“That’s good.” Trevor didn't release his hand, but looked at Morse with a smile, seemingly ignoring the previous sentence. Both knew how fake the smile was. “It’s good that freshmen have the desire to learn new things.”
Maya interjected at this moment, her tone serious, “Trevor.”
Just a word and a glance were enough for Trevor to understand her meaning. The other students watched this scene, understanding that this farce was about to end. Trevor's appearance and his rude behavior made the students feel uneasy.
Everyone knew that Trevor became a famous student because of his family background, but his behavior was appalling and ignored the authority of the academy.
And Maya didn't like this kind of behavior.
“Junior, come with me.” She quickly gave Morse a concerned look, then grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Trevor.
Morse's eyes briefly met Trevor's, and a hint of wavering could be seen in Trevor's eyes, hinting that he was very unhappy about this.
There was even a hint of killing intent spilling out from Trevor, aimed directly at Morse. With his keen senses, Morse immediately caught it.
“Where are you going?” Trevor tried to keep up, still with a smile on his lips, but his eyes betrayed his true intentions.
“!”
But Maya stopped Trevor with a look. Her gaze was cold and powerful, as if silently telling him: stay away.
Just like that, Morse was taken away by Maya, while the other students could only watch in stunned silence.
Maya mostly seemed a bit eccentric because of her assertive attitude, but this was the first time they had seen her so assertive.
Her behavior was as if to say that there was something special about that Morse.
“What do you think of them?” one student whispered to another, their eyes fixed on the backs of Morse and Maya as they left.
“I heard that Maya usually doesn't like to interact with others. That freshman must have something special,” another student replied, with curiosity in his tone.
“Could it be…?”
“You're thinking the same thing?”
“Hopefully not true…”
“Let's hope so. I don't believe Maya would be captivated by him.”
“But he's quite handsome.”
“He is indeed quite handsome, but there are many more handsome students in the academy.”
“And I don't think Maya is the kind of person who is easily swayed.”
As the students continued their gossip and speculation, Trevor overheard their conversation. Feelings of jealousy prompted him to approach them.
“What are you gossiping about?” Trevor complained, with anger in his tone.
They exchanged uneasy glances, not expecting Trevor to interrupt their conversation.
“Uh, we were just wondering what was going on between Maya and that freshman,” one student carefully explained.
“Maya? She can take care of herself. She wouldn't waste her time on someone insignificant,” Trevor retorted, his eyes fixed on the two of them. “You shouldn't waste your time on such trivial gossip either.”
‘Weren't you just about to lay your hands on a student because you couldn't stand it, and now you're saying it's trivial?’
The student wanted to retort, but he knew very well who the other person was. He immediately closed his mouth and nodded.
‘Morse Scott, Morse Scott… how dare you!’
Trevor was burning with anger inside. He kept recalling the moment Maya touched Morse.
‘How dare you touch her!’
He wanted to kill him immediately, but his rationality told him he couldn't do that in the academy.
“Tsk.” He was about to leave, but the person who arrived stopped him.
“What happened here?” The instructor arrived late after everything was over.
“……” Now Trevor had to explain everything that happened here.
……
Meanwhile, Morse felt a little uncomfortable being forcibly pulled out of the cafeteria by Maya.
This was not only because of her assertiveness, but also because of her fame.
Everyone's eyes were focused on him, and he didn't like that feeling. He had always preferred a life without any trouble.
“Senior.”
“Not yet.”
Maya continued to walk forward without hesitation, obviously she had made up her mind.
‘Sigh…’
And her strength was surprisingly great, almost stronger than a melee class.
‘What is this power?’
It was indeed rare for a mage to have such strong physical abilities, but Morse didn't have time to think about that now.
“Can we stop? We've walked far enough.”
Maya suddenly stopped and looked around. As he said, they had walked quite far.
Releasing Morse's arm, Maya turned to look at him, her expression a mixture of concern and seriousness.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking at his arm. “That guy really wanted to hurt you just now.”
“Isn't it a bit late to ask that now?” Morse muttered softly.
Maya heard this answer, her cheeks puffed up slightly, her eyes showing a hint of displeasure, as if saying she didn't like the way he spoke.
“……”
‘Sigh… here I go again.’
Morse realized he was being impolite and lowered his head slightly. “Sorry, Senior. I'm fine.”
“Hmm… that's good.” Maya nodded and waved her hand. With her movement, small vines began to move, weaving into two natural chairs.
