The bells of Oxenfurt Academy rang nine times. Yavi slowly opened his eyes and stretched lazily. After five days of studying, his first weekend at Oxenfurt Academy had arrived. Years of getting up early had left him few chances to sleep in, but now that he was attending the academy, surely he ought to practice that traditional student specialty. He stayed in bed until nine before getting up to wash.
"No thinking about spells or formulas on this rare day off," Yavi announced to his reflection, running his fingers through his sleep-tousled golden curls. He had not had a haircut in a while, so his short hair had grown curly. Yavi thought he looked quite good with curls, too. The young man in the mirror still had faint shadows of exhaustion beneath his eyes, but a relaxed smile had already lifted the corners of his mouth.
After putting on a comfortable dark blue casual outfit, Yavi decided to fill his stomach at the dining hall first. It was much quieter on weekends than on weekdays, with only a scattering of students who had risen as late as he had. Carrying a plate of honey-covered toast, two boiled eggs, and a large cup of steaming herbal tea, Yavi found a seat by the window.
"Yavi! Over here!" A familiar voice called out. Yavi looked up and saw Elena waving to him, with three other girls beside her, presumably her roommates.
"Seeing you on a weekend, too-now that's rare," Elena said with a smile, making room for him. "You're never in the dining hall at this hour normally."
"I ought to experience life as a normal student once in a while." Yavi set down his tray and nodded to the other three girls in greeting.
"So this is 'that Yavi' you keep talking about?" asked the black-haired girl sitting opposite Elena, raising an eyebrow. She wore round glasses. "I'm Martha, an economics major."
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Elena hurriedly interrupted, the tips of her ears reddening. "This is Claire, and this is Sophia. We share a room."
Claire was a petite girl with a golden braid hanging over her shoulder, intently stirring the oatmeal in her bowl with a spoon; Sophia had tan skin and neat, short hair.
"Wait!" Sophia suddenly put down her fork, her eyes going wide. "You're the Yavi who saved Elena from a griffin's jaws?" Her voice rose an octave with excitement, drawing curious looks from students at several nearby tables.
Yavi nearly spat out the herbal tea he had just sipped. He hastily wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, while Elena quickly clamped a hand over Sophia's mouth, making her let out muffled whimpers.
"Wow! So it really happened!" Claire finally looked up from her oatmeal, cupping her cheeks in both hands, her eyes shining with admiration. "Elena said that if you hadn't stepped in just in time that day, that rampaging griffin would have torn her to pieces!"
Martha adjusted her glasses, their lenses catching the light eerily. "I kept putting off coming because I'd heard there was a griffin on the road. To think you were the one who dealt with the griffin threat, Yavi. That's amazing!"
Yavi turned toward Elena, who was desperately spreading butter on her bread, pretending not to notice his gaze. Her crimson ears gave her away.
"Elena..." Yavi drew out her name. "What exactly did you promise me back then?"
"Ah! Look over there!" Elena suddenly pointed out the window. "It's... it's Dean Loriess's cat!" she said, clumsily changing the subject.
Sophia elbowed Elena with a mischievous grin. "Oh, come on. You gave us a vivid account of the whole thrilling ordeal in the middle of the night on Wednesday. Something about how Yavi rushed out 'like a hero' at the critical moment-"
"I did not!" Elena shrieked, covering Sophia's mouth and nearly knocking over Claire's oatmeal, giving Claire a fright.
Yavi sighed helplessly, lightly tapping his fingers against the table. "Beautiful ladies, could you do me a favor? Please don't spread this story any further..."
There was a pleading note in his voice as his gaze moved between the three girls. A sly glint flashed across Martha's glasses, Sophia gave him a knowing smile, and Claire continued looking at him with the same admiring gaze.
"Why?" Claire asked, tilting her head. "It's a heroic deed!"
Elena finally recovered from her embarrassment and quietly chimed in. "Exactly. You saved so many of us..."
Yavi rubbed his temples and lowered his voice. "Think about it. If this gets out, it'll have quite an impact on me. After all, I came here to study and keep a low profile. I don't want to be treated as some 'griffin hero' all day." He stirred his herbal tea helplessly.
Martha adjusted her glasses, a sly gleam appearing in the eyes behind them. "We can keep it secret, but there's a condition." She held up a finger. "Next week, you have to treat all four of us to afternoon tea. And from then on, we'll take turns hosting tea every Saturday afternoon-you have to attend."
Before Yavi could speak, Sophia jumped in. "No using your studies as an excuse!"
"Well..." Yavi looked hesitantly at Elena, who was watching him expectantly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Claire suddenly pulled a little notebook from her bag. "I've already thought up the rota! Martha the first week, Sophia the second, me the third, Elena the fourth, and then Yavi again the fifth..."
Sunlight passed through the stained glass, casting a rainbow into Yavi's teacup. Suddenly, his throat felt a little tight.
"All right." Yavi raised his teacup in a toast. "To afternoon tea, and to... friendship."
Five cups clinked gently in the air, the splashing droplets of tea like scattered stars in the sunlight. In the distance, the bells of Oxenfurt Academy rang once more, their lilting tones announcing this special weekend arrangement.
After having lunch with the beautiful young women, Yavi returned to his dorm room. The most important thing after lunch was a lovely nap!
Stripping down to his shorts, Yavi threw himself into bed. The bedding was still as rumpled as when he had hurried out that morning, and the hollow in his pillow fit his head perfectly. He nuzzled the pillow contentedly, catching its familiar scent of sunshine, and soon drifted off to sleep...
After sleeping for he knew not how long, Yavi was woken by the sharp clicking of high heels.
"Wait, this is the men's dorm. Why am I hearing high heels?"
Still bleary-eyed, Yavi raised his head. A little curious, he activated his Witcher Senses.
"Senior, are we really going to barge in like this? The fourth and fifth floors are full of rich and powerful students. Isn't it a bad idea to just go looking for trouble with someone like this...?"
The girl speaking had a soft, timid voice, with a hint of fear in it.
"Hmph! If he really were rich and powerful, he wouldn't have used my little brother's identity to study here. My family isn't some illustrious clan, either, yet he still needed to steal my brother's identity. That shows he doesn't have any powerful backing!"