"Alright, everyone! It's time to return to the Academy!"

O'jog's announcement cut the teary and immenely emotional reunion short. His loud voice instantly caused a suspension in everything the students were doing, and they all looked at him with slight tinges of relief.

Many of the Dragons were in group hugs, or still sniffling from their leftover tears, but hearing the good news made them brighten up a little.

They couldn't wait to leave this land of tragedy, after all.

'Took them long enough...' Rey thought to himself as he looked at O'jog and the other two Dragon Generals beside him.

While the reunion between the students took place, the three were conversing about something that he couldn't overhear.

'It was probably the result of a skill or Magic. I could have tried harder to listen, but that could have alerted one of them if I made the slightest mistake.' He sighed to himself, still curious about what they had discussed.

Regardless, it seemed this was the end of their stay in the Southern Continent.

While it was brief, the experience wasn't something he or anyone else that came for the Excursion could forget for the rest of their lives.

'I guess I should also be happy that it's all over. Nothing about seeing young people die gives me any kind of pleasure...' As Rey thought this, he began to move from his position, alongside the other Newts.

A swirling portal was being formed in front of them, so all they had to do was venture in and they would be back to utmost safety.

Just from glancing to his left and right, he could see impatience in the eyes of so many of the students-including his classmates. They were not completely at ease, even though they were currently being guarded by the Empire's strongest.

Such was the nature of their trauma.

'I wondered for the longest time... why do the Dragons still continue this Conquest despite seeing the kind of horror that war causes?'

Was it their genetic predisposition? Were Dragons born evil, and there was nothing to stop their true nature from manifesting?

No... Rey didn't believe that.

Not anymore.

'After thinking about it clearly, there's only one answer that explains all of this perfectly.' It was the Dragon Emperor himself.

'All of this is caused by the system that the Dragon Emperor created in his Empire.' Rey sighed, getting closer to the warped space in front of him.

The more he ruminated on the thought, the more it made sense.

'All the Dragons fight for the Emperor and his Empire. To fight in wars is to bring glory to the Empire and please the Emperor. That's what this is all about.'

And that meant there was a simple solution to all of this.

'If I somehow manage to take down the Emperor and create a new system... there will be peace.' Rey smiled, oozing nothing but optimism.

It was highly likely that the world wouldn't end too.

'Of course, all of this can only be done after I send Alicia and whoever wants to go with her back to Earth. Once that is over... the real mission to save H'Trae begins!'

**************

[One Week Later]

The door to Class 1-A slid open as Rey entered into the same modern classroom that he had gotten accustomed to since he began his life as a student of the Imperial Academy.

The classroom looked exactly the same as he remembered, but for some very obvious reasons... it felt completely foreign.

For one, this was the first time since 'the incident'-as everyone now called it-that he was entering the classroom. A whole week had passed, and he had been mostly cooped up in his dorms, or hanging out with the rest of Class 1-A, most especially Cyn'dy.

As a result, this whole experience felt somewhat fresh.

'I've also been spending quite a bit of time in the library, but... even that has its problems.'

He always encountered Lucielle in the library, which created an air of tense awkwardness for him-and probably her as well.

Ever since they returned from the Southern Continent, she had refused to speak with him unless it was somewhat vital to the mission. She would often give excuses like:

"I'm busy with research."

Or...

"I'm not feeling too well..."

She wasn't a good liar at all, and that was probably because she didn't even want to put in the effort. It was clear that Lucielle didn't want to interact with Rey very much, and that really conflicted with his desire to have a proper conversation with her to understand her properly— especially after their slight misunderstanding on the beach.

'She just won't give me a chance...' He sighed, making his way to his seat in the classroom. That was when he noticed th second reason for the classroom feeling strange.

'It's nearly empty.'

Nearly all the students here died in the Southern Continent, leaving only five survivors.

There was Rey, as well as Lucielle, Cyn'dy, Mi'ja, and finally... Adonis.

Right now, only Adonis was in class, and they both ignored each other-per their understanding.

'I guess I came a bit too early...' Once more, he sighed.

As he sat on his finely furbished chair, he interlocked his fingers and went into serious thoughts about what would happen from this point onward.

'Our Class Instructor is dead, so we're going to have a replacement. Now that we're just five, it'll be harder to blend into the crowd, so I suppose I'll have to be a lot more careful with everything around me.'

Rey didn't think any of these were going to a problem to him.

~CREAK~

The entrance door slided open, causing him to raise his head.

He saw Lucielle and Mi'ja entering together, something that didn't come as a surprise to him.

'The two of them suddenly became very close after the incident. I guess Mi'ja must really be in need of friends, and Lucielle saw it as a good opportunity to infiltrate her inner circle.'

It was a smart move from the Grand Mage-as expected.

'Ah!' Rey found himself staring directly at Lucielle, and also found that she was looking at

him.

Thier eyes met for a split second, and the two of them looked away at the same time.

'But... why? Where is this nervousness coming from?'

He had no idea, but after stealing one glance at Lucielle-seeing her in her school uniform for

the first time in a week-a feeling awakened within him.

He didn't realize when he sent her a message through their [Link].

'You look good.'

He wasn't expecting a reply from her, so he decided to just close his eyes and return to his

thoughts. But then-

~You too, Rey.~

His eyes brightened up instantly, and upon looking at her, she was looking away from him while settling on her desk. His eyes met Mi'ja instead, and they both shared greetings with

each other.

'I should send another message!' He told himself. 'This is the first time she's responded in

almost a week.'

As soon as he was about to do that, the doors slid open and Cyn'dy rushed in, charging

straight for Rey.

"R'ai! I missed you so much!"

At that moment, Rey felt his [Link] with Lucielle turn cold, and he realized he probably

wouldn't ever get a chance at that message any longer.

'D-damnit...'

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Thanks for reading!

Teenage drama can be so exciting at times, right? Hehe...