“Let's sit down.”
This was a high-level display of mana control, and she used it so casually.
“Thank you.” Morse decided to accept the goodwill and sat down.
After the two sat down, Maya looked at Morse intently, her originally angry and serious expression gradually returning to normal.
“How was the midterm exam?” Maya asked.
“Midterm exam?” Morse was a little stunned.
“That's right.”
“It was alright.”
“Did your ranking go up?”
“Yeah, I'm now 1729th place.”
“Hmm… from last place to 1729th place, not bad.”
“I have to thank you for that. If it weren't for your help back then, I wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly.”
“Don't underestimate yourself, this is the effort you put in.”
“But it's also thanks to your help.”
Maya looked at Morse with a hint of a smile, her eyes sparkling with genuine interest, as if she was proud of him. She leaned back in the vine-woven chair, looking comfortable in this natural environment.
“There's something different about you,” she said suddenly, her eyes fixed on Morse.
“……What do you mean?” Morse pretended not to understand, but was a little surprised inside.
‘She's sharp. There's a reason Maya is called a genius,’ he thought to himself.
“Hmm… I feel like there's something dormant inside you.”
“You must be mistaken.”
“Hmm?” Maya didn't seem satisfied with this explanation.
Maya stood up without warning. Her slightly “different” side prompted her to approach Morse. She didn't realize the distance between them was closing, her body leaning forward slightly, her eyes focused on his chest.
“What's this?” she murmured, gently touching his chest. “There's something interesting here, I can feel it. Is it a magical artifact? Or is there some kind of hidden talent?”
Morse was startled by her bold move, and the distance between the two became unusually close. He tried to remain calm. “Senior, you're too close.”
‘And how is she so fast?’
Morse's speed and senses were his strongest attributes, but now he couldn't even retreat.
“Hmm? Oh, is that so?” Only then did Maya realize the problem with the distance, and took a small step back with a slightly embarrassed smile. “Sorry, I was just a little curious. Morse, do you know what you're hiding?”
“Senior, I really think you're mistaken, there's nothing here. And it's not very polite to pry into other people's secrets.”
“So you admit there's something there?”
“No, I didn't. I mean, even if there was something, you shouldn't ask. But that doesn't mean there's anything.”
“Then why are you defending yourself?”
“……Sigh……”
Morse sighed, revealing a hint of frustration. Maya smiled triumphantly, seemingly unconcerned about Morse's attempts to keep a secret.
“Hehe, if there's really nothing to hide, why not share it with your dear senior?” Maya teased, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint.
Morse remained serious, but he couldn't ignore the pressure of Maya's persistence. He knew that Maya's nonchalant attitude was actually masking her inner insistence.
‘But I can't reveal it.’
Although Maya had taught him how to control mana, that didn't mean he had to tell her all his secrets.
“Senior, there are some things that are better left unknown,” Morse replied, trying to end the topic.
However, Maya's determination seemed to only increase, and she continued to stare at him with that mischievous gaze.
“Come on, Junior, I'm your teacher, right? Students shouldn't hide secrets from their teachers.”
“Since when did you become my teacher?”
“Hmm? Aren't I your teacher? I taught you how to control mana.”
“You did teach me, and I'm grateful for that. But that doesn't mean you're my teacher.”
“So, I am.”
“No, you're not.”
“Sigh… you're so boring. I, your teacher, am just curious.”
“If I answered everyone's questions, I wouldn't be here.”
“Hmm? Am I ‘everyone’?”
“……No.”
Seeing Morse's expression, Maya couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, and burst out laughing. The laughter echoed in the natural environment, attracting a few curious birds.
“You always have that helpless expression whenever I try to dig something out of you,” Maya said with a smile.
Morse just looked at her. For some reason, he felt like he had lost, which was a novel feeling. Most of the time, he would win conversations like this.
‘Why do I feel like I'm being played with?’
Maya stood up, her face beaming with a bright smile, shining like the sun. “This is fun! I'm looking forward to our next club meeting. Junior, we can chat more, maybe we can uncover some of your mysterious secrets!”
With that, she cheerfully waved her hand and strolled away, leaving Morse with a strange sense of longing and sadness.
“They're very similar,” Morse said in a voice that no one else could hear.
The figure of a girl came to mind.
“Morse! You should smile more!”
‘And I can't win against her either.’
He sighed, looked around, and then stood up.
‘But I don't hate it.’
