Class ended, but the tension stayed.
Students kept glancing at Leo.
Some curious. Some annoyed.
Some… wary.
Leo walked out without saying anything.
Ray followed him. "You're just going to leave like that?"
"…Yeah."
"Where?"
Leo paused. "…Library."
Ray blinked. "Of course it's the library."
They walked through the halls together. The academy felt bigger from the inside. Magic circles on the walls. Students training in corners. Energy everywhere.
But Leo wasn't looking at any of that.
He was thinking.
"…Still inefficient," he muttered.
Ray laughed. "You say that about everything."
Leo didn't reply.
They reached the library.
It was quiet. Calm. Almost empty.
Leo stepped inside and stopped.
For a moment, nothing moved.
"…Same smell," he said softly.
Old books. Dust. Silence.
It felt like home.
Ray stretched. "I'll look around."
Leo nodded and walked deeper in.
His eyes moved across shelves. Titles. Symbols. Spell structures.
So many spells.
So many mistakes.
He pulled out one book.
Opened it.
Looked once.
"…Too much waste."
He picked another.
"…Wrong flow."
Another.
"…Unstable output."
His fingers tightened slightly.
"…Why is everything like this?"
A voice answered from behind.
"Because that's the standard."
Leo turned.
Rin stood there.
Watching him.
Her expression was calm. But her eyes were sharp.
"You really think all magic is wrong?" she asked.
Leo looked at the book in his hand.
"…Not wrong."
He closed it.
"…Just incomplete."
Rin stepped closer.
"Then show me."
Leo didn't move.
Rin continued, "You keep saying 'inefficient'… 'flawed'… but you never explain."
A small pause.
"…Or can't you?"
Leo looked at her.
For a second, silence filled the space.
Then—
He opened the book again.
"This spell," he said, "uses too much mana at the start."
Rin frowned. "That stabilizes it."
Leo shook his head. "No. It wastes energy."
He pointed at the diagram.
"If you reverse this part… and reduce the flow here…"
His finger moved slowly.
"…You get the same result."
"…With half the cost."
Rin's eyes narrowed.
"…That's not possible."
Leo didn't argue.
He raised his hand.
A small light formed.
Simple.
Clean.
Stable.
Using the modified structure.
Rin froze.
She could feel it.
The difference.
Less mana.
Same output.
No instability.
"…How?" she whispered.
Leo lowered his hand.
"…It's obvious."
Rin stared at him.
"No, it's not."
Another silence.
This time—
He didn't deny it.
Rin took a step closer.
"…Teach me."
Leo blinked.
"…What?"
"I want to learn that," she said.
No arrogance.
No pride.
Just seriousness.
Leo looked at her for a moment.
Then—
"…Why?"
Rin answered instantly.
"…Because I lost."
A quiet breath.
"…And I don't plan to lose again."
Leo thought for a second.
Then closed the book.
"…Fine."
Rin's eyes widened slightly.
"…Really?"
Leo nodded.
"But don't expect it to be easy."
Rin almost smiled.
"…Good."
From a distance—
Ray watched everything.
"…This is getting interesting," he muttered.
And inside the quiet library—
Something began to change.
Not rivalry.
Not yet.
Something else...