When Alex opened his eyes, he was immediately embraced by Princess Eva, her arms wrapping around him with such intensity that he nearly wanted to push her away, the hug so tight it bordered on suffocating, yet he hesitated and stopped himself when she lifted her face close to his, her eyes brimming with tears on the verge of spilling down her cheeks.
Alex froze, torn between what to do next, standing there unable to move as the princess's face, usually nothing short of beautiful, now looked so sleep-deprived that she seemed as if she might fall asleep in his arms at any moment. She had dark circles under her eyes, which she had tried to conceal with makeup, but up close, Alex could see the traces of exhaustion she had attempted to hide. Fine red lines formed around her pupils, making it clear she had not slept in days, and her silver hair was hastily gathered into a messy bun, stray strands tumbling to her sides, likely from a hurried attempt to do her hair.
"Ahem!" A loud cough snapped Alex out of his thoughts, and the princess immediately released him, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Alex turned toward the sound and found Principal Toren Velkar standing there, a mischievous glint in his eye, as if he had witnessed something amusing and was eager to tease Alex for being hugged by the princess. Alex wished he could disappear from the playful principal's gaze.
But Alex found himself completely mesmerized by his beauty. Up close, Toren looked even more striking, his pale face almost like a statue sculpted by the gods, with long white hair cascading down his back and immaculate white robes draping his figure. His youthful face suggested he was in his late twenties or early thirties, which seemed impossible, as the principal of the strongest academy could only be someone of immense strength and likely much older.
Alex was left in a state of quiet turmoil, unable to understand the reason behind Principal Toren's youthful appearance.
"Boy, do you want to see me naked or something?" Toren asked with a smile. Alex immediately turned his head away, realizing with embarrassment that he had been staring at the principal from head to toe so intently that anyone might have thought he was interested in men.
Toren, clearly enjoying Alex's reaction, added, "Have you seen yourself? Go and rest on one of the vacant beds."
"Huh?" Alex looked down at himself and saw that his shirt was torn apart, exposing his scarred chest, with wounds still bleeding—injuries he had gotten while climbing the cliff. Below the waist, his pants were torn from the thigh, leaving a gaping hole that revealed his bare thighs and knees, which had similar injuries and wounds.
Alex turned bright red and immediately rushed to a nearby bed, wrapping himself in the bedsheet to cover his exposed body. The moment his back touched the comforting softness of the bed, he felt his body relax all at once, almost as if it were melting into jelly, and the pain he had been ignoring crashed back in waves. His back throbbed with aches radiating from multiple points, his knees burned with pain, and his chest screamed at him to heal the open wound that still bled.
Alex gritted his teeth, unwilling to embarrass himself by crying out in pain.
A middle-aged woman in a white robe appeared before him and immediately began to heal him. Soft green light emanated from her hands, enveloping his body. Alex felt sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness, but suddenly something so unexpected happened that he forgot his pain entirely and rubbed his eyes, unsure if he was dreaming. He even pinched his own cheek to make sure this was real.
Alex quickly realized he was not dreaming; everything unfolding before him was real and happening at that very moment.
"There was at least one or two seconds remaining!" The elf boy, gripping the robe of Principal Toren with his face twisted in anger, shouted at him without a trace of fear. "You ejected us out early!"
The room Alex was in fell silent, and as he looked around, he saw rows of beds, most of them empty, and a few faces he had recently become somewhat familiar with.
Lara Chronveil was tossing restlessly in her bed from the pain, her body covered in all manner of blade marks, while a woman with short purple hair sat beside her, holding her hand. Eldric Sealborne, who had chased after Alex and Lara, lay unconscious in his bed, alone.
Meanwhile, Thalia Veilcaster sat nearby with a look of displeasure, her forehead bandaged with white tape, and beside her, on the same bed, sat a girl who resembled Thalia, the same girl Alex had bumped into in the written exam hallway.
And, as his gaze swept around, he found other faces that he did not know.
Princess Eva quietly approached and sat beside his bed on a chair, her expression betraying a longing to embrace him once more. He was certain of this, having spent so much time with her that he could read it in her face; she was clearly struggling to keep her tears in check, her eyes still moist with the remnants of her earlier tear-filled eyes.
"Are you accusing me of foul play?" A loud, angry voice filled the room.
Alex was jolted out of his thoughts, and when he turned toward the commotion, he saw Principal Toren's face had become cold as a glacier, all playfulness wiped away.
"Don't play games with me," the elf growled, forcing his battered voice to rise as he formed a fist with his free hand, as if ready to strike the principal. He added, "You must know my powers by now. Do you think I would not notice there was still a little time left, and how you ejected us early?"
"Do you really think a child who is wet behind the ears could keep track of everything while you were busy fighting Alex?" Principal Toren unleashed his aura, forcing the elf to let go of Toren's robe and collapse to the ground, his face pressed against the floor. Toren continued, "Do you really think you could do anything, even if I had ejected you a second early?"
"Also, for your foolish bravery, I will tell you that you are completely mistaken, boy," Toren said to the elf. "You simply cannot accept that you failed to kill a level one, and now you are being petty and accusing me."
Toren, without waiting for the elf's reply—who still lay on the ground, his face pressed tightly against the floor and unable to do more than mumble—began to walk away from the room toward the door.
"Do not mistake my forgiveness for my weakness. Next time, before you even think of laying a hand on me, you will find your arm cut off."
***
On Patreon, you can read 50 chapters ahead. Your support would greatly help me continue working toward completing the story.
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/imissmysun