In the end, Rey had to concede.

Cyn'dy ended up sitting right next to him, completely shielding him from Lucielle.

Of course, to keep up appearances, he and Lucielle greeted each other, but there was a certain coldness to her words that made it clear that she was just being official with him—nothing more, nothing less.

'I guess she really doesn't like me fraternizing with Dragons... even though she's practically doing the same.' Rey thought this, but he also knew the difference between his own

relationship with Dragons and hers.

'She's being tactical, while I'm being considerate.'

In the end, their motives and methods were different, even if the end result seemed to be the

same.

'This can't keep going.' He made up his mind to somehow speak to Lucielle before the day ended.

There was only one major obstacle when it came to that.

"How was your night, R'ai? I slept well... even dreamt about you, you know? I thought about making a dish for you, but then I realized I don't know the kinds of food that you like, which is why I thought I'd ask you. Ah, but first... answer the first question. How was your night? Did you have a good night? Did you dream about me? How about...?"

Rey was consantly being bombarded by questions from Cyn'dy, and if they weren't questions, then they would be simply random conversations.

'She always has something to say, which makes it hard to end a conversation with her!'

No... perhaps he was just making excuses.

Surely, if he truly didn't want her company, he could just tell her leave him alone and she would have the sense not to disturb him any longer.

But why wasn't he doing it?

'Is it guilt? Do I feel bad for the death of her brother? Perhaps, but also... I feel like I can somehow get through to her.'

When he first got to know her, he felt Cyn'dy was weird. However, she was a very nice and sensitive person the more he spoke to her. She was also very empathetic, which meant there was a chance to get her to see the evils of the Dragon Empire.

If he could convince her, then there was hope for the Dragons, after all.

'It's just... she's always with me, and it's clear that Lucielle doesn't like her.' Rey sighed. 'I need to find a way to ditch her and talk to Lucielle.'

The issue was how to do it without hurting her feelings.

"Haaa..." As Rey sighed very quietly, he cast his gaze forward, to the front of the whole class, where he found a figure standing right there.

'W-what in the-?!'

"Greetings, students! It's great to see all of you so early for class!" The loud, cheerful voice of someone they all knew too well rang in their ears.

It was O'jog!

'No... don't tell me...!'

"I will be your temporary Instructor starting today. Nice to meet you all!"

Rey's eyes were nearly bulging as he heard this, while looking straight at the Dragon Commander's perfect face and gem-like eyes.

'But how? Why him?'

"I can see the surprise on your faces. You're wondering why a bigshot like me would be teaching the lowest Stage in the Beginner Academic Curriculum, right? I mean, I spent my free periods teaching part time in the Final Stages of the Academy to try something new, but I ultimately got bored. The same could be said for my two other colleagues... though they keep denying that fact."

'Two colleagues? The other two Dragon Generals that saved Lucielle?' Rey remebered them clearly.

Were they also coming to the Basic Stages?

'Nah! Thats not-'

"Which is why I brought them to the Basic Stages with me! They'll be taking the Second and Third Stages respectively, while I take your class."

As O'jog uttered those words, it completely shattered Rey's expectations.

'Why are the Empire's strongest in the Academy?' He wanted to leak out a tear, but he controlled himself. 'All of this just puts more pressure on me.'

Rey, just like the rest of the students, understood the whole reason behind having temporary instructors. The Academy had suffered a lot of damage, and until they recovered from all of that damage, this was somethingthey would have to endure.

It wasn't the most ideal situation, but the expediency could not be denied.

'The White Dragon Lord already made an Assembly prior to today, where she addressed most of these issues. I wish she could have informed us of the identity of our Temporary Instructor,

though.'

That would have given him-as well as everyone else-enough time to properly prepare.

'Instead, she focused on offering her condolences and a bunch of other unnecessary stuff.' He felt like siging once again.

The major takeaway for Rey after that assembly was how badly the reputation of the White Dragon Lord had to be at the moment.

'Is she still a viable person to stick to?' He had to wonder.

Ater had given him all of the reasons why she was still the right choice, and he had chosen to trust in his Familiar's judgement, but there were still lingering doubts in Rey's mind that he couldn't just shrug off.

'Right now, Adrien's options looks more attractive.'

And, just like Adrien promised, he didn't get into any trouble with the Storm Dragon Lord.

'Everything is going according to plan in his end. But... I'll still stick to Ater's counsel for now.' With his mind already made up, he decided to leave the realm of his inner thoughts and focus on the class.

As soon as he did this, he got to hear the most unexpected news.

"The Inter-Class Exchange is still holding."

Everyone sent their utmost attention to Grand Admiral O'jog as he said this. Surprise, mixed with slight unease, radiated within their eyes.

"I expect you all to prepare for it with all due diligence... and I plan to help you to that effect." The unease slowly began to mellow out.

"I am the strongest General in the Empire, and my Squad is the best. It only makes sense that my Class should follow that tradition." As soon as he said this, his smile broadened and he looked at every single student in the classrom.

As soon as his eyes met Rey's, there was an electrifying sensation similar to resonance that

went through his body.

"You won't let me down, will you?"

Everyone instantly nodded, understanding it perfectly well.

"We won't!"

*

*

Thanks for reading! And so, we move on to the next phase of this Arc. Let's hope for a really cool tournament.