Beginning of the Contest

Soon, Taylor returned to her dorm.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked when she saw Aether sitting at the table, engrossed in some notes.

"Well, reading a few things," Aether mumbled, glancing at notes written by Selene and Lia.

Seeing their hard work just for him made his heart flutter with happiness. Today, he had been receiving so much to make him happy.

Taylor nodded, removed her disguise, and stood behind Aether, looking at the notes as one hand wrapped around his shoulder, "There are lots of things written on it," she said.

"..." Aether glanced at her sudden closeness and replied, "Yeah, they were working hard for me."

".... " Taylor paused before saying, "As a friend, right?" She tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the small, cute purple stud earring.... A gift from Aether.

Aether stared at her ear, noticing how well it matched her purple eyes, and mumbled, "... M-Maybe."