In a classroom filled with a lot of students, one could hear a couple of f chatters. Be it young girls that liked to gossip, or young men, all people of the newcomers had one simple topic in their mouths.

"What did you say?" Exclaimed a girl with sharp burrows, her face frowning. "Someone challenged him to a duel?" The girl continued to her words. As one could easily infer from the tone of her voice and the way she chose her words, she did not like the situation.

The girl beside her answered. "Yes. The academy had already shaken quite a lot after the rumors, and now people were already complaining to the teachers. Aliya, you must know something about this right?" As she asked her question to her friend, naturally, she drew the attention of the other listening two.

"Of course, those rumors are false. There is no way Callius is such a person." Aliya answered as she was looking at the boy that was isolated behind the crowd and was reading a book with an unbothered expression. 'I knew you wanted it to be like this. But, was this really necessary?' She couldn't help but ponder as she thought about the talk they had.

"How can you be this sure? You said you didn't know him that much?" Beatrice Singh said as she threw a gaze at the boy in the subject. "People can be everything underneath that mask. That is what I learned so far." She added to her words as she made a slightly remorseful expression.

"Well…. To be honest, let me ask you one thing?" Aliya turned her head towards her friend group. "What would you do if he ever asked you to sleep with him if you didn't know about the rumors?" She asked without beating around the bush. 

"If he asked me to sleep? If I want to be honest, I will accept immediately." Eva, the potioneering girl with blue hair, said.

"What?" exclaimed the other girl in disbelief. "You would consent without even knowing him? A lady should never compromise her worth," she asserted, her face contorted with distaste. "Maintaining one's dignity is of utmost importance." 

"Heh… You and your values, Aoife…." Eva answered. "Do you think I am lowering my value by accepting his offer?" With a rather mocking smile, she answered.

"Yes. A lady should contain herself and stand proud all the time." The girl named Aoife answered as she looked into her friend with a fired expression. "I would have never accepted such a carnal act without entering a relationship with him." Her words, containing her values, she threw a gaze at the boy. 'I admit he is handsome, but I will never spread my legs for men just like her.' She thought as she remembered a certain someone in her life.

"Sigh…. You are too behind." Eva said as she didn't lose her smile. "Do you think it is that important to love a person before sleeping with them? Are you a kid?" She answered as she mocked. "You know, if you want to grasp a man into your hands, you need to make them feel connected to you. Be it with your body or something else." She showed her curves as she kept talking. 

"Do you think he can never find someone like you? There are tons of girls with good backgrounds, good bodies, good faces." With her eyes, Eva signaled the people around.

"What makes you think that he won't choose another girl? There is no way I am losing such an opportunity to make him mine." Like a vixen who knew a lot about men, Eva said as she licked her lips. 

Though when she finished her words, the expression on Aoife's face was rather angry. "Wh-"

"That is enough…. We are diverging from the topic." A voice sounded, interrupting her words as she was just about to retort. "What do you imply by that question, Aliya?" Beatrice asked as she gathered everyone's attention on Aliya once again.

Aliya, now the center of attention, spoke with conviction. "The point is... there is no logical reason for him to assault a Holy Sister out of the blue. With his appearance and background, he would have countless other options if he were so inclined." As she emphasized her point.

"You are right. Even if people like Aoife do have their values, a lot of people would jump at such an offer. There is no need for him to go for such acts… Is that what you are saying?" 

"Indeed."

Aoife exclaimed. "I see. That is certainly, not something to ignore. But we can't just disperse the rumors like that, right?" In the end, she was still not convinced enough.

"Yeah, we can't just ignore them…." "Yeah… I agree…. The rumors are too big to discard simply like that." The other two agreed with her point. 

"In any case, when is the duel starting?" Aliya asked as she changed the topic.

"They said two parties agreed upon the time after the classes end. The location will be the arena used for duels." Exclaiming that, Beatrice said as she signaled the bulky young man that was glaring daggers at Callius. "He had already applied for the duel to be a life-and-death one." She added with a smile.

"Life and death duel? I didn't know he was a fool." Aliya mumbled to himself in response. "He won't show mercy; does he not know that?" Just as she was talking to herself, suddenly, a voice of something hard-hitting at the table was heard.

/TOK/

"Attention." A man with a white beard which was tied rather in a weird fashion. His eyes contained a strange glint of calmness as his hair was braided in another weird fashion. 

"I am your instructor of Fundamentals of Alchemy and its Applications, Herman Clarke." He said as he signaled two axes on his waist. "There is no need to give introductions, as you all have already familiar with each other." Saying that, he immediately opened the book while also placing a round-looking object on his desk.

"Let's start now."

Just like that, the class started, once again making people calm down.