Chapter 248: A Changed Scenario

Chapter 248: A Changed Scenario

I hugged the soft body beneath my arm a little tighter.

I hadn’t opened my eyes yet. The shoulder sticking out from under the covers had grown cold, but the warmth of the body I’d pulled against me was a very good reason to drift back to sleep.

"Cass..."

I heard a sleepy murmur.

As I lifted my head slightly to get away from a few strands of hair tickling my nose, I opened my eyes a crack.

Red hair...

Iris was asleep with her back against my chest. One hand rested on the arm I’d wrapped around her waist. When I’d pulled her closer, her fingers had stirred before going still again.

For a few seconds, I watched the part of her face I could see.

The fact that the girl who’d ignored me yesterday morning was now asleep in my bed meant the day had turned out better than I’d expected.

I’d somehow managed to convince her to sleep beside me.

Of course, that had taken a long conversation, several apologies, and thinking before I replied to some of the things she said.

That last part had been especially tiring.

I slowly slipped my arm out from beneath her and sat up in bed. Iris frowned slightly when the warmth behind her disappeared. As she nestled closer to the pillow, I brushed the hair away from her face.

I ran my fingers through her red hair.

Her expression was easier to read while she slept. The little crease between her brows was gone, and her lips were slightly parted. Remembering what she’d said while scolding me yesterday, I couldn’t help smiling.

She’d said she could spare an hour.

Apparently, we’d run a little over.

I looked toward the window. Pale light seeping between the curtains formed a thin line across the floor. There was still time before classes started.

Iris reached out without opening her eyes. When her fingers touched my wrist, she tugged me gently toward her.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere."

"Then stop fidgeting..."

The end of her sentence faded into a sleepy murmur.

I stroked her hair for a little longer, then lay down beside her again.

The rest of the world could wait a little.

---

"Tomorrow’s lesson will be held in the dungeon."

Professor Aemon’s words brought the whispers in the classroom to an abrupt stop.

I lifted my head from my hand and looked toward the lectern. The professor had set a thin folder on the desk. As usual, the brim of his hat sat too close to his eyes.

"You have a practical exam on dungeon clearing. You’ll go in as teams of four."

The class stirred again.

A few students were already looking at their friends before he’d finished explaining. I saw one turn toward the desk behind them and gesture.

Aemon must have seen it too.

"Teams will be drawn at random. Stop winking at each other."

Some of the students who had just sat up excitedly slumped back into their seats.

The professor placed a small wooden box on the desk. He continued speaking as he mixed the folded slips of paper inside it.

"Upperclassmen will supervise you. They’re not there to complete the exam for you. If you go clinging to someone’s skirts the moment you’re in trouble, I’ll grade you accordingly."

"Professor, will we only be judged on the number of monsters we kill?"

The question came from a girl in the front rows.

"If that were the case, I wouldn’t need to send you in groups of four." Aemon pulled the first slip from the box. "How you observe your surroundings, how you use your resources, and whether you can work together also matter."

Beside me, Alicia was listening closely.

I was staring at the box.

Dungeon clearing.

I knew when this lesson was supposed to take place. Still, hearing the date from the professor took away some of the ease I’d felt that morning.

Aemon announced the first few teams. The students whose names were called looked around the classroom to see who would be joining them.

Then he called my name.

"Cassian."

I rested my elbow on the desk and waited.

"Alicia."

I slowly turned my head.

Alicia was looking at me too. When our eyes met, she gave me a small smile.

This wasn’t right.

Before I could even make sense of her name being called, the third slip was unfolded.

At the next name, Fish Boy sat up in his chair.

He looked at the professor, then at me. His expression suggested he was just as excited about his team as I was.

Great.

A girl who could look into my soul and an idiot prince ready to argue almost every time we spoke.

It couldn’t get any worse.

"Daren."

A boy with brown hair sitting by the window raised his hand. I’d seen him a few times before, but I didn’t remember ever speaking to him. After writing his teammates’ names in the notebook in front of him, he quietly looked at us.

At least the fourth member wouldn’t cause trouble.

I turned my attention back to Aemon as he continued reading the remaining names.

"The team lists will go up on the noticeboard after class," he said. "Anyone who’s late tomorrow will get a 0... along with their whole team, of course."

He opened his folder and began explaining the details of the exam.

I wasn’t really listening anymore.

---

During the break, I went up to the school roof.

I needed some quiet before Lunox found me to talk about another romantic problem, or Celine started lecturing me about the trouble I’d gotten myself into.

