“...And that concludes today’s lecture on mana theory. Please make sure to complete the assigned reading, and do the problems listed at the end of the section.” 

After making her concluding remarks, the instructor packed up her materials and left the building, leaving the students to also pack their bags. 

Flann remained seated for a moment, studying the notes that he had taken on his first day of mana theory lessons. He twirled his ink pen above his fingers, trying to connect what he learned on this day with his practical lesson. 

As he was focused on his notes, a strand of rosy hair fell in front of his face, and he looked up to find Clarette gazing down on him. 

“...Your handwriting is pretty neat.”

Flann stared at her for a bit, and then looked back down at his writing. “...Is it?”

“To be honest, since you had even forgotten some words in speech, I wasn’t certain if you’d know how to write,” Clarette said, gazing with interest at his papers. “Despite that, this is quite good penmanship. It’s very pretty.”

Flann felt a little embarrassed, but also proud at this unexpected compliment. “...I don’t really know either. When I thought to write… it somehow came back to me.”

“Hmm…” Clarette mused over this fact before replying, “Although, I guess it shouldn’t really come as a surprise anymore. These days your speech is pretty fluent, and your vocabulary too.”

She tilted her head at him. “I wonder if you were well educated in the past?”

Flann smiled a little sheepishly. “...I’d like to know that too.” Then, his lips settling back down, he muttered, “Really… where did all those memories go…”

Clarette placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair, much to his surprise. “I’m sure it’ll come back one day! You don’t need to rush. The you right now is already amazing.”

At that moment, Flann felt an odd sensation flow through his mind. It was soft… and warm. Like a tender summer breeze blowing as white curtains fluttered in its midst. He closed his eyes briefly, and felt as if he could see the soothing golden glow of the afternoon sun. 

When the warmth on his head disappeared, the scenery he thought he could almost reach scattered before him. Flann opened his eyes slowly, feeling nostalgic as one does when they wake from a comforting dream. 

He blinked a few times dazedly, and then turned to look at Clarette. 

“...For a moment… I almost thought… I could remember something.”

Clarette looked at him with interest, her eyes glistening. He stared at those daffodil-colored eyes, and then her beautiful, long curls, and his chest seemed to sting a little. He dropped his gaze.

“But it vanished before I could figure out what it was…”

Seeing Flann’s visible disappointment, Clarette felt a bit apologetic for her enthusiastic response. “At least this is something,” she replied, trying to cheer him up. “This is a sign that there’s more to come.” 

Flann nodded slowly. “...It should be a good thing, but…” He kept his eyes fixated on the floor, where he slightly shifted his feet. “Until now, I had somewhat viewed my past as something interesting to remember… but when I suddenly thought I had a grasp on it and just as quickly lost it…”

“...There’s a stronger feeling of loss than I had expected.”

He gripped the top of his trousers with his hands that rested on his thighs. “...It’s a little more empty than I had expected.”

Clarette didn’t know what to say in response. Part of her felt pity for him, because she had also hoped for him to recall his memories so that he would feel more complete. Despite that, another part of her felt a bit sorrowful that the identity of Flann Ruzena could not make him whole. She knew how disconcerting it must feel to not remember an entire fifteen years of living, and yet she was somewhat disappointed by the fact that the things she and her family had given him were not enough to fill that feeling of loss. 

Feeling frustrated at her own conflicting feelings, she softly patted Flann on the back. “...With time, it’ll probably get better.”

At that, Flann smiled softly. “Yes… I’m sorry for bringing the mood down.” He put his notes away and closed his bag, lifting it onto his shoulder. Rising from his seat, he said, “Shall we get going?”

Clarette returned his smile. “Sure.”

In a silence that was both awkward and yet could be called comfortable, the two of them exited the classroom and walked down the hallway of the building, heading towards the outer gate of campus. 

As they walked, they heard footsteps approaching behind them, and a loud voice rang out in the otherwise silent hallway. 

“Ruzena~”

The two of them stopped, turning around to see the person who had called them. Catching a glimpse of fiery red hair, Clarette’s expression hardened. 

“Blaise Myrlea. Do you have something you want to say to us?”

Flann glanced back and forth between Clarette and Blaise, who was accompanied by Servas. The dark expression on Clarette’s face was something that he had never seen before, and he felt nervous. 

Blaise lightly stepped towards them, a playful swing in his movements. “I just wanted to see the new face of our year, is something wrong with that?”

Clarette grimaced a little as he approached them, but said nothing in return. 

Directly in front of Flann, Blaise tilted his face, observing him from head to toe. Flann clenched his fists, uncomfortable with the scrutiny. 

“He’s called a Ruzena, but rather than a rose, he looks more sickly?”

He roughly patted Flann on the shoulder, sending a chill down Flann’s spine. “You have no color, like something dead, deprived of the sun.”

“And yet,” he leaned in, causing Flann to move backward in shock. “Your eyes look full of blood that the rest of you lacks.” 

“Hey!” Clarette shouted, stepping in front of Flann. “If you’re just here to slight him, then we have no obligation to listen to you.”

She grabbed Flann’s arm and turned around, pulling him away from where Blaise stood. However, before she could get far, Blaise jumped off the ground, instantly landing in front of them. 

“I wasn’t insulting him? That was just my opinion on his looks.” 

Clarette glared back at him. “You…!”

“Besides,” he added, orange-red sparks flaring at his fingertips, “I’m not that interested in his appearance.”

“More than that, I’m curious…” Blaise pushed off his back leg, springing into the air. The sparks at his fingers converged into a spherical orb in his hands, glowing in a burnt orange color. Laughing with excitement, his mouth curled open to reveal his sharp, white teeth. “...how strong he is!”

Before Clarette could move to block Flann, the two of them collided, sending out a chaotic explosion of red sparks.