Chapter 485 - 484 - "Does he know anything?"
The afternoon sun hung high above Arcadia Academy, bathing the sprawling campus in brilliant golden light as a gentle summer breeze drifted through the vast training grounds. The sounds of clashing swords echoed rhythmically from one corner of the arena while bursts of elemental magic illuminated another, painting the air with fleeting flashes of crimson flames, azure torrents, and emerald winds. Groups of students sparred beneath the watchful eyes of instructors, some locked in fierce duels while others practiced the fundamentals of their respective disciplines with unwavering concentration. Every so often, cheers erupted from one training ring as a particularly impressive technique drew the admiration of those gathered nearby, only to be swallowed once again by the constant rhythm of steel striking steel.
Yet amidst the organized chaos...
One figure paid no attention to any of it.
Luca ran.
His feet struck the packed earth of the academy track with unwavering rhythm, each stride carrying him forward at tremendous speed as the scenery around him blurred into indistinct streaks of color. The wind rushed violently past his ears, tugging at his dark violet hair and causing his academy training attire to ripple relentlessly behind him. Sweat had already begun soaking through the fabric clinging to his back, while countless droplets rolled down the side of his face before disappearing into the ground beneath his relentless pace.
He wasn’t training.
At least...
Not today.
His body was moving.
But his mind was somewhere else entirely.
His breathing gradually grew heavier.
His heartbeat thundered against his ribs with increasing intensity.
Thump.
Another stride.
Thump.
Another breath.
Thump.
The steady rhythm of his heart seemed almost synchronized with the words that continued replaying themselves inside his mind.
"Or is it..."
Luca’s jaw unconsciously tightened.
"That I am the only person..."
His breathing became just a little rougher.
"...whom you have truly met..."
Another lap disappeared beneath his feet.
The muscles in his legs burned from exertion, yet he refused to slow down.
Instead...
He accelerated.
The wind grew louder.
His heartbeat became fiercer.
As though outrunning his thoughts might somehow silence them.
"For the very first time."
Those final words echoed within his mind once more.
Luca’s crimson eyes narrowed.
His expression remained composed.
Yet beneath that calm exterior...
His thoughts had become anything but orderly.
What exactly had the Vice Dean meant?
The question had followed him ever since leaving that office.
At first glance...
It had sounded like nothing more than harmless conversation.
A playful remark.
A philosophical observation.
Something intended to tease a student who had been observing him with obvious caution.
And yet...
The more Luca replayed that exchange...
The less convincing that explanation became.
His breathing grew deeper as he rounded another bend in the track.
Sweat continued pouring freely from his forehead, dampening his hair until strands clung loosely against his face.
The burning sensation in his lungs should have demanded his full attention.
Instead...
His mind stubbornly refused to leave that office.
The Vice Dean had laughed.
He had smiled.
Then, almost as though realizing the unusual direction the conversation had taken, he had gently waved his hand with an amused expression.
"Now then..."
The memory surfaced with remarkable clarity.
"Please don’t make such a serious face."
The Vice Dean had chuckled softly.
"I was merely making a joke."
His smile had remained as gentle as ever.
"You needn’t overthink the words of an old man."
At the time...
Luca had simply nodded politely.
The conversation had naturally shifted afterward toward far more ordinary matters concerning the academy and his recent expedition.
Anyone else...
Would probably have accepted the explanation exactly as it had been presented.
Luca couldn’t.
He couldn’t because something had felt...
Wrong.
Not with the words.
But with the timing.
The Vice Dean hadn’t dismissed the statement immediately after making it.
He had watched.
Carefully.
Patiently.
Almost as though waiting for Luca’s reaction before deciding to laugh it away.
Luca inhaled sharply as he completed yet another lap.
His heartbeat hammered violently within his chest now, each powerful pulse echoing against his ears while perspiration streamed freely down his neck and arms.
He welcomed the physical exhaustion.
It gave his restless mind something tangible to anchor itself to.
Even so...
The unease refused to disappear.
"I was merely making a joke."
Luca repeated the sentence silently.
Then slowly shook his head.
"No..."
The word escaped him almost unconsciously, barely louder than his own breathing.
It wasn’t certainty.
It wasn’t proof.
It wasn’t even evidence.
It was simply...
A feeling.
An instinct honed through countless battles, countless negotiations, and countless encounters with people whose smiles concealed far more than their words ever revealed.
That instinct had warned him many times before.
It had kept him alive.
And now...
It whispered the same thing again.
The Vice Dean had certainly smiled when he called it a joke.
He had certainly laughed.
His tone had been light.
His demeanor relaxed.
Everything about him had suggested that the conversation carried no deeper meaning.
Yet somehow...
Luca couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
Not completely.
Because beneath that warm smile...
Beneath that effortless laughter...
And beneath those calm crimson eyes that seemed to observe far more than they ever revealed...