I moved away from the door and sat at the base of the stone railing. The wind was stronger here, but the noise from the corridors below was muffled.

With a thin stick I’d picked up, I began drawing random lines in the dust on the ground.

First, I drew a circle. Then another beside it.

As I moved the tip of the stick between them, my thoughts turned to the original Cassian’s notes.

Eternal Night would make its first appearance tomorrow.

According to the notes, this exam was where the cult entered the story. Alicia and Felix would be on the same team, and what happened in the dungeon would create an important bond between them.

Felix would save her.

Alicia would begin to trust the boy she owed her life to, and that day would lay the foundation for much of what came afterward.

I placed the stick between the two circles.

The problem was simple.

Alicia was no longer on Felix’s team.

She was on mine.

The cult’s target hadn’t changed. I doubted they cared about the students’ random draw. They would try to take Alicia regardless of which group she was in.

But this time, they wouldn’t be facing Felix.

I traced one of the circles again with the stick. The tip caught on the rough stone, sending a faint vibration through my hand.

I didn’t know which of my interventions had caused this.

Tomorrow, they would come to kidnap my teammate.

I leaned my head back and looked at the sky.

I also knew what would happen if I let them take Alicia. They would sacrifice her soul and resurrect a fallen god in the mortal realm.

That would be a bit of a hassle.

We weren’t talking about an unbeatable enemy. Killing a fallen god again was something I could handle if necessary.

But why should it be my job?

I didn’t even care that much if it came back to life. I’d long since lost any desire to deal with this world’s gods, cults, and people who kept causing one disaster after another.

As long as the people I loved were safe, what everyone else did was none of my concern.

Of course, problems like that rarely stayed where they belonged. Trouble a cult started in a dungeon could eventually reach the academy’s gates.

More importantly, standing by and doing nothing tomorrow wouldn’t be easy either.

Alicia was on my team.

They would take her right in front of me, and afterward, there would be a whole lot of stupid questions I’d have to answer.

I twirled the stick between my fingers.

It would be much easier to sort out the teams beforehand.

I needed to swap places with Felix.

That way, the teams would still have four members, and Alicia would be with the person she was supposed to be with. Felix would also be where he needed to be to play the hero.

I wouldn’t even have to keep track of the bond they formed afterward.

I looked toward the roof door.

I should ask Iris.

She was on good terms with Pharsa. The student council listened to her too. Switching two students on the team list didn’t seem like a problem she couldn’t solve.

I grimaced before I’d even finished the thought.

I hadn’t been thinking about team lists while stroking her hair that morning.

Now, just after we’d made up, I would be going to her to ask for a favor she would do because she liked me.

And I wouldn’t be able to tell her the real reason.

"A cult is going to try to kidnap my friend tomorrow, and I’d rather have Felix there in my place" wasn’t a particularly useful explanation.

First, Iris would ask how I knew.

Then why I hadn’t told the professors.

Then why I was saying all of this so casually.

I erased one of the circles with the tip of the stick.

I didn’t want to lie to her. But how much of the truth I could tell her was another question.

I pictured the hand that had held my wrist that morning.

I sighed.

Feeling as though I was using her was irritating.

Finding other words to describe it didn’t make that feeling go away. I wanted Iris to smile and talk to me again. How was I already thinking about asking her to do something for me?

Still, it had to be done.

Changing the groups could solve at least some of tomorrow’s problems before they even began.

For now, that thought was enough to hold on to.

I was still on the roof when the bell rang.

I heard footsteps rising from below. As students returned to their classrooms, the noise in the corridors grew for a while, then gradually faded.

I didn’t get up.

I traced the last shape I’d drawn a few more times. Finally, I scattered the dust with my palm and set the stick aside.

By the time I stood up, class had already started.

I went down the stairs and headed toward the corridor where my classroom was. It was empty, with the voices of different professors coming from behind closed doors. I was a few minutes late, but I didn’t see much reason to hurry.

I was still thinking about my conversation with Iris.

Just as I was about to turn the corner at the end of the corridor, a calm voice came from behind me.

"Prince of Nothingness"

I stopped.

My fingers stirred slightly at my sides. As I slowly looked over my shoulder, everything I’d been thinking about vanished from my mind.

A boy stood at the other end of the corridor.

Light from the window fell across his white hair. His blue eyes were fixed on me. There was neither a challenge in his gaze nor the smugness of someone pleased with what he’d just said.

I’d seen him in the arena.

The top student in our cohort.