Afternoon – Monday, 3rd January

-----

Kalim learned that Royal Sword Academy wasn't so different than Night Raven College. He should've expected it though. While schools can give elective lessons, they still have mandatory like alchemy and history. Once they graduate, they could choose which lesson they want to study more in university, like magical pharmacy or archeology. Kalim himself was thinking to continue his study in the economy since it would help his family's merchant business and his math score wasn't so bad (something that he was proud of).

Though, still, part of him still yearn to be in his old school. He lost count of how many times he looked out the window, wondering how were Jamil and Scarabia. They would forget about him which he hoped would be for the best. They didn't want a pathetic boy like him as the dorm leader. He hoped they would still be nice to Jamil. He had no doubt that Jamil would make an excellent dorm leader, definitely better than he would ever be. He'll make Scarabia great again. He'll be happy with a nuisance like him finally gone.

It didn't erase the longing feeling or the pain in his heart though. His heart is still aching for the familiar villains but he kept reminding himself that this was for the best.

Lunch soon came before Kalim realized it and by that time, Kalim had seemed to fit into the heroic environment. As he and Ali walked down the hallway, Ali stopped to call someone who just walked out of a classroom, his head down to his phone. "Jacob!"

The boy with dual-colored hair looked up, an irritated frown on his face when the two approached him. "What?"

"Whoa." Ali raised both hands. "Is everything okay?

Jacob let out a groan. "It would be if that stupid captain doesn't forget to send his letter. He fucking promised."

Captain? "As in Captain Jonah Argentum?" Kalim asked.

Jacob's frown deepened. His bright blue eyes focused on Kalim. "Who are you anyway?"

Kalim tried to grin at him. "I'm Kalim al-Asim. Jonah is my friend back in NRC."

"You're from NRC?" Jacob raised an eyebrow at him. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm a new student here."

"Transfer?" He shifted his gaze to Ali. "Is that even allowed?"

Ali shrugged. "Technically, yes. There's no rule about not allowing to transfer at the beginning of the semester."

Jacob turned back to Kalim. "Why though?"

Kalim shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. "Just looking for a new life, you know."

Jacob stared at him like he was inspecting him. Kalim shifted in his feet, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I doubt that," Jacob ended up muttering.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Kalim gulped.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Nothing."

Ali put each hand on both of the boys' shoulders, pulling them away slightly to avoid unwanted discomfort. "So, what about you?" Ali looked at Jacob who pushed his hand away. "What do you mean about Jonah didn't send any letters?"

Jacob let out a whine from the back of his throat, looked at his phone again, and tapped on the recent call. "I just don't want him to disappear again, okay?" he grumbled. "He had been missing for nearly a year and I got him back, but he's in NRC and I can't contact him!" He let out a hiss. "No connection again?! He better not purposely ignore my call!"

As Ali took out Jacob's phone and checked the connection, Kalim felt his pocket where he kept his own phone become heavy. A single name rang in his head, a name who might be behind this.

Crowley.

-----

Morning – Tuesday, 4th January

-----

A boy with purple cat ears and tail could be seen walking in the dark forest, humming a nursery that had been passed on for generations. He had been walking down this path occasionally to visit his friends whose school was on the mountain. However, the fog had made his journey slower. The fog was never been this thick before especially in the late winter afternoon. But he could also smell magic in the air, a very thick one.

Turning right from the tree with an owl sleeping inside, the cat-boy finally found a path with light sweeping down the pathway. He let out a meow, tail waving in a lazy excitement. He walked down the path, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the light...

...and found himself at the entrance of the forest with no castle-shaped academy insight.

The cat-boy hummed, turning around to look at the foggy forest once again. "Curiouser and curiouser..." he mumbled and frowned, "that's the third time this day."

-----

It was in the afternoon after school. Ali had brought Kalim to join his regular study session with Moray, Rielle, and Jacob. Though, the youngest boy in the group didn't study at all. He was still fiddling with his phone. Kalim had been watching him since he sat across him. It looked like he was about to crush the phone in his hand for every time he failed to do a call

"Still no answer?" Rielle asked calmly.

