The next morning, Axel was finally free to leave the hospital.
"Try not to come back, unless you want to bring that walking natural disaster with you again," Dexter joked, making sure Samantha wasn't nearby before speaking.
Axel nodded in understanding and headed for the building's exit. Outside, he was greeted by Nathan, who was waiting for him with an impatient expression.
"How does it feel to be back in the sunlight?" Nathan asked, cheerful but with a hint of concern.
"..." Axel stayed silent for a moment, simply enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin.
"Y-You do remember who I am, right?" Nathan asked awkwardly, unsettled by the long pause.
"Hi, Nathan," Axel replied, his face lighting up with a smile.
Nathan let out a sigh of relief, visibly reassured. "Good. I was starting to worry."
On the way to the café for breakfast, Nathan took his time recounting the events of the past week while Axel had been in the hospital. Although nothing major had happened, just the usual disputes between clan members, there was one piece of interesting news.
"Ah, actually, there is something new. Do you know who Cain is?"
"No."
"...Right, I was expecting too much. Anyway," Nathan scratched his head, "you probably don't know her either, but it looks like Cain is trying to win over Aria Luxoria. It's kind of strange, but it makes sense. With Hiro around, Cain has no chance of becoming the next clan leader. But if he and Aria become an official couple, his chances would improve a lot."
"And?" Axel asked, intrigued.
"Not much. Aria completely ignores him, just like she does with everyone else. I've only seen her speak to Orion and Lucas a couple of times, and even then, it was just a quick hello. Now that I think about it, you're kind of like her in that way." Nathan added with a soft laugh.
"I told her the same thing, but she said we're nothing alike," Axel replied, a little downcast.
"Haha, good one. Come on, let's go before it gets too crowded," Nathan laughed, thinking Axel was joking, unaware that Axel was telling the truth.
By the time they reached the café, it was already packed, and the two of them began searching for a free table.
"Are you sure you're only going to eat… that thing?" Nathan asked, confused, watching Axel pull out a dark, slimy-looking drink.
When Nathan had visited Axel in the hospital, he had tried to taste the mysterious concoction out of curiosity, but Dexter had saved him from a likely stomach pump.
"Samantha said if she caught me eating anything besides what she gives me, she'd put me on IV feeding for the rest of my life," Axel replied, eyeing Nathan's tray with a hint of envy.
"…Is she a gangster or something?" Nathan asked, horrified.
"I have no idea, but she knows how to get what she wants." Axel shrugged with a faint smile. "Still, it's not that bad."
Nathan looked at him with pity. "Well, I can't deny my lunch looks way more appetizing than your 'superfood.' But if you want, I can share a bit of mine."
"I'd really appreciate it," Axel replied with a smile. "But I wouldn't want Samantha to label you as an accomplice and come after you too."
Nathan's face instantly turned pale. He moved his tray as far away from Axel as possible. Then he noticed Axel heading in a different direction. When he realized where Axel was going, he tried to call him back, but Axel didn't stop.
"Good morning. Is the food good?" Axel asked as he sat down at Aria's table.
"...It was," Aria replied coldly, leaving her tray on the table and walking away without ever looking back at him.
"What is wrong with you?!" Nathan rushed over the moment he saw Aria walk away.
"Many things," Axel replied as he started drinking the black mixture.
"We're so dead."
As if they had sensed the tension, a group of boys approached them. Judging by the emblem on their clothes, they were members of the Drakon clan.
"What do we have here? Looks like someone upset our princess," said the biggest one, his tone threatening.
"Hey… Rex," Nathan said, visibly uncomfortable.
"If it isn't Nathan!" Rex, the group's leader, said loudly, throwing a heavy arm around Nathan's shoulders. "You haven't forgotten what I told you a few days ago, right? We might only be one rank apart, but that's only because they let people like you in."
Surprisingly, Nathan was ranked 101 out of 1001, right after the last clan member. That's where the problems began. The clans were constantly competing to prove who was the best, and they didn't see Government-affiliated students as worthy. To them, the ranking only went up to 100.
Those at the bottom of the top 100, were treated as if they were at the bottom of the full ranking, mocked by their peers. As a result, they often took it out on those ranked below them.
In the end, it was all about ego. This group was made up of the lowest-ranked members of the Drakon clan, and they were constantly trying to curry favor with higher-ranking members, in their case, Cain.
"I thought Rex was a dog's name?"
Unaware of the rising tension, Axel asked a question that made Nathan raise an eyebrow, wondering if his friend had some kind of mental issue.
"What the hell did you just say? Hmm, wait for a second... you're that famous 'history boy', right?" Rex exclaimed with a mischievous grin. "Guys, look at this! They even let rats eat here now!" he added, turning to his group.
The other members of the Drakon clan quickly shifted their attention from Nathan to Axel. Their faces lit up with sinister satisfaction as they approached menacingly.
"What is this stuff?" one of them asked, grabbing the slimy bottle Axel had been drinking from. "Liquid crap? Hahah!" he laughed, pouring it all over Axel.
The thick, dark substance spilled on Axel, who stayed calm, as if this kind of welcome was just part of the routine. Nathan, meanwhile, tried to step in, but it was clear that Rex's group had no intention of stopping.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Nathan shouted, trying to protect Axel, but one of them held him down against the table.
"Be a good boy and let us have our fun, hahaha!"
Rex and the other Drakon clan members kept laughing while shoving and slapping Axel around, mocking him and laughing behind his back.
Axel stayed still. Despite the blows and insults, his face remained blank, showing only apathetic calm.
"Come on, say something!" one of them shouted as they kept pushing him. "Don't you like our attention?"
"I doubt anyone would," said a calm and authoritative voice from behind the group.
No one had noticed him approaching, but now everyone turned toward the figure.
"O-Orion Umbra," muttered Rex, his arrogant grin fading into surprise and fear.
"Pathetic," Orion said with disdain, his voice low and sharp. "You have no dignity as clan members. Nathan, right?"
"Y-Yeah," Nathan replied, visibly surprised by the intervention.
"You've got potential, but no backbone."
"Oh..." Nathan murmured, confused.
"And you," Orion continued, turning to Axel. "Learn to control yourself. You're already at a disadvantage, if you mess up, you'll lose the few chances you have left."
Without another word, Orion walked off, and the Drakon group followed, but not before giving the two of them one last glare.
"Young master, why did you step in?" asked Darius, one of Orion's friends and guards, with a puzzled expression.
"Was it because of that Nathan guy?" added Lucy, the other guard, with a questioning tone.
Both Darius and Lucy Umbra had grown up with Orion and were both his friends and protectors.
"Those idiots thought they were playing with a rat's tail," Orion answered, his tone serious. "They didn't realize it was a viper's tail, and a highly poisonous one."
His words left Darius and Lucy confused, but they said nothing more and followed him as he walked away.
Back at the table, Axel and Nathan finally had a bit of peace.
"Look at this mess. Good thing you'd almost finished eating," Nathan said, noticing the remains of Axel's meal scattered across the table. "Anyway, Orion Umbra is something else. Every time he looks at you, you feel that sense of danger. He really suits a clan specialized in assassination. But I don't get why he was so harsh with you—you didn't do anything wrong."
"Who knows," Axel replied, a strange smile lighting up his face. "Anyway, did you say that was Orion Umbra?"
"Yeah, that's him. Though I'm not sure you'll remember him," Nathan laughed, a bit skeptical.
"I think I will," Axel said, his smile widening. "He's interesting, after all."
With a slow, deliberate movement, Axel slid a knife out from his sleeve, the same knife that had been missing from the table until now.