The library was an immense structure with an entire building dedicated exclusively to it. It was a tall, five-story building that occupied a prominent position on the academy grounds.

  Inside, it was surprisingly comfortable. The floor was covered by thick dark red carpeting that silenced footsteps and gave the space a hushed, reverent atmosphere. The room was spacious, with shelves divided between the five floors in a way that left plenty of room for study tables, comfortable sofas, reading chairs, and even small enclosed study nooks for private work.

  I walked through the entrance, feeling refreshed by the fact that everyone seemed too busy with their own studying or reading to even glance at me. After a day of constant stares and whispers, the anonymity was a relief.

  The shelves were immense, filled with books of every kind, all organized neatly by subject and author. Sections were clearly labeled with floating plaques that glowed softly with enchanted text. I could see entire rows dedicated to magical theory, spell construction, historical accounts, and what looked like biographical collections.

  I began to feel at home here, imagining myself just relaxing in one of those comfortable chairs and reading about magic for hours. The place itself made me feel... good. Calm. Centered.

  It's all the mana around here.

  I hated to prove Professor Silvani right, but I was able to identify the feeling now. It was different from a person's mana, more diffuse and gentle, like a warm blanket rather than a presence. Something I would have never noticed this morning.

  Imagining her superior smile if she knew I'd just thought that, I opted to focus on finding Lina instead.

  The restricted section the director had mentioned was on the fifth floor. A guard stood at each of the four staircases that led up to it, all of them wearing identical navy uniforms with the academy crest and watching students with sharp, attentive eyes.

  I found Lina on the fourth floor at a small circular table surrounded by comfortable-looking chairs. She seemed completely absorbed, scribbling notes from a thick textbook.

  I walked toward the table and sat down opposite from her. The table was mostly empty besides a small stone at its center that had a weird glowing inscription, and Lina's scattered belongings.

  "This place is immense," I said, trying to get her attention.

  "It is," she said, glancing up from her book. "I heard it's older than the academy itself." Then she looked at me more carefully, her expression shifting to concern. "You look exhausted. Did you get into trouble again?"

  "No, but let's just say Mana Studies was... intense." I tried to summarize what had happened, carefully leaving out the parts about my actual power and mana control, and focusing more on Professor Silvani pointing at me and calling me "Emberheart's project" repeatedly.

  "Wow, she really singled you out," Lina commented once I was done, her eyebrows raised. "Must be some sort of competition between professors. Who can train the best student, or something."

  "Yeah. I'm just glad it's over," I said, pulling out my notebook and setting it on the table with perhaps more force than necessary.

  "Well then, should we begin?" Lina shifted into study mode, pulling over a stack of papers covered in her neat handwriting. "I've separated what I think are the most important diagrams to remember for the test. I just need to know, how are you with basic magical theory?"

  "Uh..." I froze, trying to think of a way to lessen the blow. "Can we just start from... the beginning?" I suggested, an embarrassed smile forming despite my best efforts.

  "The beginning?" She tried to clarify, hope still alive in her voice. "You mean like spell matrices and the fundamental paradoxes?"

  "No..." I looked down at the table. "I mean the beginning of everything. I kind of... never studied magical theory before." I said it quickly, then waited for the reaction.

  She sat there stunned for what felt like a full minute, trying to process what I'd just admitted.

  "Kai..." she said slowly, carefully. "Why did you enroll in Advanced Magical Theory without knowing the basics? How did you even pass the entrance test?!"

  What test? I thought to myself, but kept my expression neutral.

  "It's... complicated," I said, giving her the same look I'd given her many times before.

  "Come on!" She threw her hands up in frustration. "You have to trust me at some point! I'm trying to help you, but you keep—" She cut herself off, taking a breath. "But fine. I'll try to teach you the basics. Just know you'll need to put in triple the effort compared to if you'd just enrolled in the proper course. Professor Crowley is a much better instructor than I am."

  It was clear her patience was wearing thin. Each of my lies and half-answers was chipping away at what was left of it. Soon it would all collapse. I just hoped it wouldn't happen too soon.

  She got up to search for more basic textbooks while I sat there, looking around the room and feeling like garbage.

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  I saw a few B-rank students at another table having a quiet discussion, though I couldn't hear a single word. A handful of other students were scattered around, sitting alone with their books, lost in their own studies.

  I was surprised when an A-rank student suddenly appeared and made his way directly toward me. He was tall, with an unusual hairstyle—hair cut short on the left side but long on the right, the longer side swept over and held back with what looked like metal hair clips. His platinum uniform had been modified extensively: the sleeves were rolled up, showing bracers on his forearms covered in small runes. A chain hung from his belt, and he wore dark fingerless gloves. Multiple piercings dotted his left ear, and he had a small silver ring through his lip. He looked like a delinquent who'd wandered into a magical academy by accident—except for the way he carried himself, which was pure confidence.

  He walked with casual indifference, pulled out a chair at my table like he owned the place, and sat down without asking permission.

