The Exalted Prince Lives Again

August 18, 1513; 08:47 hrs;

The weekend was fairly uneventful for Lucien, and there were no faction meetings either.

The only thing that happened was that Lucien was finally done with the basic levels of his footwork technique.

Now he can finally start with his weapon technique.

Ting! Ting!

Lucien was in his room when suddenly, his phone started ringing.

[William]

The name was flickering on his phone.

Beep!

"Hello!" Lucien initiated.

{Come down, I am waiting,} William said, not even greeting back.

"What do you mean, waiting?" Lucien asked, perplexed about the situation.

{I know you wouldn't be able to navigate today to the fest,} William answered, then added, {So I came to fetch you.}

"..."

Lucien was rendered speechless.

There was no way he just said that.

How insolent.

"Thank you," Lucien replied, and hung up.

He couldn't even be angry at that.

It was his own incompetence.

He had to get better.

He hurriedly got ready and opened the door, when suddenly, he was greeted by a guest.

Mirae Kynth.

As always, he didn't sense her until he came face to face with her.

"Err…" Lucien was stunned, wondering what she was doing at his gate.

"Do you need something?" He asked.

Mirae nodded, affirming his claims.

"Let's go." She just said two words.

"?" Lucien was confused. "Go where?"

"Club–fest." She stuttered, "William… invited."

'He did?' Lucien raised his eyebrows.

Since when have these two become friends?

What kind of pair even was this?

Lucien couldn't help but bob his head a bit and gestured for her to come.

He took the lead without saying anything, and Mirae followed him like a ghost.

They came down together, and just as William came into his view, Lucien approached him quickly.

"Mind explaining this?" He didn't point towards Mirae because he knew William wasn't dumb.

"Oh, her?" He said, "She's my new friend, so I thought we could explore the clubs together."

"..."

Lucien couldn't process the things he had just said.

"Mirae, meet Lucien. Lucien, meet Mirae." William took this moment to introduce them, even though they knew each other already.

Lucien was stunned.

Did he give William more credit than he deserved?

"Hi!" Mirae, however, just waved at him awkwardly.

Lucien now had to return the gesture.

He bobbed his head and courteously replied, "Hello!"

"How did you two even become friends?" Lucien had so many questions, but this was the most pressing one.

William took the initiative of answering, "She's super dumb at studying, so I helped her out in the library. Happened a few more times, and we became friends."

Mirae nodded, affirming his words.

That was it?

Also, why did he call her super dumb on her face?

Sigh!

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Let's… just go."

He couldn't bear this conversation anymore.

As they were walking, they attracted a few gazes towards them.

The pairing made no sense.

Exactly what Lucien thought, too.

…

The Academy's courtyard was bustling with people.

Colorful tents and decorated banners from various clubs were spread across the plaza, each offering something unique.

It was the club fest today.

The day when different clubs erected different tents with decorations matching their themes, to attract the juniors to join them.

And everyone needed to join at least one club.

It was mandatory.

The only reason why Lucien was even present here.

"There is a rumor floating around about you, Lucien," William suddenly mentioned as the trio was looking around.

There were all sorts of weird clubs present around.

The Tactical Tea Society.

Breeder Club.

"Huh?"

The three of them suddenly paused before Lucien answered, looking at the 'interesting' banner in front.

Gulp!

"Do any of you want to check it out?" Lucien asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Let's… not." William rejected, but was still curious.

Meanwhile, Mirae frantically shook her head, her face showing a rare sign of emotion.

Disgust.

"Good idea," Lucien said as he started moving forward, and others followed suit. "You were saying something, William?"

"Did you join the Cythos' Elitist faction, Lucien?" He asked straightforwardly, "There are rumors that you did."

"I did," Lucien answered honestly.

"Under Edric?" William raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"There are reasons," Lucien answered.

William and Mirae both thought it was a bummer.

A bunch of gossip mongers.

"Let's start exploring a few of these clubs," Lucien said, changing the topic.

"I already know which one I am joining."

Lucien's steps halted, making them both stop with him.

He looked at William, expecting answers.

"The Dance Club," William answered, as he pointed towards a pink and white tent in the distance, "Look."

Lucien and Mirae looked towards the tent in question, and they both immediately understood.

The tent was full of girls.

Sigh!

Both shook their heads in disappointment.

"Good for you, lad. I trust in your dancing skills." Lucien said, patting his shoulders in pity.

Just how thirsty can a guy be?

Even Mirae was silent, but her gaze was pretty clear.

She wasn't a fan of this at all.

"What about you?" Lucien asked Mirae, just in case.

But Mirae shrugged and said, "Whatever… empty."

Lucien understood.

It made complete sense.

"I am going ahead. Good luck in finding something good, you two." William bade them farewell and left to try his luck in the Dancing Club.

The duo just sighed and started moving after that, trying to explore other clubs.

The first club they entered was the Dueling Club.

But they immediately attracted a lot of attention.

The club president instantly recognized both of them and invited them to the club.

Lucien and Mirae watched around for a few minutes before ultimately deciding not to.

"Are you leaving?" The club president asked.

"We will just look around and decide later. We would definitely consider joining this club."

Lucien lied.

They had no intention of joining this attention-grabbing club.

This was one of the most attention-grabbing clubs of the fest, especially popular with boys.

BOOM!

All of a sudden, they heard a boom from a distance as they rushed outside.

It was from a particular tent.

They wondered what it was, but the president immediately answered without even questioning.

"Those damned Alchemical Brewing Club at it again."

"Hmm…" The duo understood.

They bade farewell to the Dueling Club's president and went to hunt for a club again.

Alchemical Brewing Club wasn't a bad choice, but not only did they lack any sort of interest in it, but it also looked popular amongst the students.

An hour later, they were both rendered even more confused.

The clubs were either too boring or too attention-grabbing.

They couldn't find a sweet spot.

They were about to give up and join the Linguistic club when suddenly, Mirae spotted something.

A black and white tent that they missed.

Historical Relics Society.