Stella Academy often had field trips more frequently than expected.

The sight of a grand airship and dozens of large airships taking off simultaneously was quite magnificent. They had the Stella logo on them, and could accommodate a few hundred people.

"I'm riding an airship’s warp gate for the first time."

"It's not much different from a regular warp gate, is it?"

"Well, that's true."

It was not common to have the opportunity to use a warp gate while aboard an airship.

The dedicated warp gate for airships itself was of immense scale, but its operational efficiency was seriously inefficient.

Therefore, there were barely twenty locations on the continent where airship-exclusive warp gates were installed.

Some notable examples were the High Elf Kingdom's "Cradle of Heavenly Spirit Tree," the Dwarf's "Black Iron Kingdom," and Arcanium's "Stella Academy."

Thanks to them, Stella's students had the chance to experience airship warp gates frequently during major events.

"It feels refreshing..."

Eisel enjoyed the gentle breeze entering the airship. In truth, it was more like artificial wind, but it still gave her a sense of freedom, and she felt good.

A romantic airship journey racing through the clouds.

Although it had the purpose of field trip learning, she thought it wasn't bad to enjoy this leisurely experience. And on such an airship...

"Kwaaap."

Eisel was eating ‘extra-large Jajang Tteokbokki’ with her friends.

It wasn't just regular Jajang Tteokbokki. It was an extra-large Jajang Tteokbokki.

"You pig! Eat them one by one."

When Claire looked at her with a disgusted expression, Hariren, who was stuffing four pieces of the extra-large Jajang Tteokbokki into her mouth, chuckled smugly.

"Hehehe. Ehehehe."

(Meaning: This is how you're supposed to eat it.)

"Eww! Swallow it all before you speak!"

"Ugh, it's really gross."

"Muhu."

The grosser it was, the more she enjoyed it.

Eisel blankly observed the mischievous acts of those female students.

When you think of Stella Academy girls, you expect them to have noble and elegant dining habits, but the reality was completely different.

Of course, most of those girls were commoners, but still, it was quite... a slightly shocking sight.

"Eisel, why are you looking like that?"

"Oh no... It's just that, um... you eat so wild and tough..."

"Do you want some too? If you can't fit more than three in your mouth at once, you have to spit it out."

"Why are you teaching me such weird things again?"

"Hehe, hey, they say it's a trend nowadays? Eating a lot of extra-large Jajang Tteokbokki at once."

"Unlike you, Eisel is a fine lady, right?"

"Nonsense. You can't judge people just by their appearance."

Well, that was true.

“Hey, do you see that full face over there? If she keeps her mouth shut, she looks like a proper lady, but as soon as she opens her mouth, she turns into a monster."

Eisel glanced at the adjacent table.

"Kwaaap."

There, with her tiny pink lips that couldn't even eat a single strawberry in one bite, she was effortlessly swallowing five servings of jumbo-sized Jajang Tteokbokki.

Such a cute face being distorted like that... The surrounding students sighed as if it were pitiful.

"I wish she gave me that face."

"Well, I could make better use of it."

"That's right. Your usual antics would work better with that face, wouldn't they?"

"What? You crazy girl."

It was a conversation among ordinary female students. Eisel was gradually getting used to the pattern of these friends.

"Oh, right. Eisel, what do you think?"

The conversation arrow shifted to Eisel, and she tilted her head.

"What?"

"Well, you know. The 'Baek Yu-Seol’s Theory.’"

After the incident, there wasn't a single person on campus who didn't know his name.

No, it wasn't just on campus.

Perhaps his name had spread throughout the entire Arcanium.

Aspiring mages from all over the world knew that he managed to snatch a coveted pass to the "Aslan Seminar," a dream event, right out of Duke Atalek’s hands.

He even turned out to be a co-developer of alchemical engineering, and for a few days, there were restrictions on public access as journalists swarmed around him, trying to interview him under the pretext of capturing his charisma.

But at the moment, students' interests were focused elsewhere.

