Catherina sighed, a faint roll of her eyes accompanying the sound, and returned to her warm-up routine, seemingly dismissing Kaito's vague warnings.
Kaito, however, was already deep in thought.
His mind immediately latched onto the most pressing concern, how to get stronger fast in the single week he had before the exam.
What first came to mind were his available stat points and his coins.
"I need to check later what stats to boost and if the market had any new items or had restocked after a day."
Beyond that, the next steps for rapid growth felt out of his hands, he would have to wait for the System to give him quests to accomplish for more rewards and faster progress.
Then, a much heavier contemplation settled over him.
"Should I tell the professors or the academy about the impending threat?"
He knew, from countless playthroughs of the game, that students would die during this event.
"In some variations of the story, even potential future characters or professors could also die."
"Or, worse, the main character dies." Kaito's thoughts spiraled.
"What would happen if the main character which the player of the game dies in this world?"
"Would the world reset? Would he revive on a save file?"
"Or would this entire world simply cease to exist with the death of its intended protagonist?"
---
Before Kaito's thoughts could spiral further into the grim possibilities of player death and world resets, a voice suddenly bellowed right into his ear.
"Oy! Oy! Hey, can you hear me? Hey, Kaito! Kai—"
Kaito, startled, whipped his head around, his face turning directly into the source of the noise.
Their faces were mere inches apart, Catherina's mouth still comically shaped into an 'O' as she was about to finish his name.
"—to!"
Surprised by his sudden turn, Catherina instinctively tried to pull her head back, stumbling awkwardly.
She began to fall, but before she could hit the ground, Kaito's arm shot out, catching her firmly by the waist.
"Oops, Catherina," Kaito said, a playful smile touching his lips as he steadied her.
"You should be more careful. You wouldn't want to get injured before the exam, right?"
Catherina, flustered and caught completely off guard, stammered, "W-what are you talking about?"
"You were the one in deep thoughts again and couldn't hear anything I said!"
Her cheeks were beginning to flush a faint pink.
Kaito merely chuckled.
"Haha, sorry about that, princess."
For a second, silence hung heavy between them as Catherina went utterly speechless.
Her eyes, wide with disbelief, finally managed to form a word.
"Princess?!" she spluttered.
Then, as she became acutely aware of the position they were in, Kaito's arm still around her waist, her face exploded in a furious blush.
"You! Why are you still holding me in that area? Let go!"
She pushed against his chest, breaking free with a shove.
"You dare touch me again like that and you will pay!"
Kaito, completely unfazed, just grinned.
"I will keep that in mind, princess."
"Stop calling me that!"
Catherina fumed, stomping her foot, her earlier composure completely shattered.
Kaito watched Catherina storm off a few stepsand her face a fiery red, and a silent satisfied laugh erupted inside him.
"Hahaha, it's so fun to mess with her," he thought, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"It's even better now that I'm not limited by that red-haired boy's uptight, oblivious, or just straight up bad dialogue options."
"Having the freedom to choose my own is just too fun."
He enjoyed the sight of her flushed cheeks and indignant expression.
"Look at her face, she doesn't have a speck of the prideful, sad or bored princess of the Montaigne household right now."
Kaito's silent amusement turned into an open grin as he ran to catch up with her.
"Wait for me, princess!" he called out.
Catherina froze, then slowly turned back, her eyes narrowed into angry slits.
With the wooden rapier in her hand, she aimed the blunt tip directly at his face.
"I said don't call me that!" she growled, her voice low and dangerous.
"Call me that one more time, and I will make sure you end up worse than those three students earlier!"
Kaito immediately raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
"I get it, I get it! I won't do it again, pri—Catherina," he quickly corrected himself, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
Catherina's eyes flashed.
"Arrgh!" she snapped, catching his near slip.
"You were about to do it again, weren't you!"
But Kaito was already turning, a mischievous laugh escaping him as he took off running.
"Come back here!"
Catherina yelled, her voice filled with mock fury, a faint smile threatening to break through her indignant expression as she watched him dash away.
---
Their playful chase and Catherina's indignant shouts quickly drew attention.
Several students paused their training, their heads turning in Kaito and Catherina's direction, curiosity piqued.
"I've never seen her act like that before, have you?" one student whispered to a friend, a look of genuine surprise on his face.
"No, I haven't," the other replied, eyes wide, clearly fascinated by Catherina's uncharacteristic display.
Eric, who had been listening in, frowned slightly.
"Should we intervene?" he asked Gwen, a hint of concern in his voice.
Gwen, however, was beaming. She nudged him with her elbow, her smile wide.
"No, don't do anything," she advised, a playful glint in her eyes.
"We shouldn't interfere with their moment. They look like they're having fun."
Eric blinked, genuinely confused. "Are they?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
Gwen chuckled, shaking her head.
"Yeah. Well, I know you wouldn't understand because you're too oblivious with that kind of thing, so just trust me and focus on our training, Eric."
"What?"
Eric protested, his voice a little indignant.
"I'm not oblivious!"
"Sure, sure," Gwen said, giving him an amused pat on the shoulder before turning back to their own warm-up.
"If you say so."
---
After a while, the playful chase turned into an intense, unspoken spar.
Now, Kaito and Catherina stood a couple of meters from each other, both panting hard, their chests heaving.
Their wooden swords, now served as weary supports, their tips resting on the arena floor.
"Who uses multiple weapon arts at an innocent person running away?!"
Kaito managed to gasp out, his voice strained between breaths, a slight grin twitching at his lips.
Catherina, equally winded, shot him a mock glare.
"You weren't supposed to dodge or block any of it!" she retorted, her cheeks still flushed from exertion.
"If any of those hit me," Kaito countered, eyes wide with exaggerated horror, "I could have died on the spot!"
"Exactly!"
Catherina declared triumphantly, a small, mischievous smile escaping.
"Exactly?!"
Kaito's eyes widened further in disbelief.
Then, as if on cue, their legs gave out simultaneously.
They both crumpled to the floor, lying sprawled amidst the quiet hum of the arena, and a fit of shared laughter bubbled up, echoing around them.
It was a genuine, uninhibited sound, washing away the last traces of their earlier awkwardness.
Catching her breath, Catherina turned her head to look at Kaito, a soft smile gracing her lips.
"You really are good at reading attacks," she admitted, a hint of genuine respect in her voice.
"I even tried to predict where you would dodge, but I couldn't get past your defense."
Kaito smiled back, a warmth spreading through him.
"And your weapon arts are as beautiful as your fighting style," he replied, his voice sincere.
"It really suits you."
Catherina's eyes softened, a faint blush returning to her cheeks, but this time from genuine pleasure.
"Really?" she murmured, her gaze drifting up to the ceiling.
Kaito, still smiling, replied, "Yeah, it's strong, but you probably won't be able to defeat me."
Catherina's eyes snapped to his, a flicker of indignation returning.
"What did you just say?" she challenged, pushing herself up onto an elbow.
"You just got lucky! I'll make sure you won't be next time."
Kaito chuckled, pushing himself up to a sitting position.
"Yeah, we have a week to prepare."
"We should try to spar more and understand our fighting styles so we don't commit mistakes and get in each other's way when fighting monsters."
Catherina turned fully towards him, a determined smile gracing her lips.
"Yeah," she agreed, "I look forward to it, Kaito."
Kaito met her gaze, his own smile widening mischievously.
"Oh, I bet you do, princess."
Before he could even finish the word, Catherina's hand shot out, grabbing her wooden sword.
With a swift, fluid motion, she launched it directly at Kaito's head.
It connected with a dull thwack, sending him sprawling back onto the arena floor.