Chapter 8

"Who are you, anyway?"

After finishing a slightly late lunch in the cafeteria on the second floor, Luna was in the elevator heading to her room on the top floor of the dormitory when she asked this question. In one of her hands was a plastic bag containing daily necessities, which she had bought at a store outside after exchanging the school currency, 'Rani,' at the front desk.

"Your magic deployment is too practical, and you even overwhelmed Nice in martial arts... Could it be that you, Kiri Sei—"

Luna's interest in Kiri Sei, sparked by their previous duel, seemed far from waning.

"A ninja?"

Kiri Sei almost burst out laughing at Luna's extremely serious expression. Indeed, in the world of skills, the image of Japanese practitioners as ninjas has been strong for a long time, but he never thought it would be so deeply ingrained in a girl her age.

"No way. Just so you know, the techniques of a ninja aren't that simple."

Kiri Sei suppressed his laughter and denied it, also taking the opportunity to educate Luna about ninjas.

"That simple...? So, are you from a prestigious family in Japan? You mentioned 'Misho-ryu.'"

"Prestigious family? Unfortunately, it's not that great. I did grow up in a special environment, though."

"Hmm..."

Luna looked at Kiri Sei with a penetrating gaze as the elevator arrived at the top floor.

"Whoa!"

As they walked down the corridor toward the room at the end, Luna let out a surprised exclamation.

"Oh!"

Following Luna's gaze, Kiri Sei also noticed the presence. Room 2025. A boy was leaning against the door of Kiri Sei's room, his heterochromatic eyes fixed on them. Kiri Sei recognized him as the delinquent-looking guy who had suddenly declared victory at the front desk this morning.

(Could this be revenge!?)

Such a thought flashed through Kiri Sei's mind, and he pressed his palm to his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"...Is he here for revenge? It must be."

Luna also seemed to have easily deduced the reason for the boy's presence. Kiri Sei, as he had declared to Nice, welcomed revenge and retaliation. These were essential elements in the world of winning and losing, part of the positive cycle created by "victory." Due to his family background and overwhelming strength, Kiri Sei had rarely experienced retaliation or revenge until he left home. But this school was providing him with endless entertainment. Kiri Sei deeply felt the significance of his enrollment on the first day.

"What are you going to do?"

By the time Luna asked, Kiri Sei was already walking steadily toward the boy.

"Perfect score."

As Kiri Sei approached, clapping, the boy's face showed a moment of surprise. However, he maintained his composure, leaning against the door as Kiri Sei approached.

"I'm Danell O'Brien. A rational man."

"Sure. Kiri Sei."

Kiri Sei nodded at Danell's words, introducing himself as well. The choice to seek revenge was the most rational action. When Kiri Sei stood in front of him, Danell spoke.

"Let's move to a different place. It's not very rational to do this here."

Kiri Sei pointed to an unspecified location with his thumb, and Danell held out his hands in a stopping gesture.

"Wait, wait. You're still misunderstanding. I'm not here for revenge over this morning."

Kiri Sei felt a shock as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

"Then why are you standing in front of my room?"

Danell knew Kiri Sei's room because of the match they had over it. However, Kiri Sei couldn't think of any other reason for his presence besides revenge. As he pondered, Danell pulled out a clear file from his waist and showed it to Kiri Sei. The paper inside was the same aptitude test result Kiri Sei held. Danell's results were Magic: D, Martial Arts: C, rather mediocre scores.

"It seems I'm one of the less talented people in this school."

Danell sighed with resignation.

"Quite a change from your earlier attitude."

Luna, who had caught up, commented. Danell glared at her but quickly returned his gaze to Kiri Sei.

"I was raised being praised as a genius. Normally, I wouldn't rely on such rankings. But after being instantly defeated by Kiri Sei this morning and watching the duel just now, I realized my talent doesn't work here."

From his account, Danell had been present at the scene where Kiri Sei and Nice had their conflict and had watched the duel. "But," Danell continued.

"I'm a rational man. I thought the advice the senior Nice gave to the weak was correct. To survive without strength, one must rely on situational judgment and the ability to navigate based on that."

"So?"

Kiri Sei urged him to get to the point. If it wasn't about a match, he wanted to return to his room and rest. That was his true intention.

Then, Danell opened his mouth with a determined look.

"Will you be my friend?"

In other words, Danell's strategy was to build a good relationship with the strong early on, following Nice's advice for survival. Kiri Sei didn't think it lacked pride; rather, it was a respectable winning strategy.

"To think you'd want to be friends after what happened this morning... Even if it's just a strategy."

Luna said, sounding exasperated.

"I didn't say anything to you."

Luna's face turned sour at Danell's sudden aggressive tone, but she didn't respond.

Ignoring her, Kiri Sei said to Danell,

"Did you wait here just to say you want to be friends? Danell?"

He raised his hand in disappointment.

"...Yeah."

"We've already competed for the same victory. We're already friends, right?"

Kiri Sei recalled the morning when he had been chilled to the bone, and Danell was a formidable opponent. He placed a hand on Danell's shoulder.

"K-Kiri Sei...!"

Danell's face lit up, and he grabbed Kiri Sei's arm.

"What a farce."

"Since that's settled, let's exchange contact information."

Danell, switching gears, pulled out a slim mobile device from his pocket. Kiri Sei removed his hand from Danell's shoulder.

"Does the network work here? My phone has been out of range since I entered the school."

Saying this, Kiri Sei took out his smartphone, the screen of which was cracked beyond repair.

"Yeah, the one you brought won't work. Each room is equipped with one of these. If you've completed the aptitude test, your student ID should be reflected."

Danell rotated the simple black device on his fingertips. Kiri Sei recalled that there was one in his room as well. The living room table was cluttered with materials about enrollment and lectures, which he had been told to review at the front desk. It was probably mentioned there.

"Wow, that's impressive. It also serves as a student ID?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get an explanation about that?"

Looking at Danell's device, Luna tilted her head.

"Are you a child who needs everything explained to you?"

Danell snapped at Luna again. This time, Luna shot him an angry glare.

Feeling a bit jealous of the tension between them, Kiri Sei suddenly asked Danell,

"Danell, Luna is a big catch with a comprehensive aptitude of 'S.' Is it okay to treat her like this?"

"It's fine. Getting involved with her isn't rational."

Despite choosing to build relationships with the strong, Danell had a reason for treating the promising high-rank Luna rudely. Kiri Sei had a pretty good idea why. He turned his gaze to the visibly upset Luna.

"My turn."

Luna, who had almost retorted to Danell, sighed and placed her hand on the doorknob of the nearest room.

"I'm going back to my room first."

Saying this, she unlocked the door.

"You look tired."

"Mainly because of you..."

"I'll exchange contact information with you later."

Luna nodded and disappeared into her room. As she left, Danell pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from somewhere, wrote something on it, and handed it to Kiri Sei.

"It's my ID."

The piece of paper had an 8-digit alphanumeric code written on it.

"Thanks. I'm tired too, so I'll go back to my room."

"Alright, stay in touch."

With that, Kiri Sei bid farewell to his new friend and watched him go.