But life is truly not like a dream after all.

  "You often get what you hate the most." Esther y on the bed and sighed deeply.

  She turned to the wall and stared at it bnkly.

  Her physical and mental state was completely exhausted after a long, grueling day.

  "I wish Haruki were here... I miss him so much."

  Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind her, startling her slightly.

  "Esther? What are you doing standing there?"

  But then she realized it was just her imagination. It was from this morning, before the rigorous css pcement test took pce.

  ----0w0----

  "Esther? What are you doing standing there?"

  After confirming that the person calling her was the boy she liked, Esther turned around and dispyed an adorable smile. When she smiled, her two dimples became clearly visible, accentuating her cute pink cheeks against skin as white as Snow White's.

  Her fair skin was one thing. But her smoky white hair was the real highlight. It was the distinctive feature of the White family, along with blood-red eyes.

  "I'm just waiting for you all. Haruki, you're here quite early, aren't you?"

  The boy who had just been called, with blue hair and eyes, was slowly running toward her. Cherry blossoms began to fall, creating a shower of hearts from the sky.

  "Well, I have been so excited since yesterday that I couldn't sleep... So this morning I came straight here without practicing anymore." Haruki said with a hint of sleepiness and some regret.

  Esther wasn't too surprised and chuckled at the boy's silliness.

  "Haruki, you're too addicted to practice, you're such a fool."

  "Maybe I am a bit foolish, yeah." Haruki ughed in response to his friend's adorable remark.

  Kind of pleased with his answer, she remembered their other two friends and asked him, "Oh, where are the other two?"

  "Ah, about that... Katia said she... would sleep a bit longer. And Charlotte said she'd come with her family ter."

  "Katia... That's not surprising, right? But it's been a while since we've seen Charlotte's brother."

  "Oh, it's not her brother." Haruki shook his head slightly to indicate that wasn't correct.

  Esther was quite surprised. At the same time, she was speaking while trying to recall what she had read in the enrollment invitation.

  "Huh? I thought uppercssmen could still come freely today?"

  "Eric senior is busy today..."

  Then Haruki moved his face close to Esther's ear. It startled her slightly, making her ears look redder. But fortunately, she could still hear the content of the conversation.

  "I heard it's reted to royal internal affairs or something." The blue-eyed boy whispered.

  Then he immediately stood back a bit, appearing to be mindful of personal space. Esther, though slightly disappointed, tried to change the subject quickly.

  "T-too bad, right? So Charlotte's little brother will come, huh?"

  "Well, that's how it was supposed to be from the beginning. He'll be coming for the test with us."

  Esther suddenly remembered the truth.

  "Oh right? I forgot... I can't believe he's 2 years younger than us..."

  "Haha. Sometimes I forget too."

  Many other students had started to arrive. Most of them couldn't help but look at the two of them.

  However, Haruki and Esther were quite used to being pointed at and talked about behind their backs. So they didn't mind much.

  "Do you see those two? They're truly insane..."

  "That girl ranked number 1 in the entrance exam... Incredible."

  "Both of them are monsters, holding the top two positions."

  Although Esther was used to it, she was always annoyed when hearing such comments. She was wearing a badge on her chest with the number 1, while Haruki had number 2.

  These were the badges received immediately upon entering the campus of Oliver Pigeon Hill. Although they didn't have any particurly prominent decorative patterns, they dispyed the entrance exam rankings.

  'At least I've surpassed that Alice!'

  Alice Scarlet, her arch-rival and once her closest friend, had only achieved position 005.

  'She's 4 ranks below me! Hehe!'

  Esther proudly patted her chest for this small victory. After all, it was only a temporary title. But even for this temporary title, it had made her father very proud of his lovely daughter.

  "By the way, did you enjoy the party yesterday?" Esther recalled the party her father had personally organized for her.

  "Yes, thank you for inviting me."

  She looked at him smiling and then punched his right arm.

  "What's that? We're friends, why so formal? Haha."

  Hit with a clearly painful punch, but his face didn't change expression. Haruki just rubbed his arm and then told Esther, "But I still want to thank you anyway."

  Haruki let his charming smile escape from his mouth, causing many girls standing around to look at him. And of course, Esther was no exception. Her face instantly turned as red as a gac fruit.

  'Oh no, I thought I had gotten used to his godly smile.'

  Suddenly, the atmosphere became much darker. Both of them turned to look at the school gate and saw someone else arriving.

  'Ah, it's that guy again... Damn it.'

  ----0w0----

  And so finally Esther met him again. Even by the time of the test, she still couldn't avoid him.

  "Can't avoid him at all? Run into that guy everywhere? Could it be that he likes me?!"

  "And back then he bandaged my face, looking incredibly stupid. And then he even tried to act. Though his acting wasn't too bad because he almost fooled me."

  She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom. Just as she took off all her clothes, suddenly a video call came in. When Esther saw the caller's name, she immediately pressed the "Accept Call" button on the digital watch screen.

  It was the test model watch her father had given her, a gift for her efforts. And of course, she wouldn't agree to turn on her video.

  Once Esther felt settled, she dipped her foot into the bathtub and then got in completely.

