I sighed as I stared at the blazing sky. The canopy of the forest almost covered it completely. Yen ended up buying her guitar and Kanja got a few clothes. We still couldn't figure out what to make for Carter. I probably would've had a hard time helping make him something even if we had found something.

After having gone on my own, I returned to the others. It seemed like Kanja wanted to talk to me, but she hadn't. Things felt awkward between us now. Same with the second years and Yuzu. And to think that today was barely my first day here.

I pulled out the form that Yuzuki had given me before we left for the mall. I'd taken the time to fill it out after I ran out on them. They had a class on curse breaking. Hopefully, I could get it. Better yet, that the knowledge I learned could be applied to my case. I was tired of living like this.

"Still feeling glum?" a voice called out.

I turned to the right and jumped as Arima sat down beside me.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" She laughed. "I've been doing a lot of that lately."

How had she done that?

"W-what are you doing here?" I asked, turning away. Shouldn't she have been annoyed at me after I screamed at her?

"Yuzu sent me out to gather everyone. It's time for dinner. Had to ask Nahimana to help me find you."

I looked around. There was no sight of the marbles girl.

"She pinpointed the direction you were in. Rushed over in case you decided to move."

So that's why she popped up all of a sudden. She must've used that shadow technique. I had something like it, but it was rudimentary compared to hers.

"Sorry," I said, staring at my metallic kneecaps. "I needed to be alone."

"I understand. Uli and Alto would often do the same." She sighed. "And Iah's doing that right now." She closed her eyes and stood up. "Perhaps, I shouldn't pry. My doing so earlier is what made you upset, isn't it?"

My eyes widened. She noticed?

Arima bit her lip. "I'll take that as a yes. It's something that I have to work on."

"Why were you so curious about me?"

She turned to look at me. "As I said in the dorm, I've never seen a case like this before. Sometimes, my curiosity gets the better of me. Though, I'm not nearly as bad as the Lan brothers or Hal."

Jude's brother did strike me as the kind to poke around. But, maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Who knew, perhaps Arima and he could've come up with a way to break the curse.

"Anyway, let's go. Your friends are also worried about you."

"Jude?"

"Not just him."

"Mira! Mira!" I heard a voice yell. It was Carter.

"She's this way," Ling said.

I stood up and watched as Carter, Ling, and Aurelius made their way toward me.

"I knew she would be in the forest!" Aurelius said, grinning.

They were looking for me? Ugh, why did I keep giving others trouble?

Arima nudged me forward. "Go on."

I turned to look at her. "Thanks, Arima."

She smiled. "It's nothing."

"Are you feeling alright? Kanja's been worried about you since you returned," Ling said.

I would say before that. So that's why she and Jude weren't with them.

"She and the others spread out throughout the rest of the island to look for you."

"I'm fine. I just needed some space is all."

"We all do," Arima said, walking past us.

Cart put his hands on the back of his head and laughed. "T-that's true." He looked up. "And this place sure is calming."

I gasped as I recalled Yen's phone call to Hikaru. "Speaking of calming, what happened to you? Did you really burn the dorm?"

His face flushed. "A little, but Huo took care of it."

Yikes...

Ling sighed and shook her head. "I always knew that Carter would cause trouble, but I didn't think that it would be this bad and this soon."

Carter frowned.

"You wanted a fight, right?" Arima asked, looking over her shoulder.

Carter fidgeted. "Y-yeah. S-seeing your matches got me fired up."

Arima chuckled. "If Aban's still around, he might give you one. He loves fights. When we were little, he would often pester Uli, Al, and me to fight him."

"Aban? Is he a third year?"

"No. He's a second year, but he's not a student here. He failed the exam."

"Oh, s-so h-he's like me..." Carter said, looking away.

Carter...

Arima gasped. "Wait, you failed? How are you a student here? Was an exception made?"

He shook his head. "M-my best friend gave me his ticket."

She lowered her head. "Had no idea that was possible... If I'd known..." She shook her head. "No, if I had he would've gotten mad at me and not have accepted it."

"I-If h-he's anything like me, he probably would've," Carter said, smiling slightly.

I needed to find out how to repay him for everything he had done for me and Kanja. Maybe it would've helped him feel better.

"Uh, Carter. What do you like to eat?"

"Huh? Me? W-why? A-are you going to make me something?"

I gulped. "M-maybe."

"Didn't know you had feelings for this dummy. But isn't it a little too quick? You barely met him," Ling said, crossing her arms.

"I don't! I just want to repay him!" I blurted out.

Carter blinked. "Repay me?"

Great, I went ahead and blew the surprise...

I nodded. "Yeah. Kanja and I wanted to get you something nice as thanks for encouraging us to come here. We thought of making something instead, but even then we couldn't think of what."

Carter smiled. "You silly girls! You don't have to make me anything! Just having you two here is enough!" His face turned scarlet. "I-I mean..."

Arima chuckled. "I think Mira understands, Carter."

I smiled. "Yeah." But still, I wanted to make him something.

He chuckled. "In that case, let's go eat!"

I nodded. "Alright."

"Mira!"

I gasped as yellow and blue blur rushed at me.

"You're okay!" Jude cried, jumping up and hugging me.

