Mihael's third day of school wasn't nearly as exciting as the second day.
Before really doing anything else, he taught the girl how to put up that barrier in a corner of the Owin field.
She promised him she wouldn't show it to others but- Mihael didn't really trust her.
Considering most high angel children wouldn't be able to pull something so complex off, he kind of didn't really worry about it.
"Alright, if that's all, I'll leave."
"I'm-" The girl said, a hand forward-
Mihael stared back. "Yes?"
"I'm Rose… we did exchange names but you never told me what I should call you." She again put a hand forward but-
"Mihael." He kept on walking.
The girl stayed there-
Watching.
A faint smile… 'Finally… I've found you…'
***
Mihael was bored.
Really bored-
And so-
He spent most of the classes sleeping.
None of the teachers bothered to wake him.
In a sense, perhaps they were scared.
Sarveisa was not and she did wake him up.
Rubbing his eyes- Mihael stared blankly. "What?"
"Pay attention!"
After all- this was the one thing, she knew he was interested in.
And so-
"World energy. The energy of the world given to us by the world tree." Sarveisa used a long stick to point at the drawing on the board. Mihael was actually impressed how well Sarveisa could draw. "Normally, it is abundant near the world tree and thus whenever you meditate, you should be able to absorb parts of the energy, infuse it within you and thus, have an extra source of energy; and if you're successful enough, never run out of energy."
She went on.
It was abundant near the world tree, however the energy density only got lower and lower the further anyone moved from the tree. Hence, only certain individuals were lucky enough to be in optimal distance.
What she was saying, was fairly common knowledge among the gods and most high angels.
But the kids?
They just ate the knowledge like candy.
"There have been many attempts to maximize the energy absorption but only one theory prevails over all those; the triple cultivation."
Mihael did pay attention.
But-
But he wasn't really all that interested in the world tree.
The boring tree as he liked to call it.
He was however interested in something else.
Namely-
'So as long as I can figure out a way… I can steal near infinite amount of energy… from that parasite…'
And actually-
That might not have been that bad.
Fun, even.
If it wouldn't also have ended the world in the process.
***
Once he was done with class-
Mihael waited for Sarveisa to finish.
He waited outside the classroom, staring out.
Floating just enough to hold the terrace guardrail, looking at the academy and all around.
As he thought… this place was far too bright for him.
'Was I living in the underworld or something?'
In that case, maybe he was a demon?
'No that's impossible…'
Demons could only be reborn as demons.
In very rare circumstances, he could be a human or a demihuman. But an angel? No- that was impossible.
Then- 'Maybe I was an elf?'
And he lived his whole life in a dense forest away from sunlight?
Or maybe he was an underground elf and lived in caves or-
Elves had long lives.
That would explain why he was bored with his previous life.
But no- that wouldn't explain why he felt this way-
All these powers-
And… this hatred for….
Sigh.
"Oh… you actually sighed," The voice came. "Disappointed?"
Rose.
"What?"
The halls were empty.
A faint breeze, calming.
"Nothing. Just thought I'd thank you properly." She was back in pristine clothes. Not a scratch on her body.
Greenish blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect smile of sorts.
"Unnecessary. We had a deal and I honored as much. Your gratitude is not needed."
"That kind of hurts my feelings you know."
A half giggle. She looked out, just like him. Watching the distant clouds.
"And I should care, because?"
"Because I'm your friend?"
Friend?
Friend!?
"You dare!?"
There was only one man he called a friend in this whole world and… 'And why can't I remember him….'
"D-dare?" Slightly flustered, she backstepped… "I-I guess I got too ahead of myself… I'm sorry… but- I just wanted to be friends." She fidgeted.
Roughly ten years of age gap-
"Wow!" Sarveisa appeared. "She actually became your friend!" her smile vanished. "Wait, isn't she…" Eyes going wide, a realization! "Masochist…" A mumble.
"I'm not!" The girl protested… "I just wanted to be his friend…" Ears ablush.
"Do you want to be friends with her, Mihael?" Sarveisa asked.
"I don't see any merits in becoming so-"
"Friendship isn't necessarily about merits. Friendship is about new experiences. New memories and different perspectives. You wanted to not be bored, right?"
Mihael stared. Thought things over.
As he recalled-
In his last life, he only had one friend.
He couldn't really remember anything about him. However-
What if this time he had two?
Would that be different?
Would that be a new experience?
Would he… not be bored anymore?
"How does one become friends?" he wondered.
"That's a difficult question. You don't really ask to be friends. You just become friends after a certain point…. At least that's what I think. So- why don't you two just hang out a bit more? If it's too much, then you can always just not." Sarveisa herself wasn't sure about this.
Growing up, she never really had any reason to mesh with other people. But it did leave her with certain regrets. Even now, she had some regrets, not spending enough time with her siblings… She didn't want the little boy to go through all that.
Yet-
She really didn't know what she was doing. "In the end, the decision is yours." And that's why- she left it all to the boy.
A nod in the right direction was all she was going to do.
Forcing him to do something her way-
The way she was forced to-
She didn't want to.
"Very well."
The girl's face lit up.
"Looking forward to it!" She again put her hand up for a shake.
This time-
Mihael didn't keep her hand hanging but actually grabbed it, gave one shake, and let go. "Likewise-"
A faint smile. "Thank you."