Chapter 2.1 – Glass Mask

Ray Lu Fernando. He was undeniably the model student and central figure of Magna Academy. Wherever he went, everyone’s attention was drawn to him, and he was revered as someone to look up to. He possessed an abundance of talent to back up his confidence, and his appearance was more than enough to be considered attractive.

‘Hmm, I’m bored. Isn’t something interesting going to happen soon?’

Naturally, everyone around him believed that this brilliant student was different from themselves. They assumed that, with his high status and lack of shortcomings, he must be happy. As a result, whenever he expressed even the slightest dissatisfaction, they acted as if a major calamity had occurred.

Given the circumstances, even if reality didn’t match their expectations, Ray couldn’t reveal his true feelings. Despite the fact that his inner self was decaying and crumbling, Ray always had to shine and sparkle, just like his name suggested.

Even though problems were piling up, he had no one to confide in. No one to lean on. He understood that these burdens were entirely his own and that they were a test in themselves.

Because of this, Ray could only grow increasingly melancholic day by day. Isn’t it human nature to feel drained and helpless when faced with overwhelming obstacles that push one to their limits? He was so consumed by stress that he had become lethargic.

If this continued, he feared he might collapse yet again.

Recently, his worries had grown to the point where even smiling felt difficult. He had always been tired, but now he constantly felt uneasy, as if the mask he wore might shatter at any moment. Perhaps that’s why, as he lay on his bed, he suddenly thought of someone.

“I want to see her.”

Naren de Unifa. The woman he had wanted ever since he first encountered her at the entrance ceremony. Ray recalled her, a woman whose presence seemed to emit a sweet fragrance the closer he got to her.

That day, the weather had been perfect. Flowers in full bloom were shedding their petals one by one, and the scent of grass mingled with the breeze, making it difficult to distinguish individual human scents. After standing amidst the crowd and reciting the oath, his nose had become overheated, so he was strolling through the garden to cool off. He enjoyed being able to savor the scents more vividly with his heightened senses.

‘Huff, huff. Is it over? Oh no, what do I do? It looks like it’s over!’

In his line of sight, Naren appeared, running across the lawn. Having just fought with her father, who had opposed her attending the academy, she had arrived late to the entrance ceremony.

The image that had entered his view that day had stayed with him ever since. Her disheveled red hair was tangled with leaves, resembling a bundle of fur, and her scraped, bleeding knees beneath her uniform indicated that she had fallen on her way there. Her small stature and petite frame made her resemble a child, but given her state, it was impossible to simply leave her be.

For this reason, Ray found himself approaching someone he would have normally ignored. Anyone who had known him before coming to the academy would have been shocked to see this scene. But it didn’t matter. His feet moved as if drawn to the adorable girl before him.

‘A new student? If you’re here for the entrance ceremony, you’re late.’

‘Ah?! Really? Oh no!’

She was just late—what was the big deal?

An inner voice, like a mocking devil, sneered at him, but Ray ignored it and kindly guided her to the direction of the lecture hall and dormitory. Even as his inner darkness continued to taunt him, it couldn’t stop him from circling the academy with her and learning her name.

Only after doing so did his dazed mind finally return to him. Among the countless humans he had encountered, her sweet scent seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.

‘Is that it? Is she the soul you wish to offer me as a sacrifice?’

As Ray stood, gazing in the direction Naren had walked away, the devil hidden within him whispered. A pure soul. The cleaner it was, the higher its value, radiating a beautiful light and emitting a fragrance most pleasing to the senses.

‘You only acted according to your instincts, driven by your desire for it.’

He shook his head, denying the inner voice, but once a dark thought emerged, it kept bringing back memories of the past.

Here, he acted as if he were kind and likable, but in truth, he was indifferent to everything and merciless to his enemies. How could he not be, when his nickname was “The Cold Flame of Fernando”?

