As the car door closed and his hands set themselves on the steering wheel, Chris let out a deep and long sigh.
'Will it really be alright?' a concerned frown etched itself on his face. 'It's been little than one month and a half since Ace appeared.'
He then leaned into his seat, his gaze faced above him on the ceiling of his car.
'We ran a battery of tests on him, and everything proves he's human. The only thing we haven't been able to figure out is the nature of his abilities.'
He momentarily closed his eyes as his exhale came out deep.
'And even then, there's still this sense of unease I can't quite shake off. Almost like I'm holding on to a rope on the verge of snapping. But maybe…'
He started the engine of the car and started driving out of the academy compounds.
'Maybe it's all just my imagination.'
---
---
---
Back in the dorms, even though the conversation between Ace and his foster father had long since come to an end, it had done so but not without witness.
After her bath, Emilia had come out of the bathroom while drying her hair with a towel and wearing the clothes she had put nearby.
Entering the room, she had found Ace standing around the room on the phone, but she had hesitated to interrupt.
After the call ended, "Uuuuh… Excuse me?" she aborded Ace who turned around at the sound of her voice.
"Oh. Sorry. I was on the phone, so I didn't notice you there," Ace said with a composed and almost distant expression as he then bowed apologetically.
Raising his head, his eyes opened, meeting Emilia's gaze which filled the room with an intense quiet tension.
"Firstly, do you… want something?" she asked, trying to shake off the odd tension that lingered between them as Ace nodded in agreement.
He was given a pack of biscuits on a bowl with a glass of apple juice.
As the tension faded, Emilia confronted Ace who remained stoic and unreadable while he indulged in the hospitality he was given. "I guess introductions are in order. My name is Emilia Windsor. I'm a Second-year student. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Ace. Ace Blakelord. Nice to meet you too."
"Well, I know it might be a bit surprising but… it would seem that from now, you and I are roommates," Emilia added, still finding the situation awkward.
"Yeah. Seems like it," Ace said as the air surrounding them suddenly changed, giving her a small apologetic bow. "Anyway, sorry about earlier. I wasn't expecting to have a female roommate."
"D-don't worry about it."
'Th-thank goodness,' thought Emilia as she felt the ice between them disappearing completely. 'He seems like a pretty nice guy.'
"Guess I should help you get your things in order. Oh! By the way, you can just call me Emi!" Emilia said with a bright smile on her face.
"Thanks," Ace said, a thought following his words. 'Guess I won't need to be too on guard with her.'
With the ice broken between them, Emilia started helping Ace with arranging his stuff, and they started conversing more comfortably with each other.
This also helped Ace get accustomed to the dorm room which resembled a small apartment including a bunk bed, a small kitchen with a functional fridge, microwave and water tap, cooking utensils in drawers and cupboards, and a gas-using cooking stove.
The door led to the bathroom with its big space which included baskets for clothes and a washing machine with a door that led to the toilet on the opposite side. The actual bath was made up of a bathtub to relax in the warm water and a shower to rinse off.
---
---
---
After the hard labour, noon came, and their stomachs started growling.
"I'm so hungry~!" moaned Emi as she collapsed on the small couch. "All that work just increased my appetite."
"If there's something in the fridge, I can probably whip up something," suggested Ace as Emilia watched him with surprise.
"Huh? But aren't you tired, though?"
"Don't worry about it," replied Ace, seeming completely unbothered. "I'm also hungry, so I might as well cook something up."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Ace then headed towards the kitchen and took a look inside the fridge.
'Let's see here. Eggs, onions, green peppers and tomatoes. Yeah, I think I can make do with this.'
He then took a look inside the cupboards, finding a sack of rice, a bottle of oil and clean pots.
'This should do the trick.'
Rolling up his sleeves and washing his hands, Ace rinsed the vegetables and took out a knife from the drawers.
With expertise akin to a chef's, Ace started cutting up the veggies then proceeded to cracking up the eggs. His ingredients ready, he started preparing the rice in a rice cooker and proceeded to finishing the preparations for his other ingredients.
He battered up the eggs, used a portion of the cut-up onions and green peppers, and started preparing an omelet.
The once-boiling rice now fully cooked and the omelet ready, he then proceeded to the finishing touches. He poured a small amount of oil in a small pot, letting it heat, and he then poured tiny cut-up pieces of the tomatoes, remaining onions and green peppers, and finally mixed the whole thing with the omelet by churning it up into pieces.
With the scent becoming stronger, Emilia couldn't hold her appetite as her stomach started growling, making her red with embarrassment while Ace made it seem like he had heard nothing.
At the end of the entire process, Emilia was greeted by the sight of an appetizing laid-out dish on the table.
"It might be a simple dish but allow me to introduce you to Rice with a Toping of Egg Sauce," Ace presented as Emilia became impressed by his culinary skills.
"Well then, thank you for the food," she said gratefully as she and Ace took their seats, eating in companionable silence while Emilia, savoring each bite, smiled due to how delicious the food was.
Observing her reactions and expressions, Ace seemed lost in thought as he subtly stared at her with a calculative gaze.
'Though it's faint, that lingering scent around her, that's…'
"Hm," Ace simply took a bite from his plate.
'Interesting. Guess it shouldn't be surprising for everyone to have their own little secrets.'