"No," he groaned. His grip tightened, but Rielle caught his wrist and took the phone from his hand gently before placing it on the table. Jacob let out a sigh. "It said it was unreachable."

Rielle hummed. Then he lit up. "Hold on. Let me try something."

Moray lifted his head from the table, still looking sleepy after a brief nap on top of his history textbook. "Who are you calling?"

Rielle took out his phone and a card from his wallet. "Mostro Lounge," he said as he copied the numbers from the card to the phone. "Azul Ashengrotto gave me his business card." He turned to Kalim. "The cafe should be open by now, right?"

"Uh..." Kalim bit his lip. "Yeah. I think. I mean. I don't often visit there."

Rielle nodded and put the phone to his ear. Everyone was silent, waiting for an answer. The merfolk prince frowned. "Strange," he said, lowering his phone. "No answer."

"Maybe it's not open?" Ali suggested. "We can try later in the evening once school is clearly over."

Rielle nodded, "Uh, yeah. Sound like a plan."

Moray sighed. "Any other idea? Maybe we can contact him with magic or something."

Jacob hummed. "Maybe I can try fire-mail since I gave him a connection candle." He took out a letter from his pocket and Kalim wondered when he had prepared that. "But he never tells me where he's staying." He turned to him. "Do you know?"

Kalim shifted in his seat. "Yeah... He's the prefect of Ramshackle Dorm."

"Does it have a kitchen or fireplace?"

"I think so... But don't you need it to light up?"

"No." Jacob dug in his backpack and took out a red-colored wax candle inside a ceramic tube that was styled like rough tree bark. "As long it has any fire appliance, I can send it." He opened his palm above the candle and a blue magic circle appeared underneath it. Suddenly the candle lit up with red-and-white flame.

Kalim gasped. "You can do wandless spells?"

"Yeah," Jacob answered before picking up the letter, burning the corner of the letter. Kalim had seen fire-mail before, how the fire would cover the letter and it disappeared in white smoke. On the other side, the letter would reappear, flight out of the connection candle or fireplace, unburnt and unopened.

But instead, the letter burned in black ashes.

"Shit!" Jacob let go of the letter before it could burn his hand as the watched the letter burn into a crisp. "What the fuck...? It doesn't work either."

A familiar giggle was suddenly heard between them. Kalim didn't recognize it of course, but everyone else started to look around. "How sad~" A tail appeared in front of Jacob's face, flicking his nose and making him sneeze. "Little cabnyan boy can't find his cattain."

"Che'nya!" Jacob yelled as a head with cat ears appeared, widely grinning like the crescent moon. "Get off the table."

The rest of Che'nya's body appeared, laying on his stomach on the table and fingers intertwined to rest his chin on them. "I heard that somemeown is trying to call NRC, but canyan't. Quite cattastrophic, innit?" He giggled at Moray's groan and Jacob's rolling eyes. "It looks like the NRC disappurred from the face of the earth."

Jacob was about to yell some more but he paused. "Wait," he said, also gaining the others' attentions. "What do you mean?"

Che'nya rolled to his back, eyes still on Jacob. "I canyan't seem to find the queen path. The forest keeps spitting meowt. By the fifteenth try, I decided to let it go."

"So, you're saying that can't go to NRC?" Moray asked.

Che'nya shook his head. "Nyope."

"Maybe the protective spell is stronger this year," Ali suggested.

"But usually it won't mess with the phone connection," Rielle said, "it's like NRC doesn't want outsiders to contact them."

Kalim looked down at his book, tapping the pen in his hand onto the corner of his notebook. Something in his stomach dropped and a sudden wave of guilt washed over him. Did Crowley really cut the connection? But, he didn't ask for this. He only asks to wipe everyone's memories of the training camp, not actually isolating the whole academy.

