CHAPTER 52: SECRETS, LIES, AND GLARES

What Elena was asking about probably didn’t match the kind of "girlfriend" she had in mind.

"...Really?" she said quietly.

Her voice dropped, and her expression changed in an instant. Her usual warmth faded, replaced by something oddly cold.

’Wait, what...? Why is she looking at me like that?’

I felt a bead of sweat roll down my temple. Her reaction made no sense. It was as if I’d just confessed to some terrible crime instead of answering a simple question.

"Elena?" I asked carefully.

She stared at me for a moment, then said in a firm, almost solemn tone, "Louis. I believe friends shouldn’t lie to each other."

Her words caught me off guard.

"I... agree," I said slowly.

It wasn’t like she was wrong. Lies do damage relationships. They break trust, create distance. I knew that better than anyone.

But sometimes, lying isn’t about deception—it’s about survival.

Sometimes you have to hide certain truths, even from the people closest to you. Everyone has secrets they can’t share.

And mine?

Mine was something no one could ever know.

The fact that I’m a transmigrator.

That alone was enough to shatter everything if it ever got out.

So no, I wasn’t lying out of malice. I was just protecting something far too big to explain.

Still, I couldn’t understand why Elena suddenly brought this up now, or why she seemed so... hurt.

Before I could ask, the door opened and Professor Dominic walked in, his usual calm voice cutting through the tension.

"Let’s begin the class."

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor filled the room as everyone turned their attention forward.

I sat there for a moment, still thinking about Elena’s words.

Whatever she was upset about, I’d have to ask her after class.

Class began as usual, but I couldn’t focus on a single thing Professor Dominic was saying.

His lecture on monster classification echoed faintly in the background — something about the differences between magical beasts and corrupted creatures — but my mind kept drifting back to Elena.

Every now and then, I glanced to my right. She sat perfectly still, her expression calm and composed as she took notes.

If I hadn’t seen her earlier, I would’ve thought nothing was wrong.

But I had seen her.

That cold look in her eyes.

The way her voice dropped when she said "really."

It wasn’t like her at all.

’Did I actually do something wrong?’

Maybe she misunderstood something I said earlier. Or maybe someone told her something about me.

No — that didn’t make sense. Elena wasn’t the type to judge people based on rumors.

"Louis," Professor Dominic’s voice snapped me back to reality.

"Yes, sir?"

"What did I just say about corrupted-type monsters?"

I froze. The entire class turned their heads toward me, waiting.

"...That they... um, evolve when they absorb dark mana?"

Professor Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Partially correct. But corrupted-type monsters are born from dark mana exposure — they don’t evolve into it."

"R-right. Sorry."

He nodded and continued his lecture without pressing further.

I let out a small sigh of relief. My classmates went back to scribbling notes, and Elena didn’t even glance my way.

’Great. First she gets mad, and now I look like an idiot in front of everyone.’

I tried to pull myself together, forcing my attention back to the lesson.

Professor Dominic’s tone became more serious as he drew a large diagram of a creature on the board — long claws, skeletal frame, glowing eyes.

"This," he said, tapping the chalk against the sketch, "is a Ghoul Hound. Unlike normal beasts, it retains fragments of intelligence. Once it locks onto a target, it doesn’t stop until that target is dead."

A shiver ran down my spine. I’d seen one of those before — not in real life, but in the comic.

It appeared during the early dungeon arc...

The same arc I was currently inside of.

’If things keep changing the way they have been lately... then maybe I’ll have to fight one for real.’

That thought alone was enough to make my stomach twist.

-----

After our afternoon classes wrapped up, Elena and I headed straight to the student council room.

Fortunately, she seemed back to her usual self. The gloom from this morning had vanished, replaced by her normal, calm demeanor.

Though... every now and then, she’d flinch when she saw couples walking arm in arm down the hall. Still, compared to earlier, she looked much better.

"What do they usually do at student council meetings?" she asked, glancing at me.

"I’m not really sure," I admitted. "Probably stuff like voting on agenda items or discussing academy matters. You know—official things."

Truth be told, I had no idea what actually happened during those meetings. My knowledge came from vague memories—bits and pieces I’d seen when passing by the student council room before.

"I think it goes something like this," I continued, trying to sound confident. "The class presidents and vice presidents all gather, and the princess—she’s the council president—sits at the front. She asks questions, people give reports or opinions, and that’s about it."

"So we just sit quietly and then leave?" Elena tilted her head.

"Pretty much." I gave a small shrug. "We’re freshmen, after all. Our job is to look polite and not cause trouble."

And that was the truth. The student council’s core members were intimidating. There was the heir to a massive trading company, the daughter of the Northern Grand Duke, and a few other students with noble lineages that could probably fund a small city.

Compared to them, we were just newcomers still figuring out where the cafeteria’s best seats were.

’Besides,’ I thought, ’there probably won’t be any big agenda items today.’

It had only been a week since we’d enrolled, so there wasn’t much for the council to actually do yet. Today’s meeting was likely just an introduction session for the newly elected class representatives.

As we talked, we reached the Academy’s main building. The student council room was on the fifth floor, near the top—an elegant space with wide hallways and tall arched windows.

By the time we got there, the place was already buzzing with people.

Class presidents and vice presidents from every first-year class were gathered, chatting nervously or straightening their uniforms. There were at least ten of us from the freshman year alone, and that didn’t even include the senior members who ran the council.

It was, frankly, a lot more crowded than I expected.

Elena and I squeezed through the throng, scanning the neatly labeled desks until we found ours.

[1-C]

Two chairs, one small desk.

We exchanged a brief look before sitting down.

"Let’s just stay quiet," I whispered, leaning closer. "Blend in and survive."

She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Got it."