"Tch," I clicked my tongue in annoyance, glancing at her. "Where are you going?"
"Evelyn called," she replied, her gaze flickering towards me briefly.
I stepped beside her, nodding in understanding. "Then let's go."
But Grace halted, giving me a stern look. "No, go to your class. Stop bunking them."
"Aren't you doing the same?"
"I was called for... You are going uninvited. There's a difference."
"It's the same. She called you, that means she called me."
Grace slowed her pace, her expression thoughtful as she looked at me. "That's a weird thing to say."
"Then don't smile, Grace."
Her curled up lips in a small smile, quickly returning her features back to their usual composed state. "I am not smiling."
"Yeah yeah you are not." I replied as I rolled my eyes, before I walked with her to the management committee.
We quickly arrived at our destination, and Grace knocked on the door before waiting for a while.
"Come in," a soft voice beckoned from inside, and we entered the room.
My eyes immediately landed on the spread of cake, pudding, and tea arranged neatly on the table.
Then, my gaze shifted to the scarlet-haired girl seated at the head of the table, a pudding in her hand.
"You'll get fat if you keep eating that much," I teased, approaching her with a grin with Garce walking beside me.
"Don't say that. I'm not eating that much," she retorted before taking another spoonful of pudding.
"....Right." I replied taking my seat beside Grace.
She glanced at me once but didn't move.
"...Why are you here?" one of the girls sitting beside Evelyn asked.
Well...
I hadn't even noticed them.
"Ahem, Eden, why are you here?" Evelyn also asked, her tone curious as I just stared at the girl, making her uncomfortable.
"Well... I had free time—" I began.
"He bunked his class." Grace interjected before I could finish my sentence.
"You too?" Evelyn asked, her eyes widening, but she fell silent when Grace shot her a stern look.
"....You shouldn't do such things, Eden. Classes are important, and you should study more," Evelyn stated, taking another spoonful of pudding.
"...You bunked your class as well?" Grace asked, looking at Evelyn, who averted her gaze.
".... Anyway, let's get to the main topic," the girl sitting—I don't know her name—said, taking charge of the conversation.
"Crown Prince is coming back," Evelyn stated, her gaze shifting between me and Grace, "he will resume his role as the vice-principal for the academy."
I sighed, leaning back in my chair as I regarded Evelyn. "So?"
"So, we have to prepare for his arrival," Evelyn replied, her tone indicating the importance of that bastard. "The Principal has assigned that task to us."
"...Wait, but isn't Eden not part of the committee, why are you telling him—?"
"What's your name?" I interjected, turning my attention to the girl who had been speaking.
"..Zai..nah," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, shrinking back like a frightened animal.
"Okay," I responded, repeating her name a few times to remember it.
"I..am.. s-sorry," Zainah stammered, bowing in front of me.
"....."
Am I that frightening?
"Why are you acting like that?" Evelyn intervened, gently urging Zainah to sit up straight. "He just asked for your name; he isn't going to do anything."
"And about him being part of the committee," Evelyn shifted in her seat, sitting up straight as she fixed her gaze on me, "he is officially part of the committee from today onwards."
I let out a sigh, glancing at Grace beside me who mirrored my exasperation with her own sigh.
Yeah, Grace, get ready to endure my presence every day from now on.
"Anyway, we will have work to do starting tomorrow, so rest for today," Evelyn declared, returning her attention to her food.
Grace wasted no time, immediately pulling out her books and starting to jot down some notes that I don't know of.
Feeling somewhat left out, I also took out the book I obtained from the Labyrinth, the one that detailed time affinity.
It had been three years since I arrived in this world, and in that time, a lot had happened.
But one thing remained constant: the mystery surrounding my time-space affinity.
Despite gaining some understanding of how to use my space affinity, I had never once been able to tap into my time affinity.
The reason was simple: my brain couldn't process the countless time nodes present in the surroundings.
Unlike my space affinity, which has thousands of fixed space nodes that I need to monitor, time affinity operates differently.
It's not static or fixed; the time nodes are constantly shifting.
Every second, millions of time nodes vanish from the surroundings while billions more appear simultaneously.
The sheer number is overwhelming. Even if I were to push my brain to its limits until it turned to mush, I still wouldn't be able to process them all.
And that is the reason it's hard to believe that I and a guy who is fucking with timelines are the same person...
I shook my head as I started reading the book, but the first line made my mood sour.
"Attempting to alter the course of time is akin to challenging the gods themselves," I mumbled under my breath as I read the first line.
What kind of fucking shit is this....
Sighing, I continued reading as I understood what I needed to do for my affinity.
Well, for starters, I need to stay sane while I try to use time affinity.
Which... Feels like a red flag to me.
Anyway, I need to stay sane because if I make even a single mistake, it's the end for me. Time isn't constant, and the moment I try to change its course, a chain reaction is bound to happen.
"Eden," as I continued to read, I heard Grace's voice.
"Yeah," I replied without looking at her, focusing on the book.
"I am going back to Aunt Sophia's room," she said, and I felt her gaze on me.
"Okay," I replied halfheartedly, still immersed in the book.
"Don't come to her apartment for a few days," she added.
"Okay."
"Are you listening?"
"Yeah, I am."
"I'm going then."
"Bye." I said as I focused back on the book, while Grace's footsteps echoed softly as she left the room.
After a few minutes, another person's footsteps echoed, but I still found myself immersed in the book.
Before I could even complete a third of the book, I had a plan in my mind on how to work on my time affinity.
Instead of focusing on all the nodes, I need to focus on one node at a time. But the thing is, it's time-consuming.
"Okay, let's try it," I said as I stood up, stretching my body, only to notice that only Evelyn was in the room.
"You're done, Eden?" she asked, smiling at me.
"You waited?" I asked, glancing outside the window to notice that the sun was about to go down.
How many hours have passed?
"Yeah, you were focusing too much, so I didn't try to disturb you," she replied as she also stood up.
"Thank you," I said as I walked beside her.
"Don't mention it," she replied, tipping-toed before patting my head while complaining, "why did you get so tall? You were nice when you were a child."
"Don't do that," I said, moving away.
She pouted before saying, "now go home, it's getting late, I also need to lock the door."
"Bye," smiling, I said before I walked out into the fading daylight.
"I am hungry," I mumbled as I made my way towards the teachers' apartment.
Hmm, maybe I should make something to eat today.
Thinking about it, I walked faster, and before I knew it, I arrived at the door.
Taking out the keys, I opened the door before entering.
"Hmm~ hmm~"
But just as I entered, I heard the stopping of the shower and someone humming with an eerily familiar voice.