Knock knock.
Kael opened the door casually, expecting maybe a classmate or a curious instructor.
Instead, he got a full-body tackle.
"KAEL!"
"GACK!" His breath was instantly crushed out of his lungs as Belle Vernier wrapped her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug that lifted him off the ground.
"I missed you so much, you little punk!"
Kael's arms flailed. His face turned pale. "I'm… dying… can't… breathe..."
Belle blinked, then realized what she was doing and eased her grip. "Oops. Sorry. Force of habit."
Kael stumbled backward and coughed, bending over as he caught his breath.
"What the hell was that grip?! I couldn't move… even though she was clearly holding back. Is that what an SS+ ranker feels like…?"
She plopped onto his couch without asking, sighing deeply with the kind of satisfaction only someone returning from hell could express. "You have no idea how much I missed sitting on a couch like this. The ones at the bases are either too stiff or always covered in regulation blankets."
She grabbed a pillow and hugged it like it was the most luxurious thing in the world. Then, she casually turned her head toward him. "So, I heard you're ranked 11th in the academy. Not bad."
Kael scratched the back of his neck, feigning modesty. "It's not that big a deal."
Belle raised an eyebrow. "Not that big a deal?" She sat up straighter, frowning. "Do you even know how crazy that is? You were just… slightly above average when we last sparred. Now you're 11th in Aetherion Academy? And this school is no joke."
Kael shrugged again. "Guess I had a good growth spurt."
Belle narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion. "You hiding something from your big sis?"
He didn't answer.
She grinned, pointing at herself with a dramatic thumb jab toward her chest. "Well, maybe one day you'll be almost as strong as me."
Kael rolled his eyes. "Right."
"I mean it!" Belle laughed. "Just a bit more hard work and you might become the second strongest Vernier."
Kael chuckled, heading toward the window for a breather. "Where's your modesty?"
"Left it back in the war zone."
Then, her expression shifted slightly. "Hey… where's the Headmaster?"
Belle's smile immediately dropped. Her posture straightened, her eyes suddenly serious dangerously so.
"…It's something private," she said, her voice lower. "Concerning the European Empire."
Kael didn't press further. He knew that tone.
Whatever it was, it wasn't good.