The lecture hall remained silent.
Rows of students focused upon their desks.
Sunlight filtered through the towering crystal windows, casting long golden beams across the ancient classroom.
Dust-like mana particles drifted lazily through the air.
The atmosphere had changed.
The relaxed mood present at the beginning of the lecture had vanished.
Now—
Everyone was working.
Because the professor had just assigned a task.
The elderly lecturer stood before the classroom with his hands folded behind his back.
His sharp eyes observed the students quietly.
Years of experience had taught him something important.
Listening meant very little.
Understanding mattered.
Application mattered.
And so—
After exactly fifteen minutes of explaining mana circulation theory, he had assigned a practical exercise.
Simple.
At least according to him.
Naturally.
Academy professors possessed a unique relationship with the word simple.
Students generally disagreed.
Violently.
A complex mana diagram floated above every desk.
Dozens of interconnected pathways.
Mana nodes.
Energy routes.
Flow calculations.
Students needed to identify errors within the circulation structure and propose corrections.
Not impossible.
Not easy.
A proper first-year exercise.
Meanwhile—
Kel quietly closed the book hidden beneath his desk.
The illusion disappeared.
The perfect afterimage dissolved into countless invisible mana particles.
No one noticed.
Not even Luna.
Because the professor had assigned actual work.
And suddenly.
The lecture became interesting again.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately spoke.
"Look at that."
"What?"
"A miracle."
Kel already regretted asking.
"You are paying attention."
The Guardian sounded genuinely impressed.
"I always pay attention."
"You literally created an illusion and started reading another book."
"Technical details."
"Important technical details."
Kel ignored her.
As usual.
His gaze landed upon the exercise.
One glance.
Then another.
The answer immediately became obvious.
Several circulation pathways were inefficient.
Two mana nodes were incorrectly positioned.
One energy route would eventually destabilize.
The solution was straightforward.
Kel picked up his pen.
Three short corrections.
Two additional notes.
Done.
Perhaps two seconds.
Three at most.
The task ended.
Kel placed the pen down.
Then quietly waited.
Around him.
The classroom remained immersed in struggle.
Students frowned.
Some erased answers repeatedly.
Others stared intensely at the diagrams.
Several appeared personally offended by mana theory itself.
Meanwhile—
Beside him.
Luna was suffering.
Spectacularly.
Her earlier confidence had vanished.
The girl leaned closer toward her desk.
Green eyes narrowed.
The pen moved.
Stopped.
Moved again.
Stopped again.
A small wrinkle appeared between her brows.
Then another.
Then another.
Kel observed briefly.
Then looked away.
Then looked back.
The situation appeared unchanged.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed softly.
"She's losing."
"It's not a battle."
"Everything is a battle."
Reasonable.
Unfortunately.
The Guardian probably believed that.
Several minutes passed.
Luna continued working.
Or attempting to.
The problem wasn't intelligence.
Kel could tell immediately.
The girl understood the theory.
Partially.
The issue was confidence.
She kept second-guessing herself.
Correct answers became incorrect because she doubted them.
Incorrect answers remained because she convinced herself they were correct.
A common problem.
Kel had seen it countless times.
Among nobles.
Among merchants.
Among explorers.
Among soldiers.
And among himself.
Long ago.
Eventually—
He decided to help.
Or at least offer.
Turning slightly toward Luna, he spoke quietly.
"May I help you?"
The words were simple.
Polite.
Nothing more.
Luna didn't even look at him.
"No."
Immediate.
Automatic.
Almost defensive.
Kel blinked once.
Then nodded.
"Alright."
And that was the end of it.
At least for him.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed.
"Rejected."
"I offered."
"Very heroic."
Kel ignored her.
Again.
Then simply sat there.
Doing absolutely nothing.
The task had already been completed.
The professor wouldn't collect it for another ten minutes.
There was nothing left to do.
So he waited.
Calmly.
Patiently.
Motionless.
Several seats away.
A student finally groaned.
Another buried his face against the desk.
A third appeared ready to surrender his academic career entirely.
The classroom slowly transformed into a battlefield.
Meanwhile—
Luna continued struggling.
Five minutes passed.
Then another.
Then another.
The mana diagram still refused to cooperate.
The girl frowned harder.
Her earlier confidence gradually disappeared.
Then—
Something strange happened.
She glanced sideways.
Toward Kel.
