Zoemi slowly opened his eyes, his whole body hurt but not as much as he expected it to.

The black-haired boy was a bit uncomfortable laying on his stomach but since he knew his back must have been in a terrible condition, he only wiggled a bit to shift his torso into a more comfortable position.

"...

"

Zoemi could feel the bandages tightly wrapped around his body, as well as the oily salves that must have been applied by the medics.

|So Miriette didn't ask the heroine to heal me... Well... as expected – all in all, that might be for the best. The less interaction between those two, the better...|

The boy thought to himself, trying to focus his dizzy mind on the important matters, but it was honestly near impossible because of certain distractions...

|What is this smell...l? It's so nice... It's so familiar too...|

Zoemi sniffed the bedding he was laying on and felt incredibly relaxed, he was still all groggy from the sleep but he raised his head a bit to look around.

His back stung when he strained his neck but, once again, it wasn't such a big deal compared to the actual whipping.

|Huh...? Hold on a moment... This is not my room...!|

The black-haired boy's eyes widen in a sudden realization.

The desk and the wardrobe were in different places because the window and the door were on different walls - it was definitely still the Aspakeony Academy, but not the same chamber that the boy was used to wake up in.

There was an empty chair right by his bed too and Zoemi stared at it for a bit.

|I wonder if Miriette will check up on me... I want her to try to clumsily help me out... I might even tease her and ask her to feed me...|

"Please, come in.

"

"N-no...! Senior, I wouldn't dare disturb a sick person's rest...!

"

Zoemi pondered with a mischievous smile - but then voices coming from the other side of the room alarmed him - so he cautiously turned his head to check out what was going on.

"Lady Perserios, I'm honored by your presence and, once more, I'm terribly sorry for my behavior the other day. If I knew that you were the instructor Irius's granddaughter I would never...!

"

|Dad...?!|

To Zoemi's great surprise, the first voice belonged to his adoptive father, Mizoe.

The pale-blue-haired knight, with his back, turned to the bed, was talking with the blue-haired teacher, Rokiana Grea Perserios, who apparently came to visit – but was refusing to enter all fidgety.

"No! Senior, don't bow your head, please!

"

Flustered Rokiana waved her hands and blushed, as apparently Mizoe was apologizing to her about something.

"You never said anything disrespectful, senior! Actually, I think that my grandfather would be proud that one of his students would stand up to such injustice taking place in the Aspakeony Academy of all places!

"

The blue-haired woman clenched her fists under her chin and did a little bounce, speaking up all fired up.

"I'm grateful for the praise but I doubt that instructor Perserios even remembered me – and if he did, it was most definitely not in a positive light - I was an average aspiring knight.

"

Mizoe was explaining while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, undoubtedly blushing at the praise he wasn't sure he deserved.

"Senior, you are too modest, you can use ice magic, after all!

"

|Ooohhhh.... that's how it is... dad must have heard about what happened to me and showed off his magic – he must have given the teachers a good scare! Still... is it just me or is teacher Perserios quite... restless...? Could it be...?|

Rokiana waved her hand dismissively and exclaimed, Zoemi, observing from the side, found that abundant of gesticulation quite peculiar - she was nowhere near as animated during the lectures.

"Not at all.

"

Mizoe shook his head.

"As I explained to you before, I'm an anomaly, I became able to use the ice magic only after the kidnapping incident. And that only happened eleven or so years ago... with that in mind, and the instructors... you know...

"

The pale-blue-haired knight stopped talking and tilted his head awkwardly.

"...ah... r-right... I see... yes, you are right, senior... then again...!

"

"Yes?

"

Rokiana's shoulders slumped but she instantly recovered.

"Um, wh-what about Zoemi?

"

She asked innocently.

"Oh, the medics say that he should regain his conscience in a day or two, his wounds are healing properly and soon he should be all good.

"

Mizoe answered with a smile.

"That's great! But I was wondering...

"

Rokiana nodded, looking down bashfully, and started playing with her hair too bashful to get inside but also unwilling to just leave so soon...

"Senior, you are here but... Where is the... boy's mother...?

"

The blue-haired woman asked timidly and glanced at Mizoe's face while she started coiling the strand of her hair around her finger with twice the previous speed, greatly interested in the answer – but trying her best to play it cool.

"Mother...? Whose...? AH! My Zoemi's?!

"

Mizoe asked in surprise.

"Ah! No, no. I don't have a wife or a lover – and never had one either - I adopted Zoemi after he rescued little lady Espine.

"

The pale-blue-haired knight shrugged his shoulders and explained – blushing in embarrassment when he mentioned his marital status as usually men his age were already long-married and settled.

"Oh really!? That's amazing! Ah! N-no...! I-I mean...!

"

Rokiana flinched and exclaimed happily but she realized that she was getting a bit too obvious so she crossed her arms and look to the side trying to play things cool.

"In that case, senior... Would you mind, um... you know... meeting with me sometime... I-I... um, I personally would like to discuss the ice magic some more, you know... If I could become stronger and all... That would... be... useful... yes... useful..!

"

No matter how hard Rokiana tried to hide her embarrassment her completely red face gave her away – at least to the Zoemi matching everything from the side with great interest – the blue-haired woman kept on glancing at Mizoe but was too bashful to keep the actual eye contact for longer than a second or two.

"U-um... O-of course only after your son recovers...!

"

She added hurriedly.

Rokiana's behavior was obvious for Zoemi but his father was on the denser side.

Mizoe smiled politely in response to the invitation.

"Of course, lady Perserios, I will most definitely try to find the time for the granddaughter of the instructor Irius.

"

"...!

"

He bowed his head politely and ten straightened his back and smiled at the slightly dispirited woman.

...Rokiana didn't seem to like Mizoe referring to her as the granddaughter of his instructor...

"That's... good...

"

She lowered her head and nodded.

"Senior... you... Won't call me beautiful again...?

"

She muttered under her breath while looking away, embarrassed out of her mind because of her boldness.

"...?

"

Mizoe tilted his head.

"...I'm sorry, lady Perserios, I couldn't quite hear you properly – could you repeat that last part...?

"

The pale-blue-haired man apologized and asked for a repeat.

"!!!!!

"

Rokiana hid her face in her hands.

"N-nothing! I-I-I-I said that I punched your son in the stomach a few days back!

"

Her voice peaked and she hastily turned away and evacuated.

"Wait – wha...?! What?!

"

The wide-eyed Mizoe gasped and called after the running woman in disbelief – but she certainly didn't intend to stop and explain herself.

"...what was that supposed to mean...?

"

The knight furrowed his brows and tilted his head pondering over some secret meaning behind the blue-haired teacher's last words....