Chapter 82: ‘It must be mana.’

The academy’s medical team was waiting at the gates when the students returned.

Those requiring immediate treatment were taken to the infirmary, while the others were directed toward temporary accommodations. The teachers confirmed that the surviving students would be excused from their regular activities until their condition had been assessed.

Team 37 was allowed to remain together after Mira confirmed that none of them required emergency treatment.

Kael considered that a small victory.

At least he wouldn’t have to spend the evening answering questions.

Unfortunately, his relief lasted only until Professor Vista appeared near the infirmary entrance.

"Student Grayford, I want you to report to the faculty office tomorrow morning."

Kael stopped.

"Am I in trouble?"

"That depends on how much trouble you managed to get into before we arrived."

"That’s reassuring."

Vista regarded him with an expression that made it clear his humor wasn’t helping.

"You’re not being accused of anything. We need to understand what happened during the battle, particularly your involvement in the defense of the final pillar."

Kael nodded.

"I’ll be there."

"Good. Rest properly tonight. Your injuries won’t improve if you keep moving around."

With that, Vista departed.

Elias leaned toward Kael.

"So, are we going to pretend that you’re not being summoned for questioning?"

"It’s a conversation with an instructor."

"That’s what people say before they get questioned."

Darius snorted.

Mira looked worried.

"Kael, will they punish you for using your sword to deflect the caster’s magic?"

"I hope not. I’d hate to discover that saving everyone was against academy regulations."

Mira covered her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh.

Even Darius smiled faintly.

For a moment, the tension that had followed them from the forest began to ease.

Then Seraphina approached.

"Kael, could I speak with you for a moment?"

Her voice was quieter than usual.

Kael glanced at his teammates.

Elias immediately became interested in something on the ceiling.

Darius suddenly found his sword fascinating. Mira looked between Kael and Seraphina, then politely stepped aside.

"Sure," Kael replied. "What’s up?"

Seraphina glanced at the others.

"Somewhere private, if you don’t mind."

Kael raised an eyebrow but followed her down the corridor.

They stopped beside a tall window overlooking the academy gardens.

The afternoon light fell across the stone floor, illuminating the dust drifting through the air. For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Seraphina clasped her hands in front of her.

"About what you told me in the sanctuary..."

Kael leaned against the wall, careful not to put pressure on his injured shoulder.

"The northern wall, the broken wooden sword, and the unfortunate incident with the drainage ditch?"

Seraphina’s cheeks turned pink.

"You don’t have to list every detail."

"Sorry. I thought we were confirming the subject."

She gave him a look that was halfway between embarrassment and exasperation.

Then, unexpectedly, she laughed.

It was a small, unguarded sound.

Kael hadn’t heard Seraphina laugh before. This was the first. For a brief moment, the composed young woman who carried the expectations of her family and the responsibilities of her position seemed to disappear.

The girl standing before him looked almost relieved.

"I spent years wondering whether I would ever find you," Seraphina admitted. "I can’t remember your face clearly. I was so young back then that my memory of it started fading day after day."

Kael listened without interrupting.

"After that night, whenever things became difficult, I remembered what you told me. You said that being afraid didn’t mean I had to abandon what I wanted to do. You said I could become strong enough to protect people if I kept trying."

Her fingers tightened together.

"I don’t think you understood how much those words meant to me."

Kael’s expression softened.

He had remembered the scene as an event intended to develop a character in a game. He had known that Seraphina treasured the memory, but knowing the outline of a story wasn’t the same as understanding what it meant to the person who had lived it.

"You were a kid," he said. "You wanted to become strong, and someone told you that you could. That’s not exactly a miracle."

"Perhaps not to you."

Seraphina looked directly at him.

"But you were the first person who listened to me without telling me what I was supposed to become."

Her voice grew quieter.

"My family wanted me to be a proper heir. My instructors wanted me to be disciplined. Everyone expected me to be strong, but very few people asked why I wanted to become strong in the first place."

She paused.

"You did."

Kael didn’t know what to say.

