After the nurse's initial check-up and barrage of questions, I was finally let off the hook. Shifting the conversation toward Rufus had been an effective distraction, just enough to make her forget the thread she was trying to pull with me.
I let out a slow sigh as I stepped outside the medical ward, the sterile scent of mana disinfectant still clinging faintly to my nose.
'Well… less pain in the ass for me.'
With no particular destination in mind, I wandered. The Academy was unusually quiet—probably because most students were still attending their trips or caught up in their own business.
Eventually, my feet carried me to the garden. A secluded place nestled behind the west wing of the Academy—a rare slice of serenity amidst all the chaos. A place where time seemed to slow, and the air wasn't charged with tension.
I figured I'd rest here for a while, clear my mind.
But I wasn't the only one who had the same idea.
