233 Peace before-

[Ren Hilton's POV]

"Ugh," I groaned, coercing myself to rise and stretch.

After leaving the bed, I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and got ready for the day.

"It's today?" Blaze asked, jumping onto my shoulder as I scrutinized myself in the mirror.

"Yeah," I replied, fastening the convergence Amulet around my neck and tying my hair into a bun before leaving the room.

Descending the stairs, as usual, the others weren't particularly friendly, but today I simply walked past them.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast?" Mrs. Penny inquired.

"No, thanks," I replied, continuing on my way without looking back.

Leaving the dorms, the day was quite cloudy. It felt like it would rain—

'Well, the season is changing now,' Blaze followed me.

I pondered that too but in a different sense. It's true that the season is changing; a lot happened in the storyline.

'Relatively, everyone except Adam, Mary, and the Elven princess, I suppose,' Blaze said.

...yeah, I guess that's true. I've been involved and not involved at the same time.

Anyways, I've genuinely enjoyed my time here at the academy. I attend a lot of classes, learn new things, and I've made a friend too.

'You had an ulterior motive with her,' He interjected.

Yeah, that's true. I initially befriended her for my own benefit, but ignoring that, it's quite a healthy friendship I have with Raven.

I've been at the academy for about two and a half months, and I'm already quite well-known among the first-years. It's fine as long as they don't approach me directly.

As for the first arc of the academy, it's done for the main cast; their first mission was a success. From here on, I don't foresee any problems for them.

Tap*

I turned as someone tapped on my shoulder. I looked around to see the signature blue hair and shiny armor.

"Nice to see you," I greeted before she could speak.

There was a pause from her side. "You don't seem surprised," her gaze narrowed a bit.

"I don't? Well, then—" I took a deep breath, "Damn! When did you get back!?" I shouted, attracting the gazes of passing students.

"Drop it," she chuckled, and I did too.

"Well, I am back now," she said as we both walked, "Where are you going?"

"Hmm, the Arena," I glanced left towards the Arena, a bit farther from the main building, where the entrance exams were conducted.

"Don't you have classes?" she questioned.

"Bunking," I smirked at her, only for her to reprimand me for skipping so much.

'Who's going to tell her that the number of classes you attend depends on your mood?' Smokeball interrupted my thoughts.

Cecelia was away because she was called to the capital alongside Aron. Why? I don't know the reason.

"Where were you these past few days?" I asked her.

"Back, meeting up with my family," and yes, she was partially hiding something about her meeting with Aron.

I don't know if it's her loyalty, sense of duty, or the fact that Aron has her family as hostages—like the Marquis's family is at the mercy of the royal family.

"Hmm, that's great. Well, I miss my family too," I sighed. It's true that I miss Mom and Dad, even Marylin too.

Like I want to eat home-cooked food.

'Homesick, huh... weak,' his comments don't stop, but with each passing day, I feel like I have gotten used to it.

"How big's your family?" she questioned.

"Well, unlike you noble folks, we are just modest. It's me, my mother, and father," I shrugged, turning towards the entrance to the arena.

Cecelia's footsteps came to a halt. I turned to look at her, "How did you know that I am a noble?"

"Because you live in the noble dorms," I lied, but it was a logical reasoning.

"Oh... Kay," her face reddened a bit. Don't tell me that she thought it was a big mystery to me that I wouldn't know she's a noble.

I still don't know why she's following me, but since I didn't mind, I let her tag alongside.

We passed through the large arched door, only to end up in the grand colosseum-like place.

The colosseum was massive, like seriously huge. It had these towering walls that stretched up into the sky. The place was built with these ancient-looking stone bricks, all worn out and weathered. Inside, there was this massive open space, like a gigantic arena or stadium.

The ground was a mix of gravel and dirt, kind of dusty and rough under your feet. There were rows and rows of seats, like bleachers, all arranged in a circular pattern around the center stage, where all the action went down. The whole place had this historic vibe, you know, with bits and pieces that looked like they've been standing there for centuries. Overall, it was an impressive sight, giving off this vibe like it had seen a ton of action in its time.

"Why here?" She questioned.

"Well... the weather's great, so why not?" I shrugged as I made my way towards the rows at the end.

Passing by a few couples in the midst of their make-out sessions—hey, it was mostly empty, so it wasn't hard to find a spot in the back.

I settled in a good spot, and Cecelia sat beside me.

The cold wind blew, signaling the end of the Embera season.

In this world, the months pass like this, with the seasons changing every three months—Frostvale, Luminos, Verdantia, Equinoxia, Solstice, Astralis, Embera, Harveston, Lunaris, Shadowmoon, Stormrider, Valeria.

"Wait—" She raised a finger, reaching for her left hand and flashing a red gem ring—a spatial ring.

It had been a while since I'd seen one, to be honest.

'Why don't you ask Alver to buy you one?' Blaze suggested.

Well, it's not like I need one now that I have a spacial void.

She tapped on the ring, and the air around her hand buzzed a bit—this was a strong one.

With a whirl-like motion, a large black wooden box appeared in her hand.

"What's that?" I asked.

"This?" She chuckled cheekily, her mood surprisingly good today.

'Did that Aron guy get a constipation?' Blaze expressed his disdain as always.

Pulling the lid off the box, a delicious aroma hit my nose directly.