As they returned to the academy, Cior tried her best to slip back into her old rhythm—classes, training, and the usual chaos. But there was no avoiding it. As soon as she stepped onto the grounds, she felt the weight of the lingering tension, mostly from the boys who were still... well, interested in her.
It didn't take long for Arven to catch up with her in the hallway, a little more determined than usual.
"Cior," he said, stepping into her path with that same mischievous grin he always wore. "We need to talk."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is this the part where you try to win my heart again? Because I have to warn you, I'm so over the whole 'winning hearts' thing. It's a lot of work."
Arven chuckled, though there was a hint of seriousness behind his smile. "No, no. Nothing out of line, promise. I've been thinking... I won't do anything that crosses any boundaries. But just so you know, I'm still going to try my best to win your heart."
Cior's eyes widened slightly. "Oh? That's sweet of you... but you do realize that I'm really bad at handling all these confessions, right? I mean, one minute I'm pretending to be Lunette, and the next, I'm being chased by everyone in the academy. It's a real headache."
Arven smirked. "Yeah, well, that's the price you pay for being so... impossible to resist."
Cior snorted. "Oh, please. Impossible? You guys are the ones making everything complicated. I just wanted to enjoy my summer without any feelings being thrown at me like confetti at a parade."
"Tell me about it," Arven said, shaking his head dramatically. "Honestly, it's exhausting. But you know what? I'll take it slow. No sudden moves. No grand gestures. Just... me, trying to get you to laugh occasionally, and hopefully get some time with you."
"Yeah, that's better. Keep it casual, Arven. We're not in some shoujo manga where you confess your love in front of a fountain or something. I'm just trying to survive this academy and not become the centerpiece of all the drama," she quipped, flicking her hair dramatically for emphasis.
"Surviving is good," Arven said with a grin. "But don't be surprised if I make it harder for you to resist. I'm pretty persistent, after all."
Cior gave him a deadpan stare. "You can try, but I'm basically immune to all the romance. I've been through too many awkward situations for your charm to make much of an impact."
Arven raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. No charm. I get it. I'll just be over here, trying my best not to make things awkward. Though, I can't promise I won't still do this."
Before she could react, Arven suddenly grabbed her hand and raised it dramatically to his lips in a chivalrous kiss.
"Are you serious right now?" Cior said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look, if this is what it takes to make you stop, I might have to give you a grade-A lesson in how not to behave."
Arven winked. "Lesson accepted, but I'm not stopping. I'll keep trying to win you over, even if it takes forever."
"Ugh, why am I surrounded by these persistent, overly confident boys? You all need a hobby!" Cior groaned, pulling her hand back, though she couldn't help but smile a little at his stubbornness.
"Yeah, yeah," Arven said with a smirk. "You'll come around. Eventually."
Cior shook her head, rolling her eyes. "And I'll keep pretending I'm not secretly dying from the pressure."
As Arven wandered off, leaving her standing in the hallway, Cior sighed deeply, letting her shoulders slump.
"Boys are seriously a lot of work. How did I get stuck in this mess?"
She looked around for any sign of escape, but the academy seemed to have its claws in her, and no matter how much sarcasm she threw at the situation, it wasn't going anywhere.
"Well, at least I can pretend to be normal... until the next confession."
She muttered to herself, putting on her best dramatic face, ready for whatever chaos was about to unfold next.
After weeks of sleepless nights, intense focus, and a lot of help from Arven (who despite being a self-proclaimed 'genius' in engineering and math still had the occasional awkward moment), Cior finally completed her device. The one that would reveal everything about a person's identity, their heritage, their powers, age, and even secrets buried deep within their mana.
It had taken every ounce of her patience and determination, but it was finally done. And naturally, it had to be tested—on none other than the boys.
With a sigh, she gathered herself, sending the reports using the device to each of them without ever looking at the data. It was too personal for her to violate their privacy in such a way. Her hands hovered over the buttons for a moment before she clicked "send," each report going to their respective rooms. Afterward, she decided to take a much-needed break.
"I need a week off," Cior declared dramatically, her voice high-pitched as she packed her things. She wasn't even looking at anyone, speaking more to herself than anyone around. "I need to go home and let my brain recover from all this madness."
The boys, naturally, didn't object—mostly because they had no clue what she'd been up to. So, she made her way home for a week of relaxation and time to think, away from the chaos that was the academy.
Meanwhile, the boys were left to process their reports.
---
Arven:
Arven was the first to read his report. He leaned against his bed, the soft glow of the device lighting up his face as he scanned the information in front of him. His eyes widened. His identity? His age? His background? It was all there, laid out in cold, scientific detail.
"What... the hell?" Arven muttered, running a hand through his hair. His eyes narrowed as he read deeper into his powers and his family lineage. "Okay, this is... intense."
He blinked a few times, sitting up straighter. A smirk spread across his face as he shook his head. "Well, guess Cior really does have her life together. She's been holding out on us," he muttered with a dramatic sigh, tossing the report aside. "Maybe she's a little too good at this."
---
Ziven:
Ziven, on the other hand, wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be reading. His eyes were darting from line to line, unable to process the information in the report, which was likely because half of the words made absolutely no sense to him.
"What... I—what does all this even mean?" Ziven muttered, his fingers running across the screen. "Age, heritage, powers, blah, blah, blah... Why is this so complicated?"
He blinked and tilted his head as something caught his eye. "Hey, why's my emotional state listed as... 'flirtatious and slightly reckless?' That's not what I meant to send her, I swear!"
Ziven groaned, flopping back onto his bed, unsure whether to be embarrassed or amused. "I'm never letting her do this again. She has way too much power."
---
Mateo:
Mateo read his report with a confident grin. Of course, he was used to people paying attention to his charm, but reading the detailed results about his powers and lineage felt a little like getting his ego stroked by a machine.
"Well, would you look at that," Mateo said with a chuckle, reading his own lineage report. "Who knew my family tree had so many branches of awesomeness?"
He glanced at the section on his powers and grinned. "Superficial charm? Check. Spontaneous wit? Check. Ability to look ridiculously good at all times? Well... that wasn't in the report, but I think we all know it's true."
He leaned back, satisfied. "Still, it's good to know Cior's still on top of her game. She's probably a little too good at this, though."
---
Amaias:
Amaias took his report in silence. He didn't react much at first, simply reading through each line carefully, his brows furrowing slightly at certain pieces of information. But then something about his family's history, or perhaps the mention of his power, caused him to look up and stare at nothing in particular for a moment.
"This is..." He trailed off, unsure of what to make of the accuracy of the device's findings. "It's strange. She can see this? She really knows this much about us?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But I can't question her methods. She's the one who's been helping us all this time, after all."
---
Cior (back home):
While the boys were processing their reports, Cior was at home, basking in the silence she hadn't realized she missed so much. She stretched out on her bed with a dramatic sigh, thinking about how the boys were undoubtedly dealing with the chaos she had set in motion. They would be fine, right?
She stared at the ceiling, laughing softly to herself. "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now. They know everything, and I haven't even looked at the results. Maybe I should've glanced at them before sending them out, but... nope. Privacy. Boundaries. I'm an ethical genius."
She grinned, sitting up and grabbing a snack. "But now, let's see how they handle it. This should be interesting."