  When he settled in, I could feel the slightest bit of mana coming from him—a radical, confrontational energy that made me want to break something or punch a wall. It felt restless, aggressive, barely contained

  "Yo," he said, pulling what looked like an absolutely massive sandwich wrapped in paper from inside his jacket and setting it on the desk. He began unwrapping it with deliberate casualness.

  "Hey," I said, completely stunned. "I'm not sure you can—"

  Before I could warn him about eating in the library, one of the guards who watched the entrance to the restricted section approached our table with purposeful strides.

  "Excuse me," the guard said with clear indignation. "You are not allowed to eat in here!"

  "Oh yeah?" The boy simply looked at him, his hands continuing to unwrap the sandwich with practiced ease while his eyes locked onto the guard with the most 'is that so' expression I'd ever seen. "That's a shame." He finished unwrapping and took a deliberately large bite.

  I was sure I saw the guard's face turn red. His hand opened and closed at his side like he was restraining himself from doing something he'd regret.

  "I'll need to ask you to leave."

  "Hm," the boy swallowed. "Thanks for asking, but that won't be happening."

  "Excuse me?!" the guard said, louder this time.

  "You're excused," he responded calmly, taking another bite.

  I looked at the guy with a mix of confusion and genuine admiration. I noticed Lina had returned and was watching the exchange too, though her expression was closer to horror.

  The guard didn't yield. He recomposed himself, straightening his uniform. "If you don't leave, I will need to report this."

  "What a snitch," the guy responded, looking at the guard with pure judgment. "You should be ashamed of yourself." He pointed accusingly with his sandwich.

  My laugh escaped before I could contain it, which made the guard even angrier and Lina even more desperate.

  "This will not go unpunished!" the guard declared, turning away from us and returning to his post, clearly avoiding looking at our table again.

  "Yeah, I'm sure it won't," the guy said to the guard's retreating back, continuing to eat his sandwich without a care in the world.

  Lina took the opportunity to sit back down at the table, setting three smaller books carefully on the surface and pulling her things farther away from where our new friend was eating.

  "Is he your friend?" she whispered to me, leaning in.

  "No... He just..." I looked at her, trying to convey that I was as confused as she was.

  "Yo," he waved casually to Lina with his free hand and kept eating.

  Lina and I looked at each other for a long moment, trying to communicate through expressions. It didn't work.

  Finally, Lina decided to just be polite. "Hi. I'm Lina."

  "Erick," he said, finishing his sandwich and crumpling the paper into a neat ball with one hand. "Don't mind me. You can continue whatever you were doing."

  "O-Okay..." Lina slid the books toward me. "You'll need these. We can start from chapter three in the top one."

  "Hey, Erick," I decided to be direct. "Why are you sitting with us?"

  He was rocking his chair back on its hind legs now, one foot pushed against the table's edge for balance. "The prince marked you. You're now an 'undesirable.'" He made air quotes with his fingers. "No one's supposed to invite you to clubs or associate with you."

  My stomach turned. I knew there would be consequences, but not that they'd come this fast. My eyes went to Lina. She looked conflicted, worried.

  "Wait, what?" Lina said. "But... what he did was an accident!" Apparently she'd also bought the version of events Emberheart was making sure everyone believed.

  "Yeah, but he didn't actually apologize," Erick said with something approaching approval. "Pretty cool, honestly. Keep it up." He gave me a nod.

  "Wait, I should have apologized for winning a mock combat?" I responded with genuine indignation. "She wasn't even hurt!"

  "Well..." Lina took over, looking uncomfortable. "I guess what you did would cause some embarrassment to the crown. You would normally be expected to apologize for the... inconvenience."

  "Yeah, right," Erick said before I could respond. "Go apologize for beating her ass. They should be thankful you're not trying to leverage this into something."

  Erick was completely unfazed by the situation. He seemed to actually admire the position I was in, which made me feel weird.

  "But then why are you talking to me?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be avoiding me too?"

  "Me?" He let out a sharp, almost insulting laugh. "I'm talking to you because the prince told me not to. Guy pisses me off."

  "Oh," I said. Nothing else really came to mind.

  Lina took a deep breath. "Okay... we need to find a way to deal with this. I mean, I'm not going to stop being your friend or anything, but this could make your life here so much harder."

  "My advice?" Erick leaned forward, letting his chair drop back to all four legs. "Just enjoy the fame. The prince is butthurt about you winning a fight. If you seem unbothered, he'll just look pathetic."

  "Thanks," I said, looking down at the table, still not sure what I should actually do.

  "For now, let's focus on studying," Lina said firmly, making me open the book. "It's getting late and we haven't even started."

  We focused on studying while Erick watched with apparent amusement. Most of the time he kept himself entertained by playing with a small magical device in his hand—some kind of puzzle cube that clicked and shifted—or just looking around the library, his expression daring anyone to tell him he shouldn't be there.

  Despite everything, having him there felt... right. Like I'd somehow gained an ally without even trying.

  Even if that ally was kind of insane.