Chapter 38. Ignored

Waking up to the chatter outside of his dorm room, Ken yawned as he got ready for another day of his typical school life.

“Morning everyone! Happy birthday Seraphina!” Ken greeted the girls waiting outside of his room.

Exactly two months had passed since Clare’s birthday debacle on July 7th and on this Saturday September 7th, it happened to be Seraphina’s 16th birthday.

“Thanks Ken! Let’s go get something good in town tonight! We haven’t been in town a single time since school started!”

As the group walked to the dining hall, and got some breakfast and chatted about everyday things, one person was clearly missing from the picture.

“How’s it going Ken? Having a good breakfast with your group of mutts?” A now familiar voice whispered quietly so only those at the table could hear.

“Oh, hi Luke. Yea, the group of mutts are doing well as you can see.” Ken replied with a forced smile.

After a few more tactless taunts, Luke and his groupie of nobles went on their merry way feeling good that they managed to annoy Ken and the girls for another day.

Since the start of the semester, Clare had refused to talk, sit or listen to Ken and it became obvious fast that the two were having issues and Luke with his pettiness did not let that opportunity go to waste.

Whenever he could, Luke would show up, make a few nasty remarks towards Ken or the girls. Other than Ken being the obvious target, he was also especially nasty with his remarks towards Lovetta and Emma due to Emma’s mixed race and Lovetta getting in his face when he threatened Ken.

All in all, with Ken pleading with the girls to not act irrationally due to Luke’s status. Whenever Luke would show up, they would mostly just ignore him and Luke had kept his taunting and harassment under wraps to just the group and it was not to the point of being unbearable.

When Ken got home, he explained the situation to Emma and Genesis right away and when school started back, the rest of the girls also learned of the situation on day one.

While none of them were happy that Ken ended up losing his virginity the way he did, none of the girls was surprised especially since if they didn’t have the protection spell, most of them would have already done it with him without a question.

When he explained the situation to the girls, he didn’t want to go into the specifics to protect Cecilla so he just told them that it happened on Clare’s birthday but he felt that Cecilla needed him to be with her more and while he felt bad for Clare he did not regret his action but Clare refused to listen or let him explain.

“Hey Clare, ready to listen to me today?” Ken asked after Clare arrived at the dining hall sitting at the table next to them.

“You're coming to town tonight for my birthday right, Clare?” Seraphine asked in her usual cheery voice.

“Of course, order whatever you want, I will pay for the meal.” Clare answered her casually like nothing was out of the ordinary while completely ignoring Ken.

While Clare had ignored Ken like he no longer exists, she has not acted any differently towards the girls and they still shared the room like always. But with her taking on more classes than ever, Clare seemed to have devoted her time to studying and training and rarely had time other than during meals to chat with anyone and it seems like she had almost completely reverted back to the days when she was known as the ice princess.

Thankfully, even though Clare wasn’t really interacting with anyone all that often, Ken was glad that she at least still lets the commoners bring her food whenever she was in the dining hall so other than getting picked on by Luke himself, no other group was getting targeted by the bullying.

“Alright Clare, whenever you feel like talking to me, you know where to find me.” After finishing his breakfast, Ken left the dining hall to head for his martial art class saying goodbye to Emma as she went off to work and Seraphina and Indra as they went off to their own lessons.

As much as Ken wanted to make up with Clare and have things go back to how it used to be, he was limited in what he could do with her stubbornness to ignore him. Other than trying to talk to her daily at the dining hall and getting ignored, Ken had left Clare alone for the most part and hoped she would eventually stop ignoring him.

“Let’s go Ken! Bye Clare! See you tonight!” Alice said happily.

Unlike Ken who’s having a very hard time focusing all of his attention on his studying and training with the situation with Clare and not knowing when he would get to see Cecilla again. Alice was more than happy to see that Clare was no longer interested in Ken and while all of the girls are still close friends, they were not about to try and convince Clare to change her mind when she was actively choosing to ignore Ken.

After arriving at the matted training room for his lesson, Ken greeted some of his other classmates as the group got ready for today’s lesson. Even with the distraction from Clare, Ken was easily the best in the class when it came to learning and understanding the different techniques and how to apply them in a controlled setting when enhancement wasn’t in play.

