"Here's your room."
I stepped aside, letting Leah peek into the space she'd be staying in for the next three years.
With a small gesture, I motioned inside and gave her a faint smile.
"Anathasia's room is next to yours. Mine's right beside hers," I said as I walked past her. "Don't hesitate to call us if you run into any issues."
I glanced back over my shoulder.
"Okay?"
Leah nodded. Subtle, almost hesitant.
Her expression still carried that faint trace of guilt.
The same one I'd seen on her face a few months ago, by the river, when I went back home with Anathasia.
Once I made sure she was inside her room, I turned away and headed straight for the kitchen.
Anathasia was already there, holding the same small saucer she always used to taste her cooking, still wearing the familiar blue apron she always put on whenever she cooked.
"Is she done unpacking?" she asked, sipping from the saucer before casually holding it out for me to taste.
I took a small sip, then nodded.
…It tastes a little sweeter.
Is that because she used it first?
"Not really," I replied. "I figured she might prefer being alone for now. She's been quiet since she got here. Hard to tell what she's thinking."
I leaned back against the counter, letting out a quiet sigh as Anathasia turned back to the stove.
"Figures," she said with a shrug, ladle in one hand, saucer in the other. "People can be pretty hard to read."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You're an exception, I guess."
She hummed lightly. "Well, you're not wrong. And it helps that we *could* just communicate telepathically."
She paused, her movements slowing.
"Though… that didn't exactly save us during those first few months we lived together."
I looked away, my hand drifting up to cover my mouth.
"Yeah," I admitted quietly. "I was… pretty insensitive back then."
A beat.
"Honestly, I was an idiot."
Anathasia didn't respond right away. She simply stirred the pot, unhurried.
"But it's because of those stupid arguments," she said gently, lifting the ladle and pouring some into her saucer, "that we can take things slower now."
She handed it to me.
"Isn't that right?"
My hand extended naturally, accepting the saucer. I brought it closer and took a careful sip.
I hummed, then set it down on the counter beside me.
"True," I said, crossing my arms loosely over my chest. "Making small adjustments for Leah?"
"Yup," she replied. "Back then, I only cared about whether it suited your palate. And Noah's tastes were pretty close to yours anyway."
She shrugged lightly.
"So this is actually the first time I'm cooking for an outsider."
"That's fair," I inclined my head.
Silence settled between us.
Then—
"Right. Speaking of which, I just remembered."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box.
"I ordered this a few weeks ago."
Anathasia turned toward me, her gaze flicking from the box to my face.
"What is it?" she asked, a hint of curiosity slipping into her voice.
"A ring."
I opened the box, revealing a silver band that caught the light. With a small infinity symbol in it.
"I just thought you might like it."
She froze for a brief moment—
Then reached out and took the box from my hands.
Anathasia stared at the ring in silence, inspecting it closely before lifting it out and slipping it onto her finger.
Her gaze lingered there for a few seconds.
Then she looked up at me.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, pulling her hand to her chest. "Thank you."
Her expression softened, a gentle smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Of course, I knew what I was implying by giving it to her… though—
"With this…" she mumbled, her gaze darkening slightly as a quiet chuckle escaped her.
She lifted her hand, turning her knuckles toward me.
"I can spam this emote whenever girls try approaching you now," she added, snickering. "Hah."
…I'm glad she's happy with it at least. Right?
For some reason, she just started snickering before turning back to the pot.
—
Around two weeks later, Anathasia and I stood near the canteen after finishing four of our courses. Students were running around left and right, carrying stacks of papers. A few, however, were simply… taking it easy.
Like us.
"For the first time," Anathasia said, then swallowed her snack, casually taking the bottle of water from my hand before taking a swig. "I actually didn't have to worry about exams since… like, the time I descended."
"That's progress," my hand reached out to pat her head. "It means your adaptability is just that insane."
"Well," she leaned against me, crossing her arms while watching everyone else panic about their requirements. "I had someone with insane patience beside me, so naturally."
Anathasia's voice suddenly lowered to a whisper. "I wouldn't say the credit all goes to me," she glanced over her shoulder. "Cause I'd argue you did more than you give yourself credit for."
She turned back ahead, her brows knitting slightly as she leaned fully against me.
"So yeah… just like what you told Noah a month ago," she said, hands slipping casually into her pockets. "What we have is something we earned."
