First Meeting

It was a fine, sunny day.

Shin had just returned from his classes. Recently, he had been making a habit of studying in the living room of the dorm.

The class material of the academy was difficult and even more so for a complete noob at magic like him.

At the height of his dilemma, he heard a knock at the door.

"A visitor?"

This was the first time the dorm had received a visitor. Shin got up from his seat and went to open the door. As he opened the door, he was met with a pair of calm, blue eyes.

"Ah!" He yelled in surprise as he took a step back.

"Hello." The owner of the eyes smilingly greeted. Her platinum blonde hair reflected beautifully under the rays of the sun.

Shin found the girl's face familiar. As the moment of realization struck him, he blurted. "You're the girl who gave the speech during the entrance ceremony!"

Sharon was unoffended. "That's me, alright. I'm Sharon. Who might you be?"

"I'm Shin. Who are you looking for, President?"

"Nice to meet you! I'm looking for Earl. Is he here?" Sharon stated her intentions. After not finding him in his usual spot at the library, she decided to use her authority to look up his dorm information directly to come to the source.

"Umm, I really have no idea." Shin scratched his head.

"Forget it, I'll just wait inside. You wouldn't have a problem with that, would you?"

"A-ah, of course not."

"Well then, please excuse me." Sharon carefully entered the dorm and curiously looked around. But of course, since it was the beginning of the year, the dorm was sparsely decorated. Then, she found Shin's book that he was studying earlier. "I remember I had to study this last year." She said fondly.

"I-it's quite challenging," Shin replied back, slightly red in the face from embarrassment.

"Oh?" Sharon found Shin's behaviour amusing. "How about I tutor you a little to pass the time?"

"R-really!?"

"That was a little enthusiastic, but I would be happy to help."

Just like that, Sharon somehow became Shin's tutor during her hunt for Earl.

---

Meanwhile, Earl was on his way to the Headmistress's Office. All the instructor offices were located in one building. He came across Sheryl, who was just leaving her own office.

"Ms Sheryl." He greeted in a friendly manner.

"Ah, Earl!" She greeted back with the same friendly energy, wildly different from the demon she was during training hours. "What are you doing here?"

Earl smirked as he replied vaguely. "To see someone special."

"You're so bad. Someone could get the wrong idea."

"Haha, is that so? I'll help walk you out."

"Always the same as usual. How are your classes so far?"

"Not so bad. I'm slowly getting to learn my targets." He told her. They were tasked with the same assignment of watching the heroes, there was no need to hide anything.

"You're really not careful at all with your words." Sheryl laughed. "They learn quickly, but that's about it. From my observation."

"How about you give them a little squeeze?"

"Squeeze?"

"Duels."

After walking Sheryl out, Earl returned to the front of the Headmistress's Office. He knocked thrice before the door opened.

"Oh? We have a VIP today." Ari smilingly greeted him as he entered her office.

"Where is my VIP treatment?" Earl smiled as he took a seat at the side of the room.

"Like this?" Ari appeared on his lap. Her soft body pressed against him as her arms gently wrapped around his neck.

"This is good." Their lips met, and their tongues danced together.

"I missed you." She softly said.

"Me too." He softly answered back before asking. "Is everything going well?"

"Everything is always good. Everyone at home misses you."

Earl fondly recalled the people at home. Saryll, Violet, Lily, Aria. They were all very important people he needed to see. Even though it's only been a week since he last saw them, he still missed them very much. It was a big difference from being able to see them anytime every day like previously.

"I'll go visit during the weekends."

"Really? That's great news."

"Of course. It's only natural."

"I thought I should just let you be if you don't want to come home. It's your first time being away from home for a long time, after all."

"I appreciate how considerate you are, but it's fine to let me know what you want. We usually think the same anyway. I miss Violet a lot."

"Mhmm, that's right. Violet is working really hard in her classes. She wants you to be proud of her when you see her."

Violet was taking a lot of classes as part of her education. Her classes ranged from basic etiquette to magic that far exceeded anyone in her age range.

"I'll always be proud of Violet. She's our treasure." Earl said with a warm smile.

"I could say the same about you. Both of you are growing so fast..."

"They say that time passes by fast when you are content."

"That's true, I am definitely content," Ari said as she rested her face against Earl's broad shoulders.