Unlike the written classes where it was mostly memorization and understanding of different concepts and there was no point in attending a class if one already understands the material, attending all of the practical classes were always helpful for Ken to train, practice and ask the professor for additional tips and tricks to help him get stronger, faster even if he already understood the basic concepts.

“Genesis! How many times do I have to tell you to not get in the way of the class if you are only here to stare at your boyfriend but not to learn!” Professor Ross shouted at Genesis, who was blocking the group unintentionally lost in her own thoughts daydreaming.

“Ken! If you can’t get her to at least not disrupt the class, then you need to stop bringing her here!”

“Sorry professor, I will keep a better eye on her.”

Scolding the absent-minded girl and telling her to sit in the corner if she wasn’t going to participate. Ken, Alice and Lovetta joined in the training routine to improve their stamina and work on their techniques.

“Genesis, you could at least join in the training. Even Alice is doing it to help her gain some mastery. Why are you refusing to put in any effort at all?” Ken asked after class ended as the group headed for their lesson in physical enhancement.

“Don’t want to. I just want to watch you.”

“You know you are barely above intermediate level in the required courses right? If you don’t pass advanced next year, you will have to drop out. Is that something you want?”

“I will start trying next semester! I have already taken all of the courses up to advanced anyways, I just need some refresher and I am sure I will be fine and pass easily!”

Pretty sure Genesis just didn’t care about school at all anymore, Ken decided to just let her be as the group joined up with Seraphina and Indra at the training ground.

Even though the academy is gigantic with too many classrooms for Ken to remember them all, there are only three training grounds. Two official ones, one for magic and one for physical where lessons took place and the smaller facility where students can go and train on their own.

Since the basics of physical enhancement and magic enhancement does not change and even with the most basic understanding one can achieve greatness with enough time, training and dedication. Having professors who have reached divine and holy levels and sharing their techniques and offering the students personalized routines and guidance made the classes extremely helpful.

With the training ground large enough to fit thousands of students, groups of different sizes for different levels would gather around the professor assigned to each level and as the levels get higher, the group grows smaller and the more advanced the techniques are taught and the training gets more personalized.

Alongside Seraphina with Alice and Genesis tagging along in the group, Ken had no doubt already reached advanced level but with the school year 70% over, he has been staying with the advanced class but getting more one-on-one guidance from the professor so he could keep improving without slowing down his progress.

When the lesson ended, Lovetta joined Ken from the master group while Indra walked over from the expert group. Not even trying to look for her, it’s hard to miss Clare in a crowd with her beauty as Ken saw her talking with the professor for the master discussing things even after the lessons were over.

No longer a group with Clare to wait for the elf princess, Ken and the rest went to the dining hall for a small lunch and waited around for Emma to join them before heading to the elemental training ground for their afternoon lesson.

Similar to the physical training ground, students of all levels gathered at the large open space next door to the physical training ground and students of different levels gathered and trained with professor who offered the most basic tips and hints for those that were like Ken and are trying to grasp how to conjure a proper spell to those so advanced they are trying to come up with personalized spells by combining different elements that they have the highest affinity with to create something unique.

“Hey Clare! Let’s head for town and start the party!” Ken asked while getting completely ignored.

Sighing deeply, Ken walked away shaking his head while Seraphina told Clare the restaurant they will be eating at as the group left the training ground heading for town.

“Hey Ken, let's go get the cake while everyone else can get the food ordered.”

Looking at the girls and seeing no one interjected, Ken knew that the request was already discussed amongst the girls and wondered what else could be going on when he’s already dealing with the situation with Clare.

As the group parted ways down the forked road, Emma grabbed Ken and held him closely as the pair strolled down the streets moving slowly towards the bakery.

“What’s on your mind Emma?”

“I don’t know if it’s the constant belittlement from Luke lately or the fact that someone who I thought loved you as much as Clare did could turn so fast from a single event, but I have been feeling rather insecure lately and just want some reassurance from you.”

“You know Emma. I think I have been so busy and have so much going on since I started coming to this academy that I have totally taken you for granted.

We have always been together, you were always there for me and I guess I have come to just expect you to always be there for me. With school, everyone else and the situation with Clare, I am sorry if I made you feel neglected.”

