Five days had passed since Kayla's departure.
Aren sat at the dinner table with his parents, staring at his bowl without touching it.
"…Haaaah."
He let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong, my son?" Nila asked gently.
Aren didn't answer. His gaze was unfocused, lost somewhere far away.
"Aren?" she called again. "Are you alright?"
This time, he snapped back to reality.
"Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine," he replied.
Then, after a brief pause, he added quietly,
"I was just thinking about Kayla. I'm worried about her."
At those words, Nila's expression darkened.
Rob, Aren's father, also lowered his eyes.
"I'll bring her back!" Aren suddenly shouted.
"Aren," Rob said calmly but firmly, "calm down. You're not strong enough to make that happen."
"That's not my wish, Father," Aren replied, clenching his fists."It's Kayla's. I know she just wanted to live a peaceful life."
His voice trembled with anger.
"But it looks like even that is something the gods won't allow."
"Aren, please don't say that," Nila said quickly."The Goddess of Light has always protected us."
"We just have to accept her will."
"I refuse," Aren said, standing up abruptly."I'm not hungry anymore."
He left the table without looking back.
Aren was furious.
Not just sad—but angry.
Angry because Kayla never had a choice.
On the day the priests of Light came to take her away, Aren had tried to fight them.
He failed miserably.
A single technique was enough to subdue him.
They used the surrounding mana to distort his senses—a pressure that crushed his body and blurred his vision.
That was all it took.
He couldn't even say goodbye properly.
"I'll do whatever it takes… to see her again," Aren muttered, his eyes burning with determination.
Several weeks later—
"You know," a voice said casually in the street,"I heard that after her training, the Saint candidate will enroll in the Academy."
"What a blessing, don't you think?" another person added.
"Is that true?" Nila asked, stopping in her tracks.
"Yes," the woman replied confidently."I can guarantee it."
Nila's face lit up.
After finishing her errands, she hurried home as fast as she could.
That evening, during dinner—
"Aren," Nila said with a bright smile,"I heard something about your sister today."
"Really?!" Aren shot up instantly."How is she? Where is she?!"
"I don't know the details," Nila admitted,"but after her training, Kayla will enter the Imperial Academy."
"I'll go there too," Aren said without hesitation.
Rob frowned."And how do you plan to do that? We don't have the money to send you to such a prestigious academy."
"I'll earn a scholarship," Aren replied firmly.
Nila looked worried."I understand how you feel, but… do you really think you can do it?"
"You've never trained before.The others aiming for the Academy probably started years ago."
"It'll be fine, Mom," Aren said with a confident grin."For the next four years, I'll give it everything I've got."
Rob and Nila exchanged a brief look.
"…We'll support you," they said together, smiling.
"Thank you," Aren replied.