  And after a while, from that same watch, a screen appeared. Charlotte's and Katia's faces appeared on two different screens. The former was studying, while the tter was leaning against the window frame.

  Esther got accustomed to the feeling of soaking in the hot tub and then returned to her usual self. "Hello you two."

  "Hi."

  Katia was, as always, cold and silent. And when she did speak, she spoke very little.

  "Hello everyone. Have Katia and Esther finished setting up your rooms?"

  Charlotte, who was studying, took off her pink gsses and put them aside to focus on the conversation.

  Completely opposite to Katia, Charlotte was the most gentle and pleasant speaker. Every word from the princess seemed as if it had been carefully thought out before she spoke.

  Esther cheerfully replied right away: "I finished long ago."

  "Mostly done."

  Without looking, Esther knew it was Katia speaking. And suddenly, she remembered what was said in the afternoon when they met.

  "By the way, what were you going to ask me this afternoon, Charlotte?"

  Charlotte hesitated again, but this time because there were no strangers around, she dared to ask her friend:

  "Actually, I was going to ask both of you... I wanted to ask... about Ryoshu. I wonder if it's just me who noticed..."

  "What is it?"

  Katia showed interest in the conversation for the first time.

  Esther felt exactly like her friend, but because of the pact between the two of them, she had to keep it a secret.

  "I think that guy is still as gloomy and stupid as usual."

  "Is that so...? Because... I thought he looked different than usual. Maybe I was just mistaken?"

  "Whatever's wrong with him isn't your concern, so why are you sad?"

  'Could it be...?'

  "Because... I'm afraid I hurt him."

  Charlotte's face was so sad that even the expressions of her two friends on the call became heavier. The atmosphere suddenly became quieter.

  'Ah... so that's it. After rejecting him, she must be in pain too.'

  "I think he only confessed because he wanted to say it, not necessarily because he really liked you that much. So... don't be too sad anymore. Soon we'll have to focus on our own matters."

  This was perhaps her longest speech ever.

  "Thank you, Katia."

  Charlotte was quite surprised by Katia's rare dispy of concern, but she didn't forget to maintain her own politeness.

  "I'm just stating the truth."

  'At times like this, she looks like a normal person, doesn't she?'

  Esther also went with the flow and encouraged her shy friend:

  "Katia is right, Charlotte. Be strong, girl! You still need to focus on your own love too, right?"

  Charlotte's face clearly turned red.

  "W-what?! W-what are you talking about, Esther? I d-don't like anyone!"

  "..."

  "Um... Charlotte. Do you think... you are really that good at hiding your feelings?"

  "This is one of the rare times I agree with you, Esther."

  Esther shrugged and got out of the bathtub. She temporarily wrapped a towel around herself and turned on the video.

  "It's... that obvious?"

  Charlotte perhaps still couldn't quite believe what she had just heard. She just sat mumbling to herself.

  "We could tell by looking at your eyes. Do I need to say who it is? Is it Ha-"

  Her face became even redder than before. She hurriedly changed the subject before it was too te.

  "A-anyway. D-did you just finished bathing? Oh and I-I was wondering where Esther was in the end. We waited for you on the ground for a long time but didn't see you. By the time a bright light suddenly came, we had already woken up."

  Charlotte tried to steer the conversation as much as possible, but her effort made her look very funny and kind of cute.

  "Ah..."

  Esther remembered back to that time. That psycho had saved her and immediately after made a pact with her.

  "Eh... Are you sick already, Esther?"

  "N-no, I'm not."

  "But your face is very red... I think you should go to bed early and rest. Because tomorrow we still have to go to the opening ceremony. Goodbye everyone."

  "I think Charlotte is right. Today we've used quite a lot of energy anyway. Goodbye."

  "Well then... I'll rest too. Bye bye, you two."

  Esther hung up and went to her room following her friends' advice.

  She opened the bathroom door. After that, she sprawled out on that comfortable bed.

  "Esther White, I know you can still stand."

  That cold voice echoed gloomily from the masked figure.

  "Stand up."

  He walked closer to her while the demon-transformed being stood in front of him. But somehow the demon seemed to be standing dead in its tracks.

  "Make a pact with me. I will help you achieve a higher score than this. And in return, you... help me with some matters."

  Esther's heart almost constricted with fear when remembering that scene.

  She tossed and turned restlessly.

  "I hate that guy!!!"

  "But he's also quite good... Although it's a pity he doesn't have Mana, he's too strong with his own power. Is it because he was rejected that he changed so much?"

  But love is also one of the most respectable motivations. Esther felt more respect for him.

  "But... Imagining the scene where Haruki rejects me... Ugh... now I'm already heartbroken. How on earth did he overcome it and become a completely different person?"

  She went to the window that was slightly ajar.

  Outside, it was already night, and the moon had reached its peak.

  "The moon is more beautiful than usual tonight, isn't it?"

  She opened the window wide.

  The cool breeze inadvertently blew against her face, giving her goosebumps.

  Esther recalled the moment when Ryoshu took the initiative to hug her and say words of encouragement that she rarely received. She felt her heart become less suffocated.

  'That guy is just a lowly commoner... But...'

  Her body temperature at this moment somehow increased a little just because of remembering that small incident.

  "Thinking about it... That guy isn't so bad after all."