The next morning, the sunlight streamed through the windows, sharp and uncompromising. Haruto's eyes snapped open. He was alone. The bed was empty—Aetherna was gone, and the quiet of the room was a stark contrast to the divine pressure of the night before.
Today was the final day of school before the Wizard Quest. His heart hammered against his ribs as he dressed. Should I even go to the academy today? he wondered, his hands trembling slightly as he buttoned his shirt. The duel is tomorrow. I have no weapon. I have no training with my new limits. Every second spent in a classroom is a second I'm not preparing to survive.
Anxiety gnawing at his stomach, he headed downstairs. As he reached the main hall, he saw Lilith standing by the entrance, looking out at the retreating soldiers who had guarded them through the night.
"Why are you still here?" Haruto asked, his voice tight.
Lilith turned, a playful but tired smile on her face.
"Haha, I'm leaving, I'm leaving! I just wanted to make sure you actually woke up after that pathetic display in the corridor yesterday."
She gestured toward the dining room, and Haruto walked in to find the usual chaotic assembly. Asobi was there, nursing a cup of tea; Aetherna was busy making a mess of some breakfast; the Goddess were there talking to themself, and Toya was sitting at the far end of the table.
Haruto's gaze locked onto Toya immediately. The boy looked exhausted, his eyes slightly red from lack of sleep, and his usual energetic spark was replaced by a heavy, brooding silence. He was clearly still reeling from Haruto's rejection of the Star-Core blade.
Despite the tension, a chorus of "Good morning!" rang out from the table.
Haruto pulled out a chair and sat down heavily, his head still throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache. Asobi slid a steaming cup of herbal tea toward him without a word. As he took the first sip, a strange, cooling sensation rushed through his veins, instantly soothing the tension in his muscles and clearing the fog in his brain.
"This body you've developed..." Asobi whispered, her eyes narrowing as she looked at his glowing HUD. "Don't show too much of it at school today. Keep your stats hidden. You're radiating power like a sun."
Haruto gave a strained, tense smile. "Is going to school even necessary today? I feel like I should be training for tomorrow."
Lilith set her cup down with a sharp clack. "It is absolutely necessary. Today is when we see what Kallen has been up to. He'll be at the academy, and we need to see exactly what kind of 'mess' he's cooking up for the duel. If he's been gifted power from the system's puppets, we need to know before we step into that arena."
Haruto looked around the table. Toya, and even Goddess were still in their casual clothes, looking completely unbothered by the clock.
"Fine," Haruto said, standing up with a newfound energy as the tea took full effect.
"If we're going, then we're going. But look at you all—you aren't even in your uniforms yet. If we have to show up, at least get ready so we can get this over with."
The tension in the dining room shifted from academic anxiety to a sudden, sharp silence. Aetherna looked up from her plate, her eyes wide with excitement.
"If you all are going to school, I want to go too! Take me with you!"
Before Haruto could even process the logistics of bringing a mana-manifested child to the academy, Lilith scooped her up with a playful grin.
"Why don't we do something better? Why don't the three of us, you, me and Rutherford go explore the Royal Castle today instead?"
The other goddesses froze. Ivory dropped her spoon, her eyes wide with suspicion.
"Since when did you become so 'friendly,' Lilith?"
Lustra stood up, her gaze darting between Lilith and Haruto.
"Wait a minute... if she's suggesting this now, it means she was here all night. She stayed in this house while we were all asleep?" She narrowed her eyes at Lilith. "Whose room were you in?"
Rutherford, ever the stoic observer, adjusted his spectacles and spoke with a flat, professional tone.
"She was in Haruto's room. She remained there until the early hours of the morning."
"Yeah!" Aetherna chirped, jumping in with innocent enthusiasm.
"We were both in Papa's room! We slept there together!"
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned lethal. The air grew heavy, crackling with the combined mana of three goddesses who looked like they were ready to trigger an early "Harvest" right there on the breakfast table.
Lustra, Bellona, and Ivory all rose from their chairs in unison, their eyes locked on Haruto with a terrifying intensity.
"Oh, so we're 'understanding it wrong,' are we?" Lustra asked, her voice dropping to a dangerously sweet octave.
"Please, Haruto. Enlighten us. What exactly is the 'correct' way to understand you, a child, and the princess all sharing a room until sunrise?"
Haruto's heart hammered against his ribs—this was more stressful than the duel with Kallen.
"Listen! She was in my room, yes, but she was on the balcony! We weren't... we didn't sleep together! Aetherna meant that she and I were in the bed. Lilith was outside the entire time!"
The three goddesses slowly turned their heads toward Lilith, who was still leaning back, looking entirely too relaxed for someone facing a divine firing squad.
"Is that true?" Lustra demanded, stepping toward her, her aura beginning to flare.
"Did you stay on your side of the glass, or did you try something 'extra-curricular' with our haruto?"
