Zeph found himself lost in contemplation, trying to figure out how to handle Valeriana’s situation without revealing Diana’s identity.

He was worried that if he exposed Diana’s gender, Valeriana might think poorly of him or worse declare him as pervert for acting like that in front of a girl.

He couldn’t afford that,’Do I really have to deal with her later?’

He struggled to find a solution that wouldn’t raise Valeriana’s suspicions about his knowledge of her abilities.

"Zeph?, Alexios is asking something"

Just as he was deep in thought, Thalia’s voice interrupted him, bringing him back to reality.

He noticed Alexios standing in front of him with a slight twitch on his face due to getting ingnored.

"Oh yes, what were you saying?"

Confused about Alexios’s presence, as nothing like this was mentioned in the novel and also It was puzzling for him that Professor Adriannel had allowed a demon like Alexios into the academy.

"I was saying, can I sit here?"

Seeing Alexios’s smirk, Zeph realized about his intentionally trying to make things awkward for him, especially after stopping Alora from sitting there.

’this bastard’,

Zeph couldn’t help but curse him silently, feeling like Alexios was trying to paint him as a straight-A bully who has occupied whole first row, by asking his permission.

Determined, not to engage in further conversation with Alexios, Zeph nodded and gestured for him to sit next to Valeriana,’ Let’s see, how are you going to survive now’

Zeph was not gonna leave this guy unscathed and by making him seat beside Valeriana, he ensured to keep his mind in check and also deal with Valeriana’s problem temporarily.

Valeriana frowned as she saw Alexios taking the seat next to her, and he, too, noticed her displeasure. With a shy smile while scratching his chin, he sat down beside her, unaware of Zeph’s strategic move.

Valeriana was left puzzled by Zeph’s choice to seat Alexios next to her and not hearing his thoughts, she take it as a normal gesture without any hidden motive.

Alexios sitting beside her started to think about his usual thing, Little did he know that his thoughts were an open book to Valeriana, and she quickly realized, ’He’s definitely Thalia’s brother,’ based on their similar facial features, it was obvious but after Hearing his thoughts, it was also confirmed that his mind was as much of a mess as Thalia’s.

.

.

Thalia and Zeph were engrossed in a casual conversation, their voices blending in with the hum of the classroom. Suddenly, a murmur swept through the room.

"Hey, isn’t she Alisia Quintain?"

"Oh my god, she is! I’m so excited."

Zeph’s attention shifted towards a young woman accompanied by another woman and two boys.

Their entrance created a small sensation in the entire class.

In contrast to the first year, where students needed to excel in both theory and practical exams to secure a good rank, the second year had a different system.

Students were assigned tasks based on their ranks at the end of each month after the results were announced.

If someone excelled in theory and practical but failed the assigned tasks, their rank would plummet, making the second year a challenging endeavor.

However, Alisia Quintain had been holding the first rank in the Academy since day one.

Rumors suggested she might even be smarter than some of the professors. Though rumors were just that – but it was also true, smoke didn’t originate without fire – there was no denying her intelligence.

As Alisia walked past the first row and headed towards the second, the entire class watched in awe.

Zeph couldn’t help but steal a glance at her, though it was hard to notice the sparkle in his eyes with the whole class doing the same, except for a young woman sitting beside him.

Thalia observed Zeph’s reaction as her Intuition kicked in once again, making her feel a malice Directed towards their direction, swiftly turning her attention towards a Dariant male from the third year approaching them.

BANG

Zeph turned towards the source of the noise.

A Dariant male, known for their physical prowess, had slammed his hands on his desk and directed a rather impolite remark at Zeph.

Zeph remained calm, and although the slam was powerful, the sturdy desk with mana-infused wood held up against the force.

However, Zeph’s mind was elsewhere, unfazed by the altercation, as for him, it was no more than bees humming.

[ Human, an elf seemed to using mana to hide his presence ]

There was an Elf in the classroom trying to hide his presence using pure mana, though skilled at concealing their mana usage, elves used pure mana that was very similar to divine energy.

Seraphina, who was highly sensitive to such energy, could sense the presence of mana being manipulated.

’Why he is not doing something’

Zeph couldn’t comprehend why the professor wasn’t intervening in what was clearly an impending fight.

’Don’t tell me’,

A realization struck him as he turned his gaze towards Bruce, the Dariant male, ’Is it happening again’

Memories from his past life resurfaced. He had experienced a similar situation in the past where a boy tried to provoke him by calling him Orphan and so on, until he really pissed him off.

In response, he had beaten up that guy, prompting the teachers to intervene just as he was about to dunk the guy’s face in the toilet, which resulted in his expulsion from school.

Only later did he realize it was a premeditated scheme by that boy to get rid of him.

After understanding the reason, he was genuinely surprised that he had lost his place in school simply because he had helped a fellow student being bullied by that boy.

And after saving that guy, Maintaining his humanity, Zeph accepted the money that guy offered, even though he appeared apprehensive.

Zeph had only taken half of that guy’s money, showing mercy by aiding someone in need without making them feel indebted.

As he looked at the same situation arising, all those forgotten memory resurfaced when he glanced at Bruce and looking at the boy, he smiled as inquired.

"Do you know where the toilet is?"