Path of the Extra

After the unexpected turn of events, Azriel and Jasmine decided to head back to his room. Azriel took a shower, freshened up, and brewed some tea for both of them. Now, they sat side by side on the couch, sipping their tea in silence.

It was awkward.

Both were at the top of their respective years—Azriel ruling the first, Jasmine the second.

The Crimson Siblings.

Yet...

'...Dammit. I really messed up.'

He never imagined Jasmine would be there, watching him the entire time. He'd been so focused on getting faster while merging his affinities that he'd completely forgotten about his surroundings.

And now...

Azriel felt extremely embarrassed for the way he had acted.

But who could blame him?

What he had accomplished was thought to be impossible.

Merging affinities.

Having dual affinities was already incredibly rare—so rare that the names of those who possessed them were well-known.

The idea of merging affinities was beyond belief.

No one had even considered it...

Until Lumine, of course, but that was supposed to happen in the future.

Yet Azriel had done it now.

In the present.

And not just with any affinities, but with lightning and ice—two that were thought to be incompatible.

"...You really did something incredible, you know that?"

Jasmine finally broke the silence, causing Azriel's lips to twitch.

"Not really... It's just something anyone could achieve if they actually tried."

It wasn't a lie.

Perhaps if there were more people with dual affinities, they could have proven that merging was possible much earlier.

Still, it had taken four void generations to finally confirm it.

Jasmine, however, shook her head.

"Most aren't crazy enough to put themselves through what you did just to see if it's possible."

She smiled suddenly.

"At least I can die peacefully after seeing you accomplish it!"

Azriel averted his eyes, taking a sip of his tea.

"Please forget about my five seconds of happiness."

"Impossible."

'Tch...'

An instant denial.

"By the way... why were you using a punching bag?"

Azriel didn't look at her. In fact, he didn't dare to.

"Well, bec—"

"Don't lie."

Jasmine cut in, as if she knew he was about to.

"What? How would you even know if I was going to lie?"

"I just do."

Azriel narrowed his eyes at her before sighing and looking ahead again.

"...Multitasking."

"What?"

Jasmine gave him a puzzled look, as if she'd misheard him.

"You heard me, dammit. I said I was multitasking!"

Jasmine blinked at him.

"I haven't trained much these past months, so I was multitasking—trying to become faster while also merging my affinities. Honestly, I didn't think I'd manage to do it in just a few hours."

Azriel grumbled. Merging his affinities felt almost too easy, but he understood why it happened so quickly.

Being blessed by a god had its advantages.

"I see..."

For some reason, Jasmine looked at him gently, making him feel a little awkward.

'What is up with her...?'

But before he could think any further, his vision suddenly tilted, and he found himself staring at the ceiling.

The next second, he felt the back of his head resting against something soft.

"Huh?"

The sound of Jasmine's laughter echoed as she watched his confused expression.

"You've depleted your mana, and you're physically and mentally exhausted, Azriel. Get some sleep."

Azriel glared slightly at her.

"I'm fine. I don't need sleep. I've still got class in a few hours."

Jasmine shook her head and began combing her fingers through his hair.

"It's okay to take a break once in a while..."

Azriel looked at her, confused.

'Break? All I did was train today...'

Jasmine continued.

"You think I don't know about your nightmares?"

His eyes widened.

'Did Dad tell her?'

"My hopeless little brother, you've been doing so much that doesn't make sense to me... but it's obvious you're tired. Take a break from the academy today and spend some time with your big sister!"

Azriel narrowed his eyes slightly, murmuring.

"My dear sister, are you trying to use me as an excuse to neglect your responsibilities?"

Jasmine looked away, refusing to meet his gaze.

"N-no! Of course not. I wouldn't dare do such a thing... definitely not."

She nodded to herself, as if convincing herself, while continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

A sigh escaped Azriel's lips.

If he skipped today, he was sure Instructor Ranni would let him off.

She might think he was preparing himself for the mission or something along those lines.

"...You really are my sister, you know."

Jasmine looked confused.

"Wasn't that obvious?"

He chuckled.

"I meant that if it were anyone else messing with my hair, I would have ripped their hand off."

Her hand hesitated for a moment before she continued.

"T-then it's good that I'm not just anyone."

Ignoring her wry smile, Azriel closed his eyes, another sigh escaping his lips.

Silence settled between them, but this time it wasn't awkward. It was peaceful and comfortable as they enjoyed each other's company.

*****

Jasmine kept staring at Azriel, who had his head on her lap, a smile on her face.

She hadn't been lying when she said she was trying to neglect her duties. In truth, she had already finished almost everything.

All that was left was recruiting new members, but that could wait.

After all, what could be more important than spending time with her little brother?

Nothing!

Jasmine wanted to ask about what had happened on his first day at the academy.

She had heard the rumors about the fight he had in the Celestial Arena, where some cadet had used his name, but apparently, Azriel hadn't done anything after that.

She couldn't understand why he let it go.

Whenever she thought she had figured out that Azriel was trying to rebuild his reputation, he would let something like that slide, something that could potentially harm it.

But today...

She felt like she was beginning to understand him better.

She hadn't seen his guard down like this since he reunited with their parents.

"Jasmine."

Azriel's voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts. His eyes were still closed, but he had called her name.

Jasmine furrowed her brows slightly.

"What is it?"

Since his return, Azriel usually called her 'dear sister' in a playful way, which she found cute. But now, hearing him use her name, she knew it must be something important.

"...If I were to do something stupid, would you hate me?"

Jasmine's eyes widened slightly at the question. It was an unexpected one, especially coming from Azriel.

'Something stupid...'

She knew that, coming from him, 'stupid' likely meant something more dangerous.

It didn't take her long to come up with an answer.

Jasmine parted her lips.

"If you did something stupid, I'd get angry... but—"

She suddenly smiled brightly.

"I would never hate you."

For a few seconds, Azriel didn't say anything, letting the silence settle between them.

And then...

"I see..."

Azriel smiled genuinely, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"What's so funny?"

She didn't think there was anything humorous about her answer, so why did he laugh?

But Azriel merely shook his head slightly, not offering any explanation, making her even more curious and slightly annoyed.

'Ugh, and here I am being so kind to you...!'

Why would he leave her in suspense?

Just as she was mulling over this, she suddenly noticed the rhythmic breathing of Azriel, indicating that he had fallen asleep.

Forgetting about her inner turmoil, she gazed down at the sleeping Azriel.

'Hehe, I feel like I could watch your sleeping face forever...'

But she lied.

After ten minutes of gazing at his face, her own eyes grew heavy, and...

Jasmine also fell asleep.

It was safe to say that neither of the Crimson siblings attended the academy that day.