Luca would learn a lot in Zenith, and he had learned quite a bit already! For instance, now he knew how much his roommate took to prepare every morning.

  He couldn’t determine what time it was since the door was closed, but he heard movement and voices outside, so he at least knew that this morning he didn’t have as much time as yesterday. Getting up from the bed, he sighed and decided to knock on the closed door of the washroom, carefully, so as to not startle his new friend (Luca didn’t want to find out how long it would take Cory to fix a mistake in the makeup).

  “Hey, you almost done?”

  "Almost!"

  The newcomer leaned against the bedframe of his bed as he waited for the door to open; he wanted to believe Cory was almost done, but he had done so the other three times he had asked before. How did he get ready for css if it took him this long? In his entire life, Luca had never met anyone who took makeup that seriously.

  And it was a guy... As much as he tried to ignore the situation, he really couldn’t understand it. Well, he understood it, but it didn’t make much sense to him; perhaps that’s where the whole ‘I’ve lived only in one pce and barely moved all my life’ thing came into pce. But he didn’t want to say something wrong at any point; he remembered how Cory reacted when he caught on that Luca saw him as a girl at first; the rookie was new to making friends along with everything else; he wasn’t keen on upsetting them, and so he did the only thing he could think of to figure out Cory’s deal.

  “Uh, Cory?” He said after knocking on the door again.

  “Just a second!”

  “N-No, not that, um…” Luca cleared his throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s about, uh, well, you.”

  “Great topic in my opinion.” Said the roommate, giggling after.

  “Well, i-it’s kind of personal, maybe, I don’t really know.”

  “C’mon. Out with it!”

  “Alright well…” It was at this time Luca realized he didn’t actually know how to ask it, so after a few seconds, he just went with what seemed good enough. “What’s your deal?” A few more seconds of silence passed.

  “Pardon?”

  “You know…”

  “L-Luca I… I really don’t.” Replied Cory, ughing from confusion.

  “I-I mean, agh…” He shook his head. “Like, the makeup and the crop top... and the moving and... being a guy.”

  “Ahaa?”

  “Yeah. I-I’ve never met anyone quite like you, you know? And I don’t know if there’s something I have to say or not say or-”

  “Ooooooooh!” The sound of recognition came through the door. “Right, haha. My deal.”

  “Yeah! Yeah.”

  “Not many ‘guys’ wearing makeup over in Cuartel are there?”

  “Ah, n-no, not really.” He sighed in relief, seeing as apparently he hadn’t upset his roommate with the question. “I mean, maybe there are, but even in Cuartel I’ve moved around very little… you know?“

  “Hahaha! Yeah, hon, I got it.“ Cory cleared his throat before answering. “Well, two things to that; see Luca, I am a male the same way a kid is a male, because people just see them as that. However, if someone were to, for example, call me a woman, I wouldn’t bat an eye to it. Does that make sense?”

  “... Kinda?“ Answered the country boy as he wrapped his head around the concept. “But… goodness um, i-if you don’t mind me askin-”

  “I got a dick dear.” Answered the roommate before Luca could even ask the question. "But something you have to understand is that whatever you have in your pants matters towards what you are as much as what everyone calls you.”

  ”Uuuuh.”

  ”Let me put it this way: if you were born with a penis, but everyone as you grew up treated you as a woman, called you girl, referred to you as a woman, and everything else. Once you were the age you are now, which one would feel more natural? Which one would you yourself identify with?”

  “... Girl right?”

  ”Exactly! You are not what you are born as, or even what people call you, but rather whatever you find natural. And I personally, since some years ago in fact, realized that I feel natural no matter what.” Luca heard some rummaging from beyond the washroom door. “Matter of fact, I feel more natural and comfortable knowing that some people see me as a guy, while others see me as something else! Does that make sense?” Luca was now with his arms crossed as he contempted Cory’s words.

  ”...Yeah. It kinda does. If a girl felt better if people called her a guy, then it would make more sense for her to be a guy instead... even if she used to be a gal, because... if you are something, but you aren’t happy with it and would rather be another thing, it would make sense for you to be the other thing.”

  “There you go! Do note that this is a very personal thing, so everyone has their own understanding of it and this is all examples and b b b. And as for the second thing.” The door opened finally, and Cory emerged from the washroom looking identical to how he looked the day before. “You are right, you’ve never met anyone like me.” With a wink, Cory walked past Luca, who chuckled at the confidence.

  “Gotcha. So, just to crify, and for the future, what do I call you, what do you like to be called, and all that?”

  ”Weren’t you listening silly? I said you can call me whatever you want. You said I looked like a girl before, right?”

  “Well, I’ve kind of gotten used to the guy thing.”

