CHAPTER 103: BLACK STAR?

Aegon could see that Xavier was trying to mask his tears behind the excuse of the spicy Meatroll, but he didn’t expose him. His best friend was quite sensitive at times like these.

He smiled faintly and continued walking beside him on their short journey toward the Academy. When they were midway, he finally managed to make Xavier’s mood a little better.

"I’m glad they solved their problems," Xavier said with a small smile.

"They didn’t though," Aegon replied casually.

"Shut up! Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I mean."

Aegon just chuckled at his grumbling friend. He was right. Even though the twins hadn’t exchanged many words, they had reconciled or at least decided to talk things through properly.

Aegon knew that Blue Moon very well. It was a gift from Elara. She had given both sisters the same one, but with small differences to show their individuality as twins, same in essence but different in design.

That was the last time they had met Elara before the distance between them grew, so the gift meant a lot to both of them. Not once had they let anyone else touch it. They both treasured it deeply.

Cali giving her Moon to Luna held a simple yet profound meaning. It was a promise that she would come to retrieve it later, and when she did, they would finally have a long, honest conversation about everything they had been avoiding for months.

It was also her way of showing trust and affection, proving that she didn’t hate her sister at all. Quite the opposite. She loved and trusted her more than anyone else in this world.

She had given Luna the most precious thing she owned, something no one else had ever even touched. That was why Luna cried, overwhelmed by the unspoken love behind the gesture.

As always, Cali wasn’t good with words, but she spoke volumes through her actions.

This matter was as good as settled because the trust between them had been restored. Even if things remained vague for now, they had chosen to face them together.

"By the way, what did she mean by ’after coming back’? Isn’t she just going to the Academy? So, later today?" Aegon asked curiously.

"You don’t know?" Xavier raised an eyebrow and explained, "The Academy runs for only four years officially, so technically both of them already graduated. But some students can stay for up to two more years by completing missions or under the excuse of supporting their Houses."

"So, the graduates are basically the top dogs?" Aegon asked.

"Exactly. They’re the top members of every House and are supposed to stay to oversee its development. Third and Fourth Years are too busy with practical fieldwork, while First and Second Years are just rookies."

"Hmm, I’m guessing Cali is independent," Aegon said.

"Right," Xavier nodded. "That’s why she has to complete missions to keep using the Academy’s resources. Sister Luna, on the other hand, is a member of a House, pretty big one actually so she has responsibilities there."

He glanced back at the city as they walked and continued, "I’m pretty sure Sis Cali was already on a mission, and Sister Luna was stationed in another city to watch over some Fourth Years. They only came back for you, so they’ll probably be leaving soon."

"I see. Is that why you didn’t notice their growing differences?" Aegon guessed.

Xavier sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I barely met them last year, three or four times at best. And even then, they never met together, so I didn’t sense anything wrong. Only recently did I start suspecting something was off, and well, you already know the rest."

He paused, realizing something, and asked, "That aside, how did you manage to convince Cali to take that step forward?"

"I didn’t," Aegon replied simply. "She took half a step forward on her own. I just helped her find the ground she needed to land on and complete that step."

If Cali hadn’t opened up and voiced her concerns, he wouldn’t have called Xiu, and things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe she wanted to take that step for a long time but was just scared," Aegon said softly. "Humans are like that, buddy. They need someone else to say the things they already know to make them understand. They need someone to push them forward."

"Bizarre creatures," Xavier nodded in agreement before realizing and asking, "Wait! Why are we talking like we’re from some other race?"

"I don’t know. Maybe you’re a spy from another race," Aegon said with a straight face.

"Don’t joke about that, idiot," Xavier grumbled.

"I mean, I’m technically a Valerian, so I’m half human."

Xavier stared at him for a long moment before clicking his tongue. "Don’t drag me into this nonsense."

"Too bad. You’re already in this with me," Aegon laughed, throwing an arm around Xavier’s shoulder.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah. Mutual feelings," Aegon said with a grin.

Soon, they reached the bottom of the massive staircase leading up to the Academy. Many students were already climbing the steps after showing their identity stones to the guards stationed there.

"Man, I’m suddenly nervous," Aegon muttered as he stared up at the enormous figure of the Giant God’s Hand. ’Damn! Is this how people feel when attending school for the first time? Give me a chocolate biscuit as compensation, only then I’ll go to school.’

[Do you want to extract Chocolate Biscuits, Host?]

’No!’

He almost facepalmed, remembering that he actually had a pack of biscuits in his sign-in rewards. Seriously, the system gave him the most random stuff sometimes.

"What are you so nervous about?" Xavier snorted. "Others should be the ones nervous because of you. Oh, that reminds me, are you really not going for the position of Black Star?"

"Black Star?" Aegon raised an eyebrow. "What’s that?"

"It’s the spot for the top student of every year," Xavier explained. "A position that gives you resources, fame, influence, all that stuff, you know. Basically, it’s what every student dreams of having. You could say a Black Star is someone everyone looks up to."

"Hmm, sounds too troublesome," Aegon said after a short pause. "People would keep challenging me, pestering me to join their Houses, blah blah. Too much of a headache. I’ll stick to my current peace."

Since he hadn’t participated in the Ranking Tournament, there was no way he could become a Black Star through normal means anyway. Not that he cared. He had zero interest in any position that would only attract unnecessary attention.

He already had enough of that.

"You know, it’ll be the first time an Augustus attended the Academy and didn’t become the Black Star of their year," Xavier pointed out.

"Every Augustus also joined the army," Aegon said calmly, "but I clearly have no intention of joining it. So, I’m already breaking enough family records. This one’s nothing special."