"And the fact that I haven't done anything stupid to this world up until now…"
She paused.
"Is arguably because of you."
Her body relaxed against mine, slow, subtle. My hand returned to the top of her head, fingers brushing gently through her hair.
The noise around us began to fade.
Students blurred at the edges of my vision, their movements suddenly faster, unnatural.
…Weird.
I pulled my phone from my pocket.
The hours on the screen smeared together before snapping into focus.
Three hours had passed.
Our next course was in ten minutes.
"Eh…?" I rubbed my eyes. "What…?"
Anathasia glanced back, noticing the confusion on my face.
"Oh." She gently nudged herself away before turning to face me. "That's the Fragment of Stillness at work."
She reached out, lacing her fingers through my left hand.
"The concept of time can't really affect you meaningfully, remember?" she said calmly.
"It works without invocation—but your thoughts can influence it sometimes."
Her thumb brushed lightly against my knuckles.
"After all," she added, "it's always been a part of you."
I stared at her for a moment, then glanced around us.
"…That sounds… inconvenient."
Anathasia's eyes widened a fraction. She looked away, covering her mouth as she stifled a laugh.
"R-right…" she muttered. "It can be inconvenient at times—especially since, unlike the other four fragments, it's uninvocable."
I sighed and rubbed my temple.
"This is more troublesome than I imagined," I said. "And there's also Leah. I still have to deal with her."
"Ngh—pfft… yeah," Anathasia inhaled sharply, then exhaled as her composure returned. "There's still Leah."
She glanced at me.
"That girl's carrying something she doesn't need to."
I pushed off the wall, checking my phone as we started back toward the classroom, Anathasia falling into step beside me.
"Unnecessary weight," I murmured. "I should end it as soon as possible—"
"—or it gets out of hand and she starts thinking she's in love with you?" Anathasia cut in smoothly, hitting the mark as usual.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I looked down the hallway ahead.
"Looks like we're already thinking the same thing."
—
By the end of the day, we'd finished exams for five of our courses. The results hadn't been officially announced yet, but—
"Alright… let's see," Anathasia said as another sheet of paper materialized in her hand while we walked. The sun was still high; afternoon hadn't even begun to wane.
"One-eighty. One-fifty. Eighty. One-ninety. One-thirty."
She glanced at me.
"And yours—two hundred, one-eighty, one hundred, one-seventy, and two hundred."
She handed the paper over casually.
"Three perfect scores out of five."
Out of sheer curiosity, she'd peeked into the future for our results.
I took the paper from her, scanned it briefly, then folded it and slipped it into my pocket.
"Yeah… but your scores," I said, glancing at her as we walked. "That's a massive improvement. Honestly."
I ran my fingers through her white hair, watching the strands slip through them smoothly, catching a bit of sunlight as they fell.
"How about we stop by that cake shop you like?" I added. "We'll get some for Leah, too."
Anathasia went quiet. She crossed one arm loosely over her chest, clearly unbothered by the way I kept idly tugging at her hair.
Then she smiled, and looked at me.
Her eyes glinted with mischief.
"Hoh…" she chuckled. "So you're planning to give her something first, then corner her right after so she opens up?"
"That's evil."
I flinched.
She'd read my plan without effort, like we were tuned to the same wavelength.
"It's not cornering her," I said, shaking my head. "I just want to clear things up. You're exaggerating."
Anathasia shrugged and walked a step ahead of me.
"Well," she said lightly, "I won't stop you if that's the fastest solution you've got."
She stopped suddenly.
Hands clasped behind her back, she turned and leaned in, white hair falling forward as she met my gaze.
"After all," she added softly,
"we can't have someone barging in just because she managed to sweet-talk your mother."
For a second, when our eyes met, her red irises seemed to glow.
But after everything, it wasn't that unusual anymore.
What unsettled me was the balance in her gaze. Sharp, yet careful.
Not in a bad way.
Almost like she already knew how everything was going to unfold.
…Then again, she'd peeked into the future just a minute ago, so she probably did.
"Yeah," I said quietly.
"Not solving something before it turns into a problem… that's just me asking for another Marianne situation."
The moment the words left my mouth, she straightened slightly, her expression softening.
"Looks like you don't need my help anymore then."
A small smile curved on her lips.