The academy calendar moved fast. Festivals, duels, investigations—there was always something loud and disruptive happening. But beneath all of that, the administration never let go of the basics. Regular classes, tests, assignments, and evaluations continued as if nothing else mattered.

That morning, word spread quickly across the dorms: the first **small test** of the new month would be held in two days. It wasn't as big as midterms or finals, but it was the kind of assessment that contributed to class points and individual rankings. For students already scraping by, even a small test could mean the difference between surviving comfortably or going hungry in the cafeteria.

Arios didn't think much of it at first. He was confident in his ability to pass, and he already had experience staying composed in far worse situations. But the moment he returned to his dorm after class, he realized the test wasn't going to be something he could ignore.

Lucy sat on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, her face pressed against a pile of open textbooks. She looked miserable.

"Why?" she groaned into the pages. "Why does it always have to be alchemy theory? Why not practical magic? I can handle practical!"

Liza, lounging on Arios's bed with a pillow under her chin, smirked. "Because if they only tested practical, you'd burn the entire building down trying to boil water. And besides—seeing you panic is fun."

"Liza!" Lucy snapped, lifting her head and glaring. "I'm not bad at everything!"

"You're bad at the one thing we're tested on," Liza replied without missing a beat.

Lucy let out another dramatic groan and flopped backward onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Arios sighed and set his bag aside. "You're panicking too early. The test isn't even until the day after tomorrow."

"That's exactly why I'm panicking now," Lucy said quickly. "If I start later, it'll be too late. I don't even know half of what the teacher was talking about this week. I thought I understood healing agents, but then the notes said something about 'reactive sub-components of restorative fluid,' and I just—" She grabbed her hair with both hands. "I don't get it!"

Liza laughed into her pillow. "You don't get anything unless Arios spells it out for you."

Lucy turned red, half from frustration and half from embarrassment. "That's not true!"

Arios rubbed his temple. He knew where this was heading. Lucy's struggles with theory weren't new. She always kept up during practical demonstrations because she could copy movements and remember steps, but the moment the subject turned abstract, she collapsed under the weight of terms and explanations.

"All right," Arios said. "We'll review it together. Sit up."

Lucy blinked, then immediately scrambled upright and grabbed her notebooks. "Really? You'll help?"

"Like I have a choice," Arios muttered. He pulled the chair from his desk and sat down across from her. "Let's start with what you don't understand."

Lucy shoved one of her textbooks toward him. "This. Right here. It's about the basic formula for a healing agent. It says you need three key ingredients, right? But then it starts talking about 'stabilizing catalysts' and 'mana conductivity rates,' and I get lost."

Arios scanned the passage. "You're overcomplicating it. The main ingredients don't change. The catalyst is just something to make sure the mixture doesn't break apart too fast. Think of it as glue holding the pieces together."

Lucy tilted her head. "Glue?"

"Yes. The healing agent is like a fragile puzzle. Without glue, the pieces scatter. With glue, it holds long enough to actually work when applied."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Oh." She scribbled that down immediately.

"Now," Arios continued, "the conductivity rate just means how well the mixture responds to mana. Some mixtures are more sensitive than others. That's why you can't just pour raw mana into a healing potion without stabilizing it—you'd make it explode."

Lucy froze. "Wait. That's why the cauldron exploded last week?"

"Yes," Arios said flatly. "Exactly that."

Liza burst out laughing on the bed. "I told you it wasn't the cauldron's fault!"

Lucy covered her face. "Don't remind me. I thought I'd ruined school property."

"You did ruin school property," Liza corrected, grinning. "They had to clean that room for two hours because of you."

"Shut up, Liza!" Lucy pouted.

Arios cut in before they could spiral into bickering again. "Focus. The important thing is understanding why the stabilizer matters. If the test asks, don't write a wall of text. Just explain that catalysts prevent the potion from collapsing and that conductivity affects mana interaction."

Lucy nodded quickly, jotting it down word for word.

They went through the next few pages together. Arios explained in short, simple comparisons—glue, threads, locks and keys—while Lucy repeated them back in her own words. Every time she managed to summarize correctly, she brightened like she'd just conquered a mountain.