There had been a single fleeting moment.
A moment so brief that another person might have overlooked it entirely.
But Luca hadn’t.
For the smallest fraction of a second...
The Vice Dean hadn’t looked like a man telling a joke.
He had looked...
Like a man asking a question whose answer already mattered more than either of them had admitted.
The evening sky stretched endlessly above Arcadia Academy, painted in magnificent shades of amber, crimson, and violet as the sun slowly descended beyond the distant mountains. Long shadows reached across the stone pathways, while the cool breeze that had begun replacing the warmth of the afternoon wandered gently through the academy grounds, carrying with it the scent of fresh grass and blooming flowers. The lively bustle that had filled the campus throughout the day had gradually begun to fade as students returned from lectures and training sessions, their laughter and conversations drifting softly through the air before slowly disappearing into the quiet embrace of the approaching night.
Luca walked alone.
His pace was neither hurried nor particularly slow.
Each step carried him naturally along the familiar stone paths that wound through the academy, yet there was no destination reflected within his crimson eyes.
His body moved almost entirely by habit.
His thoughts...
Remained imprisoned within the Vice Dean’s office.
The afternoon training had exhausted his muscles, leaving a pleasant heaviness throughout his body, but no amount of physical exertion had managed to quiet his restless mind. If anything, the endless laps around the training grounds had only allowed the conversation to replay itself over and over until every word, every pause, and every expression had become engraved within his memory.
"Or is it... that I am the only person whom you have truly met for the very first time?"
Those words continued echoing within his mind.
Luca quietly released a slow breath.
The Vice Dean had dismissed them.
He had smiled.
He had laughed.
He had insisted they were nothing more than the ramblings of an old man making an innocent joke.
Yet...
The more Luca thought about it...
The less innocent they seemed.
He had encountered countless people capable of lying.
He had fought enemies whose every smile concealed murderous intent.
He had negotiated with nobles who could weave deception into every sentence they spoke.
The Vice Dean...
Didn’t resemble any of them.
That was precisely what unsettled him.
Nothing about the silver-haired man had suggested dishonesty.
On the contrary...
His sincerity had felt almost absolute.
And perhaps...
That was exactly why Luca couldn’t dismiss the question.
Because if those words had not been spoken to deceive him...
Then why had they been spoken at all?
His footsteps slowed ever so slightly.
A new thought quietly emerged from the depths of his mind.
Does he know...?
The question formed before Luca could stop it.
Does the Vice Dean know something about me?
His expression gradually became more serious.
Did that mysterious man somehow know that Luca did not truly belong to this world?
Did he know about the countless playthroughs?
About the memories that should never have existed?
About the impossible knowledge Luca carried from another life?
For a fleeting moment...
The possibility felt disturbingly real.
Then, almost immediately, Luca shook his head.
"No..."
His voice was barely louder than the evening breeze.
"That doesn’t make sense."
If the Vice Dean truly knew such a secret...
Why speak in riddles?
Why ask vague questions instead of confronting him directly?
Why hide behind gentle smiles and philosophical conversations?
No.
That conclusion created more contradictions than answers.
Luca exhaled slowly.
"I’ve been overthinking this."
The words sounded reasonable.
Logical.
Almost convincing.
Yet...
Even as he attempted to dismiss the thought...
Another question quietly surfaced.
Then why did he ask it?
Luca’s brows gradually furrowed once again.
If it truly had been nothing more than a joke...
Why had it felt so deliberate?
Why had the Vice Dean observed him so carefully before laughing it away?
Why had those crimson eyes seemed to search his face as though expecting a particular reaction?
Luca unconsciously tightened his fists.
Every answer he reached only gave birth to another question.
Every explanation seemed to collapse beneath its own contradictions.
He couldn’t understand it.
And perhaps...
That inability frustrated him more than anything else.
Lost within the endless maze of his own thoughts, Luca continued walking without paying the slightest attention to the path beneath his feet.
The academy buildings gradually disappeared behind him.
The distant voices of students became quieter.
The evening breeze grew cooler.
Then...
A familiar sound gently reached his ears.
The soft rippling of water.
A quiet breeze dancing across its surface.
The rhythmic whisper of tiny waves brushing against the shore.
Luca’s footsteps slowly came to a halt.
His thoughts abruptly scattered.
For the first time in several minutes, he truly looked at his surroundings.
The golden light of the setting sun shimmered beautifully across the vast lake before him, transforming its tranquil surface into a sea of liquid gold. Ancient willow trees swayed gently along the shoreline, their slender branches dancing lazily above the water as countless flower petals drifted across the gentle ripples.
Luca stared at the peaceful scene for a long moment.
Then, almost unconsciously, a faint, helpless smile appeared upon his face.
"...Have I come here again?"
His quiet murmur disappeared into the evening breeze as the lake answered with nothing more than the gentle song of rippling water.