Return of the Legendary Runesmith

"Haah… that was intense," Carter, the Prince of Grimvale, muttered under his breath as he wiped the sweat from his face.

Like the rest of his teammates, he had just finished a team training session. They were all preparing for the upcoming tournament.

Aegis Academy had a strong reputation when it came to the contest. They had won the cup two years ago and were the runners-up last year. With Carter leading the team this time and many powerful participants competing, the academy was working hard to turn its students into a strong unit.

The competition was definitely going to be tough. Among all the rival schools, Runebound Academy was their top concern.

At first, they thought Elana was the only one to watch out for. But after reading the report submitted by Elizabeth, they realized they couldn't ignore this guy named Allen either.

He had a rare dual affinity and was ranked the top swordsman among all the students.

Plus, other academies had also trained hard and were planning to send their five best fighters to the tournament.

It was shaping up to be one hell of a battle.

"Carter, wanna come with us? We're heading to the cafe," one of his teammates asked.

"No, thanks. You guys go ahead. I really need a bath," Carter replied. He was too sweaty to hang out. A warm soak sounded perfect.

His teammates didn't insist. They just waved goodbye and left.

Carter wiped off the rest of the sweat with a dry towel, then returned his wooden weapon to the rack before heading toward the dorm.

He was thinking about whether he should come out to train again after dinner when someone suddenly walked up to him from the left.

"You've been pretty busy lately," the boy said.

"Pascal…" Carter greeted him with a nod.

Pascal was his deskmate and someone Carter also knew from outside the academy.

They weren't exactly friends, but they were familiar with each other.

Pascal's father was the nation's finance minister, so it was natural that the two young men would run into each other now and then.

Carter looked at him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Only students who were participating in the tournament were allowed to skip regular classes.

"Just curious to see how you guys are training. Anyway, are you heading to the dorm too?" Pascal asked casually.

Carter gave a nod, and the two of them started walking side by side.

They chatted a little about the upcoming contest until Pascal suddenly brought something up. "Oh, that reminds me… isn't your crush also taking part in the tournament? Planning to have a dancd with her at the Preliminary gathering?" He gave Carter a playful wink.

Carter raised an eyebrow, caught off guard. "Who are you talking about?"

Pascal let out a sigh. "Come on, don't act clueless. Half the academy already knows you've been chasing after Elana—the frost princess of Runebound."

Carter blinked in surprise. 'Half the academy?!' How did that many people find out?

He sighed and finally replied, "We already talked. She told me she likes someone else… so I gave up."

"Heh~ that's strange. Last I heard from Elizabeth, Elana's still single," Pascal said with a teasing grin.

Carter frowned. Why is Elizabeth talking about Elana like that?

Pascal went on, sounding casual. "Honestly, from everything I've heard, Elana seems like the kind of girl who thinks dating is a waste of time. Probably believes it'll just distract her from training and all that. That's why I think… she might've lied to you."

Carter's steps slowed. A droplet of doubt rippled through the calm waters of his heart.

Pascal continued, "I'm telling you, if you seriously go after her, she won't be able to ignore you. You just need to be patient and—"

"No." Carter suddenly shook his head, firm and clear. "I don't want to chase after someone who already turned me down. She was honest with me… said she wasn't interested. So, the least I can do is respect that and leave her alone."

Carter glanced at him before saying, "Excuse me now. I need to freshen up." Without waiting for a response, Carter sped up towards the dormitory.

Left alone, the black-haired boy sighed in defeat, "What a wuss. Well, thankfully, there is another target which won't be as stubborn as him."

A thin smirk adorned his lips as he added, "Oh, how fun it would be to torture you~"

°°°°°°°

"Why are we going back sooo soon?" Ariana whined again, not for the first time—but it still brought a smile to Adrian's lips.

"You're the boss here," he teased, "Give me a longer leave, and I'll turn the carriage around right now."

Ariana groaned. "Ugh, with that stupid newspaper nonsense, we have to focus more on the tournament now." She crossed her arms, then added with a huff, "They want to see if we can pull off something different this time? Fine. Let them see what my fiancé is capable of."

She flashed her engagement ring with a proud grin.

She wasn't drunk. She was just glowing with happiness—happy that they got to spend time with their families, and that the engagement had gone off without a hitch.

Adrian gently reached for her hand and whispered, "I won't let you down. That's a promise."

Ariana leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes drifting to the matching ring on his finger.

"I know," she said softly.

They sat together in a comfortable silence, fingers entwined, quietly admiring the rings on each other's hands.

It was then—

[Notice: Dark Knight is requesting a world transfer.]

Dark Knight: [I need your urgent help, Avirin. Please respond as soon as you can.]

[Accept: Y/N]

Adrian blinked, stunned. 'System… am I seeing this right? You're letting me jump to another world?'

[The situation is dire, host. An exception has been made due to its severity.]

Adrian's expression tightened. For the system to break protocol like this... things had to be worse than he imagined.

His gaze shifted to Ariana—still resting against him, her smile soft and content, completely unaware.

He didn't want to break this moment. Not after everything they'd gone through.

But duty called.

Without a sound, he closed his eyes and gave his answer silently.

'Transfer.'

°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.