Ethan’s lips twitched before he finally asked, "Who are you?"
The boy frowned so dramatically that it looked as though Ethan had just insulted his entire bloodline.
"You’ve got to be kidding, right?" he exclaimed, pointing at himself in disbelief. "There’s absolutely no way I’m that easy to forget! I was only gone for a little while, and now you’re standing here asking who your best friend is?"
"Oh..."
The name struck Ethan immediately as realization dawned on him. Fragments of the original owner’s memories surfaced one after another, finally allowing him to place the familiar face standing before him.
Rin.
Ethan Ashford’s childhood best friend.
Ever since they were little, Rin had always stood by Ethan’s side. Even after Ethan awakened as an F-rank Guide and became the academy’s laughingstock, Rin had never once looked down on him or abandoned him like everyone else had. Unlike Ethan, Rin was an A-rank Sentinel.
Although he didn’t come from a prestigious noble family like the Ashfords, Rin himself was an exceptionally talented A-Rank Sentinel. Because of both his strength and financial situation, he frequently accepted academy-issued commissions to help clear dungeons and rifts outside the campus in exchange for rewards. The most recent assignment had required him to leave the academy for an entire week.
Now...
He was finally back.
The moment Ethan pieced everything together, a genuine smile spread across his face.
Finally...
There was finally someone in this cruel world who genuinely cared about him. Someone who had loved the original Ethan exceptionally no matter what.
"How could I forget my best friend?" Ethan replied with a grin, waving him inside. "I was just messing with you. Come on in."
Rin huffed suspiciously before stepping into the room. However, the very next second...
He froze. His eyes slowly swept across the tiny room before widening in disbelief. "This..." His voice cracked with shock. "What the hell happened while I was gone? I come back to the academy only to hear that your engagement has been called off. Then I go looking for you at your old dorm, only to find out you’ve been kicked out and transferred here." His expression darkened as he looked around once more. "Don’t tell me... this is actually where you’re living now?"
He stared at the worn-out furniture, the cramped space, and the narrow bed before blurting out, "Is this place even livable?"
Ethan couldn’t help laughing at Rin’s horrified expression. The guy looked genuinely angry on his behalf.
"That’s exactly what I asked myself when I first got here," Ethan admitted with a helpless shrug. "I honestly didn’t think anyone could live in a room like this either, but I don’t exactly have much of a choice now, do I? I’ll just have to adapt."
He smiled lightly before continuing, "And yes... these few days while you were away were absolute hell, but I survived them. So let’s not talk about it anymore."
Instead of being convinced, Rin merely shot him an unimpressed glare.
"You’ve gotten way too good at pretending you’re okay. Look at you now acting all mature and tough" Letting out a quiet sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "I’ll see if there’s something I can do about this room, alright?"
Ethan simply nodded, he appreciated the concern, but he didn’t expect miracles. Walking over to the bed, he dropped onto the creaky mattress, only for his stomach to let out an embarrassingly loud growl.
The room instantly fell silent.
Rin slowly turned to look at him before a grin spread across his face. "Was... that your stomach?" He folded his arms as he asked. "You haven’t eaten yet?"
Ethan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I haven’t actually eaten anything proper today," he admitted. "I overslept this morning, almost got punished to death, and barely managed to survive on snacks."
"I’m starving too," Rin admitted with a dramatic pout. " I haven’t had dinner yet, the moment I finished today’s mission, I rushed straight back to the academy, spent forever checking back into the student registry, and by the time I finally got to my dorm cafeteria..." He sighed dramatically. "...it had already closed."
Ethan rolled onto the bed with another pitiful growl escaping his stomach. "I guess..." he muttered dramatically, "...our only option is to sleep hungry until tomorrow."
For a brief moment, Rin remained silent. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait!" He snapped his fingers excitedly. "We don’t have to!"
Ethan instantly lifted his head from the pillow. "Huh?"
"The S-class dorm cafeteria!" Rin announced proudly. "It stays open much later than the cafeterias in the lower-ranked dormitories. It’ll still be open for about another two hours."
A mischievous grin slowly spread across his face. "We can sneak in, grab food, eat, and leave before anyone notices."
Ethan immediately sat upright. "Sneak into the S-class dormitory?" he repeated slowly. "Isn’t that... extremely punishable?"
Rin simply shrugged as though sneaking into the academy’s highest-ranked dormitory was no different from taking an evening stroll. "Only if we get caught." He flashed Ethan a confident smile. "And we won’t."
Ethan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You sound way too confident for someone suggesting we commit a crime."
"It’s not a crime."
"It definitely feels like one."
"It’s just sneaking in to feed our empty stomach’s"
"... It’s still punishable too"
Rin laughed loudly before grabbing Ethan by the wrist. "Oh, come on! Stop overthinking it. We’ll be in and out before anyone even realizes we’re there."
Ethan hesitated for exactly two seconds. Then his stomach growled again.
Louder this time.
He looked down at it with a deadpan expression. "... You’re such a traitor." Ethan finally sighed in defeat. His stomach had already made the decision for him.
Looking back at Rin, he finally stood up from the bed and dusted off his uniform before returning his friend’s grin.
"Alright... let’s go" he said with a resigned sigh. "Lead the way."