The front door opened, and the quiet of the top floor cracked for a moment, footsteps and a bright voice spilling into the corridor like someone had turned on a lamp in a dark room.
"Hellooo~!"
Esper stepped in like she was arriving to a party instead of a half-empty clubroom, colourful and composed, hair perfect, outfit loud in a way that somehow still suited her, and that sweet lift in her voice was familiar enough that Soren didn't even bother looking up right away.
"Mm," he replied lazily from the dining room, voice muffled by a yawn that stretched his jaw until his eyes watered. "Morning. Come sit down."
Her heels clicked across the wood, neat and unhurried.
She rounded the corner into the dining area, took one look at the table, and paused as if she had expected a bigger audience, or at least someone to clap at her entrance.
"…Is this everyone?" she asked, head tilting.
Soren nodded, already pushing himself up from his chair with the slow reluctance of someone who had been awake for a while but hadn't properly become human yet.
"Pretty much."
Olivia was there too, sitting neatly with her hands folded around an empty mug, posture always a little too careful, as if she was trying to take up as little space as possible even while seated.
Soren went to the kitchen and started setting things out without thinking too hard about it, because routine was easier than conversation when he still felt half-asleep.
Mugs first, then the pot, then the tea leaves, movements automatic.
Steam curled up as he poured, the smell mild and comforting, warm enough to make his shoulders loosen by a fraction.
One mug in front of Esper.
Refill the one in front of Olivia.
And one for himself.
Olivia took hers back carefully, fingers wrapping around it like she needed the heat more than the drink.
"Alex couldn't make it today," she said, quietly, as if apologising on his behalf.
Esper hummed, sing-song.
"The Hero's always busy, it seems. Training?"
"Probably," Soren replied, sitting again. "Lilly's busy too. Amelia's asleep in one of the bedrooms, and Lev's doing alchemy in his."
Esper's gaze flicked toward the hallway, then back.
Her expression didn't change much, smile still in place, eyes still bright, but something about the energy felt… flatter than usual.
The cheer was there, yet it sat on top of her like a layer rather than coming from inside.
Soren let his eyes drift over her face a second longer than normal.
Her makeup looked heavier today.
Not messy.
Not bad.
Just heavier, like it was doing more work than usual, covering something that didn't want to be seen.
Esper caught him looking and lifted an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Nothing," Soren said, taking a sip, then letting the words come out with the blunt honesty that was easier than pretending. "You just look more caked than usual."
"Oh wow~" Esper replied, voice turning nasally and dramatic, like she had been stabbed. "I didn't know you paid such close attention to me, Cutie~"
Then she slumped deeper into her chair with exaggerated exhaustion and waved a hand.
"Where's Mr Trash?"
Soren shrugged.
"No clue. Probably doing what he always does."
Esper's mouth twisted.
"Picking up girls… ugh."
"Yep."
She looked genuinely disgusted, as if the concept offended her morally, then leaned back and let her head rest against the chair with a long-suffering sigh.
"So," Esper said, voice still playful, "what's the plan? Please tell me it isn't more paperwork. I'm in an emotionally fragile state right now."
Soren let out a long sigh that was half habit and half a warning to himself not to get dragged into her performance unless he felt like it.
"The original plan was to talk about midterms. Maybe study a bit with all the useless people, but…"
Olivia flinched at the word "study".
It was subtle, quick, like a reflex she didn't mean to show.
Soren noticed anyway.
"With the group we have," he added, softer in tone without changing the point, "it's not really necessary."
Esper nodded like she had been granted a pardon.
"True. I'm already going to ace it."
Olivia's fingers tightened around her mug, knuckles paling a touch.
"I'm not… as confident, but I think I can do decently."
"You can," Soren replied without hesitation. "Don't worry. You're much better than those useless guys who can't even look at a textbook without getting a headache."
Esper puffed her cheeks out in an exaggerated pout.
"But Cutie, don't you think you're cheating?"
"Huh?"
"You said it a while ago," Esper continued, leaning forward a little, "that you can look at a textbook once and memorise it. Isn't that just too unfair?"
Soren's mouth twitched, not quite a smile.
