In the University
The corridors carried a different kind of noise.
Not loud, but persistent.
Whispers.
Fragments.
Everyone was talking about the same thing—the fight.
Kairav walked through it without pause or curiosity, as if none of it concerned him.
“You were precise back there.”
Iraansh Chandra leaned against a pillar, a faint smirk on his face.
He watched Kairav intently.
Kairav gave him a slight nod.
Nothing more.
Then he continued walking.
Near the library,
Seth and Megh stood in quiet discussion.
Arun and Karuna joined them soon after.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
“Today was…” Megh exhaled.
“I don’t even know what to call it.”
The others nodded.
“Tell me,” Seth said, turning to Arun and Karuna.
“What is he like in class?”
“Quiet,” Karuna replied.
“But attentive. When the Guru asks something, he answers.”
“He doesn’t speak unless necessary,” Arun added.
“And he doesn’t draw attention to himself.”
“That explains it,” Megh said slowly.
“He didn’t step in until he was called.”
“And when he did…” Seth shook his head slightly.
“It didn’t feel new to him.”
Arun leaned back, resting his hands on his waist.
He pondered for a moment before speaking.
“I understand the strength. Mountain life. Shepherd work. That builds the body.”
He paused.
“But that wasn’t just strength.”
“He knew where to strike,” Megh added.
“That’s training.”
“Or experience,” Seth said quietly.
Silence settled over them again.
“Urvasa…” Seth continued.
“That clan was erased. His very existence is an anomaly.”
“And yet, he dropped Bhuvan like that,” Megh muttered.
“That’s not normal.”
After a moment, Megh spoke again.
“I remember something my mother once mentioned. She said the future heir to the head chair of the Urvasa clan had many muses and courtesans.”
He paused, considering the possibility.
“It’s possible Kairav was born from one of those bloodlines.”
Karuna nodded slightly.
“That would explain why no one knows about him.”
Seth let out a faint breath.
“From a dead clan… and now taking the spotlight.”
A quiet agreement followed.
They stepped into the library and waited for their assigned notes, but their discussion continued.
At the university’s main gate,
Yani stood waiting for her friends.
They had planned to meet there.
Then her gaze narrowed.
At the sight of someone familiar, her light brownish-green hazel eyes widened in surprise.
Kairav.
Her pinkish-red lips parted.
He was walking toward the exit, adjusting the cloth bag slung over his shoulder.
His attention was focused on something as simple as arranging the books inside it.
Unbothered.
Unaffected.
For a moment, she simply watched.
This is him…
She stepped forward.
“Hey… we meet again.”
Kairav looked up.
Recognition flickered in his eyes.
The noble girl from before.
He gave her a slight bow—measured and respectful—then continued walking.
No pause.
No attempt to continue the conversation.
“Which Guru?” she asked, turning slightly to keep pace with him for a step.
“Guru Sariputta,” he answered.
Then he continued walking.
He didn’t slow down or look back.
And yet, he hadn’t been dismissive.
He had simply… moved on.
Yani stood still for a moment after he passed.
There was no eagerness in him.
No attempt to impress her.
No awareness of her beyond simple courtesy.
Strange…
She turned as her friends approached.
“Yani!”
She smiled.
“Who were you looking at?” Megh asked, glancing toward the exit.
“Someone I met recently,” she replied.
After a brief pause, she added, “Kairav.”
All four froze.
“…Kairav?” Seth repeated.
“Out of everyone here…?” Arun muttered in complete disbelief.
Yani frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
Then realization struck her.
“You know him?” she asked, her tone laced with slight excitement.
Karuna exhaled.
“We do.”
“Can we sit somewhere?” Megh suggested.
“This… needs context.”
“Yeah,” Arun muttered.
“Preferably with a drink.”
In the Local Tavern
The tavern was quieter than usual.
They spoke.
She listened.
The fight.
The precision.
The way Bhuvan had fallen.
No exaggeration.
“He didn’t overpower him,” Seth said finally.
“He understood him.”
Yani didn’t interrupt.
“He knew where to strike… when to strike… how to strike,” Arun recounted.
A faint smile touched Yani’s lips.
Then she spoke softly.
“He was the one who saved me.”
Silence.
All four of her friends sat in disbelief
“What?” Megh reacted.
“The Black Sage incident.”
Yani blinked slowly.
Seth leaned back, exhaling.
“With no training… he disrupted that ritual.”
“A Black Sage ritual, even the high rank Mayaveers struggle in front of them, they think hundred times before making any move”
“And he just…” Seth trailed off.
Arun shook his head.
“That’s not normal.”
“No,” Megh said quietly.
“It’s not.”
Yani looked down at her glass.
The surface trembled slightly as she lifted it.
His presence lingered in her mind.
Not vividly.
Not emotionally.
But clearly.
The way he moved.
The way he acted.
No excess.
No hesitation.
He doesn’t act like someone who wants anything…
She considered the thought inwardly.
That unsettled her.
More than it should have.
She looked up.
“I need a favor.”
In the Market Area
Kairav walked with measured steps toward the townhouse.
With a soft exhale, he stepped into the main hall, which served as a shared living space for the tenants living above.
He climbed the stairs toward his apartment.
His landlady called out to him.
Kairav looked around curiously.
The landlady emerged from the adjacent room, which also served as her husband’s men’s apparel store.
The two spaces were connected within the four-story townhouse.
“Two men came earlier,” she said, handing him a sealed letter.
“From the Royal Security Office. They said to give this to you personally.”
Kairav took the letter.
He nodded once.
Inside his room, the evening light stretched across the wooden floor.
He lit the oil lamp, sat down, and opened the letter.
His eyes moved across the lines once.
Then stopped.
The Royal Security Chief had summoned him.