Catching up II

**POV Julián Kingscrown**

"Let me see if I got this right, Princess Tessia sent Prince Curtis to the hospital due to an accident while testing her strength in team combat mechanics classes. Not only her, but Arthur did the same to a guy named Wykes. And if that wasn't enough, Princess Kathyln kicked a professor's butt, all in the first week as students," I commented while holding my head.

"Well, yes, I also forgot to mention that the girl Watsken blew up half the lab in her attempts to better understand her abilities," Cynthia replied.

As I watched Gideon make a smug face.

Which made me frown, isn't he some kind of crazy artificer, I thought, rolling my eyes. Although the events are familiar to me, their developments are completely different. I hoped nothing would happen between Tessia and Curtis since he received the beast will in advance, but it ended up being completely unexpected.

The same goes for Kathyln. I didn't think she would be the one to beat up Geist, and in Emily's case, while it's worrying that she resembles Gideon, it's something I can work with. The problem is that there's less and less of Arthur.

Will that be okay? I internally questioned if the situation wouldn't bring too extreme changes.

"I heard from Avier that there was an incident in the clearings, but he didn't want to give me more details. Can we ask about that?" Cynthia asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Ohhh, yes, I encountered two Alacryan servants," I replied.

Director Cynthia's face became rigid, and her calm expression disappeared from her face. "Julián, how are you here?" she asked in a very worried tone as she approached and tried to see if I was injured.

"No need to worry too much, as I'm not injured," I said, catching the hands that were trying to check my condition.

"Then how did you survive and manage to escape from them? They are an elite force that even the lances of Dicathen couldn't fight on equal terms," she responded with a tense expression.

"Certainly, the reason I'm here is because they never took me seriously. But before I start explaining what happened, you must promise me that you won't act recklessly after what I'm going to tell you," I spoke in a serious tone.

Gideon and Cynthia looked at each other for a few seconds and then nodded at the same time, returning their gaze to me.

"Mrs. Cynthia, during the time you were in Alacrya, did you ever notice that there were groups against the policies of their leader?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, due to the strong oppression of the deities and their displays of power, there were very few people who really had an idea of revolution, and if they did or are doing it, it must be very superficial," Cynthia replied.

"Do you think the people you encountered might be against the current system of the other continent?" Gideon asked after listening to the interaction between Cynthia and me.

"I'm not very sure. From start to finish, they only wanted to capture me alive, and if they had set their minds to it, considering each of their strengths, I wouldn't be here unless they wanted it. They even gave me this," I replied, taking out the Vritra horn they had given me.

"That's it," Cynthia said, surprised as she approached to see the horn more closely.

"Why are you so impressed by a beast horn?" Gideon asked.

"This is not a mana beast horn; it's the horn of one of Alacrya's deities, a half-blood, maybe," the director replied while looking at the horn.

"Really?" After hearing that, Gideon followed Cynthia's example and approached to appreciate the horn in my hands.

"What I think is a Scythe gave it to me and told me to reach the white core stage with the help of the mana from this horn," I said.

"Kid, can you give this to me for research purposes?" Gideon asked after hearing my words.

"I don't think it's a good idea. We should let Julián reach the white core stage first and then investigate it," Cynthia replied.

"I have the same opinion. We don't know if after investigating it, it might lose the ability to help me reach the white core," I said, supporting the director's opinion.

This was a truly sincere thought. Although throughout most of the conversation I had told half-truths and introduced things I might not have known, I always did it for a greater advantage.

But specifically with the horn, due to how little I know about it, I prefer to take advantage of it now and not risk losing the opportunity to reach the white core.

"Well, since you seem somewhat reluctant, we'll leave it for later," Gideon responded reluctantly.

"You got a unique opportunity to fully reach the powers of Dicathen," Cynthia said.

"That's what I plan to do," I replied.

"What do you both think about the possibility of finding allies on the other continent?" Gideon asked.

"I think we should pretend this encounter never happened. It's better for both sides to remain strangers and worry about our own interests. If there's really an opportunity to unite, that moment is not now," I replied.

"Certainly, we can't afford to worry about anything other than our situation. We already have our hands full with that," Cynthia said, supporting my argument.

"Haaah, these conversations are very annoying," Gideon responded in a tired tone.

"We also need to be careful. The movements of the Alacryans have become very active in the clearings. Somehow, I sense that we will not only be attacked from the clearings but also from the Etistin Bay. Do you think you can develop countermeasures, Gideon?" I asked.

"I'll start investigating the matter, but I need more people. Should we hint something to the council to get their support?" he replied.

"I'll help with that. We'll also try to do it as an idea to avoid causing too much unrest," Cynthia responded.

"If you need help with anything else, you can tell me. Maybe I could find a solution," I replied with deep thoughts in my mind.

In the original novel, I don't remember such marked movements in the clearings by Agrona's army. This leads me to think that I won't be able to avoid the invasion by sea and that things will most likely get complicated.

"Well, it seems there's nothing more to talk about. Here are the keys to your shared room. Your uniforms were left there today, along with the schedule and some tasks I need you to do for me," Cynthia said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Well, I guess this is the end, so I'll go prepare everything for the first day of classes tomorrow," I replied while waving goodbye to them.

