"Isn't second-year not allowed to enter first-year's buildings?"

"Student Council members are allowed."

"Oh." Neo nodded. "Then, let's meet at 9 p.m."

He left the place and looked at the time.

"It's 6:30. There is still some time left before the library closes."

Although Neo was on the fence about reviving his friends, he had decided to follow their choices.

He had to prepare for the resurrection ritual in case they asked to be revived.

"I'll need to learn a time-reversal spell to restore the corpses."

Neo visited the library.

The place was jam-packed with students.

Most were trying to search for Weapon Techniques, Incantations or self-buff Spells.

Neo moved towards the Time Element Spell section.

"A spell to revert time for an object…."

He looked at the catalogue placed at the entry point of the Time Element Spell section.

There were many Spells that suited his requirements.

Their price, however, made his eyelids twitch.

"The cheapest one is [Rewind Enchantment].

"A Resonance-ranked Spell that costs 1,000 credits."

He took out his device and checked the balance.

[Credit Balance: 729]

"500 credits came from Student Council while the other 100 came from an S-rank mission.

"I would have only 229 credits without them."

Neo clicked his tongue.

"It's too low.

"I need to grind quests for a few weeks."

Neo left the library.

He visited the mission hall.

After selecting a few missions, he went up to the mission distributor.

"Sorry, sir, you can't choose these missions."

"…"

"To choose a C-rank mission and above, your team needs to have 5 active members at the minimum.

"Unfortunately, you have only 3 active members right now."

Neo pursed his lips.

He forgot such a basic detail since he always left the team-handling tasks to Jack and never bothered with them himself.

He left the mission hall.

"Two more members.

"Should I just take some randoms?"

Quite a few non-God Clan students had yet to join teams.

They were waiting for the 2nd semester to begin.

In 2nd semester the student ranks would be rearranged, and they would get a higher chance of joining a better team as long as they could improve their rank.

He entered the cafeteria.

As he stepped into the building, his eyes searched for Ophelia, only to find Morrigan.

She was eating breads.

Unsurprisingly, her plate was filled with a lot of them.

"I want her."

Neo decided.

He went towards her and sat in front of her.

Morrigan's face soured.

She ignored him and focused on her plate.

"You know, you should eat high-calorie food to restore your energy instead of eating this cheap bread in large quantities.

"I bet half of the students call you glutton."

"…!"

Morrigan froze.

She raised her eyes and glared at him.

"I'm just saying the truth."

Neo shrugged.

She clicked her tongue and started munching down on the bread.

"Is it because you don't have credits to buy proper food?

"You can join my team—"

"Will you please stop talking? It's annoying."

While the two talked, Ophelia entered the cafeteria.

She noticed Neo and approached him.

Her eyes shined when she saw Morrigan next to him.

"Miss Morrigan! I'm a big fan! Can you please give me your autograph?"

She took out a small diary and a pen.

Morrigan's brows creased.

She alternated her gaze between Neo and Ophelia, wondering if they were being annoying on purpose.

Before she could refuse, Ophelia took a seat and called for the waiter.

She ordered something for herself, then turned to Neo and Morrigan.

"What will you two have?"

After Neo said his order, Ophelia waited for Morrigan.

"What about you, Morrigan?"

"Me?"

"Yes. I'll treat you too since you are here with Neo."

Morrigan realized Ophelia mistook her for Neo's friend.

"I'm not with Neo. He sat there without my permission."

"It's fine. No need to be shy about it."

Ophelia chuckled.

Clearly, she misunderstood Neo and Morrigan as friends.

"Ma'am, the order?" the waiter hurried them.

Ophelia stared at her, asking her for what she would eat.

Morrigan gulped and gave up on clearing the misunderstanding.

"I'll take…."

She named a few dishes.

Neo had to hold himself back from laughing.

Ophelia didn't understand why he was acting like that.

However, Morrigan glared daggers at him.

The food arrived.

Before they ate, Morrigan opened her mouth.

"…The autograph. Where do you need it?"

"Oh, I thought I wouldn't get one! Thank you!"

Ophelia's expression brightened.

She looked like a baby chick who was being fed by its mother.

Morrigan signed the autograph.

The three ate while Ophelia acted as the icebreaker.

She explained about Student Council tasks to Neo.

"Is it okay for me to hear about them?" Morrigan questioned. "I was told Student Council doesn't like students sticking their nose in their jobs."

"It's fine since you'll join the Student Council next semester."

Ophelia took it for granted that Morrigan would try to join the Student Council.

Morrigan's brow furrowed.

She nodded but didn't say anything.

While the three talked, Ophelia asked the question she had been meaning to ask since the beginning,

"Why were you two together, though?

"I thought you would be either with all of your friends or alone.

"But just the two of you…."

"No." "I was asking her to join my team."

Morrigan and Neo spoke together.

They didn't want any wrong rumors to spread.

Realizing they had spoken at once, they looked at each other.

Morrigan clicked her tongue and shifted her focus on her salivating palate.

Ophelia chuckled at their reactions.

She opened her mouth.

"Did you refuse him, Morrigan?"

"Yes, I feel I'm better alone than in a team."

"Even though you have been staying afloat on breads?"

Morrigan stiffened.

"You knew?"

"Everyone knows."

Her words made Morrigan's ears and cheeks turn beet red.

"It's fine. I'm not saying you should join a team.

"But, you know, there are a lot of teams that would kill to have you among them.

"How about using that?"

"…?"

Ophelia let out an exaggerated crafty smile.

Neo was exasperated since he understood Ophelia's hint.

"She is telling you to make a bet with students."

He explained.

"Something like, if you win, they'll treat you to whatever you want to eat, and if they win, you'll join their team."

Despite his words, Neo didn't think Morrigan would agree.

'She is the future War Empress.'