Chapter 155 - Partners & Power (2)

Ellen's worries made sense. Losing a bit of land was no big deal, but losing your freedom as a result was life-changing. I couldn't swallow the tray of food in front of me, thinking I would choke. I wondered why both Ellen and Shelly never revealed this fact I was oblivious to this entire time.

I thought different partners had different relationsh.i.p.s. I listened to Luke because he wanted to improve my grades to survive in school. Luke was more experienced in the system in the first district so I followed his lead. I nodded as I changed how I behaved while he nagged to fix my etiquette to match the standards of the elites like everyone else in school.

Was this why nobody in the neutral fraction had to hide their hobbies from their partners like I did? No one ever mentioned how their partners burned their light novels or manga. But at the same time, they weren't surprised by Luke's cruelty. Instead, they acted like it was normal for Luke to have this power over me.

I started to pity poor Miliana even more. I was wondering why she tolerated Charles' selfish requests, but it sadly made sense now. I needed to have a talk with Luke after class too. Since I knew the truth, I expected the same treatment as Shelly because I wasn't from the first district. I wasn't going to let Luke make my decisions for me anymore.

I ignored my growling stomach and threw my food into the compose. I was going to save both Ellen and I from this mess. Or at least I tried while images of food popped up during class in my head as my stomach rumbled louder with each passing minute.

"Did you not eat breakfast today?" Luke seemed confused as he recalled we entered the cafeteria at the same time.

"I didn't feel that hungry in the morning," I took the chocolate bars in his hands.

"The last class is ending late today since Daniel is going to be making an announcement about our first practical assignment this year," Luke frowned.

I rolled my eyes from the absurdity. I totally forgot today was the beginning of a new year. The beginning of the autumn leaves falling down the trees was a sign of a new semester. I ticked the number of years I had left from graduating the school system.

From what I knew, middle school was four years long while high school was three years long. This meant I had a total of five more years left since I was in my third year in middle school. Was it just me, or was time going slower in the first district?

The chocolate bars quickly disappeared from my hands before the next class began. I placed my head against the desk, not caring how the teacher was heading towards my direction in disapproval. My brain was dead from this morning anyways.

It was only till Daniel strolled into the classroom, I perked up to listen attentively. Daniel took his usual place at the podium as the projection changed. My name with Luke appeared under the fifth district while others were put into the fourth district.

"Your next practical assignment is to live a week like an average person in the fourth or fifth district. This will teach you how to disguise yourself during more advanced missions we will give out next time." Daniel explained.

I did think the practical assignments were getting easier each time after I got in trouble for every previous one. First it was teaching in the third district, second was working in the familiar first district, third was going on a simple field trip and the last one was visiting our parents. You could see how the difficulty level went down each time.

I guessed the school was doing all it could do to prevent more incidents. Living as a normal person in the fifth district was easy. I recalled living normally with Jinny for a few days before I got caught. Although the bed and food was horrible, overall, it wasn't that bad.

"Will we be provided food and shelter?" I raised my hand.

"We will provide you with the appropriate housing and food a normal person in the fifth district would possess," Daniel vaguely answered.

Remembering that rotten bread with mold inside, I planned to fill my inventory with decent desserts to prepare myself. I knew it would be hard to survive off of Luke's chocolate bars. It was a wonder why I wasn't sick of them yet.

Daniel left the classroom after he had passed us more information about our assignment through files in our marble. I was excited to experience a life in the fifth district without being confined inside a large castle. But, I remembered I was going to help Ellen and I before we left.

But to help Ellen, I needed to solve my own situation first. After the intense study session, I changed out of my uniform into a nightgown in the dorm room. I lightly slapped my cheeks to keep me awake instead of burying myself into the bed as usual.

I yawned before blocking Luke from picking up another book on the bookshelf like he usually did before going to sleep. His books were displayed in the open, unlike mine that was burned when seen.

"We need to have a talk," I faced him.