But wasn't that what Jamil exactly did? Isolating them in a training camp hell...

So, was this because of him? Did he make a mess again?

-----

Throughout the rest of the day, Jacob looked more and more frustrated. They had tried to call Mostro Lounge again, but they couldn't get any answer. By dinner, there were no results from any of their attempt. At the dinner table, Kalim glanced at Jacob who was playing with his fork in his fingers.

Kalim leaned closer to Ali, whispering, "Was he always like that?"

"He's usually moody," Ali whispered back, "but I admit this is another level."

"That boy is clingy as fuck," Moray said, scooping a spoonful of his cheese soufflé before shoving it into his mouth. "He and Argentum were good friends once." He shrugged. "Though I can see why."

"How?" Kalim asked again.

"You know that Argentum used to go here?" Moray asked.

Kalim shook his head. "No. He never mentions it. But he did say he had amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Moray raised his eyebrow. "The dude disappeared and suddenly got his memories erased?"

"So, he couldn't remember anything?" Ali asked.

"He never says anything about his past honestly," Kalim answered, "I never really paying attention."

"Does that mean he doesn't remember us too?" Moray asked again.

A slam of a fist on the table stopped them. All of them turned to Jacob who stood up from his seat. "I'm leaving."

"You haven't eaten yet," Rielle said, noticing the untouched beef ragu and cheese soufflé.

"Not hungry," Jacob mumbled and walked away, taking his book-bag and shoving his phone in his pocket. Kalim looked at his food, feeling a tug of guilt in his chest once again. Biting his lip, he stood up from his seat.

"I'm going to the toilet," he said. Ali nodded at him and Kalim walked away. Exiting the Grand Hall, Kalim could spot the familiar blue hair and started running.

"Jacob!" he yelled, running after the smaller boy.

The boy turned around, frowning at Kalim who caught up to him. "What? And call me Columbus."

"Right...Columbus." Kalim nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit a sensitive subject." He offered a small smile. "There's no need to worry. I hope you can contact Jonah tomorrow."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. That's rich coming from you."

"Eh?"

"I can see it." And suddenly, Kalim felt small. Jacob was shorter than him and yet the way he slowly approached him, chin raised like he was the one holding the authority made Kalim freeze in his place. "One thing I learn from Jonah is that you can tell someone is lying from their body movement. I can excuse you for seeming like you don't want to help us, but you hesitated every time we mention NRC." Jacob squinted and Kalim gulped. "Either you are lying about 'finding a new atmosphere' and 'being independent' or you just don't want us to contact NRC for some reason."

"That's..."

"So, which one is it?" Jacob asked again, opening his palm. Kalim could see sparks from his fingers. "And I don't take a lie for an answer."

Kalim gulped again. His chest was beating hard. "Isn't violence against the school rule?" he whispered.

Jacob didn't seem to flatter. "I live in the post-renaissance era. You think I wouldn't find a way to bend the rule?"

Kalim curled his fists. "It's just..." he sighed, "I have some trouble with NRC."

"Like?"

"Does it matter?"

"With the Union Cross Champaign announced, I have the right to suspect you for being a spy to finally take my school down."

"NRC would never do something like that!" Kalim shouted, sudden anger bubbling in his chest.

Jacob didn't change his expression. He kept his dangerous coolness. "Then why are you here?"

Kalim huffed. "Why are you such a pushover?"

Jacob gritted his teeth and caught Kalim's shirt collar. "Listen here," he growled. "Honestly, I don't give a fuck of the reason why you are here, but my best friend is in your former school and I can't get in contact with him. The timing was too perfect. The one time that even Che'nya can't sneak into the school is the same time a transfer student from NRC joined us." The sparks in his fingers started to glow brighter. "If you're the reason I can't contact Jonah, then I'll make sure your days in RSA are a living hell."

"Why?" Kalim whispered.

Something soft flashed in Jacob's eyes as his fingers tightened. "Because I lost him once. I'm not letting him out of my reach again."

