Extra's Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch

"W-wait, I didn’t mean to make you angry. I was just– I just– " she stuttered, her eyes going slightly teary.

"Hahahaha!! Look at your face. You are so adorable when you get nervous. Hehe~" Once again Noah burst into laughter at her.

Understanding it was another prank of his, she clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.

What came next was a punch straight to Noah’s stomach.

Thud.

"Ouch!"

She punch him up belly. Which didn’t even felt like a punch at all.

---

Noah walked beside Mary as they headed in the direction of the cafeteria. It was well past seven in the evening. Noah usually ate dinner after eight, but since Mary was here, he figured he might as well join her.

They had been strolling around campus for a while now, making their way there slowly.

Noah was still rubbing his stomach where she had punched him earlier. Even though it had been more than half an hour since it happened.

"Did I hit too hard?" she asked, looking at him worriedly.

"Of course not. I didn’t feel anything." He glanced at her. "I was just thinking about how someone can be so frail. You should eat more and train harder, Mary. How are you going to protect yourself with such a delicate body? You need to be stronger." He said it in a firm voice, as if giving a lecture.

"I will train more," she said, clenching both fists in front of her. Her eyes blazed with determination. "So next time I can punch you even harder."

Noah folded his arms across his chest with a proud expression. "Good girl. You should train more so you can hit me —" He paused. A frown appeared.

"Oi, what do you mean punch me harder? I meant it for other people. Thugs who might come to bother you."

"I... I was just joking. Besides, why would anyone bother with me? I’m just ordinary." She defended herself.

"There you go again with that nonsense. You are cute and sweet. Don’t forget that."

Hearing his compliment turned her ears a shade of pink.

"Hm... I’ll keep that in mind."

"Not everyone is a gentleman like me. So try to choose your male friends more carefully." He looked around, then stepped a little closer to her.

"Also... that Damien. He might act like some hero and a man of justice. But secretly he’s a real pervert. He only helps women so he can get on their good side."

"W-what? Really? I don’t think he’s like that. He helped me last time."

"That’s exactly why I’m saying it. Men are beasts. Keep that in mind." He lowered his voice slightly. "That day when you were in danger, he came in like a knight in shining armor to protect you. But the moment Edward turned to me and tried to pick a fight, that man Damien didn’t even try to step in."

Her eyes widened.

She remembered Noah saying something similar back in the training hall. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time. But now...

"You... I think you might be right." She nodded with a serious face, as if she had just been told some ancient secret.

"Yeah. I knew you were a smart girl." Noah nodded with a proud smile.

"Noah?"

A familiar voice came from behind them. It was soft and gentle, the kind of voice that could melt any men’s heart.

Both Mary and Noah turned around.

"Lyria..."

It was a group consisting Damien, Lyria, Arisha, Leonardo, Emma, and even Kaelan Nightfall.

Lyria looked between the two of them, her eyes settling on Mary for a moment. "You were heading to the cafeteria with..." She thought for a second. "Mary, if I remember correctly."

She gave a warm smile. "Hello, Mary."

"Hello, Lyria." Mary returned a small, polite smile.

"Were you two heading to the cafeteria? Would you like to join us?" Damien asked pleasantly.

"Tch. No need." Noah refused flatly.

He still hadn’t forgotten that day, when Damien had told Morgana those lies, which Noah spout had spout to Damien. Noah had tried to stop him. Damien hadn’t listened. As a result, Noah had spent the entire week on the receiving end of Morgana’s cold, emotionless stare, not to mention two rather unpleasant training sessions where he was beaten by her.

"Mary and I were planning to eat together."

"Ah, sorry then." Damien scratched his cheek, apparently unaware that Noah still held a grudge against him.

The group moved past them.

But Arisha stopped.

Noticing this, the rest of the group paused as well.

"What’s wrong, Arisha?" Emma asked, with a slight edge to her voice, as though she didn’t appreciate the attention being directed toward Noah.

Arisha stood still. She looked at Noah, then at Mary, then back at Noah again.

"Having an affair with another woman behind my back..." She clicked her tongue. "You really are a terrible person, Noah. Such a womanizer. Hmph!" She turned and walked away, her long violet hair swaying with each step.

She left the entire group standing in stunned silence.

Noah’s jaw had dropped.

Mary was beyond shocked. Her palm flew up to cover her open mouth.

"Noa–Noah!" She turned to him with an expression of pure betrayal. "You were in a relationship with Arisha this whole time? Then why did you ask me on a date?"

"Wa– wait. Date?" Noah stared at her, completely lost.

"I’m going insane." Leonardo pressed his fingers to his temples.

"This feels like a scene out of a drama." Lyria shook her head slowly.

"No. Absolutely not. Is Arisha seriously dating Noah? This Noah?" Emma looked genuinely offended on Arisha’s behalf as she hurried off in the direction she had gone. "Is she out of her mind?"

"I have no words." Damien sighed tiredly.

"I thought you had changed..." Kaelan said, not bothering to stay quiet. "But the only thing that’s changed is that you’ve gotten smoother with women. Less forceful than before, at least."

One by one they all walked away.

Mary, still visibly shaken, slowly began backing away from Noah.

Noah finally came back to his senses.

"Wait, Mary– let me explain..." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Before he could get another word out, Mary turned and ran toward the cafeteria.

He was left standing alone with a blank expression.

"Haah... fuck it."