After entering the Leviathan class, they were greeted by the sight of their classmates engrossed in study materials and doing a last-minute review.
"Yo! Buddy! Good morning!"
Ben greeted Luis, and his eyes darted in the direction of Diana.
"Morning Ben, are you prepared?" Luis asked, feeling amused.
Ben, whose attention was on Diana, didn't seem to hear his question.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you sick?"
Luis' lips twitched upon seeing his lovesick friend. Alicia also covered her lips, hiding her faint smile, and stood there watching the show.
"Huh? Uh- yeah!" Ben said, snapping out of his daze. Then showed a confident grin. "I'm good! Better than ever! I've intensified my training! Just looking for a sparring partner."
When he said this, he also glanced at Diana to see her reaction.
As expected, Diana became interested.
"Sparring partner? Good! If you don't mind! I can be your sparring partner!"
"Really? That's great!" Ben became so excited that he couldn't stop his silly grin.
Luis also smiled and gave a thumbs-up upon seeing his friend happy.
Diana thought that, just like her, Ben was excited to have a sparring partner. She turned to Luis and whispered.
"Don't forget our deal..."
"Don't worry."
After getting his assurance, Diana left for her seat with a confident stride. Their secretive actions aroused Ben's interest. This matter concerned him a lot.
He came up to Luis and asked in whispers, "Buddy, what were the two of you talking about?"
"Are you interested?" Luis raised his brow. Then, seeing his nod. He patted his shoulder and spoke. "I'll tell you later. This is not the place to talk about it."
Ben nodded and didn't pester him about it. He could feel the seriousness in Luis' words.
---
Sometime later, Olivia, who was going to be their invigilator, came to the classroom, and the exam started.
Luis read the questions provided on his screen and started answering them one by one.
Time passed, as it was already 20 minutes past the time since the exam started. Just when Diana was getting anxious. She heard Luis' voice in her mind.
{Diana, let's start.}
Her eyes brightened, and she complained.
However, he soon dismissed that thought.
'Nah, I can do that when I return to the dorm.'
'Should I mess with the plot characters? I haven't contacted Seraphina yet.'
Luis pondered, then shook his head.
'No, the time's not appropriate.'
While Luis was deep in thought, he heard a voice beside him.
"Buddy."
"What is it, Ben?"
"Are you free?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, I am. Until after lunch."
"Great! Then come with me! I've found a good place to play and the food there is tasty."
"... You just want to ask about the previous matter, right?" Luis showed a knowing smile.
Ben didn't expect to get seen through by him so easily.
"Yes... Is it alright?"
"Hmm, it's fine. But it will be your treat."
Luis wasn't short on money. However, the feeling of making your friend treat yourself is very satisfying.
"No problem!" Ben patted his chest and assured. "It's all on me."
"Then let's go." Luis smiled.
Diana wanted to thank Luis, but when she saw the leaving figures of Luis and Ben. She stopped herself.
'He is with his friend. It would be inappropriate for me to intrude right now. Let's thank him later.'
If Ben knew about Diana's thoughts at this moment, he would have cried for sure.
'It's fine to intrude! Rather, I welcome it!'
However, a missed opportunity is a missed opportunity. Nothing can be done about it now. Unless he can travel back in time, like someone.
***
Inside the Jormundgar Classroom.
A beautiful green girl sat in her seat with a deep frown on her face. It's not that her test went bad. Rather, there was something else concerning her.