"Rise and shine, Diggy! We have school today!"
The upbeat, energetic voice of Lorelai awoke the tired Dignitas. With a loud yawn, he stood up to do his morning stretches.
By the looks of it, the girl who he slept with yesterday was already cooking breakfast. The smell of fresh food wafted past the doors, entering the sluggish author's nostrils and instantly waking him up.
After taking a few minuted to wash up and freshen himself in the bathroom, Dignitas made his way into the dining room, where he spotted Lorelai wearing an apron as she cooked something.
The small, pink apron she was wearing seemed to accentuate her cuteness now, a stark contrast to her old rough personality. It was a somewhat nice change of pace, and Dignitas could already feel himself beginning to get used to it. Although there was still a part of him that felt this wasn't the real Lorelai.
But then again, he didn't have a single clue as to what caused her abrupt change in personality now that his contract with Andrea was null and void. He just hoped that by the time he found it, there wasn't going to be a requirement to choose which "Lorelai" to keep.
This wasn't the time for gloomy thoughts, however. Dignitas shook his head, snapping himself back to reality just as Lorelai placed the last plate of food.
Once again, there seemed to be a comically large amount of food here. He wondered how she was able to procure this many ingredients, but that seemed to be a trade secret.
Pulling a seat beside him, Lorelai sat down and urged the hungry author do dig in, insisting he take the first bite first.
"Whoa, you should enter a cooking competition, or something. This is good." Dignitas wowed in surprise as he complimented the girl next to him.
"I'm glad you like it, Diggy. I was thinking of joining the Cooking Club today, actually!"
"Well, go for it. I'm sure you'll love it."
Hearing the word "club" brought different thoughts to Dignitas' head. Namely, the Global Studies Club. It would indeed benefit them to have a capable fighter like Lorelai on their side, but at the moment they were missing something vital.
They needed a different Navigator. This person needed to replace Andrea, because without someone to assist them in missions and coordinate tactics, things would be a lot more difficult.
Dignitas was already beginning to miss Andrea, too. Back when she was still in the club, she made it an effort to finish the paperwork the same day it was given to them.
This could only have been done due to her hardworking personality. If it were anyone else, the club room would've been swamped with stacks of papers.
As Dignitas mindlessly stuffed his mouth with the delicious food, he tried to think of anyone else in the Academy who might be suited to playing the role of Navigator.
Of course, no one would be able to do it as well as their former one did. But they would just have to learn to compromise.
Clack, clack! Lorelai snapped her fingers in front of Dignitas' face to get his attention.
"Oh, my bad. What were you saying, Lorelai?"
***
"Can't believe we're about to do this…"
"Don't worry, we'll be fine!"
Apparently, Lorelai's reward was still in effect seventeen hours after their battle. The girl had insisted the two of them walk to school together from now on.
Something like this was bound to draw the attention of every single student they passed.
While they pretty much had the title of Class 1-A's Class Couple in the bag, there was still one other dynamic duo that threatened to steal the crown. Not that they were trying to keep it.
"You've been awfully touchy lately. Did the surgery do something to your head?"
"Is there anything wrong with savoring the warm sensation of your bodily temperature?"
Quite literally, Lorelai was doing her best to snuggle up to the boy beside her. Dignitas felt it weird at first, and he still did, but there was no question that it was stimulating.
As of now, the two were still walking in the more deserted parts of the District, so there wasn't likely to be anyone who would see them.
The real issue would be when they entered the main road. From there, the Academy's students would start to pile up, fostering more curiosity about the two's relationship.
And it went as expected. The moment they left the narrow streets and crossed into a wider avenue, the stunned expressions of other Academy students were aplenty.
"Hey, is it just me, or has the Class Couple gotten closer?"
"You're right! Look, they're much closer than before! You don't think that they're… actually going out, do you?"
"Who knows? One thing's for sure, though. Lorelai's awfully closer than before."
It was like they were some kind of art piece constantly being gawked at by anyone that came to look.
But the whole situation wasn't even that bad. Aside from a few whispers and weird looks from the more shameless students, it was a relatively quiet walk.
Halfway through it, Dignitas sensed someone approaching them. With how much time he had spent with the people in his inner circle, there wasn't much difficulty in discerning who it was even with his back turned.
"Hey, Leader. You look like you've seen better days. What, did your girlfriend wring you out thoroughly last night?"
Elliott Serrano announced his entry even before he reached them. His informal demeanor, alongside his clearly non-Regalian accent, was a dead giveaway that he was from another continent.
While still maintaining the basic dignity often seen in gentlemen, he often pushed that boundary to its limit whenever he joked around.
"Do I look that tired?" Dignitas replied, ignoring the cowboy's attempt at embarrassing him. "Lorelai, you still have that mirror I gave you, right?"
"Yes, I have it right here. I think Diggy looks quite handsome today, but it's not my fault if others don't see it."
"Don't take her seriously." Dignitas told the cowboy as he fixed himself while staring at the mirror. "Anyway, good morning to you, Elliott. Is something troubling our resident outlaw?"
"Heh, in fact there is. If you can spare the time, come meet me behind the school after classes. I need to talk to you about something important."
Without waiting for a reply, Elliott simply waved as he left the two.
"Okay… I wonder what he wants to talk about. Guess I'll check it out later."
***
The same one-sided romantic atmosphere continued until the end of the school day. Once classes ended, Dignitas headed for the agreed upon meeting area behind the school.
Lorelai had insisted she follow him there, but was stopped when he mentioned that it was a private meeting, and that even someone like her shouldn't be there.
While the large open field occupied most of the space of the school, that didn't mean there weren't a few small buildings around. These, alongside Tetrapine, were prime hiding spots for students.
It also happened to be a renowned place for confessions, although the tone which Elliott used with Dignitas clearly had no trace of that.
"I'm here."
He could sense Elliott's presence clearly, and as such announced his entrance. Something felt odd about the cowboy today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Good thing you came. I was worried that I might've had to hunt you down if you didn't show up."
Elliott was there, leaning on the brick wall. The alleyway that they had chosen to meet in didn't allow much light to enter, so his figure was obscured by the darkness.
Even so, the little bit of light that shone through was aimed at the left side of his face, allowing Dignitas to see that he was still wearing the earpiece given to them by the club. It was the same one Andrea would use to talk to them when on missions.
"You still have the earpiece… What's with that tone? Did I do something wrong?"
"Tell me, Leader. What happened to Andrea?"
That last sentence was deadly. Dignitas could feel hints of hatred leaking out from Elliott. His hand trickled down to his waist, where a faint silver glow shone.
"She's… not with us anymore. We had a contract, but I failed to fulfill my end of the bargain. So she voided it, and now she's not our Navigator anymore."
"Is that so." Elliott suddenly stopped. "Heh. I knew she wasn't gonna stay with us. I guess we can just… find another one, yeah."
"What's wrong with you?"
Was Andrea important to Elliott in some way? Neither the Log nor Dignitas' memory held any information on their relationship, but from what he knew, it was just a plain work relation, nothing else. Even when she was still with them, she never bothered to engage much with the other club members, choosing to keep things normal.
She didn't distance herself, nor did she try to get closer to anyone. She was simply there and did her job as required.
"Nothing. Nothing. Nothing's wrong with me, heh. I guess I'll be going now. Thanks for meeting me."
"Oh, so soon, Elliott? You shouldn't leave the party before it's even started."
Without warning, the two of them were flung backwards, into the open field by some invisible force.
"I told you I'd come, Elliott. This is your final duel. Get ready to draw."