Rylan rubbed his chin in thought. This was, indeed, an interesting offer. Lucian and Ophelia’s words had been enough on their own, but he was also thinking about things from another angle, now that Lucian had revealed the council’s true influence.

Can’t they protect everyone while I’m not here?

Rylan knew he would eventually head to the battlefield, based on Damian’s words. Things would start slow at first, but once his abilities were gradually unveiled, the level of responsibility he would have to bear would naturally increase. It was a process he was deeply familiar with. At the same time, he would rather go through war by himself than let Gerard or his siblings go to a battleground.

So I won’t be able to stay within Ceotha all the time.

If he developed a good relationship with the members of the student council, they could act as a shield that would keep his family from harm while he was away fighting. In fact, it was something that Jasmine had already shown to be willing to do, alongside the Lamollet house. Because of his talent, Rylan knew that the noble houses that the council members belonged to wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.

As Rylan pondered, Hayden approached his left from behind.

“That’s a better deal,” Hayden stated in a clear voice. “But joining the student council would also paint a target on our backs. The moment we choose a faction, any faction within the Academy, the others will react. We’ll have new allies, but also new enemies.”

Rylan and Jasmine nodded at the same time. Lucian blinked.

“That’s a fair point, but not choosing any faction at all would be the same as inviting trouble either way,” Ophelia replied with a kind smile. “All it would take is for you to refuse to join one of them for them to become hostile to you. Besides, we’re confident that the student council is where the most influential and powerful students are, even when taking their families into consideration. We’re just not overwhelming enough to root out all opposition.”

Rylan tilted his head. It was true. There were countless people in the world who would choose to kill or cripple someone they couldn’t control. Even if that wasn’t true for the teenagers and young men and women in the Academies, it could be true for the families behind them.

“Perfect neutrality is a privilege of the truly powerful,” Rylan said as he turned to look at Hayden. “Those capable of shrugging off any and all consequences of antagonizing the entire field at once. We aren’t quite there yet.”

Hayden furrowed his brow, then nodded a second later.

“Makes sense. I’ll follow your lead, then,” he replied.

Rylan raised an eyebrow.

“Why? It’s a decision that will also affect you.”

Hayden simply shrugged.

“Just feels like it would be the right thing to do.”

Rylan scoffed, but as he was about to reply, Jasmine took a step forward. Rylan turned to look at her. Her expression was a mask of steeled determination.

“I’ve got a question,” she said firmly. “And it’ll determine my decision.”

Both Lucian and Ophelia straightened their backs almost at the same time. Lucian nodded at Jasmine and motioned at her to continue.

“What is the student council’s stance on the war?” Jasmine asked while clenching her fists. “And about whether the students should participate or not?”

Rylan frowned, able to see where she was going with this from a mile away.

“Jasmine,” he said, but she didn’t even look at him.

Lucian’s face darkened, while Ophelia looked at the floor. After a second of deafening silence, Lucian took a deep breath.

“That is a question I can’t answer,” he started. “Simply because the situation can change at any point in unpredictable ways. I have no clue what the war will look like three months or a year from now. Right now, my stance is that students should be students, not soldiers. We’re Mages in training.”

Jasmine visibly relaxed and glanced at Rylan before nodding her head.

“Then, I’ll join.”

Lucian grinned, but his expression was still marred by her question. There was now an edge to his gaze that didn’t previously exist. To Rylan’s left, Hayden smiled and nodded to himself, but said nothing.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Meanwhile, Rylan alternated his gaze between his friends and Lucian and Ophelia, resisting the urge to sigh.

It’s not as if I don’t get it, but…

He also wouldn’t want a friend to head into war for seemingly little reason. Regardless of whether she was attracted to him or not, it made sense for Jasmine to keep trying to get him not to go to a battlefield. However, he maintained his stance. If he could fight to protect his family, the kingdom they cared about, and the futures of others, he would choose to do so every time.

Maybe one day you’ll understand it too.

He looked back at Lucian. It wasn’t a bad deal at all, even when considering everything that had been said in this conversation. If worst came to worst, he would willingly paint a target on his back to shield his friends. It didn’t matter if his enemies would be noble houses that spanned multiple kingdoms or whatnot.

“I choose to join the student council,” Rylan said after a second in a firm tone.

Lucian visibly relaxed and gave him a tired smile.

“…That’s great. Thank you, Rylan,” he said.

Hayden and Jasmine stepped forward almost at the same time before trading a look.

“We’ll join too,” Jasmine said as she turned back to look at Lucian.

