or maybe he just didn't care about the intense politics surrounding him. Zephyros was lucky; no one knew his name yet… or did they?
'Wait, I introduced myself today… right?'
No, he had been careful not to spill his full name. What a relief.
It was all thanks to that Aurelian member that he knew a little about his class. Apparently, the only suspicious person was the pink-haired girl. Kieran knew something about everyone but nothing about her, which heightened her suspicion.
"What's so important about Notcis? I mean, you can literally control Shadow Reach," Zephyros said.
Riven sighed and explained.
"Notcis doesn't show off their next heir carelessly. Their heir doesn't have to be Ordained, but that person will hold every single property of Notcis in their name."
"How do you know that?"
"Darius keeps his eyes on his arch-nemesis."
So his big brother wasn't fooling around after all…
Zephyros leaned back in his chair, chewing over everything he had heard. Then Riven's voice cut in, soft but sharp, like she was testing the air.
"Notcis…" she said. "They're formidable foes."
Zephyros glanced at her. "Why?"
"Because with them, power isn't in their muscles or bloodline.. it's in what they own. Property, contracts, deeds. That's their strength. Take it away, and you strip them bare."
He frowned. "So… they just fight with money?"
Riven shook her head slowly, almost pitying him. "Not money. Ownership. That's different. Smash one of their mansions, and they'll just build another. But steal the deed to the land? You've cut the cord to their power. Without those ties, they're nobodies."
Zephyros let that sink in. He hadn't thought about it that way before.
Riven leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing.
"The dangerous part is, it's invisible. Every step you take... if it's on their land, you're already in their territory. Eat at their restaurant, buy from their stores, even walk a street they've bought up… you're feeding their strength without realizing it. That's why Notcis heirs don't need to lift a sword. The world itself is their weapon."
Instead of swallowing hard, Zephyros smirked and stood up. Wishing Riven good night, he saw her out and went to sleep.
Before leaving, Riven had told him Darius didn't want him involved in politics and that he should stay out of it.
'Hell, I'll stay out of it…too much mysteries to be ignored. '
The next morning, Zephyros followed everything Kieran had told him, and it was just as he said.
Notcis were businessmen and a very mysterious conclave. Zephyros tried another site, but it still yielded nothing. The last site he accessed was an illegal one.
Thankfully, it was the school's internet, and he had learned hacking in his previous life, which made things much easier.
'…Eureka.'
Finally, what he was looking for: the Notcis family. He saw a picture of the "so-called leader." His hair and beard were brown, his skin chocolate-toned, and he wore a black tuxedo. In his hands was a small girl with brown hair, the tips' a deeper brown that stood out.
He also found a news page from three years ago:
"Notcis makes the first spying pen!!!"
'That pen poke…'
Before heading to the cafeteria, he waited near the school gate, expecting the pink-haired girl to come out, just as Kieran had said, but she didn't.
Going back to the cafeteria, he sat down, expecting his Notcis visitor.
Selene blindly fell into his trap and approached him. She tapped the recording device disguised as a pen and started recording their conversation, hoping he would reveal his conclave.
And yes, he did... but not in the way she expected. The new boy was nonchalant about it. And to top it all, he knew who she was too.
Unknown to her Zephyros looked at the tip of her pink hair which wasn't exactly pink compared to the rest. It was a mixture of brown and pink.
"…Selene Notcis."
Selene was shocked. This was her second year at this school, and it took a new boy just a day to figure out who she was.
****
The two teenagers—one in the female restroom and the other in a noisy cafeteria—pondered different but related issues.
"Is she the heir?"
"Does he know?"