Ezekiel Canaan

The Student Council President was able to receive a satisfied look from the Chairman after reporting Eli's acceptance.

Starting that afternoon, Eli decided to put her self-study aside for three days while she met up with Zeke. The young heir, on the other hand, was unaware that this was all a set-up. Even if he did, though, he couldn't afford to miss the chance of spending time with his mysterious upperclassman.

Zeke found Eli fascinating for various reasons.

When he learned that she wrote the play after being inspired by the Book of Metis, the same bedtime story his mother used to tell him, he was glad that he met someone who shared his outlooks. He's overjoyed at finding a comrade who had the same interests. In his eyes, she also seemed to be a cool person, with her connections with the Champions despite having no prior affiliations and her closeness to their leader.

Then, there's the 'whole sharing one body' fiasco as well.

Zeke caught wind of Eli's strange predicament from Allen, who had been in charge of teaching him everything he needed to know about the Champions and summoned creatures. It's only then that he realized how her personality seemed to shift during the battle yesterday. If someone told him he'd be meeting the villainess on his way to find the Four Heroes, he'd just laugh it off and tell them he couldn't care less about a wicked madwoman, but then, it turned out that this woman herself would actually be the one to lead him to the Champions in the end.

Apparently, one thing led to another and Eli became the human vessel of the evil queen who fought against the Four Heroes of Society, Empress Venus. However, his father didn't allow Allen to let him dig too much in it for some reason, which only made him want to know more. Although he's thrilled to hear the whole story, he decided that he'd just wait for Eli to tell him herself one day.

Unbeknownst to the young heir, albeit, his adamant curiosity turned their first tutoring session into an interrogation instead.

"Ms. Claes, I'm just wondering. What exactly is your role in the team?" Zeke started, absentmindedly spinning his mechanical pencil with his fingers while eyeing the ceiling.

The tutor-and-student duo were currently inside the library, seated on Eli's favourite spot by the window with piles upon piles of study materials on the table. The ash-haired girl peeled her eyes from the book she's holding and turned to Zeke, surprise written all over her face. He failed to notice this as he continued to fiddle with his pencil.

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.

"I mean, have you become one of them? You look close with the Champions, but there still seems to be some kind of a distance."

Eli knew what he meant, but was still puzzled as to why he's aware of that. She then mulled over her answer for a moment. That's until her mind drifted off to a memory she wanted to forget – her confrontation with Noah yesterday, especially that part when he implied how she's forcing herself to fit in. His cold words still gave her the shivers, but they felt more like an insult rather than a threat.

"A role, huh? I do wonder if I have one, to begin with. If there is, I don't think it's all that important," she mumbled with a downcast gaze.

Zeke was baffled to find her upset all of the sudden. He tried to recall what he said wrong, but all he remembered was how the others used to call him dense and insensitive to his surroundings. Worried, the young heir decided to think of something that could cheer her up instead.

"By the way, I liked your script for the play! You're also amazing during the battle. I can't believe you're able to tame that flappy bird. As I thought, Ms. Claes really looks like a heroine of a storybook!" he praised her out of nowhere, catching her off guard and making her blush in embarrassment.

"T-That's too much... Still, thank you, Ezekiel," she replied, barely audible, with a soft smile.

Seeing her flushed cheeks and glistening irises, Zeke was suddenly all giddy inside. Her petite figure soaked in the pool of the afternoon sun's yellow-orange hues looked spectral, yet riveting. She glowed even more with that heart-warming grin, making him feel butterflies in his stomach. Charmed, Zeke unknowingly returned her beam. Eli, on the other hand, was truly glad that someone as kind as him had joined their circle.

"Shall we begin?" she questioned, feeling motivated by his compliment, to which he eagerly nodded.

As time ticked by, Eli grew troubled.

A few minutes already passed but he's still stuck at one arithmetic problem. This occurred with the previous ones either. It appeared that Zeke was a bit slower than his peers in grasping a lesson. Although she did doubt her way of teaching, thinking that her level was too advanced for a first year, she still noticed how hard he's trying to catch up with a simple subject. It's not bad enough to call him dumb, of course. However, since he's answering each question in a slow pace, he might not finish the test within the time limit given at the entrance exam.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, making her turn to check his answer expectantly.