As students of Stella, while they were definitely envious of Aslan tickets or the fact that he was a co-developer of the formula, it felt distant and overwhelming due to his great achievements.

They were teenagers before being globally renowned talents, so they had a deeper interest in campus life.

"He was constantly being criticised before. But now, no one touches him."

"It seems like Senior Edmon spreading false rumors became a fact, so some seniors came to apologize."

"Oh, yeah. I saw it too."

The reason why seniors were apologizing to him wasn't because he became an untouchable figure.

Even if he was a co-developer of the formula, his power was nothing compared to real nobility.

However, Baek Yu-Seol’s usual behavior had shed light on him. He treated seniors respectfully and showed polite manners, trying to improve his image as much as possible.

Moreover, the majority of seniors who had been harassing Baek Yu-Seol were forced to do so under Edmon Atalek's orders.

Of course, there were still seniors who were jealous of him and didn't like him, but they couldn't easily harass him because of the impact he showed in the previous duel.

"By the way, Eisel, can you introduce him to us later?"

"....... What?"

"You're really close to him."

"Oh, no, not really."

‘Close? We're not that close to use such a word.’

"What? Really? I thought you two were dating."

"Wha-what?!"

Eisel was so surprised that she even shouted. Juice spilled out of her mouth.

"W-well, what I mean is, why would you think that all of a sudden..."

"Why? It's just that whenever something happens, Baek Yu-Seol always looks after you, right?"

"Right. Yeah, do you remember? During the mock battle with the demon, you probably didn't see it, but Baek Yu-Seol was so cool flying around with a sword, saying he would protect only you."

"Honestly, he looks a bit young and innocent, but I think he'll be quite handsome when he grows up, don't you?"

"Yeah, he's cute."

As the stories about Baek Yu-Seol poured out like a tide, Eisel’s mind began to spin.

"That...why are you reacting like that? Baek Yu-Seol makes it so obvious that he likes you."

‘Is that so? It does seem like that? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't mind if that's true…’

'What am I thinking?'

But the more she thought about it, the more it felt like the right thing to say. He was always there wherever she went, always taking care of her. He even said something like that before.

‘I've been watching you all this time.’

The meaning of those words was what she thought...

The fiery heat showed no sign of subsiding.

Dating was truly a perplexing topic for Eisel.

It was truly strange.

Until now, she had received quite a few confessions from guys, but at that time, she didn't have any thoughts about it.

But for some reason, it was difficult to brush it off so easily now.

Why was that?

It had been like that from the beginning.

During the necromancer attack at the Martevis Cemetery, why did he appear there alone?

During the mock battle with the demon, did he really need her to be able to defeat the Intermediate Demons?

Even if he had teamed up with someone else, his strategy should have been enough to hunt them down...

The club activities, the Persona Gate, and every little detail in between.

"But Eisel, it feels like he’d become more unapproachable lately, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Hasn't he been getting closer to Princess Hong Bi-Yeon?"

"Oh my, what a player. I wonder if even the princess would be tempted by an ordinary person?"

"Hey, stop it. It's been a complete mess lately because of that, you know? I heard that the princess's gaze towards Baek Yu-Seol is not normal."

"Eisel, no way."

"It's like a complete romance novel, right? Love that transcends social status! That's what going to the academy is all about!"

Love stories were the main topic of conversation among girls.

Just like typical teenagers who were sensitive to rumors, they quickly shifted the focus of the discussion towards Hong Bi-Yeon, and every time Eisel heard those stories, her heart felt heavy.

‘Could it be true...?’

‘You’ve been expressing your feelings so diligently, but did you stop because I couldn't notice it?’

‘Why does it matter?’

‘After all, dating is a distant concept for me. Even if I polish myself for the future, there's not enough time, so how can I make time for dating?’

Besides, she had no interest in the boy named Baek Yu-Seol.

… That was what it should have been.

‘Why is there a growing sense of unease and loss in a corner of my heart?’