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**POV Gideon**

"Why didn't you tell him that you made him your representative to supervise the student council and the disciplinary committee?" I asked Director Cynthia.

"He wouldn't have accepted if I had told him, so I chose the indirect method. Very likely, after reading the notes with his uniform, he will come running to make me give up the idea, but by then I won't be here," Director Cynthia replied in a malicious tone.

How cunning the director can be. Not only did she give half of her work to Julián, but she also put him in charge of supervising Arthur by making him live in the same room.

You're going to have a hard time, kid. After that, I thought I heard something.

"What was that? I suddenly felt a chill down my spine," I thought I heard Julián's voice, who should already be quite far from the office.

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**POV Julián Kingscrown**

(Brother, did you arrive at Xyrus?), I heard a message from my bond.

(Ohhhh, Sylvie, yes, I already talked to Cynthia and now I was heading to prepare everything for the first day of classes tomorrow. How are things with Silvia? Have you seen any changes?), I responded while hiding my presence to try to reach my assigned room without anyone noticing me.

(No, Mordain tells me it's just a matter of time and I just have to wait, so I'm still taking care of her), Sylvie replied.

(Has anything strange happened in Hearth?), I asked.

(Not exactly, but whenever he has the chance, Chul mocks you because your own spell exploded in your face), my bond replied in a mocking tone.

Tch, that bird, I clearly explained to him that I was testing something and it was an accident.

(Sylvie, I have to leave you, I just arrived in front of my room and I have some things to check), I said, saying goodbye to Sylvie.

(I understand, don't forget to tell me if something important happens), she replied with some reluctance.

After opening the door, since classes were still in session, there was no one inside. I quickly approached the bed where there was a box with a note.

When I got close to the place, I looked around the room and said, "Director Cynthia is really incredible, considering how expensive it must be to maintain this academy."

Carefully, I removed the card with my name on it and began to unpack my uniform.

My first impression was elegant; it was a dark blue suit with several gold finishes and a white shirt.

It's quite well made and I like it, but why does it look so different from the others?

Tilting my head to the right, I thought, maybe it's a mistake? But Cynthia is very careful with these matters. Let's leave it for now and finish seeing what else is there.

I checked some advanced magic books, another on experiments, some other materials for practical classes, and finally the permit for the training room I had requested.

At the bottom of everything, there was only a letter left. When I saw it, I had a very bad feeling, but deliberately ignoring my instincts, I picked up the letter, opened it, and began to read its contents.

Dear Julián, as the director of Xyrus Academy, I have always looked out for the safety and well-being of my students.

Due to the inclusion of new races this year, I have decided to implement a new supervisory body, which is the disciplinary committee. I also increased the tasks of the student council to improve integration within the academy.

Unfortunately, my time is not enough to supervise them. Thinking about how to solve this problem, I found a solution.

I needed a representative to consolidate periodic reports and inform me about all the news that occurred, as well as advise these two supervisory bodies.

My brow furrowed as I read the next part.

Thinking of the ideal person for the position and in whom I can place all my trust.

Recognizing your skills and talent for this position, I decided that you are the right person for the job.

Therefore, within the envelope are all the necessary details about the activities related to your position.

After reading the activities, I crumpled the letter and ran back to her office. She tricked me and is using me to avoid extra work.

I quickly ran to her office to refuse, but unfortunately, it was too late. When I arrived, there wasn't a single soul inside.

I clenched my fists while thinking of ways to get out of this, but I couldn't come up with a solution.

I returned to my room while concluding that it wasn't so bad, but I was planning some form of revenge against the director for not telling me beforehand.

When I arrived at my room, someone was already inside, so I entered carefully, thinking about how to introduce myself and make the best impression.

After entering, I saw a boy with almost reddish-brown hair and blue eyes that could surely make many girls at the academy fall in love.

He was quite attractive to anyone, except for me, especially because of the chill that ran down my spine when I saw him.

"Arthur, long time no see," I said nervously.

"Yes, long time," Arthur spoke in a cold voice as he drew the Ballad of Dawn from his ring.

"Arthur, lower the weapon. I can explain why I couldn't attend Eli's birthday," I replied, raising my hands in surrender.

"You know what I had to do to get Eli to accept that it wasn't my fault you didn't go to her birthday party," he responded, approaching.

"There were reasons," I replied, wiping imaginary sweat from my forehead.

"I have my own reasons to beat you up," Arthur responded.

"Tch, I didn't want it to come to this. Don't blame me when you end up crying like a little girl," I replied, abandoning my idea of peace and preparing to restrain him.

After two minutes, I was sitting on top of Arthur, who was quite beaten and exhausted, with blood coming from his nose and a darkened eye.

I spoke while looking at his ugly expression of annoyance, "We should stop doing this. We're like sworn brothers; this shouldn't happen between us," I said eloquently to appease his anger.

"Sworn brothers, my ass," he responded furiously.

"I have no idea how it came to this," I replied in an exasperated tone.

All I did with Eli was play with her and bring her gifts. How did we get to this situation? I thought as I placed a hand on my face, with visible exhaustion in my actions.

Tomorrow will be a long day, I thought as I directed my eyes to Arthur and saw his annoyance at having lost miserably.