Something bitter edged it anyway.
"It's not all advantages."
Olivia gave a nervous little smile, then hesitated, gaze dropping to the tea like the surface might offer her the right words if she stared long enough.
"…I would still like a little help, though," she said finally, careful and polite as always. "If that's okay."
"Sure," Soren replied immediately, before she could overthink herself into taking it back.
Esper nodded too, casual, as if it should've been obvious.
"Yeah, of course."
The tension in Olivia's shoulders eased by a fraction, like she had been bracing for rejection without even realising it.
Soren leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"What do you want to go over?"
Olivia pulled out her notes with careful movements, paper and pencil arranged with the same quiet precision she did everything with, like she didn't want to make too much noise.
The questions started small, concepts she already half understood but didn't trust herself enough to say confidently, and that lack of trust sat underneath every sentence.
Esper answered some.
Soren answered others.
The three of them slid into a rhythm that felt oddly domestic, tea steaming, papers spread out, sunlight cutting across the table in soft lines.
When Olivia asked about history, Soren explained it plainly, keeping his wording simple without turning it condescending, because she didn't need to be talked down to, she needed her confidence anchored to something solid.
He broke things into steps, gave her the "why" behind the dates, the logic behind the patterns, and watched her nod as if her brain had been desperate for permission to understand it that way.
Esper chimed in to correct a tiny detail, then went on a short rant about how smart Olivia was for already grasping as much as she did, the praise flowing so naturally it sounded like it had never occurred to Esper to not say it out loud.
Olivia listened with wide eyes and wrote down everything like it was sacred, pencil moving faster whenever she got flustered.
At some point, the questions became more specific, more honest.
"What do you do when you're… blanking?" Olivia asked quietly, voice dropping like she hated admitting it. "Like you know you studied it, but your brain won't reach it."
Soren answered first, because the question was practical and he knew the feeling even if his memory didn't work the same way most people's did anymore.
"Slow down. Stop fighting your own thoughts. If you panic, you'll lock yourself out. Breathe, then rebuild from something you're sure about."
Esper nodded along, then added more.
"Also, if you blank in an exam, don't waste time agonising over it. Skip it and come back. If you spend too much time thinking, you'll lose easy points that you could've gotten."
Olivia's expression tightened into something determined, and she scribbled the advice down like she was carving it into the page.
Soren kept his tea between his hands, warmth soaking into his fingers, and let the time pass.
The clubroom was much quieter than usual.
There was no chaos, no shouting, nothing that felt like it could suddenly turn sharp, just the occasional page turns, pen scratches, the soft hum of mana lights overhead, and Esper's commentary drifting in and out like she was physically incapable of being silent for more than five minutes.
Even her teasing felt a little slower today, like she was performing it out of habit rather than enjoyment.
Eventually, Olivia's questions ran dry, and her posture eased into something closer to normal, shoulders dropping as if she had finally let herself breathe properly.
She glanced between them, cheeks faintly pink.
"Thank you, both of you."
"No problem," Soren replied.
Esper waved a hand.
"Obviously. We're your seniors today, we have to teach you well~"
Soren stared at her.
"What are you going on about now?"
Olivia's smile widened, and that tiny expression of warmth made Soren's chest relax without him realising it, like the room itself had softened by a fraction.
A glance toward the window showed the afternoon light slipping lower, and his stomach chose that moment to remind him that tea wasn't food.
Olivia must have noticed the shift in his posture, because she hesitated again, fingers curling against her notes.
"…I can cook something," she offered. "As thanks."
Esper brightened instantly, the cheer turning real for the first time since she had arrived.
"Yes, please!"
Soren nodded, straightforward.
"I'll take you up on that. I'm hungry."
Olivia blinked, then stood a little too quickly, like she had been waiting for permission the entire time.
"I'll—okay. I'll make something simple."
She disappeared into the kitchen, and the quiet clatter of cupboards opening followed, then the soft scrape of a pan being pulled out.
Esper didn't move from her chair at first, just watched Olivia with lazy interest, head tilted slightly as if observing an animal she didn't quite understand.
Then she slid her mug closer and rested her chin on her hand.
