The Anomaly's Path

The early morning sun came through the tall windows of the Class Ascendant lecture hall.

The room was loud and chaotic. Today was the first day of preparation for the Academy Festival. The gates wouldn’t open to the public until the third day, but the whole campus was already buzzing with excitement.

I sat in my chair in the center row, leaning my chin on my hand. I felt completely drained. My hair was messy, a deep frown on my face, my eyes staring blankly at the desk. My mind kept going back to last night. When I had asked Seris, she didn’t just say yes or no right away.

Her calm mask had cracked for a second, her eyes widening as she stammered, ”I...”

The pause in her voice almost gave me a heart attack. But then she cleared her throat, looking down at her door handle.

”I will be very busy helping the student council with the public safety during the festival days when the gates open. But... if you don’t mind, we can go together on the fourth or fifth day. Before the first-year banquet starts.”

I had agreed on the spot. But now, the reality was hitting me hard.

I had absolutely no idea how to take a woman out. I was a noble from a high-ranking household, so money wasn’t a problem at all, I could easily buy out the most expensive restaurant in the entire academy city without blinking.

But would she even like that?

Seris wasn’t like other girls. She was strange, in a good way — quiet, blunt, and impossible to read. I had no idea what she would actually enjoy. Would a fancy place just make things weird? Should I just take her to the normal festival stalls instead?

But what if that felt too casual? I was completely lost, stuck in my own head, overthinking everything until my stomach started twisting.

”Alright, that’s it,” Roan said, sliding into the seat directly in front of me and leaning over the desk. ”What is wrong with you, bro? You’ve been sighing like an old man since this morning.”

I raised my head, giving him an annoyed glare.

We had just walked into the classroom for the first lecture, but both he and Alice had picked up on my mood the exact second I sat down. There was no way I could tell them the truth. Knowing those two, if they found out I had actually asked Seris out, they would tease me until the day I died.

Leaning forward, I coughed into my fist, trying to keep my face as flat and expressionless as possible.

”...Fine. I am going to ask you a question. But listen to me very carefully. This isn’t about me. Do you understand? I am asking for a friend.”

Alice leaned over and squinted at Roan. ”Hey, is he talking about us?”

Roan tilted his head, looking completely innocent. ”Hey, I never said anything to him. But wait...” Roan smirked, looking back at me.

”Leo, you don’t even have any other friends.”

”I have plenty of friends,” I lied smoothly, a vein throbbing on my forehead. ”Just shut up and listen! Like I said, it’s a question for a friend.”

Alice and Roan shot each other a look of clear doubt. ”Right, right. A friend. Go on.”

”So,” I cleared my dry throat, looking away.

”The thing is... this friend of mine met a girl. They barely know each other, but he owes her a huge debt. She saved his life during a bad situation, and he feels really bad about it. He wants to repay her properly, so he asked her to hang out with him. And to be clear — he doesn’t love her. He has no feelings for her at all. He just wants to pay back what he owes.”

I took a breath and turned back to them. ”She said yes. So now, what should my friend do? Where the hell should he take her?”

Roan had a mischievous glint in his silver eyes as he tapped his chin. ”Oh, a debt. Well, if your ’friend’ is a total idiot, he should probably take her to a dark, boring library to read old books.”

”Or he could challenge her to a death match in the arena to show his respect!” Alice barked out a laugh, slamming her fist onto my desk so hard the wood creaked. ”That’s how a real warrior repays a life-saving favor!”

”Both of your ideas are completely useless,” I snapped. ”I’m asking for actual, normal advice.”

Roan and Alice exchanged a look, both of them grinning like they had just figured out the biggest secret in the world. They could clearly see right through my ’friend’ excuse.

Before they could say anything else, the doors of the lecture hall slammed open with a loud bang.

The chaotic chatter died instantly. Every student sat up straight.

Professor Morgana walked into the room. The air instantly felt heavier. Her sharp eyes scanned the room with her usual sarcastic look. She didn’t say anything nice. She walked straight to the podium, leaned against it, and looked at her class of misfits.