Lilith let out a playful, airy sigh. "Yes, yes. I was on the balcony," she admitted, waving a hand dismissively.
"Watching the soldiers, thinking about the future... though I can't help it if your imagination runs wilder than mine."
Lustra stopped just inches from Lilith, her eyes narrowed.
"You didn't do anything... 'incorrect' to him, did you?"
Lilith met her gaze with a sharp, knowing smirk. "No. Not yet, anyway."
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. When Lilith muttered "Not yet," Lustra's eyes flared with a divine light, her hand twitching as if she were about to summon a spell.
"What exactly do you mean by 'not yet'?" she hissed.
"Enough!"Asobi's voice cracked through the room like a whip. She didn't even look up from her tea, but the sheer authority in her tone made everyone freeze.
"Finish your breakfast. Now. You have a school to attend and a duel to prepare for. Move."
The goddesses grumbled but sat back down, the clinking of silverware the only sound in the room. Haruto kept glancing at Toya, who was staring blankly at his plate, picking at his food. The boy's usual fire was gone, replaced by a hollow, hurt silence. Haruto wanted to say something, to explain why the sword had to stay hidden, but the weight of the "Admin's" warning kept his lips sealed.
By the time they finished, changed and headed to the entrance, Rutherford, Aetherna, and Lilith had already vanished, likely heading toward the Royal Castle as planned.
Haruto, the three goddesses, and a brooding Toya stepped outside into the crisp morning air. They were all dressed in their academy uniforms.
Haruto noticed one of the five carriages from the previous day was still there which was empty. He assumed Lilith was still lingering in that, but as the door of the lead carriage swung open, a familiar figure stepped out.
Haruto froze, his eyes widening in pure shock.
Standing there, adjusting his collar and looking perfectly at home, was Kobi.
"Kobi?!" Haruto barked, his confusion overriding his exhaustion.
"What the hell are you doing here? Why were you in that carriage?"
Kobi stepped out of the carriage with a smooth, composed bow.
"Hello and good morning to everyone," he said, his voice as calm as a steady lake.
"Good morning, good morning," Haruto replied, waving his hand impatiently.
"But what is this? Why were you waiting there?"
Kobi gestured toward the sleek, luxurious carriage.
"Actually, this is a gift for you from Princess Lilith. She sent it specifically for your transport. From now on, whenever you need to go anywhere, you'll be using this."
Haruto and the others stood there, stunned.
"A gift? Why would she... I don't need something this flashy!"
Haruto complained, feeling the weight of even more attention being drawn to him.
However, the three goddesses—Lustra, Bellona, and Ivory—didn't share his hesitation. "No, no," they said in unison, their eyes sparkling as they admired the craftsmanship.
"This is exactly what was needed! Lilith finally did something useful."
Without waiting for Haruto, they climbed inside, eager to enjoy the luxury.
Haruto sighed, but his eyes drifted toward Toya. The boy was still standing apart, his gaze fixed on the ground. Haruto walked over and placed a firm hand on Toya's shoulder.
"Hey... what's wrong? You've been quiet since we left the forge."
Toya didn't look up immediately. He shrugged Haruto's hand off gently, his voice low and raspy.
"Nothing's wrong. It's just... you've changed, Haruto. Maybe it's the pressure, or maybe it's something else, but you aren't the same person who asked me to build that sword."
Before Haruto could explain the divine "Kill Order" or the risk of the weapon's signature, Toya turned and boarded the carriage in silence. Haruto stood there, feeling the gap between them growing wider.
"I'll take that as an acceptance of the gift then?" Kobi asked, holding the door open.
"Yeah, yeah," Haruto muttered, climbing in.
Kobi took the driver's seat and snapped the reins, directing the carriage toward the Academy. The interior was incredibly comfortable, but the atmosphere was suffocating. Toya sat by the window, staring out at the passing trees, refusing to utter a single word. He didn't need to speak; his silence was screaming, telling Haruto exactly how betrayed he felt.
As the carriage pulled up to the grand gates of the Academy. Haruto stepped out first, feeling the weight of hundreds of eyes instantly snapping toward him.
He kept his head down, subtly adjusting his uniform. Thanks to the Physical Boost from Aetheris, his body felt different—denser, more efficient. He wasn't bulky like a high-tier bodybuilder; there were no bulging, unnatural muscles that would scream "system glitch." Instead, he looked lean and "pumped," like an elite athlete at the absolute peak of their conditioning. Every movement he made was fluid and precise, but to the average student, he just looked like he'd finally started taking his training seriously.
Still, Haruto was paranoid. He kept his posture slightly slouched, trying to hide the fact that his presence now felt like a coiled spring. He could feel the eyes of the goddesses behind him and the heavy silence of Toya following close by, but his focus was elsewhere.
He scanned the crowded courtyard, his "Gamer" instincts searching for one specific name tag.