"I don't get her," Esper murmured. "Why does she always act so small?"
Soren glanced at her.
"Who knows. But she's better than she thinks."
Esper's eyes drifted to him with a small smile that carried more meaning than the words.
"You should be the last person saying that."
Soren didn't reply, mostly because he didn't feel like engaging with that right now, and partly because he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right.
Olivia moved around the kitchen with quiet efficiency, and the smell of something warm started to build, not fancy, not rich, just comfort food that promised to settle in the stomach and stay there.
Soren and Esper drifted closer under the excuse of "hovering," leaning against the half wall so they could talk without needing to raise their voices.
Esper's shoulder brushed the wall, then she shifted like it was uncomfortable.
Soren noticed.
He didn't comment.
He just filed it away.
A few minutes passed, Olivia's cooking sounds steady, the room calm.
Then, mid-sentence in whatever Esper had been complaining about, something clicked into place in Soren's head so neatly it felt like a latch dropping.
"Ah," he said.
Esper looked at him immediately, suspicious.
"What?"
Soren turned toward the kitchen, voice casual like he wasn't about to set something on fire.
"Olivia? How are things going with Alex?"
Olivia startled so hard she almost dropped the pan.
"W-What?" she squeaked, then grabbed the handle tighter like it had tried to escape her.
Esper's laugh burst out sharp and delighted, like she had been waiting for a reaction like that all day.
Olivia's face went red immediately, flushing all the way to her ears.
She stood frozen for a second, then turned around slowly with an expression that looked genuinely wronged, eyes sliding to Esper with wariness like she expected her to pounce.
Soren stared between them once.
Then understanding arrived.
He looked at Esper.
"You knew, right?"
Esper didn't even blink.
"Yep."
Soren let out a breath of relief that surprised even him.
"Good."
Olivia blinked, still flustered.
"W-Why is that good?"
"Because it would've been awkward if I spilt a secret by accident," Soren said, tone flat.
Esper leaned forward over the half wall, gaze pinned to Olivia like she was a puzzle piece that refused to fit.
"Seriously, though, you're not subtle, and you know what's worse than being obvious? Being obvious and thinking you're invisible."
Olivia's cheeks flushed even darker.
"Was it really that obvious?"
Esper's face went blank for a second, like her brain had to reboot in disbelief, then she leaned even closer as if she needed to see Olivia's expression better.
"Olivia," Esper said slowly, "the only shocking thing is that Alex hasn't realised yet."
Olivia made a small, strangled sound and turned back to the stove, shoulders rising like she was trying to hide inside them.
The pan hissed.
Esper's grin widened.
"I'm serious. You look at him like he's your entire world."
Soren watched Olivia's hands, half expecting the flames to become a casualty of embarrassment, but her movements didn't stop, they just became sharper, faster, like she was trying to beat the panic out of herself with cooking.
A mutter slipped out of her mouth, too quiet to catch.
"What?" Soren asked.
Olivia went stiff.
Then she spoke again, louder, still not loud enough.
Soren leaned in a little closer.
"I can't hear you."
Olivia's entire face went red.
She turned around, gripping the spatula like it was a weapon.
"We went on another date!" she blurted, almost shouting.
Esper clapped once, delighted.
"Aww!"
Soren's eyes widened.
"Wow. Congrats."
Olivia looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
Esper's voice softened, still teasing but less sharp.
"Look at you, taking initiative~"
"It wasn't—" Olivia started, then cut herself off like the words had tripped over each other.
"I'm surprised," Soren said anyway, steady and genuine. "Well done."
Olivia's mouth opened, then closed.
She huffed, then turned back around like she needed to focus on the food to survive, stirring with far more aggression than the meal deserved.
Soren's attention stayed on her, more careful now, because this part mattered if she was actually trying.
"So what's next?" he asked.
The spatula froze mid-stir.
Olivia's voice came out wary.
"What do you mean… next?"
"One date isn't everything," Soren said plainly. "I told you last time, if you want this to actually progress, you have to keep pushing, especially since you don't seem to have any plans to confess anytime soon."
Olivia's shoulders climbed, and for a second it looked like she might snap, but when she finally spoke, it wasn't anger.
