The World Is Mine For The Taking

It was finally the end of the day—our first official day stepping into our third year at the academy.

Honestly, being back here again had this weird mix of emotions. On one hand, it was fun—the halls felt familiar, the sight of uniforms and the chatter of students bouncing around the corridors made it feel like we had never left. But at the same time, it was exhausting. Even though it was only the first day, it was like we had been thrown straight back into routine without warning. Classes started, instructors lectured, and we were already being told to take notes and look into assignments. Honestly, it felt like we hadn't gone on a break at all, like spring break was just an illusion and life inside the academy never stopped. But I guess that's just the kind of place this was—no matter how much time passed, the grind stayed the same.

"Guess I should head back to my dorm room. It's been a while since I last slept there," I muttered to myself, my voice echoing faintly as I walked down the stone path.

The campus felt quieter than usual in the late hours. The sky had already dimmed into shades of navy blue, lanterns casting flickers of light against the buildings. But as I walked alone, I couldn't shake off this uneasy sensation crawling up my spine. For a while now, I had felt... like a pair of eyes was following me. A sharp, unsettling awareness, like I was being studied from the shadows.

I tried to casually glance around, but nothing stood out. I couldn't even pinpoint where it was coming from. Left? Right? Behind me? The presence was there, but vague, like smoke in the air. Still, I could feel it clinging to me with every step I took.

I exhaled and forced myself to shrug it off. Maybe it was just the exhaustion making me paranoid. I turned a corner, pretending I hadn't noticed anything.

But instead of walking on, I quickly slipped behind the side of a building, pressing my back against the cold wall. My instincts were screaming at me now, and I wasn't about to ignore them.

A few seconds later, soft footsteps followed, and then a figure appeared from the corner.

"Ah!"

"Huh?"

I blinked. The mysterious stalker was… Ella.

It had been a long time since I'd last seen her—probably more than a year, maybe longer. From what I had heard around the academy, her popularity had soared for some reason during that time. But even with that, I could tell she hadn't been able to catch up to me, not after everything that happened with Sesillian. That incident alone had drawn a thick line between us, one she hadn't managed to cross again.

"Hello," I greeted her calmly, stepping out from where I had been hiding.

"H-Hello…" she replied quickly, ducking her head, her voice small and hesitant.

She didn't even acknowledge the fact that I had just caught her following me. Instead, she brushed it off completely and tried to keep walking, pretending nothing had happened.

But I wasn't letting that slide. I reached out and grabbed her hand gently but firmly, stopping her in her tracks.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked, my voice softer this time.

"Ah… eh…"

Her eyes darted away, and her tone was filled with hesitation. But after a brief silence, she gave in and nodded.

***

We ended up in her dorm room.

The silver-class dorms were noticeably more spacious compared to the bronze-class ones. The air here felt less cramped, the layout tidier, but it still didn't hold a candle to the luxury of the gold dormitories. Bronze rooms could only really hold two, maybe three people, before it felt suffocating. Silver could fit about five to seven comfortably. Gold, though? Gold was like walking into a small mansion, housing ten to fifteen people with ease.

I sat myself down on the chair near her desk, while Ella sat nervously at the edge of her bed. She didn't look at me, her eyes fixed on the floor as her fingers fidgeted in her lap. The silence in the room stretched, heavy, as if she was struggling to figure out how to put her thoughts into words.

"What is it?" I asked her gently.

"C-Can I…" she started, but her voice faltered, and the words died in her throat.

The silence lingered again. She looked like she was fighting with herself, but after a few moments, she seemed to gather what little courage she had and finally spoke.

"C-Can I join your company?!" she blurted out.

I raised an eyebrow. That… I hadn't been expecting.

Of all the things I thought she might say, asking to join my company was nowhere on that list.

Of course, it wasn't a secret to her that I was the CEO of Leonamon. She must have figured that coming straight to me would be a more direct path than going through the formal application process at the office. But still… what suddenly drove her to ask this?

"Why?" I asked simply.

"I-It's because I'm already in my fourth year," she said, her voice quick and nervous, "and I don't think I'll be able to climb up to Gold Class before the end of the academic year. So I wanted to at least secure a career that would be good for me."

"So you're choosing my company instead? Just to have a career lined up after you graduate?" I asked, watching her carefully.

"Yes…" she admitted softly, almost like she was embarrassed to say it out loud.

I leaned back in the chair, considering her words. Honestly, I couldn't deny it was a smart move. If you're not confident about reaching your first choice, the next best thing is to prepare an alternative. And she was doing just that. Thinking ahead, securing a backup plan before it was too late.

In a way, it was impressive. There was still about a year left before the fourth-years graduated, but she was already making sure she wouldn't be left empty-handed. That kind of forward thinking… yeah, it was sharp.

"Why don't you just wait for Princess Myrcella's project to finish? I mean, I heard she's been making progress lately," I asked.

Princess Myrcella had been pushing hard for her initiative—the one that aimed to let all cadets, no matter if they were bronze or gold, graduate as magic knights. It was a big change, one that could shake the foundation of the academy itself. She had made a lot of progress, but there was still so much left to do. And honestly, there was a real chance it might not even be completed in time. After all, Myrcella herself was in her final year, the same year as Ella. She had to graduate this year too.

Still, plenty of cadets had their faith placed in her. They were willing to wait, to see if she could pull it off.

But Ella… clearly wasn't one of them.

"I don't think I can wait," she said, her eyes firm for the first time tonight. "Not to offend Princess Myrcella, but I don't believe it's that easy to break a hundred-year tradition that's already rooted so deeply into the academy. Not in just two years. That's why I'm trying to be realistic."

Realistic.

And honestly… she wasn't wrong. In a place where almost everything felt bound by rigid tradition, maybe realism was the only card worth holding on to.