Before winter vacation, the entire student body of the academy had to face one unavoidable event: the physical exam. This wasn''t your usual fitness check to see if you''re in shape or have any physical issues. No, this was more like a midterm exam, but instead of answering questions on paper, we were tested on our physical abilities.


    And this week was the week for that exam.


    "This is just too disheartening," Raymond grumbled, adjusting his sses that kept slipping down his nose with every swing of the sword he was wielding. "I can''t believe we''re being graded on our physical strength too. Ah, I''m sure I''m going to plummet in the rankings... I''ve been holding onto the top 10 in our ss. I can''t believe I''m going to fall."


    "That''s rough for you, I guess, but it doesn''t bother me at all," Duncan replied with a nonchnt tone. As a muscle-bound powerhouse, it was no surprise he''d say that. He flexed his impressive biceps like he was showing off in a bodybuilding contest, his muscles rippling with each movement. He had a build that was undeniably impressive.


    "How about you, Leon? Aren''t you worried at all? I mean, you''ve finally managed to escape thest ten in the rankings. Surely, you don''t want to slip back to the bottom," Raymond asked.


    "I don''t really care, to be honest," I responded, my sword slicing through the air with a rhythmic grace. "I''ve never been invested in the rankings. From the moment I enrolled, I epted that my ce would be in the bronze ss, and I''d stay there until graduation. Honestly, graduating in the bronze ss doesn''t seem so bad to me."


    "Well, I at least want to move up to the silver ss," Raymond said, his voice carrying a note of determination. "I''ve given up on aiming for the gold ss, so reaching the silver ss feels like a solid goal."


    "I don''t care much about where I end up," Duncan added, his voice steady and matter-of-fact. "As long as I graduate, that''s what really matters to me."


    The three of us weren''t particrly bothered about climbing the rankings. As long as we graduated, that was all that mattered to us, and honestly, I was okay with that.


    "But are you really sure, Leon?" Raymond asked again. "I mean, what about your girlfriend? She''s in the gold ss and a real princess from a foreign kingdom. Wouldn''t you want to push yourself harder to match up to her? What if her father, the king, doesn''t approve of your rtionship?"


    "Well, that''s a real concern," I admitted, my voice trailing off as I considered it. If her father found out that Titania was dating someone who seemed weak andcked ambition, he might reject me outright. I could always mention my connection to Leonamon as a fallback—it might help, but who knew?


    "You sound so confident that King Betn would ept you. Are you really that sure?"


    "I''m not. It''s just that worrying about it now seems pointless," I replied with a shrug.


    That''s right. Worrying about something that won''te to pass now was pointless.


    "What I need to focus on is the present," I told him. "Isn''t that right?"


    "You''re right," Raymond said with a strained smile.


    We continued our training, and after a while, I pretended to be exhausted and headed back to my dorm room.


    ***


    When I returned and approached the door to my room, I noticed that it was slightly ajar. Someone must have been inside.


    I pushed the door open, and to my surprise, I found her—there she was, sleeping right in the hallway outside my room, where I usually left my shoes.


    She often ended up here whenever she misced her key.


    I remembered handing her a spare keyst time, just in case she lost hers again. It had been about a week since I gave it to her. It was actually surprising that she hadn''t lost my key yet.


    I gently picked her up and ced her on my bed. Her saliva was trickling from the corner of her mouth. She was undeniably cute, with a slender figure that made her look younger than her age. Her ash-gray hair fell across her face, framing her wless, silkenplexion. She appeared almost as if she had just been born. Discover stories with м??


    "I guess I''ll have to wait for her to wake up," I muttered to myself, my eyes tracing her delicate form as she slept,pletely oblivious to the world. Her soft breaths were the only sound in the room, creating an almost serene atmosphere. With a sigh, I sank into the solitary couch, my mind drifting as I watched her.


    Suddenly, she stirred, her body shifting ever so slightly.


    "Mmm~" she moaned softly, the sound escaping her lips as she slowly woke up. Her ashen, nearly lc eyes fluttered open, still zed with the remnants of sleep. She blinked at me, her gaze unfocused yet warm. "Oh, Leon... Wee baaackkk~" she murmured, her voice dripping with drowsiness, like honey in the morning light.


    "Why are you here again, Yr?" I asked, my tone hovering between curiosity and exasperation.


    She stretchednguidly, her body arching slightly before settling back down. "Because I lost my key again," she replied with a nonchnt shrug, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, her voice still heavy with sleep.


    "Figures," I muttered. "It''s kind of amazing how often you lose your own key but somehow never lose mine."


    "It''s because it isn''t mine," she exined. "I always lose my stuff, but I never seem to misce things that belong to others."


    It was hard to wrap my head around her logic, but I suppose people have their quirks.


    "Actually, there''s a more reasonable reason why I''m here in your room," she added, her expression shifting slightly.


    "Oh?" I responded, now genuinely curious.


    "It''s about..." she began, but before she could finish, her eyes fluttered shut again as if her battery had run out, and she fell back onto the bed, fast asleep.


    "Hey... You can''t just tease me like that and then drift off to sleep," I said, my tone a mix of exasperation and curiosity. I resigned myself to waiting for her to fully wake up before I''d get any answers.


    I stood up and wandered over to the kitchen area of this cramped yet cozy 1LDK dorm room. As I prepared to cook something for the both of us, she roused once more, blinking sleepily as if shaking off the remnants of a dream.


    "It''s about... the cat," she mumbled, her voice still heavy with sleep.


    The cat—Trill.


    "I know why she''s been skipping schooltely," she continued.