“I don’t mind being the one in the background as long as I know you want me. I just need to know that you love me and I am not a baggage you are forced to carry around because we grew up together.

I am not a princess, not the daughter of a tribal chief or god, I am not even a pure breed. I am also the only one who doesn’t even have the potential and only here working as a maid and not as a student.

I am just a mixed orphan girl from a small no name country and having to compete against all of the beautiful, smart, rich and powerful girls is making me question if I should really be here.”

“Emma, you do realize I am just an orphan boy from the same small no name country right? And why would I care about you being a mixed race.”

“I guess getting called a mutt daily by Luke has gotten to me and being around all the beautiful, powerful and smart girls isn’t helping with my confidence.”

“You know, I thought Luke was different from Xandrian or Dimitri at first but the more I got to know him, it turns out he is just another spoiled rich boy who wants everything his way and will cry about it if it doesn’t.

You are absolutely beautiful Emma, and no one can convince me otherwise. Sure, I think Clare is slightly more attractive but then again, I think she is the most beautiful girl in the entire world.

You are not giving yourself enough credit either, how are you not smart if you started from nothing like me and have to work everyday and you are still going to pass the beginner exams soon and I have no reason to believe you won’t reach advanced level or even higher and surpass most of those rich nobles who are just partying their days away.”

“Gee, I am here looking for you to comfort me but instead, you put Clare on a pedestal while also deciding to sleep with her sister on her birthday.”

“If I was any good at comforting girls, I don’t think I would be in this mess. With you questioning my feelings, Clare’s not talking to me and now, I don’t even know how any of the others feel.”

“I guess even the almighty Ken has things you aren’t confident in.”

“Ha! Come on Emma, who do you think I am? I am just a country bumpkin, how much confidence can I really have? It’s all just an act, a fake front.”

“Enough confidence to talk back like equals to a Darrumburgh, enough confidence to sleep with a princess of the Yelwraek, I don’t think any average country bumpkin could fake that.”

“Sorry you had to deal with Luke’s harassment because of me. As much as you are trying to talk me up, in the end, I can’t do anything about him or his actions. But one thing I can promise you, I will always love you.”

“You will always love me, but I can also expect to walk in on you sleeping with another girl right?

“I will make sure to lock the door next time! You need to stop jabbing me in my sore spot!”

“How else am I gonna do any damage when you are so much stronger and smarter!”

Laughing and chatting like the old days when it was just the two of them, the pair got a nice big cake covered in a thick layer of frosting with fresh fruits dotted all over and joined the rest at the restaurant where the table was already filled with food.

“Happy birthday Seraphina! Let’s have a fun semester and get along alright?”

“Thanks Ken!”

As the girls and Ken enjoyed the food and chatted, Clare just sat there reading a book looking completely out of place.

“Clare! If you are going to bring the mood down then just leave.”

“Happy birthday Seraphina.” Clare said softly, got up, paid for the meal and left without saying anything else.

“What a party pooper. Now she’s gone, we can have some fun!”

“Alice. Did you have to be so mean?”

“Stop it Ken! It’s been two months! So what you slept with her sister, she needs to stop being such a drama queen. She needs to either stop acting like a hurt child and get over it or tell you that she is no longer interested and move on with her life.”

“Let’s talk about happier subjects! Don’t make my birthday party all depressing please!” Seraphina cuts in, trying to change the topic so the mood could be lifted.

“Sorry everyone, my fault this got all uncomfortable. Let’s talk about something else. Seraphina! You never told me what your dad’s reaction was to your little stunt at the tournament.”

“Oh! When I told my dad I will marry you, he said. If I ever see that human boy, I’m murdering him!” Seraphina replied happily.

With that, the mood suddenly lightened and the group was able to get back to enjoy their meal and later the cake. While Ken wished he could have made up with Clare already, he was at least glad that Emma decided to talk to him about her insecurities.

While he wanted to do something about the harassment from Luke, he knew any escalation from him would just end up making the situation worse. Tired of having to think and deal with so much while still having to focus on his studies, Ken decided to just stop thinking for the night and laughed and joked with the girls as they partied late into the night before heading back to the academy.