Isaac walked through the afternoon's corridor.
The corridor itself was freer, with the crowd having thinned by the time he moved through it. Nevertheless, "freer" didn't mean complete silence. There still were numerous students shifting through, which was natural given the size of the academy and the number of students administered to it.
The schedule of the combat class, which Elara is a part of, is different than that of higher class.
Given how the higher class has been busy with the weapon training for the past two weeks, he was unable to see Elara within this period. In other words, he didn't know her exact schedule at the moment.
Therefore, the only place where he could find her guaranteed was her dorm, which he knew the location of.
Thus, he walked. Then, paused.
Someone entered his sight.
Through one of the wide windows available on the corridor, Isaac saw the view of the garden.
This garden was different from the garden in Golden Repose. Publicly available, its space was a few times larger, and at the same time, more generic and less sophiscated in its arrangement. However, that wasn't what caught his eyes.
There sat Irine, alone as always. She was staring at the thin air, thinking, observing, or perhaps simply appreciating the calm around her. Her skill, [Glamour], continued to make subtle visual enhancements that made even her stillness seem elegant in a way that appeared flawless.
Some students in the corridor occasionally peeked at her beauty, but none dared to approach her. As Isaac stood, those students moved out of corridor, with other tasks in their minds.
The reason why I am seeking for Elara, in the first, place, is to…
Isaac moved without a second thought. Exiting the corridor, he entered the garden through an open entrance.
He walked on the hard, stone layer that was carefully laid in between the patch of grass and flowers. At the end of the trail, Irine was there.
"Isaac," she greeted, having noticed his presence from ten steps away. She looked at him in the same manner she always used—direct and impassive.
"Irine." Isaac nodded. "I came to make a request." He then stated, getting to the point right away. He didn't sit down. Stood in front of her, but not in a way that suggested disrespect or intimidation, but simply because doing so felt the most natural to him.
"…How sudden." She blinked.
Her mild surprise was normal, Isaac thought, for it was the first time he ever spoke of the word "request" to her.
"What may it be?"
"Just yesterday, I happened to get invited to the royal banquet on the seventh day of the festival, as Nameless. I am obliged to attend, and attendance strictly requires a former partner." He said it as if stating a problem that required a logical solution. "Would you be my partner for this event?"
Irine looked at him. Her expression shifted slightly, now more surprised by the nature of the request.
"No," she said, rather immediately. It was the response that came out without much thought, rather instinctive. And that's all that Isaac needed to know.
"Understood," therefore, he said.
If Irine won't… back to plan A. Need to find Elara and see where it heads from there.
A moment passed as Isaac collected his thought.
"…Why don't you ask?" Irine then asked, her eyes still on him.
Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Ask what?"
"Ask… what." She muttered, as if trying to process what she heard. It was a genuine response that came from a novel form of an encounter that she had never expected to come across. "Every time I decline, everyone asks why. They want to know the reason. Why won't you go with me, why don't you like me, why are you being difficult…" She paused. "You didn't ask."
"I asked. You gave an answer," Isaac chuckled. "Knowing the reason won't change anything. The information is pointless."
Irine looked at him for a moment with that of genuine curiosity.
"Why did you ask me?" She then asked, revealing what her curious demeanor was about.
"I don't have much time left. Almost everyone—if not everyone—in my proximity has partners for the banquet." Isaac elaborated, looking at her. "I saw you as I passed by. I found you the clearest available option and decided to ask. That's all there is to it."
Irine looked at him for another moment. Then, a small smile seemed to have crept its way to her visage, before she turned away from him.
The garden was quiet.
"You should—"
She stopped her words. There was noise of footsteps that reached their ears. It was an indication that someone else was nearby, and judging by how the noise was gradually getting louder, that someone was coming specifically toward them.
The two of them turned to the direction of the footstep sound.
The famous and familiar stature of Aldric Zephyr made its appearance with his hands in his pockets. Confidently.
He stopped right in front of Isaac.
His gaze moved from Isaac to Irine and back to Isaac with the specific quality of someone assembling a picture. Narrowed his eyes.
"Isaac Nameless," he spoke, flatly. "You are… with Irine."
"Aldric Zephyr of House Zephyr," Isaac returned, politely.
Aldric looked at Irine once again.
"He asked you out," Aldric said to Irine.
"Yes," she replied.
"You must have declined," said Aldric, in a tone that contained emotion.
"Yes."
Aldric appeared a bit more relaxed when he heard that. He took a step forward, walking past Isaac and in front of Irine in a way that completely ignored him.
"Good." He said with his eyes still on her, "You know your worth. Beating Silas Fulgur or not, there is only so far you can go with [Condensation] and status of Nameless."
