A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 107: Opportunity (2)

Following the prank from Sivar, Luna was left unable to move for a while.

Having already been through Rize's rigorous training, her body was screaming for mercy, and the leg split made standing up a challenging task.

Thus, she ended up staying instead of returning to her dormitory right after the training. She was too exhausted to even consider taking a shower immediately.

"Luna, in which dormitory do you stay?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"It seems better for you to take a shower here, given the circumstance. I'm here anyway, so wouldn't it be okay?"

Luna was slightly taken aback by Rize's unexpected suggestion but, upon consideration, found it reasonable.

The distance between the male and female dormitories is farther than one might think, and ordinarily, access would be quite restricted.

However, she was allowed here with Rize's permission, making all those procedural hurdles irrelevant.

"Yeah. It's fine."

"Then, if it's not too much… may I?"

Luna cautiously sought permission, obviously finding the idea of going back to her dormitory too tedious.

Above all, she didn’t even have the energy to move a finger. She just wanted to comfortably shower and lie down.

"Yes. But please tell me which dormitory you're in. I’ll go and fetch your clothes for you."

"Oh, no need! I'm fine as is!"

Yet, it felt somewhat wrong to treat Rize like an errand runner. Luna hastily protested upon hearing her offer.

It might be a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t unbearable. Receiving kindness has its limits, and this was an excessively big favor to ask for.

Moreover, Rize is revered as a saintess and a warrior goddess. Making such trivial requests to such a person felt overwhelmingly burdensome.

"It's fine. I'm responsible for putting you through that training, so it's also my responsibility. Just tell me your dormitory number, and I'll fetch your clothes."

"But still…"

"Considering that this request might turn into a threat later, please."

"…"

Rize’s words, coming not in her saintess form but as a warrior goddess, were indeed intimidating. Eventually, Luna disclosed her dormitory room number.

Rize then reverted back to her saintess form, explaining it's more appropriate for moving around outside.

Soon after, she spoke with the guard outside the door, bid farewell to Luna and Sivar, and left.

Leaving Luna and Sivar alone in the room.

"Just a moment."

Leaning against the wall to rest, Luna suddenly had an idea. To reiterate, it was just Sivar and her alone.

The very situation she had longed for. Initially, she had planned to use this weekend's training as an excuse to spend time alone with him.

Though things got a bit complicated due to Sivar beating up Professor Delphoi, it was still moving in the direction she wanted.

"The male and female dormitories are quite far apart…"

She knew it to be about a 20-minute distance. Why so far? She wasn’t sure. It just is.

Meaning, she had the opportunity to talk with Sivar alone for 20 minutes. Doing nothing during that time seemed absurd.

"Sivar?"

"Hm?"

At Luna's call, Sivar looked at her, puzzled, holding a candy she didn’t notice him take out.

Judging by the color, it seemed to be lemon-flavored. The yellow wrapping confirmed it.

"Could I have a piece of candy too? If you don’t want to, it's okay…"

"Here."

Without hesitation, Sivar handed her the candy he held. It was of similar color to Luna's hair.

She was slightly startled but accepted it with a smile, thinking how kind he could be.

"Yum."

She unwrapped and popped the lemon-flavored candy into her mouth. Immediately, the refreshing lemon scent spread.

The strenuous training had left her body aching, but the candy seemed to bring a bit of refreshment.

She wasn't usually a candy eater, but given the circumstances, she really wanted it.

"It's good. Aren’t you having one?"

"No more."

"Huh? No more?"

"Yeah. That was the last one."

Luna was dumbfounded by the revelation that it was the last candy.

Normally, one would hesitate or murmur something about it being the last one.

But Sivar, without any second thoughts, gave his last candy to her. More than being touched, she was bewildered.

"Is it really okay to give it? Even though it was your last one?"

"You asked for it."

"…"

It was a statement laden with an inexplicable sense of guilt. Luna glanced around before giving a bitter smile.

To think such a kind-hearted guy had beaten Delphoi to the brink. And made it so he couldn't function as a man for the rest of his life.

Of course, Delphoi had it coming. He tried to push a promising student into the abyss.

"Thanks. I'll buy you candy later."

"Okay."

"What flavor do you like best?"

"Anything."

Luna and Sivar exchanged various topics. Not confident in her conversational skills, she couldn’t dive straight into the heart of the matter.

But there was still plenty of time. Even if Rize came back quickly, there would be at least 15 minutes.

It’s a sensitive topic to breach, but if not now, when?

"Sivar."

"Hm?"

"That cave painting, remember?"

Only after easing the awkward atmosphere could she finally raise her month-long question. It was a chance to clear up her curiosity.

After enduring all sorts of skepticism, if not today, when else could she find another opportunity?

Luna mentioned the cave painting and looked at Sivar, who maintained his characteristic blank expression.

As if his face was stamped with ‘I know nothing.' An expression of pure innocence.

"Did you paint it?"

"The cave painting?"

"Yeah, the cave painting. The one from the cave you lived in while in the forest."

Might as well ask. Luna mustered the courage for her question.

How long had she waited to ask this? Relief mixed with tension washed over her.

What response would Sivar give? Would he deny it, or offer another answer?

If it turned out as she expected, the cave painting surely depicted ‘the future.' It couldn’t be anything else.