  “Then I’m a guy!” The university student started rummaging through their messy closet. “Don’t think about it too much; it becomes confusing if you do too many loops in your mind. I’ve just known for a while that doing whatever I want and having the people close to me perceive me for who I am, regardless of whether I’m a man or a woman, feels right.”

  “Damn Cory.” Excimed Luca, impressed. “I feel like I just took a css.”

  “What can I say?” Responded the roommate, shrugging and acting nonchant about the compliment. “I know my stuff; I’m an eloquent person.”

  “Yeah. Although, why did you correct me the other day? You looked bothered.”

  “Well, this is more a thing I do with people I trust, you know? Family and all treat me as a guy; friends and such tend to treat me as a girl.”

  “Oh, w-well thank you for trusting me... even if I still don’t fully get it.”

  “Hey, I’m just paying back for the badassery of yesterday at lunch.” Cory whistled to denote awe. “I thought, well, this guy can call me whatever he wants; I can just tell he’ll treat me how I want. So, there you go; we are friends now, and you know something personal about me.”

  “Thanks Cory. I think I understand.” Lied Luca. “Anyway, we should probably go for some breakfast, huh?”

  “Yup. My stomach is rumbling at this point!.”

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be if you didn’t take so much time with makeup.” Remarked the rookie guild member.

  "Well, maybe you wouldn’t have had to wait if you didn’t wake me up.” Reminded Cory as he opened the door.

  “I- You know what? Fair enough, let’s just get some grub.”

  ”That’s more like it! C'mon, I’m paying.” Both of them walked outside the room and began going towards the free breakfast.

  The walk there wasn’t as pleasant as yesterday's; the crowd of students didn’t seem to trouble Cory at all, but Luca wasn’t so used to being too close with so many people around him; he even got nervous when there was a meeting in Dryleave and every citizen had to stand next to each other in the town square. But luckily, soon they were outside, with the crisp morning air hitting their faces, and the pair began walking and chatting on their way to the free meal the city offered them. Luca took this time to ask Cory about the things he didn’t find in the manual.

  ”Laundry you just do in one of the rooms for it; they’re near the north entrance to the inner walls. And mail in Zenith you pay to receive, not to send.”

  “What? You don’t have to pay to send a letter?” To Luca’s question, Cory simply shrugged.

  “Sometimes people send letters that don’t expect a response, and because there’s so many people in Zenith, they decided to make it like that so not everyone had to spend money for nothing.”

  To Luca, this concept seemed weird; in his mind, city leaders didn’t care about little things like that; in fact, it made more sense to him that the powerful would use those little things as ways to get even more money, taking a slight inconvenience and using it to profit without having people compin; after all, it was just a slight inconvenience. The rookie gnced up at the fortress and contempted how perhaps Zenith couldn’t have become as powerful as it had without some leaders that stood out for the rest; still, though, he didn’t trust them too much.

  Suddenly, Luca’s body jolted back, having been bumped by someone.

  “Hey!“ Yelled Cory.

  “Hm?“ Preston stood confidently, like he seemed to be used to doing, and looked over his shoulder with disdain. After Luca regained his footing, the nobleman’s mood shifted completely, and he turned, wearing a worried expression. “My word! I-I’m sorry ‘ol chap, I must have awoken today with two left feet! I hope you can forgive me.“

  “Oh, fuck off!“ Yelled Cory a little too loud. “Shove it up your ass, mon-“

  “It’s fine, Preston.“ Luca interrupted Cory, his words making his roommate turn with a confused expression.

  “Oh, thank goodness. Well, I must be going; it’ll soon be time for the training; see you there, ‘ol chap.“ Decred the delving novice. The rookie nodded as Preston left; now he faced his roommate, who seemed to be in an angry disbelief.

  “Look-“

  “The fuck was that Luca?!“ His volume was, again, too loud for comfort.

  “I-I’m sorry! But the guy apologized yesterday, and I think the best way to do this is to ignore his teasing! You know, bullies and all that.“

  “He ain’t a ‘Bully’ Luca.“ The student’s expression was a mix of anger and worry. “He’s a grown man, an adult; when bullies grow, they stop being bullies; they turn into a little something called dickheads. And you gotta put them in their pce! Not let them stomp on you.“

  “I’d rather deal with it peacefully, Cory; I’m going to have enough fights as it is; I’d rather keep them in the training.“ Luca expined, done already with the situation; it seemed like some issues from the day before were staying, like the silly nickname. Cory stayed in silence, crossing his arms and looking back at the lifting ptform Preston had gotten on.

