"Thanks." Art said simply with a warm smile.

The gaze he used to look at Soran had changed subtly. Soran was one of the few people he had met other than the headmaster and his family who were willing to fight for him, even against unfavorable odds. The budding feelings he had for Soran solidified in his heart, although he would never admit to it.

The look in Soran's eyes had similarly changed. The power Art demonstrated had easily matched his own, and Art seemed to still be concealing some of his full strength. It was likely that his full power even surpassed his own by a large margin. But somehow... his eyes now burned with an even stronger admiration and love for Art, an even more intense desire to subdue his powerful figure beneath him in bed...

'I wonder what exactly could make Art moan in pleasure, pain and submission...' He thought evilly.

"Anyway, are you sure your ok? Should we head over to the infirmary for some light restoration spells? You must have used a lot of mana at the very least."

Soran suddenly began prodding Art all over his body, checking over literally every inch of him to make sure he was ok. He even looked like he was about to try and lift up some of Art's clothes when Art jumped back shyly and muttered hurried assurances that he was ok with a bright blush coloring his cheeks.

"Really, I'm completely fine. A bit tired, but no need to visit the infirmary."

"Hmmm, very well, I suppose you were pretty... impressive up there." Soran huskily spoke with a malicious smile as he looked up and down Art's body and drank in the sight of his form-fitting clothes and the seductive lines they hinted at beneath them. Somehow his words seemed to have an entirely different meaning than they were supposed to.

His expression suddenly changed.

"I don't like it when you wear such tight clothes in front of other people." He said in almost pout.

A black line of sweat ran down the side of Art's face, although his heart did flutter slightly.

'How old is this guy exactly?'

"Anyway..." Art wondered how to change the subject.

"It's about dinner time. Why don't we find somewhere to eat? My treat."

Soran narrowed his smoky eyes at the obvious subject change, but was still satisfied that Art wanted to eat with him.

"Sounds good. Let's get out of here before all the students start storming out."

Bowing to the headmaster, the two fled the stage and left the arena before the audience could react.

"What?! Did Art-sama just up and leave??!!"

A wave of dissatisfaction spread through the audience. Although they didn't know exactly what they wanted, they still were quite disappointed when Art just left like that after such an upset. Of course, the majority also had tears streaming down their checks as they thought back full of regret on how much they had bet on Flint winning the match.

Meanwhile Art and Soran had already began heading towards the river to find a restaurant, happily chatting. Well Soran kept insinuating dirty ideas that Art casually ignored, but other than that the two interacted as naturally as lifelong friends. They both tacitly agreed not to talk about the duel that had just finished. The subject of Flint was not a pleasant one, so the two quickly moved on to other topics as they walked towards the river, their shoulders brushing against each other's occasionally.

"Oy! Art! Soran! Wait for us!"

Youran's shout caused the duo to stop just as they were about to reach the riverside. Turning, they saw Youran and Jake running towards them, with poor Martin huffing and puffing along a couple steps behind them.

"Wow Art! That was amazing! You destroyed that prick so easily!" Youran exclaimed once she got closer with little stars in her eyes.

Jake's reaction was even more intense.

"Art-sama! Please accept me as your disciple!"

Art's eye twitched.

Fortunately Martin produced a normal query that Art could answer and at the same time use as an excuse to ignore the previous remarks.

"You aren't hurt anywhere, are you? Are you guys looking for the infirmary? I didn't see you get hit by any spells, but you never know in a battle between powerful mages..." The boy asked with a slight blush.

"Thank you for your concern. I am completely fine, as you said I wasn't even touched by a spell. And no, Soran tried to drag me to the infirmary earlier but apart from being a little worn out and hungry, I am not at all injured."

Thinking back, Art somehow felt that Soran was more using his duel and the possible injuries he may have sustained as an excuse to shamelessly take advantage of him and feel him up.

In spite of knowing that Soran most likely simply wished to take this as an opportunity to eat his tofu, feeling the concern of him and the others gave birth to a warm feeling in his heart. Friendship. It wasn't something Art had experienced before, apart from Ao Bai. While he had yet to form a truly deep relationship with the others, this simple kindling of warmth had started the long process of mending the scars of his childhood.

Just spending the last day in the cozy warmth and comfort of Soran's presence had thawed out most of his frozen personality, although some coldness had returned during his duel with Flint. The boy's unreasonable jealousy and the actions it fueled simply reminded him too much of the syndicate. The headmaster would later admit that one of the greatest surprises of the year was seeing Art, the mysterious boy who never showed any emotion on his porcelain face, walk so intimately and contentedly with Soran when he had sent an elemental to summon him.

"Actually, we were going to find a restaurant to eat dinner. Why don't you all join us?"

Although Youran looked conflicted at this proposition, when Martin and Jake enthusiastically agreed, she decided it was already too late for Art and Soran to have a romantic one on one dinner and voiced her agreement as well.

The group of two-turned-five quickly reached the 'restaurant section' of the river. It was already packed with students, filling the area with constant chatter, laughter and cheers. Somehow, the noise and the colorful signs and lights and the various smells wafting out from each restaurant created a harmonious picture, where each group of students felt both a sense of community and belonging, but also the comfort of anonymity in a mass of people.

Everyone was here to enjoy a festive dinner on their last night of freedom, sharing in the anticipation, fear and excitement of starting school the next day along with their newfound friends. Although they were a group that garnered more stares than most, Art, Soran and the others were happy to turn into just another group of friends enjoying a meal that night.

Although rumors had spread of the freshman with a once in a generation god tier bloodline, fortunately few had connected Art's face to his reputation.

Even the Old Kitchen Witch's restaurant was packed to the brim with students. This was one of the few nights where she would present an agreeable front and treat the students with the ultimate pleasure of her cuisine. However, neither Art nor Soran wished to deal with her again so soon...

The group ended up at an oriental-style restaurant on the river bank. Its open deck covered by gracefully sweeping arches of wood offered relaxed atmosphere and pleasant view of the river. The group came at the perfect time - a round table large enough to accommodate all of them had opened up at the corner of the restaurant, right on the river bank.