The scene shifted to the Royal Academy as the morning sun bathed the ancient stone walls in a soft glow. Today was results day — the moment every student had been anxiously dreading since the eligibility exam. The academy grounds buzzed with nervous chatter, tension clinging to the air like a storm waiting to break.
In every corner of the school, students huddled in groups, speculating, worrying, and clinging to fragile hopes about their grades. Whispers about difficult questions, unexpected mistakes, and possible failures spread like wildfire.
Except for one.
Kazuki Ayanami sat calmly at his bench, as composed as ever. His eyes were fixed outside the window, watching the training grounds where a different kind of chaos unfolded. Several students had fainted while sparring with one another — not from fear of battle or wounds sustained, but from the unbearable weight of anxiety over their results.
Even some of the academy's senior students had gathered by the grounds, observing the turmoil among the third-grade students. Many had heard stories about the exam's difficulty, and about the one boy who had remained unnervingly calm through it all.
And still, Kazuki smiled.
He leaned against the window frame, a distant glimmer in his gaze, as if the frenzy of the present moment was nothing more than a passing breeze. Inside his mind, there were no doubts, no worries — only certainty.
He knew what was coming.
The scene shifted as the classroom door creaked open. Their teacher stepped in, clutching a stack of parchment sheets — the official grade reports. His hands trembled, and a visible sheen of sweat lined his forehead.
The room instantly fell silent.
Every student turned toward him, hearts pounding in their chests, eyes wide with tension and dread.
But Kazuki… was still smiling.
He leaned back in his seat, his posture relaxed, and thought to himself,"Ah… so it begins."
He understood perfectly why the teacher's hands trembled and why shock flickered in the man's eyes. The moment of revelation was at hand — and Kazuki already knew how it would unfold.
Around him, confused murmurs rose.
"Why's the teacher so scared?""What's going on…?""Why is Ayanami still smiling like that…?"
But no one could tear their gaze away from Kazuki's expression — calm, knowing, and quietly amused.
The storm was about to break.