  “You want me to take care of him?“

  “What? No! Just… Just forget it, alright? I'm sure it’ll be fine.“ The rookie smiled, but the student didn't; instead, he groaned and looked back again, until a second ter, when he turned again, almost excited.

  “Ok, I’ll let it go.” Luca sighed in relief. “But as payment, you gotta come to the next party and let me show you off to my friends.”

  “Cory c’mon.”

  “Ah,ah, ah! I let this go; you do this for me; do we have a deal or not?”

  “...Just…” Luca was missing the energy the free breakfast would provide. “I gotta wake up early, Cory, every day.”

  “It’s this saturdayyyy! Come ooooon.”

  “...Fine.”

  “Yessss!” Cory got a look of satisfaction that brought Luca a good amount of relief; at least he was happy with the deal.

  “What time?”

  “It starts at eight, but no one goes that early, so around nine start preparing.” As they talked, they began once again walking towards the canteen.

  “Okay, so I have some time to prepare after css with Caushmar.”

  “What? You have css with the director? Why?”

  “Well, I ck some of the studies the others had. Think of a support teacher but for everything.” Finally, Luca made it to the university’s canteen, just as he saw a crowd of his peers leaving, Alyska not among them as he observed, nor anyone he met yesterday.

  “Oh! Oh! Hey, if you can, ask her why she paired you with me.”

  “Oh, alright, I imagine it was random though.”

  “Naaah, there’s no way; surely I did something right! Right enough at least.” As they entered the canteen, even Cory’s mind drifted from the conversation for a second, distracted by the smell of the food as it was cooked behind the little buffet area; however, he soon got back into it. “You know, not to brag, but I have pretty good grades, aaand, st year I aced every physical trial.”

  “Nice.” Luca grabbed his tray, not knowing if it was impressive or not. “What are you studying, by the way?” In the university, one could choose what to become once they got into the guild (if that’s what they wanted to do) and attend a specific set of csses specifically designed to help in that task, or so described the manual.

  “You, my friend, are staying with a future explorer.” As they spoke, they got to the little area one could grab the food from. “Still don’t know if in the dungeon or, you know, world. But explorer for sure. Now shut up; I need to focus on getting the bacon that was made more recently.”

  As the two began grabbing each piece of food they needed to continue with their morning, Luca contempted how so many things in his life now rotated around the guild and its jobs, students studied at its university, the food he ate was specifically made to give him the energy to keep up with the training, and almost every hour of his day was now filled with said training. In an instant, Luca felt the pocket in which his badge rested much heavier; if he wanted to achieve everything he needed and wanted to, he’d have to focus on it even more, and hopefully, it would indeed get easier every day.

  Looking back as the line slowly moved forward and gncing around the people in the canteen, Luca saw the familiar face of his other new friend walking towards the door. So he left his spot on the line and approached her.

  “Hm?“ Cory noticed his roommate leaving, but a second ter, after understanding why, he rolled his eyes and sighed. “So mushy so early.“ He muttered to himself as he focused back on the food.

  “Aly!“ Called out Luca, which made the healer trainee turn and smile at the sight of him. “Hey! Thought I would’ve missed you by now.“

  “Good morning, Luca.“ Said Alyska, her tone polite and her smile radiant. “Funny running into you now. I guess having breakfast as the physical training begins is one of your perks, huh?“

  “Yeah haha… But, just to be clear, it's not because I was invited... I think.“ It was weird for the rookie to have any kind of benefit above his peers, and he hoped no one resented him for it; luckily, Alyska’s giggle hinted that she at least didn’t mind it.

  “Well, I’m happy for you. This way, at least I know someone can avoid that torture.“

  “Is it that bad?”

  “Probably not, but I’ve never liked exercise.“ Alyska sighed. "I’ll do my best though.“

  “As you do.“ Answered Luca with a smile, which infected the kind-of-noble woman with one of her own.

  “Thank you, Luca. I should be going however, yesterday I almost got there te.“

  “Is that why all of you were running?“

  “N-New schedule.“ She shrugged, slightly embarrassed by her ck of punctuality. “Anyways, I-I should go; the captain was very clear about running te.“

  “Alright, good luck, Aly!“ Luca turned and went back as did Alyska to her destination, but before either could even get to steps into their walk. “H-Hey Aly?“ The young woman from Pide turned her head, slightly surprised by him calling her once more. “See you at lunch.“ Said the rookie, with a smile that indeed reflected his desire to see her again; the words elicited a small chuckle from Alyska.

  “See you then, Luca.“

  And with that, both having decred their want of seeing each other again, each returned to their corresponding pces, with Alyska going to prepare for the training each new guild member required to stay in shape and Luca preparing to begin his day, wearing a dopey smile and standing by his roommate, who giggled at his distracted expression.