Hayden nodded. Lucian’s smile got a bit wider. In this atmosphere, Ophelia suddenly clapped her hands as she beamed at them.

“Great!” she said loudly. “We’ll introduce you guys to the others once the morning classes are over. They’ve all been wanting to meet you for a long time!”

Lucian groaned.

“Tell me about it,” he replied. “I thought they would talk my ear off.”

“Your hearing’s just going bad, old man,” she said with a smile before blinking and looking at Rylan. “I mean, he isn’t that old, but—”

Rylan laughed, interrupting her words.

“You’re all kids, kids,” he stated.

Hayden shook his head with a sigh.

“There you go pretending you’re older than you actually are again,” he said.

Rylan only grinned at his friend before turning back to look at Lucian and Ophelia.

“It’s a deal. See you guys during lunchtime.”

The two of them nodded at the same time and waved their goodbyes. A few moments later, Rylan and his two friends were on their way back to their classroom. None of them said anything.

“Are you angry at me?” Jasmine suddenly asked as they arrived in front of the classroom doors.

Rylan only looked at her with a smile.

“No,” he replied softly. “You’re just worried. Nothing wrong with that.”

She stared straight into his eyes.

“…I don’t think you should go.”

“And that’s fine. But I have to.”

She frowned heavily, but before they could continue, the doors opened, dragging their attention away from each other. The student that had just opened the door froze in place at the sight of the three of them. Behind him, Rylan could see Rebecca standing at the teacher’s podium with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Rylan entered the room, followed by his friends. Once they were seated, Rebecca continued her lecture.

The lecture ended quickly, as did the others that followed. In what felt like no time at all, Rylan, Hayden and Jasmine were standing in front of the classroom’s doors, where Lucian and Ophelia awaited. Naturally, the group drew all sorts of glances as the students left their classrooms to head to the cafeteria or the other buildings, but Rylan simply ignored them. Conversations sparked here and there, either about his group or about whatever random subject the students chose, creating a veritable cacophony that assaulted his sharpened senses.

“Follow me,” Lucian said loudly, likely in an attempt to overcome the surrounding noise. “Let’s meet the others. Your new uniforms are waiting over there.”

Rylan nodded. Lucian turned around as Ophelia waved at him, then started walking. Rylan, Jasmine, and Hayden only followed. Jasmine looked around as the students on the way continued to stare at them and stepped a bit closer to Rylan. Hayden also seemed to be a bit uncomfortable, but it was an expected reaction.

Eventually, they left the building and started walking through the Academy grounds by following the stone roads. Lush grass with a few benches where students sat and laughed and towering trees acted as the backdrop to the walk, making it actually quite pleasant.

Eventually, they arrived in front of a building that was smaller than the others. Engraved on the stone above the gates were the words “Student Council.” Rylan raised an eyebrow.

I didn’t think they would get an entire building just for them.

The gates reacted the moment Lucian got within three meters of them and opened automatically, much like the doors to the classrooms. After walking under a wide stone arch and following a hallway, they arrived in front of double wooden doors. Lucian unhesitatingly pushed them open and walked inside, followed by the others.

“We’re back!” Ophelia shouted as she entered the room. “And we’ve brought them!”

At the same time, Rylan scanned the room. It was wide and rather high, with the floor made of white marble. Red plush sofas and chairs populated the room, as well as wide wooden desks. Books upon books lay on the desks and even the sofas themselves, creating small mountains that contained knowledge about a variety of subjects. On the far end, large glass windows were lined with red velvet curtains that draped over their edges. Close to them, to the left, a winding staircase led to the second floor. The edges of the room were lined with bookshelves that also contained spherical crystals. The whole room smelled like aged paper, but it wasn’t unpleasant, and as expected, it was mostly silent.

Not bad.

Finally, his attention was drawn to the people inside. The first one was a bearded young man who was sitting on the closest sofa. The moment he locked eyes with Rylan, he sprang to his feet as if he’d seen his greatest enemy and gave Rylan a savage grin. Rylan blinked.

He’s huge.

It had been obvious even when the young man was sitting down, but now that he’d risen to his full height, it had become painfully so. The man seemed to be over two meters tall and quite well-built, especially for a Mage. He was dressed in a clean white robe with golden linings that joined together over the chest area to create the Academy’s insignia of a blaze. He had orange hair that reminded Rylan of a flame and green eyes, his face speckled with freckles.

Rylan nodded at him, but that only made his smile widen even more.

“You three are finally here,” the orange-haired young man started. His voice was surprisingly ordinary for someone with such an imposing build.