”Listen up, you brats,” Morgana’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

”The Academy Festival starts today. The first two days are for preparation. On the third day, the main festival begins, and the academy gates open to the public. Every class has to participate and run an attraction. Your performance could also give you class points.”

She crossed her arms, a smile on her face. ”So... that means you’re also competing with the other classes. But remember, it’s not official, so even if you lose, it doesn’t matter. Now, I need a leader to handle the planning because I’m not doing it.”

Instantly, without a second of hesitation, the whole room went completely quiet. Fifty pairs of eyes turned to look straight at me. Nobody said a word, but their blank stares said everything.

Damn it. I knew it, I thought, cursing them all in my head. They’re just dumping all the work and responsibility on me.

Morgana grinned, clapping her hands together. ”Perfect. Leo is your leader. You have the rest of the day to discuss and finalize exactly what you want to do. Get to work.”

As soon as Morgana stepped back, the class erupted into a loud, chaotic argument.

”Maid cafe! We should definitely do a maid cafe!” one brave student shouted from the back, pumping his fist in the air.

I slowly turned my head, sending a cold glare toward the boy. The sheer coldness in my eyes made him choke on his words, instantly dropping his hand and sliding down into his seat, terrified.

”No maid cafes,” I said flatly.

”Since you all chose me as your leader, you are going to listen to me. Listen here, it’s an absolute order. No maid cafes. We aren’t little kids. You all are grown-ass men, so start acting like it and bear some responsibility for what you’re choosing.”

Instead of backing down, the classroom erupted again. Roan stood up, looking deeply offended. ”Shut up, Leo! It is the literal duty of a man to experience a maid cafe at least once in his life! A man can dream, can’t he? Don’t crush the dreams of the youth!”

”Yes! We support Prince Roan!” several male students shouted from the sides, rallying behind the elf.

”Maid cafe! Maid cafe! Maid cafe!” they chanted, pumping their fists in the air like a bunch of idiots.

I stared at them, my eye twitching. The sheer stupidity of the scene was making my head hurt. I felt a sudden, violent urge to kill that elf right then and there. But before I could do anything, Alice reached out and aggressively slapped the back of Roan’s head.

Smack!

”Shut up, you meathead!” Alice snapped. ”There is no way in hell we are doing a maid cafe!”

Roan rubbed the back of his head, whining loudly. ”Ouch! Hey, are you only throwing a tantrum because you’re scared of being forced to wear a frilly maid outfit, Alice?”

Alice’s face flushed red with pure rage, her amber eyes flashing dangerously. ”What did you just say? Do you want to die right here, you damn prince?!”

Looking at the ridiculous ideas turning the room into chaos, I sighed and glanced at the podium. Morgana just smirked and shrugged, clearly enjoying our misery. If there was a god, he was definitely punishing me today.

_

The crazy suggestions kept coming for the next hour.

Sera suggested a quiet archery shooting range, but Alice said it was boring and wanted a combat tournament where they could beat up tourists.

Garret suggested a weapon display. Elara quietly muttered something about a support magic clinic, but the louder students drowned her out. Malva just sat in her corner, watching the madness with her usual blank face.

After rejecting dozens of bad ideas and stopping Roan from scamming visitors, I finally made a decision.

Since I was the only one who actually knew how to cook, I had to lead the main attraction. We decided to split the class into teams to run a big food stall and custom carnival games that used basic elemental tech.

I stepped up to the board and assigned everyone their roles.

Alice and Roan would run the game attractions where they could let off steam. Garret and Sera would handle the mechanical setups. The rest of the class — including Elara and others, would handle food prep, inventory, and table service under my supervision.

Morgana clapped her hands, a sharp smirk on her face. ”Sounds acceptable. Don’t mess it up.”

With that, the morning meeting finally ended, and the students began to pack up their things to head out to take their next classes.

I stood straight, stretching my stiff shoulders and preparing to finally get some space to clear my head. But before I could even take two steps toward the exit, a student wearing a formal uniform stopped right in front of me.

It was a representative from the council.

”Primus Leo,” the student said. ”The Student Council President is requesting your presence immediately. Please follow me to the central administrative building.”

My eyebrows furrowed, my eyes narrowing into a sharp frown.

What the hell does that bastard want from me?