"I'm stupid," he suddenly added with a defeated look, much to her flummox.

"No, you're not! Don't say that. We can just study some more," she replied in hope to comfort him.

"Ms. Claes also think too, right? That I'm a slow learner... I've always been like that, though. Despite all that talk about growing and using my own ability, I really don't have any good trait in reality. I'm such a hopeless case," he suddenly confessed, utterly disheartened,

Eli thought he shouldn't go that far.

Everyone has a good and bad side, after all. However, looking at his deflated expression, she couldn't help but feel bothered either. When she accepted the offer to tutor him, it's not because it's the Chairman who told her, and it's definitely not for the money, though she admitted she kinda fell for it. The real reason she agreed to teach him was because she wanted to help him achieve his goal. Even Venus herself displayed her interest to help as well, albeit in a subtle way, that is.

For these reasons, she's determined to see this tutoring through.

"Wanna take a break, Ezekiel?" she voiced out with a plan in mind, much to his bafflement.

A moment later, Zeke found himself basking under the sun at the school's rooftop. Eli brought him there to take a breather. He thought it wasn't really necessary since the library was comfy enough, but when a gust of wind passed through them, he suddenly felt like he needed it all along.

"I disagree with what you said earlier, Ezekiel. The reason why you wanted to grow was because you figured out that you're lacking. That kind of thinking is quite remarkable, you know," Eli started, surprising the young heir.

"A good personality is great and all, but in this world, you also have to be capable and excellent at something in order to follow through... Is that what you think?" she asked, tilting her head at him and meeting his eyes.

Zeke couldn't answer.

He's just too flabbergasted by how well she described his current circumstances. Eli, on the other hand, sympathized with him. She may be a smart student, but there are times when she felt she's getting left behind. While everybody else was escalating forward at something she's not really good at, such as getting to know more people or expanding their circles, she felt like she could never catch up to them. In other words, she's full of insecurities.

That's why she understood how someone would feel when they're growing impatient of staying incompetent.

"Remember how Calliope looked yesterday? Doesn't it look pretty in the sky?" she continued, pacing towards the exact same spot where they captured the summoned creature. She then turned to face him with a smile before adding, "Someday, you'll be able to fly as well. From down here, it may look overwhelming, but as long as you don't lose sight of that goal, you're definitely going to reach it."

Zeke was taken aback at this, throat constricting at the loss of words.

He recalled the scene very clearly. Ever since witnessing how free Calliope was while gliding through the air, he couldn't get rid of that sense of yearning. The image was deeply engraved in his head, and he had played it over and over again. With that, he couldn't argue with what his upperclassman said. After all, he also thought of those things at one point.

Now, he's just glad that someone had reminded him again.

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Ms. Claes," he replied with a soft smile, which Eli only mirrored.

"Oh, I know! Why don't we study here tomorrow? The view may remind you of your success during the battle and that can motivate you. We can also have a small party after you passed the test!"

Eli then suddenly beamed at him like a proud toddler who just thought of something clever. Zeke just kept getting surprised by her words, and he really couldn't see it in himself to complain. He deeply appreciated her thoughtfulness, perhaps to the point he didn't notice himself staring at her with adoration while being a blushing mess.

In his eyes, an angel just descended from heaven - cloaked warmly with the sunset's mellow streaks while beaming at him delightfully.

"A party? Where?"

Surprised by an unanticipated company, the two turned to find Hal leaning on the doorframe of the staircase while smirking smugly, arms crossed. That's until he caught sight of Zeke's tomato face. His smile dropped instantly at this, suddenly seeing the young heir in a new light. He then made a face of someone who just heard a bad news.

With an enigmatic expression, Hal sauntered near him and initiated a staring contest, squinting his eyes in suspicion to which Zeke only responded with a dumbfounded look.

"You better not start anything without me," he muttered out of nowhere, much to his flummox.

"Of course, you're invited, Hal! Let's have a party for Ezekiel with Allen as well! It'll be fun!" Eli enthused, voice filled with excitement.

The boys eventually broke eye contact at this and decided to share her little moment of joy, momentarily forgetting the foreboding feeling they had from each other earlier.