(POV change)
'Love... is a fickle thing. The fraze 'I'll love you for as long as I may live' or 'in sickness and in heath' are all promises meant to be broken. Try as you might, love is a fleeting emotion that can't be maintained forever. Just like happiness, sadness, and all the fickle emotions in between' I thought.
A tear rolled down my cheek as I looked up to my mother, whose hand was placed on my shoulder. I cry because I'm expected to. I laugh because that's how you fit in. I can never lose my smile, or else I'll break apart completely. Love is a fickle thing. That's something I'll have to accept.
From now on, things are going to change in a way they hadn't since my parents first started fighting. "...are you okay? W-which parent... do you want to live with?" Asked my mom, with a certain false sympathy I could feel just by looking at her. Even now, she refused to hold my gaze.
"I'll... have to think about it" I said, tears still rolling down my cheeks. 'Why should I care? It doesn't seem like either of you want to take me in. Indeed, love is a fickle emotion even between parent and child. An emotion meant to be felt and to fade' I thought as I cast my gaze to the ground.
"W-well, I should be going now..." said mother, who then walked out of the room. Her hands clenched the papers she held in her hand, even tighter as she left the room. 'I'll never be disillusioned by something as fickle as love ever agian' I thought as my hand curled up in a fist.
A red rope with frayed edges could be seen in an all-black room. The rope began to tear just a little bit more... a few of its strands fell to the floor. Now that I was old enough to understand what I had just lost, there seemed to be a gapping hole in me where something should have been.
Not just one thing, but multiple misplaced objects. I got the feeling I'd never see those things again. I'd close off that hole with whatever I had available, then continue on with the same smile that got me through life. The same smile I'd have to force from now on.
(POV change)
Heavy breathing escaped my lips, hot breath exiting my mouth. Sweat dripped down from my body. Blood began to mix with the sweat, pouring down my body until I felt like I was melting. My shaky hands soon settled as I gripped my two daggers even tighter.
"With this final swing, my quest will be comeplete! I wonder if any other reincarnated students have access to a dungeon' I thought as my daggers plunged into the Goblin's throat, a greenish-brown goop flowing out from its wound in place of blood.
The Goblin's lifeless body seemed to disintegrate into tiny sparkling particles that soon fadded into the horizon. Floor 2 seemed to have an actual sky. I dropped my daggers as a blue panel appeared in front of me. "N-no way..." I muttered as I read the message before me.
(Time skip)
My head slipped from my hand, waking me up as I lifted my head to keep from falling. "Huh... is class over?" I groggily muttered to the small white cat sitting on top of my desk. "Nope. You should really pay more attention in class. Some useful information could be dropped at any moment" said the cat.
"You're more of an honer student than I realized" I muttered groggily. "I just think gaining information on the world we've been reincarnated into could be help keep us alive. After all, the academy clearly promised a hands-off teaching style, meaning they aren't responsible for deaths" said the cat.
I dozed off after the cat finished lecturing me about paying attention in class... or something like that. Though, my nap was short, as the bell woke me soon after I had fallen asleep. I began to pack up my items before leaving the classroom, though before I got too far, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
'This seems way too familiar...' I thought as I turned around. The girl who greeted me was none other than Meliana herself. '...yep, thought as much' I thought as I met her gaze. She was glaring at me yet again, with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping on the floor in rhythm.
"Why were you sleeping in class?" She asked. "My apologies, princess, but I don't believe I've done anything to receive such a harsh glare" I said. 'Why are you talking to me in public? If you want an apology for the other day, you don't have to go so far as to ruin your reputation for it' I thought.
She grabbed my wrist angrily before dragging me off to a secluded spot. She had clearly read my intentions, even though I had the most genuine smile I could muster plastered all over my face. This girl was good. Much better than anyone I'd ever met before.
"Explain" she said once we were out of the public eye. "Explain what?" I asked. "Why you 'Pity me'" she said. "Oh, that. Yeah, sometimes my mouth runs off before my brain can correct it. Don't mind that comment, it was practically meaningless" I said.
"Like I've told you before, I can tell when people are lying" she said before stepping on my foot. "Ow! No need for violence! Look, what do you expect from me? I can't go openly defying the elven princess. I may seem like I love to look for trouble, but even I have to draw a line somewhere" I said.
"Don't you dare play dumb with me. I know you're planning something, and until you prove that you aren't, I'll be keeping an eye on you" said Meliana. "I was never trying to hide it. You're right, I am planning something. It's not like it has anything to do with you" I said.
