The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

For Leo to trust me that much—for him to say that in front of everyone, no hesitation—it had to mean something.

Still, Leo said it like it was fact. And Leo Taylor wasn't the type to lie. In fact, if there was one thing I did know about him, it was that he hated lies more than anything.

So… it must be true.

Which raised a bigger question: what kind of relationship did Rin and Leo have before?

For Leo to trust me that much—for him to say that in front of everyone, no hesitation—it had to mean something.

I needed to figure that out. Whatever kind of bond we had… it was clearly important.

Before I could dwell on it too long, Violet gave me a sidelong glance and smirked.

"Is that so?" she said, folding her arms. "Then why didn't you just say that? No need to dance around it."

I shrugged, rubbing the back of my neck. "Guess I didn't think it mattered."

She gave a little snort. "Humble and sketchy. Interesting combo."

The tension in the air finally began to ease. Mira laughed quietly. Ama grinned, leaning back like the show was over. Even Trent looked a little less like he wanted to punch me in the face.

But my mind was still stuck on Leo's words.

I stopped him…?

Just who exactly were you, Rin Evans?

And more importantly—

What were you to Leo?

Just then, a new voice broke into the conversation.

"Alright, I'm done here."

Luke Baros—the team's porter—walked over, brushing bits of bark and sap off his gloves. His timing, as always, was suspiciously perfect.

Leo looked up. "Find anything good?"

Luke grinned. "Not bad. The ones you took down are practically textbook kills—clean, no excessive damage. Good for harvesting. And a few of them had small fruits, too. Looks like we got lucky."

"Humonied Tree fruits?" Ama perked up. "Those go for a decent price, don't they?"

Luke nodded. "Yup. Alchemists love them. Good for brewing stuff like focus potions or minor resistance tonics."

Leo leaned back, thoughtful. "All in all, a good dungeon. Nice mix of practical combat and solid returns."

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Yeah, sure. If by 'nice mix' he meant "plenty of narrow misses, some mental scarring, and a boss that nearly turned into a team wipe," then absolutely, great experience.

The regular mobs weren't anything to write home about—just the usual animated tree freaks—but that boss? That thing had tricks. Real nasty ones. I'd be fine not seeing another one of those for a while.

Still, nobody else seemed phased. Trent was already helping Luke sort out the better materials into the right packs. Mira started cleaning off her staff, while Ama casually hummed a tune as she checked the fruits for bruising. Violet looked like she'd already mentally moved on, twirling a twig between her fingers.

Leo stood up, stretching with a low grunt.

"We've rested long enough. Once Luke finishes packing the haul, we move."

No one complained. We were tired, sure, but we weren't done.

I rose to my feet, brushing dirt from my pants. My legs ached a bit, but nothing serious. Just the kind of fatigue that settled in after a long day of fighting for your life.

"Ugh, moving again?" Violet groaned, tossing the twig and cracking her neck. "I vote we evolve into slimes and just roll downhill."

"Seconded," Ama chimed, raising a hand with mock solemnity. "No spine, no problems."

Leo ignored them—again—and turned toward Luke. "ETA on final packing?"

"Two minutes," Luke said without missing a beat. "Maybe three if Trent stops hoarding the good samples."

"I'm optimizing the packs, not hoarding," Trent grumbled, but didn't argue further. He was good at this kind of work—gritty, focused, methodical. Which made the fact that he was still sneaking glances at me all the more obvious.

I kept my gaze elsewhere, trying not to read into it.

Leo stepped away, probably doing one last check of the area. Standard procedure. He always circled the perimeter before moving on, even if the dungeon core had been cleared. Just in case.

Violet sidled up to me in his absence.

"So," she said, voice low enough for only me to hear. "You and Leo, huh?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. That little 'he's the one who stopped me' story. That's not the kind of thing he just says, you know. Especially not in front of everyone."

My stomach did a small flip.

"I didn't even remember it," I muttered.

"But he did," she said, then tilted her head. "Which means… either he owes you more than we thought—or there's a history there we haven't been told."

"Maybe both," I said.

Violet gave a slow, sly smile. "Mystery Rin. You're getting more interesting by the minute."

Then she turned and walked off before I could say anything back.

Ama passed by a second later, arms full of sorted fruits, and gave me a wink. "You have no idea how rare it is for Leo to give anyone unqualified praise," she whispered. "Treasure it. Frame it, even."

I gave her a weak smile. "I'm not sure I earned it."

"Oh, you did," she said, then kept walking.

Even Mira, quiet as she was, offered a small nod as she rejoined the group. Her eyes held something close to respect.

"Alright," Leo called, reappearing from the treeline. "We're moving."

Everyone fell into formation.

Trent and Luke took the front this time, with Mira and Ama near the center. Violet slid into position beside me, casual and loose like always, but I could feel her eyes watching.

Leo walked behind us all—standard for him. Last man out, always the anchor.

We moved forward, leaving the ruined grove behind.

And as we walked deeper into the next sector of the dungeon, I couldn't shake the thought.

Who was Rin Evans?

And what kind of person did he have to be… to earn Leo Taylor's trust that deeply?

I needed answers.

And somehow, I had the feeling that the deeper we went—

The closer I'd get to them.