32

[Time with Annie]

"Elys! Over here, over here!"

Standing in front of a café, a small girl waved enthusiastically at me—it was Annie. Seeing her, I quickened my pace and headed toward her.

"Have you been waiting long?" I asked.

"Nope, I just got here after finishing some stuff. Come on, let's go in!" Annie grabbed my hand and eagerly pulled me into the café.

This wasn't the first time we'd come here together. It was a familiar spot for us.

"Shall we order drinks first? What do you want?" I asked, looking at the menu.

"Hmmm... I'll have a strawberry smoothie!" Annie answered cheerfully.

Unlike Yuri or Cilly, who usually ordered complicated drinks with long names, Annie's tastes were simpler—often opting for straightforward choices like today's smoothie. It was a quirk of hers that aligned with my own preferences.

"One strawberry smoothie and one blueberry smoothie, please," I said, pulling out my wallet and paying before Annie could protest.

"You're paying?" Annie asked, eyes widening slightly.

"Of course. Think of it as payment for the lesson," I replied with a smile.

"Hehe," Annie giggled, pleased by the gesture or maybe just amused at the thought of her 'teaching' me. Her carefree, honest laugh never failed to lighten the mood. Considering her noble background, it wasn't exactly the most dignified sound, but that was just part of her charm.

"Your drinks are ready," the barista called, and soon we were handed two chilled smoothies. We each grabbed our drinks and began scanning the café for a suitable spot to sit.

The café had small private rooms that were partitioned off by thin walls and curtains—ideal for some quiet study time without disturbing or being disturbed by others.

There was no real need for us to study outside the academy or in a café like this, but after the past two days of studying in my dorm and accidentally ending up sleeping in the same room, I'd decided to avoid a repeat by studying somewhere neutral today. The café was a perfect, distraction-free choice.

Once we settled into one of the quieter rooms, the noise level dropped noticeably thanks to the partitions. It wasn't completely soundproof, but it was private enough for us to focus without bothering anyone else.

"Alright, let's get started, shall we?" I said, taking out my books and notes.

"Yup! Leave it to me! I've been reviewing, so I'm ready!" Annie replied with enthusiasm as she sat down across from me.

We both pulled out our textbooks and notes. To my surprise, Annie's notebook was actually filled with notes—something she usually struggled with. Maybe she really had prepared for this.

"Page 154, right?"

"Yep!" Annie confirmed.

And so, our lesson began.

* * * *

"Alright, take a look at this part. It explains the downfall of the Dilith Kingdom," I pointed out a specific section in the textbook.

"Oh, right! I knew that! Totally slipped my mind," Annie responded, staring at the textbook and nodding as if recalling the information.

She opened her notebook to the page where she had written down notes and sighed dramatically, placing her hands on her head in frustration.

"I swear I had it memorized... I even wrote it down here in my notes, but I completely forgot..." she groaned.

"Well, at least now you've been corrected. Next time, you won't forget, right?" I teased lightly, watching her struggle.

Annie's response was characteristically confident. "Of course! I'll totally remember it next time!"

But then, in a quieter voice, she added, "...probably."

As much as I'd hoped Annie would remember more of the material, it quickly became apparent that her confidence was short-lived. She started off strong, explaining things clearly, but soon enough, she was mixing up facts and dates. Eventually, I had to step in and take over, guiding the lesson myself.

To be fair, I had expected this. Even though I had missed a week of classes, I was well aware that Annie's academic performance was not exactly stellar. It wasn't that she wasn't smart, but her study habits were lacking. As a result, she often found herself at the lower end of the class rankings.

"Alright, so let's switch gears. Do you remember which kingdom expanded by conquering the Dilith Kingdom?" I asked, giving her another chance.

Annie stared blankly at the page, her hands now clutching her head again as she groaned in frustration. After a long pause, she finally turned her gaze to me, eyes pleading.

"Hint?" she asked, barely audible.

Out of all the questions I had asked, she'd already asked for hints more than half the time. This would be the... sixteenth? Still, I admired that she wasn't asking for the answer outright. At least she wanted to figure it out for herself.

"It's one of the kingdoms still standing today," I offered.

Annie's eyes lit up as she began listing out names of the kingdoms she could remember.

'She's really trying, right? She's not just guessing randomly... is she?' I thought to myself as I watched her process the hint.

"Is it... the Silen Kingdom?" she finally asked, hesitantly.

"...Correct," I confirmed.

"Yes!" she cheered, pumping a fist into the air in victory. Once again, her excitement was anything but noble, but it was undeniably Annie.

With a big smile, she grabbed her smoothie and took a sip through the straw, her drink still half-full. Meanwhile, I looked down at my own cup and realized it was already empty. I had been talking more, so it made sense that I'd finished first.

"I'll be right back. Going to grab another drink. Do you want anything?" I asked as I stood up.

Annie waved her half-full smoothie at me. "Nah, I'm good with this."

Leaving Annie to her reviewing, I headed back to the counter, trying to decide what to get next. As I pondered over the options, a familiar voice called out to me.

"Elysia?"

I turned around to see a familiar face—our class president , Lena.

"Oh, hey! What are you doing here?" I asked, a little surprised to run into her.

"I thought I heard familiar voices. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just studying with Annie."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "How's that going?"

I chuckled awkwardly, unable to lie. "Well... let's just say it's going."

She seemed to get the picture from my hesitant laugh and nodded knowingly. "I see. It sounds like you could use a little help. Guess it's time for the class president to step in."

Before I could protest, Lena followed me back to the room, where Annie was still muttering to herself, reciting the facts I'd taught her earlier.

"Dilith, Silen, Dilith, Silen... huh?" Annie stopped mid-recitation when she noticed us walking in. Her eyes widened when she saw Lena enter behind me.

"Lena!"

"Hey, Annie."

Lena smiled and grabbed a chair, pulling it up to our table and positioning herself so she could easily see both of us.

"We ran into each other at the counter," I explained. "I mentioned how you were helping me study."

Annie shot me a playfully accusing look. "Elys! You ratted me out!"

All I had done was laugh nervously, but that seemed to be enough for Lena to put two and two together. Of course, it wasn't my fault that Annie had a reputation for struggling academically.

"Alright, enough chit chat. Let's see how far you've gotten," Lena said as she skimmed through the pages of our textbook.

"Not very far," she remarked.

We hadn't covered much ground since I had to slow down and reteach Annie almost everything. Despite my best efforts, teaching her had taken more time than simply studying on my own.

Lena rolled up her sleeves, clearly ready to take charge. Across from me, Annie shrank slightly in her chair, a nervous expression crossing her face. It was rare to see Annie, of all people, look intimidated.

Thinking back, I realized it might have something to do with the fact that Lena often stayed behind after class to help tutor students who needed extra lessons. Annie had been one of those students more than once.

I couldn't help but wonder—what exactly had Lena done during those sessions that had Annie looking so nervous?