"Why did you resign?" asked Mavros when Miden finally shew up as the sun set down completely into the west.
"I didn't feel the need to continue." came the reply from Miden then he nodded to himself, "Yes. That is the sole reason for my resignation."
"You had defeated Barachiel, my lord." said he, "Do you think that you should have resigned after this. It would have been a perfect chance to get back your revenge from that day. He taunted you didn't he? You would have also earned fame in the town."
"Fame is the last thing I would want." Miden smiled to himself and then he remembered what he had did to Barachiel, "As for my revenge... I have already achieved it. He has already lost in his own eyes. This is what I wanted from the start. It would all be his downfall from this moment onwards."
He thought about his statement and then finally came back as all the others stood silent waiting for his continuation,
"Yes. That is what I told him I believe."
"What did you tell him?" asked Ariel who standing in the corner of the hall.
"Nothing." he replied to her with a face that he had hardly kept straight and then he looked aside with his happy expression turning bland.
"I will climb a staggering hight... " he repeated to himself from the memory of the battle. It was in almost a whisper that no one was able to hear, "and then I will make you fall."
"How did you do it now?" she asked, "You used a spell, didn't you? Miden Abyssheart."
"What should I say?" said Miden with a guilty face, "Why would you care about it anyway? Come to it I have a question to ask you myself."
"Don't ignore my question-" she was interrupted by a slam at the wall that seemed to shake it up. Miden's fist touched the wall with a fury that could not be seen on his face.
"Why should you even care for how I did it?" he said ignoring her.
They shared a moment of silence and the emotion on Ariel's face was quite undesirable to say the least; it was a rather terrible one. It had a mix of fury and confusion with a sense of fear that could be not be called something close to awe. It was a strange feeling coming from her heart.
"Quite down." said Vortex laughing around as she made her entry into the hall. She seemed to try to lighten the environment. It worked. "Don't yu think the battle was quite enough. Be happy that he won, Ariel."
"I'm sorry." came the reply from Miden, tough it wasn't expected from him. His voice was a little lighter as he spoke and his faces seemed to have the emotion that came with a realization.
"I'm sorry." she replied and they shook hands.
----------------
All of Miden's squad members were tired after the long day.
Vortex did not quite enjoy the looks of alchemy and Ariel seemed to have a tool from the history lecture. Mavros was also tired from this but he did not let it show and neither was he as tired as the other two. Miden was not tired at all. He was quite satisfied with what he chose.
"I knew it." Vortex threw herself on the sofa, completely tired. "Must be good for you Physical Education students now. This is worse than I expected."
"I told you," replied Mavros with a book flung open in front of him, and Vortex made a grimace seeing the book. "Alchemy is way out of your league. You should've chose Physical Education."
Alchemy was a optional subject. Students had to choose between them at least for the first 3 years. This rule was banished at the fourth year and students can go without any of these subjects. It was also no an easy procedure to change the subject.
"Of course." she said in a grimace on her face which later morphed into a smile, "Don't worry tough. We have the number one in our class."
"Number One?" questioned Miden cluelessly.
"Don't you know?" replied she. "The number one ranking person in the entrance test. Come to think of it, you have never mentioned your rank, have you? Come on. You can tell us?"
"Come to think of it, now. You truly have not told us you're rank, neither do I remeber seeing you're name?" added Mavros.
"I don't as well." Ariel added with him.
The all glared at Miden with a interrogative face that they had. It was a awkward situation for Miden and tight enough to make him think it out for a while. It was a brief silence and to fill it Miden added.
"Why don't you tell me you're ranks first as I remember mine?"
They all seemed to be quite suspicious of it but it was not as queer with Miden's character. With the limited information they had about Miden they had one where they thought that he was quite forgetful. Tough there were still suspicions roaming their minds about how he could not forget such a detail, they decided to go first.
"I am Number 31." said Vortex, "Just above the middle. It is quite the shame for me, the intelligence state and my arrogance seemed to throw me off."
"Number 20." said Mavros with quite the displeasure covering his face. He still seemed to be proud of this achivement.
"Number 3." said Ariel.
Silence covered the room. There was surprise on the face of every other member (who did not remember he name as well) and even Miden was surprise at this. He had thought of her to be feeble but he obviously had been wrong at this. The enviorment turned heavy.
"Then," started Miden with a questioning-tone. "Who are the other top 2?"
"Clara Ortu-Stella is number 2." replied Mavros still under the same shock of the reply give by Ariel.
"And what about Number 1?"
"Number one." Mavros said, "Let me remember..."
"What is your rank? Just answer that." Vortex interrupted avoiding the thought put in by Mavros and that expression could be seen on his face quite clearly.
Miden was put into a deep thought by this as well and it was the kind of thought he could not get out of easily and it was one that he had no answer to.
He thought for a while. He had known the face but he did not remember the name and so he thought for a while before his thought was disturbed by a bang at the door and then it flung open by a hand pushing it gently.
"Number 64." the voice roared trough the door. All of their attention was driven towards the one man, a student, present there.
"Who is that?" Miden uttered with a slight hint on his face that suggested that he was quite annoyed by this occurrence.
"That..." Vortex started and the other two seemed to also glare at the direction with a awe on their face that had concerned Miden now. Miden saw the glare in the eyes of the man and it was of a calm fury. His hairs were a dark shade of black which seemed to float in the air with the breeze that followed. His face had a serious expression and his eyes were to be scared of, like a wild beast.
"That is," continued Vortex with that expression, "the Number One."
This caught Miden off guard as he watched the man with an unseen face of being scared at something. It was quite a terrifying presence. This was not a man to be joked with.
"I'm sorry," he began, "but I am not allowed to enter this place without you're permissions. May I come in."
He said this in a gentle voice that still managed to terrify the other three. The only one that were left with a tiny calm emotion were the half-scared Vortex and then Miden.
"What are you doing here?" asked Vortex.
"Doesn't matter." he replied keeping the same serious face that he had from when he entered and then he repeated his question, "Can I come in?"
Vortex glanced at Miden questioningly, and Miden nodded in a hint of agreeance on something. They both looked towards the man on the door and nodded towards him, which he naturally took to be a "Yes".
"What are you doing here?" asked Miden as he entered the room, shedding the coat he was wearing.
"I'm here to return this book." He took out a book than he seemed to be carrying in his arm.
"This is, I belive, belonging to you?" he addressed Vortex.
Vortex's eyes rose up. She ran to her room and came out with a bag in which she searched for something, which she did not find. She seemed nervous and awkward as she approached the man again and accepted the book. He laughed at this.
"I should leave now." he said, "The professor asked me to return this to you. I'm sorry if I caused an inconvenience."
He put back his coat and then prepared to leave. He was stopped by a palm that he felt on his shoulder.
"Wait," It was the hand of Miden, "What did you say upon your entry?"
"Don't act as you don't know." his face morphed into a half laughter, "Do you want me to say it out loud, why I addressed you to be Number 64, is that what you mean. I belive so. Answer me Miden Abyssheart, do you know not why I said that? Or perhaps you want me to say it out loud."
He left before Miden had a time to think up for a answer and he froze at the place he stood on.
Does he know? thought Miden. He definitely does. There is no other way to what he said.