Sivar had been confined to that cave, unaware of the United Academy's existence.

"There were symbols of the academy, and also figures fighting demons drawn there. Did you draw those?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Wait, what?"

Luna was about to nod but stopped, taken aback. What did Sivar just say?

As she stared at him wide-eyed, Sivar confirmed his answer.

"I drew it."

The response, both anticlimactic and shocking, came from Sivar.

She had somewhat anticipated it, but hearing it directly was still a shock.

‘Sivar drew it? How? What did he base it on? No, before that, what exactly is he?'

Perhaps that's why. Luna's mind was filled with turmoil and speculation. Unsure where to start, she felt utterly confused.

Her thoughts were a total chaos. Nothing was certain, and most were mere assumptions.

Why was Sivar in that cave? Why did he live in the forest, and so on?

She let out a long sigh to calm her racing heart.

It seemed she needed to unravel her questions one by one.

"You drew it?"

"Yeah."

"What did you draw exactly? The academy's symbol was there too."

"Um…"

Sivar pondered Luna’s question, himself puzzled over this part.

Soul World is a game with numerous branching paths, but its storyline is definite. It means there's a single storyline that progresses.

The outcome depends on the player's choices. Rod is a clear example.

If nothing is done, Rod ends up succumbing to his poison and dying midway. However, if actions are taken, he remains a companion in the latter part.

‘It's complicated.'

What if he said this world is a game, and you're the protagonist? She'd likely dismiss it as nonsense.

He wanted to clarify everything, but still felt it was inadequate.

‘I don’t even know why I ended up here.'

His very existence is a mystery. Luna probably thinks the same.

Getting closer to her wouldn’t hurt. Yet, it's best to share only what she can understand.

After some thought, Sivar faced Luna directly, tension evident in his shining blue eyes.

Then, his lips, which had been tightly sealed, slowly opened.

"The future."

Predictably, the painting showed the future.

Just that was enough to weigh heavily on her mind, but Sivar’s answer didn’t stop there.

"Was it?"

"Was it?"

"Yeah."

Luna furrowed her brows. The future that was. Such an ambiguous answer, even posed as a question.

The future is fluid, constantly changing. Even gods hesitate to make prophecies.

Yet, Sivar spoke as if he had seen the future. This added another layer of questions for her.

"How did you know it was the future? Where did you see it?"

"…"

"Or did you just draw it based on a feeling? Like you usually do?"

Sivar didn’t respond this time, just blinking absentmindedly.

It seemed either a difficult question or he didn’t know. Given Sivar’s nature, the latter seemed more probable.

An essentially blank slate of a wildling. Yet, this wildling knows a future no one else does.

Solving the mystery only made things more complicated. Luna sighed inwardly.

‘I don’t even understand why Chaos chose Sivar.'

What exactly is Sivar's identity? Peeling layer after layer only led to more questions.

For now, there was nothing she could do. It seemed a visit to the Holy Byzantine Kingdom would be advisable in the future.

"Sivar."

"Hm?"

"The conversation we had just now is a secret, okay? You know that, right? You can’t casually talk about it to others."

If overheard, they’d be deemed insane for sure. She doubted anyone would take it seriously.

Still, it's better to keep such secrets, well, secret. Otherwise, misunderstandings could lead to unintended victims.

"Why?"

"It's too complicated. Let's focus on the academy for now, okay?"

"Okay."

Fortunately, Sivar seemed to agree to keep the secret. Considering he hadn't mentioned it before, he might not even be interested.

Luna felt conflicted as she looked at Sivar. How did she get involved in all this?

Of course, she could just ignore it and go about her business. But with the demonic magic circle and all, ignoring could lead to disaster.

"Sivar."

"?"

One thing was clear. Luna called out to Sivar with a serious tone.

As he turned his head from elsewhere to look at her, she continued.

"I don’t know who you are, and you probably don’t know yourself."

"…"

"But… I want to know more about you."

She couldn’t just disregard Sivar anymore. Ignoring him might mean missing crucial warnings or events.

"And it might be a bit troublesome. You might not realize, but it could also endanger others."

"…"

"Is that okay? If not…"

"It's fine."

Before she could even finish, the consent came. Luna looked directly at Sivar.

"It's fine with me."

"Me? It's okay?"

"Yeah."

Her expression brightened at his response. The distress she felt seemed to dissipate somewhat.

Now, she won't be bothered by skepticism. She had gotten direct approval from the person involved.

Luna, feeling as if a burden was lifted off her shoulders, grabbed Sivar's hand.

"Thank you! If I find out anything, I’ll let you know too! Promise!"

"Promise?"

"Yeah! Promise! From now on, we'll hang out and learn more about each other!"

It seemed like she had just added more to her plate. Sivar wanted to say that but held back.

Luna looked too happy, and he didn’t want to spoil that. She must have been holding back quite a bit.

‘But what about the escort thing?'

What would happen if Luna found out about Grace's escort situation? Sivar was somewhat curious.

And that curiosity would only be satisfied after the weekend, when classes resumed.

"Luna. Sivar is my escort. That means he has to stay by my side for a while."

"But I made a promise with Sivar…"

"What promise?"

"A promise to learn more about each other?"

"…"

That woman definitely has a problem with her mouth.

[Your faith increases!]

Please, stop watching those morning dramas.