A week had passed since Rowan got his first offer to join a club.
Since then, clubs had been popping up like mosquitoes on a humid night. Annoying, noisy, and hard to ignore.
Rowan was coming back from Professor Myrren's class.
She had assigned them a task where they had to come up with a well-thought-out idea to improve the relationship between monsters and humans.
"What the hell... it hasn't even been two weeks since I got here and I already have to work on a group project."
He walked toward the cafeteria, kicking small rocks along the path.
'Which club should I join? I still haven't earned any points.'
Rowan still wasn't sure what to do.
Gael had invited him to the Humanoid Observation Club, but the club had no members, and no real chance of earning points.
If the group he joined earned points from what the other members did, he could benefit without having to do much. But the invitations he got were always from weird clubs, full of suspicious or bizarre tasks. All the leaders thought Rowan, with his human appearance, was absurdly powerful.
Which, of course, was a huge misunderstanding, since he could barely stay on his feet whenever a creature with tentacles or glass wings popped up in the hall.
'Should I just start walking down the road until I get home?'
He was deep in thought as he walked, gaze distant.
'Not gonna work... I'm gonna need better legs for that.'
"Hey... Rowan!"
A familiar voice snapped him out of it.
He looked over his shoulder and saw Nina running toward him, a bit out of breath, her breathing uneven. Her feline ears twitched with each step and her tail swung wildly from side to side, reacting to her physical effort.
"You heading to the cafeteria?"
She stopped next to him, slightly bent forward with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"Yeah... why? You coming with me? I thought you had club activities now."
"Yeah... that's right..."
She tucked her hair behind her ear with a sweet smile.
"But instead of eating at the cafeteria... how about you eat what we're making in the club? I need your help again as a taste tester."
'Damn... this again?'
In the past few days, Rowan had gone through food experiences that were borderline traumatic. And all of them had the same name on them: Nina.
He had already figured out a few things since arriving at the academy.
Nina was kind, lovely, cheerful.
Completely different from what he expected to find in a school full of monsters. And that made him feel more at ease.
But the other thing he noticed... was that Nina was a terrible cook.
His stomach still complained every time he remembered the last experience: a so-called "Cheese Risotto with Lunar Fruit Nectar" that felt more like a bowl of cement.
Rowan raised his hands in defense, cold sweat running down his forehead.
"Ah... I don't know, Nina. I was thinking of eating something lighter today. I'm not even that hungry."
"Ahh... really?"
She muttered, clearly disappointed.
"Yeah... maybe next time, Nina."
She crossed her arms and let out a sigh.
"Of all days... I really wanted to try a new recipe. That's a shame."
'I hope that next time never comes...'
She stayed quiet for a few seconds, then relaxed her shoulders with a soft smile.
"Hmmm... if that's how it is, I guess I'll just keep you company at the cafeteria then."
Rowan forced a nervous smile, trying to mentally block out the image of that weird gray risotto.
'At least the company is good... even if the food almost killed me.'
====
The library at Meridiana Academy was cold, quiet, and way too crowded for anyone without patience.
But Sera always preferred the silence of books over the chaos of people's voices. Among tall shelves, dusty pillars, and floating crystals lighting up forgotten corridors, there she was. Sitting alone at the back table, as usual.
Despite her reputation for not caring about anything or anyone, Sera was the kind of person who took schoolwork seriously. She didn't compete for the best grades or care about standing out. But still, she always turned everything in perfectly. Maybe out of pride? Stubbornness?
Or maybe it was both, since she was part vampire.
Wanting to be better was in her blood.
She slammed another book shut and let out a loud sigh.
"Fuuuuh..."
"This one's full of nonsense too."
It was the sixteenth book she had skimmed that afternoon.
She checked the publication date on the back cover.
"Twenty years ago... trash."
'How am I supposed to learn anything with books this outdated and useless?'
Sera was trying to write Professor Myrren's report.
The assignment about "Solutions for Human and Monster Coexistence."
But almost every book about humans was either shallow or way too fictional. And the ones that had something more concrete were filled with old opinions, prejudice, and baseless assumptions.
She flipped through the pages of a thinner volume.
Since she was born, she had only been to the human world three times. Twice as a child, and once more recently—but that didn't even count, since she hadn't seen any humans up close.
She wanted to turn in something decent. Something that made sense.
But doing it alone was tough.
'Maybe this time I should've worked with someone?'
She thought about Nina. One of the few people she could tolerate in class.
But then she remembered Nina had already partnered with someone else.
"Damn it..."
She considered blaming Nina...
But then remembered she never said she wanted to work with anyone. She always chose to do things alone. She couldn't blame anyone for that now.
And then...
She thought of someone.
'Why am I thinking about that idiot??'
Just the idea brought him back into her mind, like an annoying presence that refused to leave.
She pushed that thought away with a sharp motion and closed another book. Then she pulled closer a copy she had set aside earlier that afternoon. One she already knew well, but always made her uncomfortable.
The dark leather cover had no artwork, with a nearly invisible title pressed into it.
"Lamenters"
Sera stared at the book, her fingers slowly gliding over the worn cover.
She had flipped through it months ago. It wasn't about humans, but... something about it kept drawing her in. The memory of Rowan, the forest, the attack—it all came back at once, like it had just happened.
That creature shouldn't have come near him. And it definitely shouldn't have attacked.
Lamenters were sensitive to aura. They chose broken, corrupted... or deeply fragile targets.
And Rowan didn't seem like any of those.
'Or... does he?'
Sera was naturally curious. When she didn't understand something, she couldn't rest until she unraveled every last piece of it.
She glanced toward the window beside her.
The fogged-up glass showed a cloudy, heavy sky. Mist was beginning to rise from the ground, like the school itself was breathing it in.
She stayed like that for a few seconds, chin resting in her hand.
Then mumbled softly.
"The weather here really sucks."