Just a few years ago, he had spent every day on the battlefield, cutting down enemy soldiers as if it were second nature. After the ceasefire and the prisoner exchange negotiations, he had been stationed in Magna, a border city, but his ferocity hadn’t disappeared.

How cursed this demonic madness, inherent in every citizen of the Empire of Eltheim, truly was.

Ray bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. In his mind, the sinister voice kept circling, tempting him. This very madness had allowed him to survive recklessly and fiercely on the battlefield, but now, as he restrained those wings, it had become an unbearable nuisance.

After finishing his recollection, he frowned deeply and got up from his seat. Recently, the darkness within him had been growing stronger. At his peak, he had been called “The Avatar of the Battlefield,” someone who couldn’t rest until he saw bl＊＊d. Now, suppressing that side of himself only made things worse.

Between suppressing the growing demonic energy and handling the piles of tasks before him, Ray was truly overwhelmed. That’s why he wanted to see her.

His first love, who made him forget his boredom whenever he looked at her.

‘But can I really do that whenever I wish?’

Ray sighed as he hugged the teddy bear lying limply beside him. Stroking its soft fur seemed to ease the sharp tension that had been gnawing at his nerves.

‘She’s avoiding me more than ever these days. Why? I even provoked her to ignite her competitive spirit, but what went wrong?’

Naren’s unpredictable nature was part of her charm, but at times like this, it was frustrating. She had been this way even as a small girl, and now, as she had matured somewhat over the years, her behavior remained just as puzzling. He simply couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.

Now that he thought about it, her avoidance of him seemed to worsen after she collapsed during the fortune-telling class not long ago. Before that, she had always glared at him, determined to beat him, but she hadn’t run away the moment their eyes met, like she did now.

‘Could it be that sneaky junior has already made his move?’

Haran Simiter. A scholarship student with remarkable talent despite his commoner background. From the moment he entered the academy, he had been at odds with Ray.

For some reason, Haran constantly picked fights with him, even after becoming the student council secretary. Observing how he interacted with others, Ray concluded that it was simply Haran’s nature. Then, one day, he realized it wasn’t just a matter of personality.

When was it? Normally, the two of them had different areas of activity and rarely crossed paths, but there was a time when they were left alone in the student council room. Ray, who found Haran as abrasive as sandpaper, didn’t want to deal with him, and Haran seemed to feel the same way. They exchanged greetings briefly before focusing on their tasks.

‘Heh~ President, do you like the Vice President?’

That remark came out after Naren had stopped by briefly. Both of them had been silently working, the atmosphere so bleak that her visit had been a welcome distraction. Of course, she had only come to retrieve something she had left behind and departed shortly after.

Blurting out such a comment wasn’t going to win Haran any favors.

‘Ha ha, what are you saying? You know Naren sees me as a rival.’

‘That’s what the Vice President says. I meant you, President. Don’t tell me you’re not even aware of your own feelings?’

‘……You.’

‘Then that’s good. I’ve always found you strangely unpleasant anyway, President.’

Even though it was laughable to discuss differences in status here, Ray couldn’t help but think ‘How dare he?’ upon hearing Haran’s words. However, losing his temper would only mean admitting his feelings. Although he had come to terms with them to some extent, he had tried to avoid Naren as much as possible when they first met, so he couldn’t say anything.

If they had met on the battlefield, Haran would have been nothing but a rookie to him, but being tangled up like this was exhausting. Thinking of Haran’s sly face, Ray gritted his teeth.

‘I’d bet my favorite cream-filled buns—ten of them—that b＊stard likes Naren.’

It was undeniable that Haran’s heart was drawn to her pure and upright nature. Even if it was because her soul was something rare among the descendants of demons like the citizens of the Empire of Eltheim, Ray only had eyes for Naren now, regardless of how it had started. And when one man found a woman attractive, other men were bound to notice her too.

Perhaps Haran had been drawn to the same qualities that Ray admired.