Death, Devotion, Dissonance

It took Endra another couple hours to finally come to the Academy. On the way, he stopped for late lunch while enjoying his coffee, visited a public bath, played ball with some random children, sat feeding some kitten and its mother, before finally arriving at his destination.

It was late afternoon so a few students were walking out of the Academy's gates, each minding their own business. Some of the second years noticed Endra and greeted him, to which he nodded back. Thankfully, none of them came close to talk to him.

Overall, the Academy looked no different than usual. 

'Well, that's a given, considering I was gone for only a few weeks,' Endra sighed..

He knew that, but it still he had just come from a long and tiring journey. Considering all that happened, perhaps it was justified of him to feel that way. 

Sighing again, he headed towards the Chairman's office to report his coming back. The place turned out to be empty and Endra realized that it was Helm Class at this point today. His Helm Class.

Groaning, he started walking towards his classroom.

The Academy halls were mostly silent, but soon enough, familiar voices became audible. Arza's voice was more distinct than the others, but they seemed to be in the middle of a discussion. Endra came close to the classroom and stood in front of it for a few seconds. 

But right as his hand fell on the handle, the door opened by itself.

Part of him expected it to be Bella, but it was only Dagan. 

"Oh, Evin," he murmured.

The others in the class looked at him and greeted as well.

"Welcome back!" the cheery ones spoke up. "How was your trip?"

"It was fine," Endra found himself replying with a polite smile, as Evin would. 

'Guess I'm posing as Evin for now,' he thought to himself.

Looking past most of them, Endra found the more important people looking towards his way.

Bella was happy, and looked like she wanted to come to Endra's side immediately. The conversation with her was the most important. 

Arza and Phel both looked happy to see him, but there was a weird distance, or tension between the two. Endra wondered about what happened between them. Perhaps Phel finally confessed… but it was still weird. Arza didn't seem to be the type who'd act weird after rejecting someone.

Endra did not plan to tell them the truth, but perhaps one of them would notice something off about him.

Decatur's expression had defaulted to a glare. Endra did not care much for him. The noble boy didn't have much to threaten Endra with. 

Then, Endra saw the Chairman. A knowing smile appeared on the man's face as he observed Endra. 

"Have you just come?" he asked.

"Thought I'd report to you before I went to my room," Endra said.

"Continue on with the debate everyone. Personally, I support Phel's offer, but the choice is yours," the Chairman said and stood up from his seat. 

Endra quietly followed after him, wondering if the High-mage realized the truth already. Endra made sure to act the same as Evin, but he always felt that Chairman Kent knew more than he let on.

They entered his office and the Chairman offered Endra a seat. "Tea?"

"No."

The Chairman shrugged and started making one for himself. 

There was a certain cleanliness to the man's movements. The way the man poured tea resembled the movements of a long-serving butler of nobility. Slick, confident moves, with a hint of showmanship flair hidden in them.

Honestly, Evin never gave the Chairman enough credit in Endra's opinion. 

A silly, old man, doing almost adorable things to pull at Evin's strings. 

But Endra did not plan to take the man lightly. 

He played down the man's stupid pranks on Evin as roundabout ways to incite him, but no matter what, the man's actions were simply too meaningless. But from what Endra could tell, the man wasn't an idiot. Not at all. 

So why bother Evin? 

In Endra's eyes, the Chairman messed with Evin because he was bored. He was slightly interested in Evin from the beginning, considering the boy's unique talents, but as for why he pushed so many problems into Evin's lap, it was because he was bored. 

If the Chairman really wanted to make an icon of Evin, he could've done so easily. The problem really wasn't that hard. The easiest method would be to just ask Evin. Either bind him with threats, or even better, offer rewards for him if he's successful.

Given enough, Endra would've been happy to play along the man's ploy. 

He also could've acted more actively behind the scenes. Force Evin to clash with the nobles and direct him afterwards. 

The man's actions had the same gravitas as a person playing with a kitten. They'd hold the thing on their hands, sniff and kiss it, tickle it, maybe throw it in the air for the heck of it, yada, yada. The kitten would definitely not enjoy its treatment, but the person would be amused.

'Perhaps for High-mages like the Chairman, we also look like little pets to them.'

"Well," the Chairman smiled. "Instead of 'Welcome back', 'Greetings', would probably be the proper word to use here. So, greetings. You can call me Kent."

'He knows.'

"Creepy bastard," Endra felt a chill down his spine.

"That your name?" Kent replied, and then paused. "I meant to say it as a jab, but it's honestly quite accurate isn't it? An entity of some sorts, playing house in a child's head."

Endra realized Kent was trying to rile him up for some reason. Most likely boredom.

"You're not wrong. But you can also call me Endra."

Kent smiled, hearing the name. "It's a bit unimaginative, but I like it. However… a little advice from me. It's better if you call yourself Evin."

The words made Endra pause. His head churning, he arrived at a possible meaning of the advice. 

'He wants me to embrace Evin's identity.'

"And no," the Chairman continued. "I don't mean you should live your life as if you're the boy's copy. What I mean to say is, you should embrace the fact that you've killed and taken over him."