Isaac, from the back, narrowed his eyes. For now, maintained his silence.
"Irine," Aldric whispered. His voice, gesture, everything was different from his usual, public self.
Irine looked at him, and Isaac read through her eyes, that she knew what was about to come.
"The banquet. Seventh day. You know what I am talking about. I've already asked you before." He looked at her with distress and frustration evident. "Come with me."
"Sorry, but I would have to refuse," Irine said, just as flat when she replied Isaac but with more length given how unusual Aldric appeared at the moment.
The silence that followed was a different quality from the silence after Isaac's declination. It had edges.
Aldric clenched his jaw with the specific tension of someone who had been holding in for a long time and was finding it harder to maintain.
"…Why." At last, the word came out of Aldric at a tone that sounded like a growl.
Irine's expression didn't change. "I feel too nervous."
"You don't even mean what you said."
Aldric's face slowly wrinkled, failing to maintain a poker face any longer. Anger was evident. His came out of his pockets. His eyes were on her with the intensity of someone who had been trying to read something for quite some time and was confronting the possibility that the thing wasn't readable.
"You know who I am," he then said. "I am the heir of House Zephyr. The wielder of S-rank: [Tempest]. The peak of third-year. Rejecting someone like him—" He shifted his eyes, gazing at Isaac through corners of his eyes. "—is natural. However, I am one of a kind! This is your only chance to rise in status! To be affiliated with one of the future leaders of this kingdom and…"
Aldric stopped. Let out a deep sigh.
"And you declined me, in the same way you decline others who are worth much less than me."
Irine said nothing.
"Again, I am the heir of House Zephyr," Aldric growled. "Nervous, you say. Nervous is the reason why you reject my offer. Hah, if anything, you should be more nervous of rejecting me than the pressure of the banquet."
A brief rage flashed in his eyes. Irine's eyes, noticing it, trembled slightly.
"I truly don't understand."
Aldric turned. His gaze then found Isaac, who was still standing behind him, silently and calmly. Unshaken and unbothered.
"You," Aldric narrowed his eyes.
Isaac looked back at him.
"What nonsense did you say to her."
What he spoke wasn't an accusation, but the words of someone who already came to a conclusion.
"I've seen you with her a couple of times before." Aldric stepped toward Isaac. It appeared to be a habit of his to intimidate others whom he considered to be beneath him. "Somehow, she talks to you… when she doesn't talk to anyone else."
Isaac chuckled at that. Aldric's face stiffened.
"Doesn't talk to anyone else?" He shook his head, "look. She just talked to you, didn't she?"
The light of confusion entered Aldric's eyes. His demeanor seemed to be asking Isaac as to why he wasn't afraid. At the same time, his hands tightened, showing that he was on verge of exploding.
Irine noticed this. Looked at Isaac in worry.
"Answer the damn question, Nameless."
Isaac stared at Aldric's unusually turbulent self for a moment, blankly. Then, he shifted his gaze to Irine and was caught off guard by the nervousness that was starting to show on her face.
"Last year, when I was still a Valerius," At last, Isaac spoke, "I was kicked out of the banquet because of being partner-less. My story must have made her nervous."
Aldric looked at him as if having heard an answer that he didn't expect.
From Aldric's back, Irine's expression loosened.
The silence held.
Then Aldric put his hands back in his pockets. The seeming rage in him dissipated, or, he managed to mask it underneath his public façade.
"I'll see you at the tournament," he said to Isaac, his words bundling with a clear intent.
He then walked out of the garden, away from the two.
The garden was quiet again.
Irine was still looking at the exit of the garden. She opened her mouth as if trying to say something, but no words came out. It appeared that compared to her calm-looking self, she was internally suffering from the shock.
"…Sorry," she muttered, "I got you into… something bad."
Isaac watched her for a moment.
"Hey," he then squatted down, meeting her at the same level, "it's fine. Breathe."
That's when her eyes widened as she unconsciously let in a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding.
"Why?" She asked as she clasped her hand over her chest as if trying to calm herself down. "You've been nice to me. And… it doesn't look like you are interested in me the way others are."
Isaac looked at her, "On my first day in Golden Repose, you helped me deal with Camilla Hedron."
"Just because of something small like that…"
Irine let out a dumbfounded chuckle, unable to believe his answer.
"You are different," she whispered, "different from all others."
"Is that so?"
Isaac stood back up.
Right now, he had the partner variable to solve, and he had to go find Elara.
"Rest well, Irine."
With a peaceful remark, he walked toward the same exit that Aldric previously left through.
"Isaac."
He stopped.
Irine was still looking at him.
"Thank you," she said.
He nodded before he left the garden.