The silver-haired boy sat quietly.
Completely relaxed.
Not writing.
Not thinking.
Not struggling.
Simply waiting.
The completed paper rested neatly upon his desk.
Luna stared.
Then stared harder.
The contrast felt unfair.
Very unfair.
Inside his mind—
Seiren noticed immediately.
"She's looking at you."
"I know."
"She's regretting saying no."
"Probably."
The Guardian laughed.
"You're enjoying this."
"No."
A pause.
Then—
"Maybe a little."
Seiren immediately began laughing louder.
Eventually.
Luna's pride lost the battle.
A difficult moment.
An unavoidable moment.
A necessary moment.
The girl slowly turned toward him.
Her expression looked complicated.
Embarrassed.
Frustrated.
Determined.
Mostly embarrassed.
"Aedon."
Kel looked up.
"Yes?"
Several seconds passed.
The words clearly struggled to leave her mouth.
Finally—
"Can you help me?"
Kel blinked.
Then tilted his head slightly.
A perfectly innocent gesture.
"What happened?"
Luna immediately understood.
The girl stared at him.
Kel stared back.
The silence lasted several moments.
Then he calmly replied:
"You said no."
The words struck with terrifying effectiveness.
Luna froze.
Completely froze.
Nearby.
Another student glanced over.
Then wisely returned to his own problems.
The girl's ears turned slightly red.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
"I know."
Kel nodded.
"So you don't need help."
Luna stared.
Then stared harder.
For the first time.
She realized something.
Aedon Flinth looked easygoing.
Polite.
Friendly.
Yet—
He could be annoyingly literal.
Extremely annoyingly literal.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed so hard she nearly lost control of her telepathic connection.
"Kel."
"What?"
"You are impossible."
Reasonable.
But irrelevant.
Luna took a deep breath.
Then another.
The girl finally lowered her pride.
Something many students failed to do.
"I'm sorry."
Kel blinked.
The response surprised him slightly.
The apology appeared genuine.
Not forced.
Not reluctant.
Genuine.
Luna continued.
"I answered too quickly."
A pause.
Then—
"Please help me."
The words came naturally this time.
Not because she wanted answers.
Because she actually needed help.
That difference mattered.
At least to Kel.
The silver-haired boy smiled faintly.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Instantly.
Luna relaxed.
The transformation was almost visible.
Kel moved slightly closer.
Then examined her work.
Several answers were actually correct.
Exactly as he suspected earlier.
The issue wasn't understanding.
The issue was doubt.
He pointed toward one mana pathway.
"This one."
Luna looked.
"Wrong?"
"No."
She blinked.
"What?"
"It's correct."
The girl froze.
Then looked at her own notes.
Then at him.
Then back at her notes.
"I erased that answer three times."
Kel nodded.
"I know."
"...how?"
"I watched."
The answer somehow made things worse.
For the next several minutes.
Kel explained calmly.
Not giving answers.
Explaining reasoning.
Why certain pathways worked.
Why others didn't.
How mana preferred efficient circulation patterns.
How energy naturally sought balance.
Simple concepts.
Simple explanations.
Simple logic.
Yet somehow—
Everything became easier.
Luna gradually understood.
The confusion faded.
The puzzle pieces connected.
The exercise finally made sense.
Her eyes slowly brightened.
Understanding replaced frustration.
The best kind of academic victory.
The professor observed everything.
Quietly.
Without interfering.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Most talented students simply gave answers.
This boy explained principles.
A subtle difference.
An important difference.
The elderly professor made a mental note.
Eventually.
The task was completed.
Successfully.
Luna looked down at her finished work.
Then smiled.
A genuine smile.
Not forced.
Not polite.
Genuine.
"Thank you."
Kel nodded.
"You're welcome."
A pause followed.
Then Luna looked at him carefully.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"You can be really irritating."
The statement arrived unexpectedly.
Kel blinked.
Several nearby students laughed.
Even the professor appeared amused.
Meanwhile—
Luna continued smiling.
"And surprisingly helpful."
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately delivered her verdict.
"She's right."
Kel sighed.
Of course she agreed.
The Guardian sounded delighted.
"You are absolutely irritating."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"It sounded like one."
The response nearly made Seiren laugh again.
And somewhere within the lecture hall of Aetherial Institute—
The first genuine friendship of Aedon Flinth's academy life quietly began.