"Dude, too far" Muttered the cat. Her face flushed bright red as she huffed put of the allyway, leaving me in a daze. "Just what does she want from me?" I muttered to myself. I lingered around a little while longer so as not to attract attention before quietly leaving the scene.
(Time skip)
"...I'm very exited to announce that, next week, we'll be collaborating with other classes to, you know, show off our skills! And the best part? No pressure to compete! We can swap tips and tricks with eachother to level up together!" said the teacher, Mrs. Haruyama.
"Great. Just what I needed. I can't cast a single spell, and now I'm supposed to fail in front of all the first-years? Well, there goes my chances of being recruited for a club. Since members of clubs have a leg up on things like study materials, they generally get recruited more often..." I muttered.
"You just need to learn some basic spells" said the cat. "Yeah, well, I've been slacking off more than I should in class and still don't have a full grasp of this world's language. I can read most normal books, but how am I supposed to understand ancient SpellBooks?!" I said.
"Try using your spirit sword every once in a while. I bet you can chanel magic through that, and from there, it'll be simple" said the cat. "You're a genius! But wait, wouldn't it be a little weird if I came to an event made for magic with a sword?!" I said. "Yeah, but who said it was made for magic?" Asked the cat.
"Alright class, listen up! To prepare for the training sessions, we'll be forming study squads of four. "Bonus? You can use these dream teams for future projects as well, no random regrouping" Mrs. Haruyama. The students began muttering to each other about who they'd pair up with.
"When it rains, it storms" I muttered under my breath. It seems like my plan had somewhat backfired on me as all my classmates began grouping up with their friends. Even the few loners who existed in this world grouped up with each other. Still, I sat in my desk, alone.
No one dared to approach a corrupt noble. Which was the plan from the start, but in moments like this, it was much more of a nuance than anything. "I'm not allowed to be alone in this world, am I?" I muttered in a voice so low that not even the cat couldn't hear it.
After the other students finally finished grouping up, only four students were left. Me, a boy with flaming red hair, a girl with pearly-blue hair, and Meliana. 'It figures I'd get grouped up with her' I thought as each of us began walking toward the middle of the classroom.
Each group of students now stood lined up against the wall of the classroom. "Alright everyone, groups comeplete! Use the rest of 5th period to map out your study times yourself. Aim for at lest 5 meetings this week to prepare for the joint training sessions next week!" said the teacher.
A few groans came from the groups of kids made up of friends. As for me, I was groaning for a different reason. 'Why couldn't this have been a solo-project? I'm sure the others feel the same. Though I'm a bit confused as to why the red-headed kid didn't choose a group until now' I thought.
I'd seen him many times during this first semester, and every time, he'd been talking to someone. It just didn't make sense why he'd group up with people he didn't even know. I mean, for the rest of us, it made sense, even for someone as popular as Meliana.
Considering she's a princess, no one would dare to talk to her. It didn't help that she gave of an ice-queen like impression. I'd seen the other girl around a few times, too, but she was always alone. 'Just great. We have a stuck-up princess, a loner, a maniac, and an everyone's friend type' I thought.
"Hah! This has got to be the best group ever" I muttered to myself, which made the others even more weirded out by me than they already were. Most of them seemed to refuse to accept that I'd talk to commoners, but the rumors did seem to have at least some sort of effect on them.
Yep, they thought I was weird, plain and simple. "Alright, where should we meet up? I'd like to have a consistent meeting place all 5 times we have to do this, if you all don't mind" said the girl with blue hair. "That sounds good. How about somewhere on campus?" Asked Meliana.
It seemed like everyone just chose to accept the fact that we'd be keeping our meetings to the absolute minimal. We all wanted to keep our loner statuses. As for the boy, he's a blank. Perhaps he thinks he's doing the others a favor. After all, with him in the group, no one else will have to suffer.
Or, at the very least, no one else's reputation will suffer. "Okay, so how about the academy's library?" I asked. "...Sure, but, as the one who suggested it, how about we let you handle the negotiations?" Asked the girl with blue hair. "Okay..." I said, confused as to why she volunteered me.
'I've been to the library several times. The librarian seems nice enough, the book selection is great, and not a lot of other people tend to hang around there. Maybe it's a popular meeting place for study groups? In that case, she could have just declined my suggestion' I thought.
My suspicions about this school were raised even higher than they had already been. This odd presence each of the students have, the fact Meliana works for the God who sent us here, and now this... "Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid. Still, I'll be on high alert" I muttered under my breath.
[A/N: Expect updates every other day at around midnight from this chapter on!]