Kalim wagered his option. This was not something he expected. He just wants to get out of NRC and give Jamil the freedom he deserves, and yet here he was, making more mistakes. He really cares about Jonah, huh? If he never moved to RSA, maybe Jacob and Jonah could contact each other and fix their relationship. Kalim had seen Jacob trying everything to contact Jonah, but Kalim being here just made everything harder for him. 

"You are hopeless. So sketchy, stupidly clumsy, and a really carefree and materialistic rich kid!"

Ah, Jamil is right. Jamil is always right.

He didn't even realize that he started crying until Jacob blinked in surprise when Kalim's tear dripped onto his hand. There was no stopping now. Maybe if he confessed, Jacob would understand. "The reason why I move here is because someone, who I thought was my best friend, turned out to have been planning to take me down. He hated me for so long. I thought I was doing him a favor by moving here, even though it hurts so much. I want to be with him, but I can't."

Jacob was silent for a while before asking, "Why?"

"He hates me. I'm such a no-good that I only going to slow him down." Kalim sobbed, not even realizing that Jacob had lessened his grip on him. "And I thought maybe... Leaving Night Raven College is the best solution for all of us. He doesn't have to take care of me anymore. He can finally be free in that school."

"But why go all the trouble of changing school?"

"As much as it hurts me, I still love him." He managed to pull a small smile. "And I'm willing to do anything to make you happy. Wouldn't you do that for Jonah as well?"

Jacob blinked in surprise. Slowly, he let go of Kalim's collar and stepped back. In the quiet hallway, the two boys stood, very much the same but facing a different direction. One of them is chasing his friend, the other one is running away from his. And yet, their heart had a mutual understanding: the love they have for their friends. Of brotherhood and something more. And all the roads they would take for that connections.

Jacob didn't say anything and neither was Kalim when they walked in separate ways.

-----

Afternoon – Wednesday, 5th January

-----

When school was finally over, Jake left the school and went to Camelot City. He had one destination though: the local post office. It was a cozy building with the smell of dust and parchment old parchment. The man on the counter was a chubby man dressed in an outfit similar to a scout. Jake approached the counter. "Excuse me."

"Hey there." The man greeted, putting the box down to face Jake. "How can I help you?"

"Yes." The boy dug inside his pocket and took out a letter which was written 'To: Riddle Rosehearts'. "I want to send a letter to the NRC School store."

"Let me check first." The man walked toward his computer and typed on the keyboard. A frown appeared on his face. "Oh. I'm sorry, sonny. But Night Raven College is currently under lockdown."

They can't even go in manually? "Shit," He hissed. With a disappointed sigh, he put the letter on the counter. "Well, can you at least keep it here until it opens again?"

The man gave him a warm smile and took the letter. "Certainly."

"Thank you." Jake walked out of the post office, sighing. He looked up to the foggy mountain. At this point, you couldn't even see the black castle.

"What the fuck is going on with your school, Jonah?" he grumbled. With another sigh, he walked away, passing a woman who was carrying a parcel and entered the same post office.

The chubby man greeted her with a smile, blushing lightly for her beautiful face. "Good afternoon. How can I help you?"

The lady smiled and approached the counter, putting her parcel on it. "Yes. I want to send this to Night Raven College."

The man gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But the school is currently under lockdown until further notice."

"Is that so?" The woman tilted her head. Underneath the counter, she waved her hand as pixie dust twinkled. "Can you check it again? An acquaintance of mine says that they can open it for my parcel."

The man nodded and went to the computer again. His eyes widened. "How did..." He turned to the woman again. "You're right. They just opened a few seconds ago."

"Wonderful!" she smiled. "Oh. And if there's a boy who came earlier with a letter, and you deliver it along with my letter?"

The man nodded. "Certainly, ma'am."

"Thank you, dear." The woman walked out of the post office and looked to the mountain. The fog didn't disappear, but you could see the tip of NRC's tallest tower. With a chuckle, she walked away, disappearing into the crowd.