He had spent most of his life thinking of himself as someone who stood outside the main story. Even after entering this world, he had focused on surviving, growing stronger, and preventing the tragedies he remembered.

He hadn’t expected his knowledge of a fictional character’s past to matter this much to the person herself.

"I’m glad you kept trying," he finally said. "You did become someone capable of protecting others."

Seraphina lowered her gaze.

"Not everyone."

The memory of the sanctuary returned to her. For a moment, the guilt that had nearly paralyzed her seemed ready to resurface.

Kael noticed.

"Seraphina."

She looked up.

"You don’t have to save everyone by yourself," he told her. "Being strong enough to protect people doesn’t mean you have to carry every failure as your personal responsibility."

Her expression changed.

It was almost the same thing he had told her in the forest, but hearing it now, away from the battlefield, seemed to affect her differently.

"You’re very different from how I imagined you would be," she said.

Kael blinked.

"Should I be worried?"

"No." A faint smile appeared on her face. "I think I imagined someone more serious."

"That’s unfortunate. I’ve worked hard to avoid becoming that kind of person."

Seraphina laughed again.

This time, she didn’t immediately hide it.

Kael found himself smiling in response.

Then she hesitated, looking down at her hands.

"There’s something else I wanted to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Would you mind spending some time with me when we’re both recovered? I-I mean I want to talk more about something."

She looked up at him.

Kael considered the request. He had many things he wanted to do in his free time, but Seraphina also helped him before.

"Sure. Should I bring some of my friends?"

"If possible, just as ourselves."

Kael stared at her for a moment.

The request was simple, but the faint blush on her cheeks and the way she struggled to maintain eye contact made its meaning difficult to misunderstand.

Seraphina was not merely curious about the boy from her childhood anymore. She wanted to know the person standing before her now. Kael could have made a joke to escape the awkwardness. It would have been easy.

Instead, he considered her request seriously.

"I’d like that," he answered. "Though I should warn you that I’m not particularly good at formal outings."

"I wasn’t planning a formal outing."

"Good. Because I would probably embarrass myself."

"You already embarrassed yourself by telling me that."

"Then we’re off to a promising start."

Seraphina smiled.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then she reached out and gently caught the sleeve of his uniform.

It was a small gesture, almost hesitant, as though she were testing whether the distance between them had truly changed.

"Grayford?"

"Yes?"

"I’m glad I found you again."

Her fingers loosened, but she didn’t immediately withdraw her hand.

Kael felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest. He wasn’t sure if it was guilt for lying or what. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth that it wasn’t actually him but the protagonist who he met at that time. However, it was the protagonist who was controlled by the players. So, in fact, he was also part of it.

Nope. It was a complicated situation. In the game, sure it was him and the protagonist. But in reality, it was the protagonist who she met at that time, and Kael was the impostor who happened to know the secret.

Kael was having a headache thinking about it.

He had entered this world expecting to manipulate the knowledge he possessed to survive a story whose characters had once been nothing more than illustrations and dialogue.

Somewhere along the way, those characters had become people whose hopes, fears, and feelings could no longer be reduced to scripted events.

Seraphina was one of them.

He couldn’t treat her affection as a convenient reward for remembering a hidden scene. So he met her eyes and answered.

"I’m glad too."

For now, he’d just go with the flow. He wasn’t even good about feelings, especially romance.

Her smile widened slightly. Then she released his sleeve and stepped back, her composure gradually returning.

"I should let you rest. We can talk again after you’ve recovered."

"That sounds good."

Seraphina turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, she looked back.

"And Grayford?"

"Yes?"

"Please don’t call it an unfortunate incident with the drainage ditch again."

He grinned.

"I make no promises."

She shook her head, smiling as she walked away.

Kael watched her disappear around the corner.

Then he exhaled.

"Well," he murmured, "that was unexpected."

Quinn poked its head out from his backpack.

"Qiu?"

"No, I’m not explaining it to you."

The spider tilted its head.

Kael continued toward the dormitory, pretending not to notice the faint warmth that lingered in his chest.

’It must be mana.’