Capítulo 659: Chapter 659 – Taming the Fifth Year: Anticipation

The mid-year interscholastic tournaments were rapidly approaching, adding another layer of pressure to everything else.

Like Ren needed more stress.

They weren’t like the first protocol exams. These were competitions between the three main academies, designed to showcase combat ability, academic achievements, contributions, and yes, also noble protocol but in competitive contexts.

A complete evaluation. A public display of their level.

“It’s basically a full two weeks of showing everything you’ve learned,” Zhao explained during a training session. “And yes, before you ask, it’s exhausting.” His voice carried experience.

“Great,” Ren muttered, wiping his own sweat with the back of his hand.

Just what he needed indeed… Two weeks of constant pressure while worrying about Luna and dealing with those nobles who thought he was a fraud.

“But,” Zhao added with something resembling a smile, a rare expression on his usually stern face, “it’s also your opportunity to shut up all those nobles who keep whispering that your achievements are fabricated.”

That captured Ren’s attention, so his head snapped up. “They’re still saying that?”

“The Night Starweavers in particular,” Zhao confirmed. “They’re being very vocal about how your successes are just illusionists performances and Selphira’s theater. The tournaments are your chance to prove otherwise where they can’t argue it being political influence in front of everyone’s eyes and mana senses.”

Something tautened in Ren’s chest. It wasn’t fear.

“Then I’ll have to make sure they can’t argue anything.”

“That’s the spirit,” Zhao approved, nodding with satisfaction. “Now, twenty more complaint forms. I’m not letting you go in there anything less than perfectly prepared.”

While Ren began his tasks, his mind was already spinning.

If the Night Starweavers wanted proof, he’d give them proof. The kind they couldn’t deny, couldn’t explain away, couldn’t attribute to anyone’s influence but his own.

He’d show them exactly what Ren Patinder was capable of.

And they would never doubt him again.

♢♢♢♢

But the good mood didn’t last long…

Ren was sitting in the Platinum student dining hall, pushing food around his plate without really eating it, when Liora slid into the seat across from him.

The movement was smooth, practiced now.

“You look terrible,” she said without preamble, her tone carrying concern beneath the usual frankness.

No sugar-coating. Never with Liora… Just direct observation.

“Thanks,” Ren responded dryly, not looking up from his plate. “Just what I needed to hear.”

“It’s true,” she insisted, studying him with those eyes that saw too much. “When was the last time you slept properly?”

Ren had to think about that. His mind felt fuzzy, like trying to see through fog. “The 12th?”

“Ren, it’s the 15th.”

“Then three days…”

“Three days,” Liora repeated, and the exasperation in her voice was practiced too. She sighed, the feeling equal parts frustration and affection. “You can’t win the exams if you collapse from exhaustion before they even begin.”

“I have high Vitality. I can sleep after the exams,” Ren muttered, finally taking a bite of food that tasted like nothing in his mouth. Texture without flavor, substance without satisfaction.

Everything had been like that lately. Distant…

“That’s the wrong spirit and you know it,” Liora leaned forward, her voice dropping slightly even though the dining hall was always empty in the platinum section. “Ren, I know you’re worried about Luna. We all are. But I’m also worried about you. You need to focus.”

“I’m trying.”

The words came out more defensive than he intended. Because he was trying. He’d been trying for weeks.

“Not hard enough,” Liora reached across the table, placing her hand over his. The gesture was brief, barely some seconds, but it gave some warmth that Ren needed. “For now, you have to trust that Luna knows what she’s doing. And you have to trust that Larissa and I are taking care of her the best we can.”

Trust.

Such a simple word. Such a complicated concept.

Ren wanted to argue. Wanted to insist there was something he should be doing, some way to fix this. Some action he could take that would make everything right again.

But looking at Liora’s face, seeing the determination mixed with her own worry, finally he nodded.

“Okay,” he conceded, the word feeling like surrender. Like giving up. “I’m going to focus. I’m going to…” he took a deep breath, forcing the words out, “I’m going to let Luna go. For now.”

“Good,” Liora leaned back, satisfaction crossing her face. Mission accomplished, at least partially. Then, with a smile that carried a competitive edge. “Then we can talk about how we’re going to approach these exams.”

“We?”

“Obviously I know we’ll be competing against each other,” Liora said. “But there’s no reason we can’t prepare together. Exchange strategies. Identify weaknesses. Help each other be the best possible.”

She paused, her smile widening.

“And then crush you completely in the end.”

Despite everything, Ren laughed.

The sound surprised him. Genuine amusement breaking through the fog of worry and exhaustion that had been suffocating him for weeks.

“You have confidence. I like that.”

“Learn from the best,” Liora winked at him. “Now finish eating, then we’re going to the training room. Larissa is already there.”

And just like that, something in Ren’s chest loosened.

Not disappeared. Not solved. But… eased.

He’d been trapped for months in interpersonal drama he didn’t know how to navigate. Months feeling powerless in situations where his power didn’t matter, where his intelligence couldn’t solve the problem.

Where being strong or smart, talented, or even ‘lucky’ meant nothing against the complexities of human emotion and relationships.

But this…

This was different.

This was competition. Skill against skill. Preparation against preparation. The kinds of challenges where he could trust his strengths, where hard work and smart strategy could make the difference.

Where he finally would have control over something.

Where the rules were clear and the path to victory was straightforward: be better than everyone else…

While Ren finally began eating with real appetite, food suddenly tasting like something again, he didn’t notice the figure watching them from the shadows in the corner from the other side of the dining hall.

Luna was there, her presence almost invisible thanks to Ren’s technique and some artifacts… unless you knew to look for her specifically.

She’d gotten good at that over the past weeks. At being present but unseen. At watching without being watched.

She’d been there during this conversation.

Watching Ren and Liora talk from afar like always now. Watching Liora’s hand on Ren’s. Watching her friend and rival… no, her former rival, offer the support Luna knew Ren needed.

The support she couldn’t give him.

Her hands closed into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms. The pain was sharp, grounding, keeping her from doing something stupid like jumping over there.

Like breaking the distance she’d so carefully constructed.

‘I’m sorry,’ she thought, the words directed at Ren though she’d never say them aloud. Though she couldn’t let him hear. ‘I’m so sorry.’

But she didn’t move. Didn’t approach. Didn’t try to join them.

Because she’d made her decision.

And now she had to live with the consequences.

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