( Rocky''s POV )


    After a hard day of training, Rocky was on his way to the infirmary to check on Sophia, as had be his ritual, when just outside the infirmary one of the medical staff recognised him and greeted him with a big smile.


    "She''s already awake, go meet her-" he said as Rocky entered the room with his eyebrows raised.


    "Hey-" Sophia said weakly when she saw Rocky walking into the room with flowers as she tried and sat up while tidying her medical robes.


    "Hey-" Rocky replied, handing over the flowers he brought to her, as Sophia held them and took in a nice whiff.


    " They smell like grass…. What even is this flower?" She asked, as Rocky scratched his head and coughed.


    " Ahem… that? Yeah, they''re the flowers I found growing in the university, no idea what it is-" he confessed honestly as Sophia chuckled and reced the fresh flowers he handed her with the one he brought yesterday, in the vase beside her.


    " Well they are not smelly and they are beautiful, perfect to give someone in the infirmary" she said, to cheer him up, as Rocky smiled and took a seat beside her bed.


    " Thankyou for saving my life…" Sophia said, looking straight into Rocky''s eyes, who carefully studied her expression.


    " Well of course, I wouldn''t leave a wounded ssmate alone-" Rocky said, putting on a brave face as he reassured Sophia that he would have done it for anyone.


    " Ha-" Sophia chuckled in sarcasm at his reply, "I thought you hated me… we are enemies after all, maybe your patron god would be happier if I died" she said as Rocky gauged the weight of her words.


    It was true, by nature they were meant to be enemies, however, it was only if Sophia was favored by those who kidnapped his sister, if not, then there was no need for them to be at odds.


    "No, I had to save you, but what baffled me was why the assassin''s chasing you wore the robes of Olympus? Like are you not the Champion of Poseidon?" Rocky asked, as this was the one question that was eating away at his mind ever since the incident took ce.


    He had doubted that it would be some other factions doing, that someone was surely trying to misdirect the eyes of the world, however, he had to hear it from Sophia.


    " Unfortunately no…. They were most likely really the agents of Olympus.


    There is a feud on-going between my father and my uncle and....


    No, I should probably not talk about family politics here" Sophia said with a gloomy smile on her face as Rocky found no mistakes in her acting.


    Hepletely bought her story, especially after what Principal Liam told him after his two days long rampage on floor 21.


    Apparently, the information that Principal Liam had found out, also indicated that there was a major rift between Poseidon and Zeus and that Sophia was a target of internal conflict.


    With Sophia now confirming the same, Rocky felt convinced about the story behind her attack, as he sympathetically ced his hand over hers.


    " It''ll be alright, you don''t have to tell me what you don''t want to share, but going forward just know that I won''t consider you as my enemy, even if our patron gods don''t align.


    You''ve lost your roommates and teammates in this attack, so if you need anyone to talk to, just know I''ll be there for you" Rocky said, as he expressed his sincerity in bing Sophia''s friend, who smiled at his kind words.


    At this moment, she had aplished her mission, the champion of Gemini had been sessfully deceived by her, yet, it did not bring her the joy she thought it would.


    When she looked into Rocky''s sincere eyes and the flowers beside her bed, it made her feel weird, and as if he was giving her the kind of intimate attention she always craved for and hence she felt a small amount of guilt in deceiving him.


    " Alright, I''ll keep your words in mind, you charmer-" Sophia said, as Rocky blushed and pulled his hand away from her.


    In the first ce, Rocky did find Sophia to be pretty attractive, his first reaction to seeing her was one of admiration, however, it was only after witnessing her champion''s brand that his feelings towards her changed.


    Now that he needed to win over her as an ally, Rocky no longer felt repulsed by her looks, as he became an admirer once more.


    "So, what did I miss while I was out?" Sophia asked, to break the ice, as Rocky took a deep breath and began sharing all the notes he was making on her behalf ever since she had passed out.


    The duo chatted for two hours as Rocky gave her a rough summary of everything that happened in thest two weeks as Sophia felt utterly shocked at how meticulous Rocky had been.


    Not only did he make important lecture notes for her, but he also helped her with some assignment work that she would be expected to do once she got back, reducing her future load by arge margin.


    This sort of care was something Sophia never expected from her best friends, let alone and enemy like Rocky, which is why her mood cheered up significantly over the two hours that they talked.


    She noticed a lot of things about Rocky in these two hours as well.


    While he was sarcastic and cold to outsiders, once he started to warm up to someone, he was funny, cute and energetic as while he talked for two hours non-stop, he cracked many jokes and made everything sounds lessplicated than it really was.


    He even respected her privacy and did not pry into matters regarding her family much as he allowed her to recuperate in peace.


    Finally, as he took his leave for the night, he wished Sophia a speedy recovery and that he would return with more notes and flowers tomorrow, as oddly, Sophia looked forward to his return.


    ************


    ( A few hourster, Floor 21, Perseus''s POV )


    " It is with great pleasure that I inform you brother that I have indeed broken through the champion of Gemini''s defenses, he has warmed up to me and haspletely bought the story.


    It seems like Principal Liam also believes that there is a rift in Olympus and everything has gone perfectly as nned, while I''m also making a speedy recovery.


    As I await further directions, I request that either you or father visit me while I''m recovering as I do feel lonely, but even if you can''t, I will understand….


    Love, Sophia"


    Perseus read Sophia''s letter and scoffed in arrogance.


    " My lovely sister, while I''m so happy that you have used your charms to fool the champion of Gemini, I don''t understand why you make stupid requests like me visiting you.


    Principal Liam has a truth detection skill, I''ll be bust the moment I enter the university while father and that unpredictable man cannot be ced in the same room.


    When will you learn to grow up and see the bigger picture? *Sigh*


    Well, you are just a kid, so hopefully soon enough-" Perseus said to himself as he paced around the room with his hands behind his back.


    Olympus had sacrificed a lot for this n to work, so he was happy that it was working.


    Principal Liam had nearly demolished 50% of his elite forces in his raid on floor 21 and it would have been worse if not for the careful cues they nted, suggesting an internal rift.


    If this n did not bore fruit now, all those lost lives would be for nothing, while the ire of the madman was hard to predict.


    From this point onwards, failure was really not an option anymore.


    -----------


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///