[Volume 1: Ru Hasselt] The Clueless Prince

Chapter 22: Exams and Expulsions

A/N:

FAN ART! BY MOI!

It's Oden... But he looks a bit like Rael... anyways.

Okay, I'll stop bothering you now, enjoy!

——

Crossing my arms, I stared at Weiss.

"I'm sorry." It was short but it conveyed his emotions. Staring at him a little while longer, I sighed.

"I'm sorry too." I averted my gaze. "I realized that you weren't joking." My face heated up.

I was such an idiot. Why did I fall for it?! His acting was atrocious, it was obvious that he meant what he said. I felt embarrassed over how I overreacted. I was a terrible friend.

He looked flustered too as he shook his head. "No, don't apologize. I grew too scared and made the situation worse."

It was silent for a few seconds. I hesitated on what to say. I saw Weiss gaze at me. And then he raised his hand.

"Friends?"

I blinked at him. "But don't you—?"

Weiss cracked a smile. "I did like you. But after failing to confess, along with other series of events, I fell out of it."

I raised my hand. "T-then—" I still felt awkward around him. After all, he'd had a crush on me for who knows how long. Weiss rolled his eyes. He laid his arm around my shoulder.

"You don't think I noticed your hesitation?" He said, shaking his head with disappointment.

Guilty.

He began to drag me away. "C'mon, I'll treat you to some ice cream. This time, it's not a date."

I froze.

"That was a date?"

Weiss sighed loudly enough to turn a few heads in our direction.

"Oh, gods."

——

The tests were here. These past few weeks, every first year was seen reviewing their notes, furiously writing something down, or reading in a trance. My brain hurt from all of the revising but I felt confident. I'd already done these tests in the game, so it couldn't be too different.

But... I wasn't so sure about the spellcasting test. While I'd learned all the spells I wanted to learn, I was scared of messing up, somehow. Because you had to successfully cast five spells.

I shook my head. I had to focus on the tests ahead of me. The spellcasting exam won't be until tomorrow.

Walking with Oden, we headed to our regular classroom. I saw Weiss, Claus, and Al standing there, waiting. All of them wore grim expressions.