She practically beamed at him, her tone flipping like a light switch.
"You look amazing today, Leo!"
I held back a sigh and muttered under my breath, "Of course he does."
Naturally, Leo responded the way only he could—cool, calm, with that well-practiced smile that looked sincere to most people.
"I see," he said softly.
She actually squealed.
What the hell am I witnessing first thing in the morning?
I was already getting annoyed.
And judging by the slight twitch in Leo's smile, I wasn't the only one.
Now, for those wondering—Leo Taylor had a skill, and no, it wasn't fire magic or swordsmanship.
It was the [Public Smile].
A perfect, polite expression that made people swoon while hiding every ounce of annoyance behind it.
Leo had masterd that skills, he's worthy of my respect for sure.
Anyway, the real expression lies behind that [Public Smile].
So yeah. Behind that calm exterior, Leo was 100% not enjoying himself.
Then his eyes—those steel-gray, painfully observant eyes—drifted toward the seat she'd just vacated.
The girl followed his gaze like a puppy.
"Is this your seat, Leo? I-I'm sorry! I didn't know! If I had, I'd have sat on the floor next to you instead!"
…Just how delusional is she?
Leo's smile didn't waver, but he gave a slow shake of his head.
"No, it's not my seat," he said. "I just have something to discuss with the owner of this one."
He was…talking about me?
Leo turned his gaze on me, still smiling like we were old friends at a reunion.
"Since I cleared it for you, why don't you sit down?"
My mouth opened slightly.
Was he mistaking me for someone else?
Was there someone behind me?
"You're still pretending you don't know me when I'm talking directly to you?"
That…was directed at me.
Now I was staring at him like he'd grown a second head.
Wait—Rin, I meant me! Do I have some kind of connection with Leo?
"It's been…what, almost eight years since we last properly saw each other? Well, aside from the entrance examination which I don't want to talk about."
Yeah, I get that what he's trying to say.
Not only he did loose to Ryen but he also lost against Kai Foster.
Considering Leo personalty he was holding himself pretty well.
If it was originally novel Leo, he would just outright training himself in his lock chamber, not attending even the academy.
So, considering he is not doing all that is good sign.
Anyway, back to the conversation.
"…Oh. Yeah. Leo. Nice to see you again," I said, managing to fake some level of calm.
Leo chuckled—soft, amused, and laced with something I couldn't quite place.
Like he'd just heard an inside joke no one else was in on.
And just like that, every eye in the room was on me.
…Great. Day one, and I was already in the spotlight.
But then again, I'd become a veteran at ignoring people.
It was a survival skill I'd honed back in the orphanage—refined to near perfection.
I even gave it a name: [Public Ignorance].
Thanks to that, I could easily block out all the noise around me and focus on the real issue in front of me.
Which was, unsurprisingly… Leo Taylor.
Yeah. That Leo Taylor.
The reason why every pair of eyes in the room was now drilling holes into the side of my face.
The worst part? He looked genuinely amused.
Not the usual fake-smile-for-the-crowd kind of amused. This was a real smile. The kind that said, "Oh, this'll be fun."
"Looks like you've finally come to your senses," he said, voice light but cool. "Last I heard, you were curled up in your room like a gloomy little cave bat."
That came out of my mouth automatically—genuine surprise coloring my tone.
That was news to me. I didn't know old Rin had been that bad.
Leo, however, kept smiling—still real, but with that subtle chill just beneath the surface.
"You're acting more like your old self now. That's good. Heard you went all emo after I beat the crap out of you when you challenged me."
Again, just pure disbelief.
The old Rin seriously challenged Leo? Like, the Leo Taylor?
I must've had a death wish.
The way Leo was talking, though—like he was reminiscing about old times between friends—was throwing me off. He sounded almost… nostalgic?
So… were we actually close?
"It honestly had me worried," Leo added casually. "Thought I hit you so hard it scrambled your personality."
…Apparently not friends.
Next to me, the girl who had been awkwardly standing ever since Leo stepped in—Miss Seat Thief—finally let out a sigh of relief, as if she'd been holding her breath waiting for me to tattle on her.
By the way, I've decided to give her a nickname: Miss Cheeks.
Why? Well, because she was glued to her seat with all the grace of a person sitting on a throne that didn't belong to them. It fits. Emotionally and metaphorically.
I wanted give her nickname of Cheeks Ass because she used her ass cheeks while seating on my seat.
But I guess that would be so out of charecter of me.
So I just satisfied with Miss Cheeks, A shorter virson.
Anyway, Miss Cheeks was clearly relieved Leo and I weren't best buds, probably thinking she'd dodged a bullet.
Now, hearing we weren't, she looked visibly relieved.
Unfortunately for her, Leo wasn't done.
"Anyway, getting to the point," he said, tone shifting ever so slightly. "Join my team for the semester evaluation competition. I don't know about the others, but I know what you're capable of. I'll accept you as my teammate."
Miss Cheeks face went pale.
I could almost hear the internal scream.
If Leo Taylor—the golden boy himself—was actively recruiting me, then clearly we weren't strangers. We were, at the very least, former acquaintances. Maybe even something like rivals.
That messed with her whole understanding of the power hierarchy.
I, on the other hand, was honestly stunned.
Leo was… offering me a spot on his team?
I mean, sure, he phrased it like I was some barely tolerable asset he was graciously willing to accept—but still. It was a big deal.
Wow. So we did know each other, huh?
Maybe to him, I was that weird kid who kept showing up no matter how many times life tried to squash me. Maybe even a minor rival, like a bug that refuses to die. But that hint of familiarity in his voice? Yeah, it was real.
'Don't worry,' I thought, glancing at Miss Cheeks—who was still hanging around and eavesdropping was a drama club audition. 'I'm not gonna snitch.'
But man, this day just kept getting weirder.
Leo stood there, waiting, that usual calm confidence on his face like he was expecting a "thank you" or something.
Instead, I opened my mouth and said, "No."
"I said I don't want to join your team."
Just like that. Simple. Clear.
A flicker of surprise passed through his expression—very slight, but enough to catch.
He hadn't expected that.
To be fair, I hadn't expected me either. But there it was.
I gave him a half-smile, polite but firm, like I'd just declined a flyer for a cult.