“What if I want you?”

The words landed lightly. Too lightly, almost, as if they were meant to drift past rather than hit him.

Ruvian blinked a couple of times. He looked at her with disbelief. Then, very deliberately, he asked again as if he wasn’t sure whether he’d heard her right, or perhaps to give her an opening to retreat.

“…What did you say?”

Calyra didn’t glance his way. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and tapped the edge of her book with her finger. “I mean…” she said, still avoiding his gaze, “what if I want you… to help me. In return.”

Her delivery was flawless; she managed to turn around the table effortlessly. Flat, dry, and emotionless too, but her shoulders were a little too still. Ruvian exhaled softly, the tension in his chest dissolving into something more amused than surprised.

'I never expected that she was going to be influenced by Silvena this much already.'

“For the test?” he asked.

Calyra stared at the book on the table as if it might offer her a better response.

“…No.”

A small silence stretched between them again, filled only by the soft rustling of faraway pages. Then, at last, she turned slightly toward him.

“T-this is too sudden,” she admitted, her tone still calm, but she showed some kind of self-awareness that only surfaced when she was thinking more than she was willing to say.

“I don’t actually have anything specific in mind right now,” she continued. “But…” She looked at him fully then. With that same directness she always had. “…Can I hold onto your word?” she asked softly.

“That whenever I need help… you’ll help me?”

Ruvian didn’t hesitate. “Yes. As long as it’s within my capability,” he said quietly. He wasn’t smiling, but his gaze softened.

Calyra nodded. Then, after a pause, she added in a voice just a touch lower:

“Alright. Sure.”

Ruvian reached into his coat pocket without a word.

For a moment, Calyra thought he was going to hand her another piece of parchment or some obscure magical relic to decode. Instead, he placed a small, silver ring onto the table. Its surface glinted under the warm library lamps.

Without explanation, he slid it across the wood toward her.

“Can you hold onto this for me?” he asked calmly.

Calyra blinked. Her gaze moved from the ring to him and back again, her brow lifting just slightly as if questioning the sanity of the moment.

“…What exactly do you want me to do with it?” she asked, voice level as always.

“I want you to hold onto this for me, from now on and until the end of it,” Ruvian replied, unflinching. There was a long silence between them as Calyra quietly stared at the ring on the table. (+150PP)

Then, with that same deadpan delivery she always wore when being inexplicably herself, she tilted her head slightly and said:

“…I didn’t expect you to be so forward.”

“Yes, so can you do that for me? It should be simple for you, right?”

Calyra stared at it for another few seconds, then folded her arms over the book on the table. “I can’t accept this,” she said, her tone unchanged.

“Why not?” Ruvian asked.

“Because,” she said, almost philosophically, “we’re still scholars. This isn’t the time for that kind of thing.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“…That kind of thing?” he echoed.

Calyra nodded solemnly, tapping the ring once with her finger. Ruvian stiffened. For the first time in their entire conversation, a faint frown appeared on his face.

'Don't tell me....'

“You’re not assuming I was… proposing to you, are you?” he asked carefully, eyes narrowing just enough to suggest mild concern for her.

At last, the corner of her lips curled upward…barely, but it was still a smile! Small, dry, and very, very real.

“You handed me a ring,” she said plainly. “Without any context. And then asked me to keep it. Am I wrong to interpret that?”

Ruvian stared at her, dead silent. He thought for a long moment and then looked at the ceiling as though it might offer him divine clarification. It did not help him at all.

'....I should have been clearer next time.'

“Sad, so this isn’t a proposal?” She kept teasing him with a hint of a mischievous tone.

Ruvian pinched the bridge of his nose. “No.”

“Not even an engagement?”

“No.”

She looked back at the ring, still sitting on the table.

“Not even a pre-engagement arrangement?”

“Calyra.”

“…We’re not going any further than this, so let’s end it here,” he muttered under his breath, incredulous.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Calyra replied with perfect seriousness, with a small hint of a smile. She slipped the ring into her sleeve.

