"That's it for today," Raelion announced, marking the end of the class. Without another word, he strode out, leaving a wake of silence.
The class erupted into hushed chit-chat, the students ford little groups. Perhaps they knew each other from earlier.
Sezel slumped on his desk, alone, crimson eyes sweeping across the room. He noticed them laughing and sharing tales. mories resurfaced, clawing at him: Rilli's giggles as they played with another one of his friends, a faceless figure, who died in the gate incident.
A fraternal ache gripped his heart, burdened by sothing he couldn't identify. But more importantly was his sister, Where is she? Has she eaten? Is anyone guarding her? His mind was filled with those thoughts.
'Such a wretched brother I am.'
Tears welled, blurring his vision, each drop a shard of guilt and sorrow. Through the corner of his eye, he saw a throng of teens encircling the rich rat in a red shirt from earlier. Their smiles were warm, their eyes alight with reverence, as if he were a star descended among mortals.
Sezel too, felt curious about the boy. He brushed off the tears from his eyes and slowly walked towards the group. He sat at a bench nearby to not breed suspicion, listening carefully to their conversation.
"Is that true, Krono?" a boy asked, awe lacing his voice.
"Of course," another intoned, his tone fervent. "Who do you think Krono is? He is the son of the great Silvia family."
"Oh my god, the Silvia family?" a girl gasped.
"Yeah, every head of the family has been a Rank5."
Sezel's breath caught, 'Every head was a Rank5.'
Just that showed how powerful the Silvia family was, and as genetics have a huge role in awakenings, it was almost a given that this guy was also a Rank5, and that implied that Krono was destined for greatness.
Now Sezel was even more interested in learning about this guy, so he heard more carefully as the chatter continued.
The Krono guy finally spoke, his voice a silken lody, deceptively humble. "I am no special guy, I too am just like you all, my friends."
The way he said it sent shivers down Sezel's spine, 'I was right, he is a damn bastard.'
All the other guys looked at him, their eyes gleaming with respect.
"You must have gotten a fable, right? What Rankare you?" a raven-haired boy demanded, his rough tone cutting through the reverence. He stood apart, clad in the clothes provided by the army. Perhaps a hater.
All of the gathering turned towards him, with the rich guy staring at the oddball, their gazes screaming 'Read the room.'
Sezel thought he would be ignored, but contrary to that, the rich rat replied to his questions, "I am a Rank5, and I have received a silver fable: Steel Born."
Gasps rippled through the crowd, eyes wide with astonishnt. The raven-haired boy froze, as if staring at his own doom. Krono was indeed the next head of the Silvia family.
Sezel too looked at him in awe, a Rank5, rarest of rare. A great Slayer in the making, with his silver fable.
'That sounds badass.' Sezel felt envious, but he smirked in his heart. 'I have a golden fable.'
He wanted to go outright and speak it at their faces, but no one would believe him, and he didn't know how to speak their language, so he killed his excitent and bore with it.
Satisfied with the gleaned information, Sezel rose, slipping from the room quietly like the ghost he was.
His stomach growled as he walked through the corridors of the unfamiliar building, not knowing where he was going. He just ca for a sprawl because of boredom and deep down with hope that he might sohow find so place to eat.
But as always, his luck left him hanging by a thread in a foreign building with tens of ways to go. Sezel halted at a junction, crimson eyes scanning the maze, his face troubled.
'Wow, looks like I am lost.'
After a few minutes of spinning around, he sank to the floor, 'Why did I even try going sowhere.'
A voice stirred him, familiar and in his native tongue. "What are you doing here?" Sezel turned, his face a mask of sorrow. Raelion stood behind him, his sunglasses reflecting a stream of light from the window.
Raelion studied Sezel's expression for a mont, then sat beside him, igniting a cigar. The acrid smoke curled upward as he offered it to Sezel, "Here, want so?"
Sezel declined, he was not inclined towards these kinds of products. He wanted to live a long life.
Raelion leaned back, exhaling a plu. "I know you miss your ho."
Sezel looked at him, confused. 'What is he talking about, ho?' he wondered. A ho—did he have a ho? After thinking a while, he spoke. "What's a ho?" he asked, voice low.
Raelion chuckled, his tone soft. "Ho isn't just a place. You can't call a place ho until your heart lingers there." A pause hung between them, heavy with unspoken truths. "I miss mine sotis," he added, voice barely a whisper.
Sezel's gaze lowered, as if trying to figure out what to answer. But before he could conclude, Raelion stood up, patting Sezel's shoulder, "Co on, wanna grab so food?"
Sezel's eyes lit up, he shot up imdiately, "Yes."
The captain's cryptic smile returned, and then he led the way. Through the garden, they reached a wide, single-story building. The board on the top read sothing in bold letters. Sezel didn't have to know the language to tell what it was—the sll of delicious food gave it away.
'This place is definitely the cafeteria.' his eyes glead.
He followed Raelion inside the building. As he entered through the gate, the aroma of spices and the flavors made his mouth water. He was hungry for four days now; he couldn't contain his hunger, but he hesitated.
Raelion sensed Sezel's hesitation. "Eat what you want. No one will stop you."
The words unleashed him. Sezel went ahead and filled his plate with all kinds of exotic stuff he could find. It was marvelous. He hadn't seen most of these dishes in his whole life, and the best of all were the succulent beef and tender poultry.
They were considered one of the luxuries in the world. After the great cataclysm, it beca hard to herd animals, and Sezel, as a resident of the slums, had only heard about it, let alone seen one.
But here he could not just watch but actually taste all of the stuff he dread about. Sezel sat at a table with a full plate and stuffed like a hungry animal getting a prey after a long ti.
He finished all of the food, and then thanked the chefs. 'So this is how it feels to live.' He had nothing but gratitude in his heart, 'I am glad I am alive. Only because I live, can I enjoy everything else.'
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