"Yeah, I only went out for a walk in the forest."

"Tammy feared that you might've run away from the island," Nat said.

I stared at the mute girl who walked over and hugged me as well.

"You did?"

She nodded and hugged me tighter.

I smiled and patted her head. "Where did you get that idea?"

"I think that Tammy's brain jumps to the extremes," Ling said, sighing. "She also thought that you might've been kidnapped by people who wanted to sell your metal or mad scientists."

That was one frightening imagination...

"Well, it was plausible!" Lidia said, huffing.

She thought the same thing?

Huo sighed.

"I wouldn't run away." Not without trying to figure out to break the curse, and not without at least writing a letter. I looked at the smiling Kanja. I sure had a lot of people who cared for me. Although I wasn't sure why, it made me happy that they did. I was no longer alone.

"Arima, here's my form," I said, handing it over to her.

She smiled. "Don't worry. I'll get it to Sonata or Koukyuu."

"Thanks." I had to break the curse. Not just for myself, but so that my friends wouldn't have to worry about me.

***

"Woah, so this is the dining hall!" Carter said as we all went to the girls' dorm.

"We had to make it," Vermeil said, smiling.

Carter's face flushed. "I-I-I see!"

"Wait, so the boys have no dining hall in theirs?" Kanja asked.

"We have a pool instead!" Hal said, smirking.

"Woah! Can we girls use it?" Lidia said, moving her arms up and down.

Huo blushed. "But you have no swimsuit."

"True. We should go buy some!"

"G-go with the girls!" He jumped as he noticed Sarah smiling at him. "D-don't give me that look, princess!"

Carter ran off.

"Think these kinds of topics make him uncomfy," Lidia said.

"You think?" Ling said, sighing.

Lidia laughed nervously. "Yeah, you have a point there. He is."

"I-I don't blame him," Huo muttered as he walked away.

I stared at the table. My armor was too clanky that it would've ruined the meal. Plus, I couldn't let the others see my face.

"Uh, could I eat in my room?" I asked.

"Sure," Ms. Key said as she sat down in the 'front' of the table.

I smiled. At least she didn't ask. Hmm, could Koukyuu have explained my situation to her?

"Are you afraid of being seen without your helmet?" Nate asked, pointing at his own face for emphasis.

I lowered my head. Why did he have to inquire?

"If that's the issue, I could use my magic to cover your face up," Arima said, smiling.

"You would do that?"

"Of course! It's better than having you eat alone. Food tastes better when in company is what my mom always says."

Alto's stomach grumbled as he walked in as she said that. "Now I have a craving for Ms. Roho's sweet potato pie and Sefan hotpot!"

"Sefan hotpot?" I asked.

"It's long-grain rice cooked with tomato paste, onions, chilies, and meat. Except, my mom likes using real tomatoes. Even if it can be a tad bit more expensive, your taste buds will thank you for going fresh," Arima said.

"Indeed," Ulissis said, on the verge of salivating.

Alto shook his head. "Let's eat!"

Arima giggled. "Alright. Uh, but where's Aban?"

"Over here!" Aban yelled. He was already seated at the long table, his mouth stuffed with food.

"Don't talk with your mouth open," Nyima said, shooting him daggers.

Aban gulped. "Sorry."

Sowk giggled. "You really are a prickly girl, Ny."

"Told you to not call me that!"

Everyone became quiet as the sound of dishes clanging vibrated across the room.

"Can all of you please shut up! I'm trying to eat here!" glaring even as he kept his head down. He looked to be in pain.

"Oh no," Lidia whispered. She rushed over to him. "Do you want to go to eat in your room, Huo? I'll join you if you want."

He took a deep breath. "No, but seems like I have to..." He grabbed his plate and glass of orange juice and stood up from the table. "You can stay and eat with the others, though."

Lidia furrowed her brow as she grabbed the plate with her nametag. "No, I rather eat with you."

He sighed. "If you say so..."

Ny whispered something, likely an apology as Huo walked past her.

Nat dashed to the table and grabbed his plate, going after the pair.

Huo also was in pain during his match against Jude whenever the crowd went into a frenzy. Did sound affect him somehow? Nat said that he had a condition of some kind, but hadn't elaborated on it. Regardless, he probably knew how to help him. That was likely why he went after them. Nat... he could be a bit rude at times, especially toward Kanja, but he was a pretty nice guy all things considered.

Come to think of it, the crowd's shouts also appeared to have affected Carter.

I turned to look at Cart who was eating with his earphones on. He glanced at Huo and frowned as Lidia led him out and Nat followed at a distance.

I sat down between Jude and Carter. The senior and the remainder of our class ate quietly, not saying a single word.

"Think Huo will be fine?" Jude whispered, breaking the ice.

"Lidia went with him, so I want to say yes," I whispered back.

My eyes twitched at the sound of clanging. Carter had sped up all of a sudden. He sat up and bowed slightly. "Thanks for the food."

Ms. Key smiled slightly. "You're welcome."

Carter turned around and ran for the door. Was he going to go check on Huo?

I smiled. Cart... I really had to think of how to thank him for his kindness.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Episode 50 will come out a day earlier (on the 14th instead of the 15th) so that it can fall on the 2nd monthversary since I published this book :)**