“But I’ll keep it safe… Fiancé.”

“...”

‘Since when did she learned to be this teaseful? Ah, whatever. But still, this is even worse because of her straight face compared to Silvena’s playful one!’

Calyra let the silence linger just long enough to ensure he’d suffer through it. Then, as if flipping a switch only she had access to, her tone shifted. “Alright,” she said, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. “Why do you actually want me to keep this?”

She wasn’t teasing now.

Ruvian nodded, as though he had been waiting for that question all along. “I need you to help me bypass the final security check before we board the ship,” he said calmly. “Slip it into your dimensional storage. If I carry it myself, it might get flagged.”

Calyra’s expression grew more thoughtful. She glanced toward the ring again, but this time her gaze lingered.

“And how exactly am I supposed to pass it back to you?” she asked. “From what I’ve heard, the academy usually sends out two vessels. There’s a high chance we’ll be split.”

'No, this year... it will only be one. They decided to cut the cost and spend it elsewhere, towards hiring more adventurers.' However, he couldn't tell her that.

She tilted her head slightly, mind already working through the logistics. “Even if we aren’t, they conduct a second inspection after boarding, don’t they? We might be monitored until we land.”

Ruvian remained unfazed.

“No,” he said. “You won’t return it to me on the ship.” He leaned back in his chair slightly, folding his hands in his lap. “You’ll give it to me in a few days after we’ve reached the island.”

Calyra raised an eyebrow, her silence prompting elaboration.

“I have a plan for that,” he added simply.

Calyra studied him for a moment longer. Then, with the faintest of nods, she reached up her sleeve, pressed her hand briefly and sent the ring into her dimensional storage effortlessly.

“…I see. Let’s hear it. Your plan.”

He began laying out the framework of his plan, at least, the part she needed to know. Ruvian spoke with measured calmness, his words never rushed.

It wasn’t that he doubted Calyra’s understanding; on the contrary, he trusted it enough to speak plainly. But some things required the space between sentences to breathe, to sink in.

Ruvian had spent the last week recollecting whatever information he could remember about Vazrun Island—its terrain, supply zones, leyline flow, elevation shifts, and the routes taken by test participants.

Of course, he didn’t say where he had obtained it all. And this time, Calyra didn’t ask. She could have—anyone else might have—but the kind of knowledge he offered her wasn’t suspicious in itself.

After all, a good portion of it could easily be gathered from upperclassmen, passed down through idle stories and shared warnings. It existed within the realm of plausible preparation, not forbidden intelligence.

Or maybe, she was just trusting him too much.

So, she simply listened as he pointed out key ridges and glades, narrow passageways through thickets, and the particular bend in the northern riverbank where the mana condensation was said to spike.

Then, he told her where to meet him, and when, down to the approximate hours of sunlight and tide. It was specific but not overly so. But even as he explained the rendezvous point and timing, there was a second thread running beneath his words.

This arrangement between the two of them wasn’t just a logistical convenience. It wasn’t even primarily about the dimensional ring. He had folded her into his plan for another reason altogether. Something that disconnected from his larger strategy involving Julian.

No, this was more personal.

Rosalin and Calyra... They need to clash on the Vazrun Island.

Two strong pieces are left on the edge of the board.

Ruvian didn’t need them for now. He needed them for what they could become. He must orchestrate their development, nudge them toward the places where growth might find them. So he gave her a task. Calyra doesn’t need to understand the motive behind it, how it would unfold, how it weaves together and affects another. No, all she needs to do is follow his instructions without knowing it was for the greater good.

Out of all the core characters, he needed both Calyra and Rosalin to be prepared, stronger than anyone else. Especially for the next arc after the Vazrun Island Test.

[Your action towards Core Canon-Characters has greatly impacted the course of the story!]

[You have received +1500 Plot Points!]

PP=9000

ME=355