Liza, meanwhile, rolled back and forth on the bed, occasionally chiming in with sarcastic remarks. "So basically, Lucy, you're memorizing Arios's cheat-sheet version of the class."

"It's not cheating," Lucy argued, sticking her tongue out. "It's smart studying!"

"It's relying on your boyfriend's brain," Liza teased.

Lucy flushed red. "He's not—!"

Arios didn't bother responding. He knew Liza only pushed to watch Lucy squirm.

****

Hours passed in that rhythm. Arios explained, Lucy stumbled and recovered, Liza mocked from the sidelines. But slowly, page by page, Lucy's panic faded. She stopped burying her face in the books and started sitting straighter, her notes becoming more organized.

By the time the lantern outside the dorm flickered, she stretched her arms above her head and let out a satisfied sigh. "Okay… I think I actually understand most of this now."

"You'll be fine," Arios said simply.

Lucy grinned. "Thanks, Arios."

He gave a small nod, already gathering the books into a neat stack.

Liza propped her chin on her hand, watching. "So this is what tutoring looks like. Arios being patient, Lucy hanging onto every word like a baby bird waiting to be fed."

Lucy blushed again. "That's not—don't say it like that!"

"It's true," Liza said casually. "I should record it and show everyone. 'Look, this is Lucy's real secret: Arios doing all the thinking for her.'"

Lucy lunged at her with a pillow. "You wouldn't dare!"

Liza laughed and blocked the attack with her own pillow. "Too slow!"

The room dissolved into a miniature pillow fight, Lucy flailing, Liza dodging, Arios pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Both of you, stop before you break something," he said.

Neither listened.

It took another ten minutes before they ran out of energy and collapsed on the floor, both laughing breathlessly.

****

The next day, the academy felt tense. Students filled the hallways carrying books, muttering formulas under their breath, or comparing notes. Even though it was only a "small test," the competition between classes made everything more serious. Class points were on the line, and nobody wanted to be the one blamed for dragging their class down.

Inside Class 1-D's room, Lucy sat stiffly at her desk, chewing the end of her quill. Liza leaned back lazily in her chair, humming to herself. Arios sat between them, flipping through his notes one last time but not particularly concerned.

"Why does it feel like the air is heavier today?" Lucy whispered.

"Because you're imagining it," Arios said.

"No, really," she insisted. "Everyone's so tense. Look at Javier—he hasn't even looked up from his book since we came in."

"Javier always looks like that," Liza said. "He probably thinks glaring at the pages makes him smarter."

Lucy covered her mouth, suppressing a giggle. Even with nerves, she couldn't resist laughing when Liza teased others.

When the teacher finally arrived with the test sheets, the room went silent. Papers were distributed, quills were set in place, and the scratching of ink filled the air.

Arios worked steadily, his answers coming easily. He didn't rush, but he didn't pause either. Most of the material had been drilled into him already, and anything unfamiliar he pieced together logically.

Lucy, on the other hand, squeezed her quill so tightly it almost snapped. She forced herself to breathe and remembered Arios's words. "Glue. Conductivity. Simple explanations."

She began to write carefully. Her handwriting wobbled, but the answers were clear.

Across the aisle, Liza doodled on the corner of her test before filling in answers with casual strokes, looking completely unbothered.

The test stretched on for two hours.

When it ended, students exhaled in relief. Some slumped over their desks, others whispered about which questions had been the hardest.

Lucy immediately turned to Arios, wide-eyed. "I think I actually did okay this time."

"You'll pass," Arios said.

She smiled brightly. "That's the best thing I've heard all week."

Liza stretched her arms over her head. "Well, that was boring. Can we go eat now?"

Lucy groaned. "How can you be so relaxed? What if you failed?"

"I didn't fail," Liza said simply. "I just know."

"Ugh, you're impossible," Lucy muttered.

Arios stood and gathered his things. "Let's go. Worrying now won't change the results."

That evening, back in the dorm, the three of them sprawled around the room. Lucy hummed happily as she copied her notes more neatly, determined not to fall behind again. Liza leaned against Arios's shoulder, pretending to nap but clearly listening to every word. Arios himself sat quietly, satisfied that at least for now, things were calm.

The academy always had storms waiting around the corner. But for this brief moment, with books scattered and laughter echoing, it almost felt normal.

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