I Own the Evolution Domain

"That is..."

"Mhm... but do you really believe those rumors?"

"You don’t?"

"I mean, his reputation is on the other side of the spectrum after all..."

"Idiot, that’s what makes it so believable and terrifying..."

Novus is having a pleasant walk down the path connecting the male and female dormitory, his senses, especially his hearing, still picking up the fact that the students he is passing by continue talking about him; however, contrary to the usual derogatory rumors...

"Well, forget about rumors, just feel it, can’t you pick it up? He’s damn scary, that’s what I can tell..."

"Maybe because you’re scared of anything?"

It is not only one thing that frames him as the weak, arrogant freshman who dares to retort to his classmate even without having the foundation, the strength to back his words up, no longer the rumor of the dumped "lover" of another well-known freshman, but instead, something different altogether.

A monster, a wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing.

This rumor is further reinforced as during the couple of days of time that the students return to the academy, this subject of rumor, along with a special upperclassman, is often spotted walking together for most of the day, as if they are busy playing around with just the two of them when most of the students are still recovering from the trauma of the interrupted secret exam.

And right now, the two of them met once more, the subject of the rumors, Novus, revealing a faint, genuine smile on his face as he looks down, meeting the sharp, seemingly piercing gaze of the lady looking up at him, her almond eyes share the same level of anticipation for this meeting as his.

"You’re late, also, bow down a bit so I can look at you at eye level~~" that familiar teasing voice came out of her lips as the smile grew wider on her face, a faint flush apparent on her cheeks as she averted her gaze away from his, as if she could not hold it any longer.

"Impressive." praising as he does her request, bending his knees a bit so that she can look at him just a tiny bit easier, Novus praised, sarcastically, his tone being caught without fail as the lady asked just right after his word.

"What is?" she questioned with raised eyebrows, intrigued as to what was going on in this man’s mind again, a bit of annoyance in her tone as she knew full well that it would be nothing but a jab to her again.

Her speculations are spot on.

"Finding fault with my height now? As expected of the Sword Princess, Medea." Novus’ smile grew a bit wider as he answered her question, his words causing the lady to pout a bit as she replied, seemingly correcting him as-a-matter-of-factly with a proud tone.

"That’s Senior Medea for you, Junior Novus~~" she said with a tinge of glee, of enjoyment in her voice, as, despite the obvious annoyance, she is also learning how to enjoy these little moments of peaceful banters between the two of them, causing a giggle to escape from her lips as she finished her words.

"I thought you didn’t want me calling you senior?" he directed his gaze towards her once again, his deadpan tone in asking that question hitting her even more surprised, causing the faint blush on her cheeks to grow a bit larger as she replied.

"T-that... It’s different, you know?" she stutters a bit as she tries to find her composure, the previous question making her feel like a child caught in the act of doing something bad, which she finds extremely odd as she knew full well that she really did nothing at all.

"Yes, yes, different indeed." Novus nods, agreeing with her words.

His tone, however, made her feel like something was off, prompting her to direct her gaze at him, causing him to meet a victoriously smiling Novus, an expression that was all too rare, and she felt like she had only seen this for the first time since the two of them met.

While it might not hold that much significance, given that the two of them had only known each other for a couple of days, it also needs to be noted that during that time period, they experienced several extreme things that allowed them to of themselves to each other than they revealed to anyone else in the academy.

Not to mention the fact that they had shared their fights in precarious, life and death situations, with the young man saving the lady multiple times and helping her find calmness amidst the incident they were previously thrown into.

Hence, the reason why these two appear to be closer than decade-long friends now is that the two of them know a lot about each other’s thoughts and minds, given the experiences they shared.

The most interesting thing is that, different from normal relations, whether it is friendship or something else, they knew next to nothing about each other’s background or just anything personal in general, both of them only knowing the clan where each came from, as well as, quite possibly, their standing in said clans and families, and after that, nothing at all.

Birthday? They won’t even have an idea about each other’s age had it not been for each other’s year level helping them to estimate.

Hobbies? They only knew one for each other, and that is nothing else but sparring.

Favorites? Food, drinks, genre of music, things to do, and anything else? It would be generous to say that they knew nothing at all.

In short, they trust each other well enough to rely on each other to protect their backs during battle, they trust each other more than enough to know that they will never be betrayed by the other person, but they will hardly put any trust in each other to order their food or pick a thing to do.

And they understand it themselves too, hence why when they first met after the incident during the surprise exam, they couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward as the fact that they knew practically nothing about each other dawned on them.

And this fact is the very reason why the two of them had been going out every single day since they returned to the academy.

Of course, the end goal is still sparring at the end of the day; however, the two of them also explore the city outside the academy’s premises.

Eating at restaurants and stalls that the two of them had never explored in their entire lives in the academy.

Watching plays and searching for other entertainment, discussing it afterward, and having their usual banter.

Just roaming around, talking about things that they never got the chance to talk about, their laughter spreads around them, their presence often pulling attention towards themselves as their combination is just too standoffish, the hidden expert of rumors, and the pinnacle of the senior students just hanging out.

"We’re here again, huh..." after yet another fulfilling, satisfying day of unwinding from the stress of the surprise exam incident, the two of them find themselves standing in a familiar flat battle grounds again, smiles appearing on their faces as the most awaited time of the day for the two of them arrives.

They call it exchanging notes, but really, they are just going at it, sparring with each other without any care in the world at all.