It was smaller.
"I don't know what to do," she admitted quietly. "It's difficult. I don't want to be annoying."
Esper's expression shifted, smile fading by a fraction.
Olivia kept stirring, eyes fixed on the pan like she couldn't say any of it while looking at them.
"It's easy for you two," she continued, voice thin. "You're… you. People like you. Alex is… Alex. I'm just—"
A pause.
Then a soft, self-directed sigh that sounded like she was tired of herself.
Soren watched her back and thought through a response, something calm and practical, something that would actually help rather than just filling the space.
Esper beat him to it.
"Are you stupid?" Esper blurted.
Soren's elbow hit her ribs instantly.
Esper didn't even flinch, just stared at Olivia like she was offended on her behalf.
Olivia spun around, eyes wide.
"E-Excuse me?"
Esper waved a hand immediately.
"Ah—I don't mean it as an insult. I mean it as a genuine question."
Soren shot Esper a look that asked what the hell was wrong with her.
Esper ignored him and kept going, voice blunt in a way only she could make sound weirdly sincere.
"Olivia, you're super cute. You'd be a catch to any sane person."
Olivia's face went bright red.
"I'm not—"
"Stop," Esper cut in, immediate. "Don't."
Olivia blinked, thrown.
Esper jabbed her elbow lightly into Soren's side and looked at him with a silent, pointed demand, as if asking, "Right?"
Soren exhaled, then nodded.
"She's right."
Olivia looked like she had been struck by lightning.
Soren kept going without getting flustered, because the words weren't compliments to him, they were facts.
"You're cute. You can cook. You're caring. You listen. You're reliable. You've been getting stronger lately too."
Olivia shook her head quickly, frantic.
Soren started to add something else, then hesitated, because he could feel the direction her thoughts were going.
"Plus you remember—"
Esper rolled her eyes and cut in before he could turn it into a lecture.
"He's not finished, but you get the point. You're better than you think. Alex would be lucky."
Olivia's hands fluttered in the air like she was trying to physically push their words away.
"That's not true," she protested, voice too fast. "I'm not— I'm not pretty like you, and I'm not— and I'm… I'm heavier than—"
"Okay, we're not doing that," Esper said, voice going flat in a way that snapped the room into stillness.
Olivia froze, lips parted.
"Too much modesty can be insulting. Nobody cares about that," Esper added, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Soren followed, calm and blunt.
"If Alex cared about that, he wouldn't be Alex. Would he?"
Esper nodded.
"Besides, you're not 'heavier,' you're just normal. The academy is filled with idiots who spend all day training or rich brats who spend their entire lives eating expensive things."
Olivia looked like she might cry from sheer embarrassment, but the gloss in her eyes didn't feel fragile, it felt like her brain was trying to process a truth it didn't have a place for yet.
Esper leaned her head against the half wall and sighed like she had just fought a war.
"Olivia, the problem isn't that you're not enough. The problem is confidence."
Soren didn't pile onto that, because it landed exactly the way it was meant to.
Olivia stared at them for a long moment, then turned back to the stove and stirred again, aggressively, as if the pan had personally wronged her.
"You're both… so annoying," she muttered.
Esper's smile returned, smaller this time.
"Wowww. You're just figuring this out?~"
Soren leaned against the half wall and listened to the sizzling pan, the quiet clink of utensils, the steady hum of the mana lights, letting the moment settle without trying to force it into something bigger.
A few minutes later, Olivia set the pan down and faced them again, cheeks still flushed.
"Get out," she said.
Esper blinked innocently.
"Why?"
"Because you're distracting," Olivia replied, voice firm in a way Soren didn't hear often from her. "Go wait in the living room."
Soren straightened, surprised, and Esper grinned like she had been handed a prize.
"Look at that. She can order people around now."
Olivia's face went even redder.
"Go!"
Soren lifted both hands slightly in surrender.
"Alright, alright. I'm leaving."
He and Esper stepped away from the kitchen, and as they walked toward the living room, Soren glanced back once.
Olivia was still flustered.
Still trying to hide it.
Yet there it was, small and unmistakable.
A smile.
————「❤︎」————