The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

Aisha stared at him, saying nothing.

He must have noticed their uniforms marked them as guides. Though it didn’t seem to matter to him at all. If anything, recognizing that they belonged to the lower class only made him more entitled, certain that his behavior wouldn’t cost him anything.

Everyone knew only Class 7-D students bothered coming out to the field at this hour. No one was as free as they were. It was common knowledge that they were being shunned by even the professors at the academy. Unlike the higher-ranked classes, who had better things to do.

That only seemed to embolden him further.

Sabel and Vesper had already broken off their mock fight, both of them turning toward the commotion, still panting slightly after struggling with their fight.

Vesper’s face went red almost instantly when he heard the student, his hands curling into fists.

”Are you out of your mind?!” Sabel shouted at the student. ”You nearly killed them!”

She was usually composed and hardly burst out in anger. Whenever Vesper acted out, she was the one who tried to stop him or keep him from getting into any more fights.

But this time, she was truly angered by what had just happened.

Corwin blinked at her, unmoved. ”Why are you reacting so much? You’re not involved in this. No one even got hit.”

He said it so plainly, erasing any responsibility on his part. For him and his friends, as long as nothing too serious happened, it shouldn’t concern him at all.

Then, as if the matter were settled, he repeated himself, jerking his chin toward the spear on the ground.

”Come on, bring it here already.”

Vesper looked ready to storm across the field and do something he’d regret. A-rank or not. Getting expelled or not. This was unacceptable. Sabel wasn’t far behind him, eyes shooting daggers already while balling her hands at her sides.

”Stop,” Kane said, stepping between them before either could take action.

”Kane, are you serious right now?” Vesper looked down at him as he snapped. ”He almost hit you two!”

”We’re not hurt,” Kane replied, though he couldn’t stop his hands from trembling.

That had been too close. If Aisha hadn’t pushed him away and moved, who knows if they would get speared together?

”We’re on the training field. Accidents happen here.”

”Are you blind? That wasn’t an accident. They were being—”

”I know.” Kane cut him off.

He glanced briefly at the student and his friends, who were now watching the exchange with mild amusement, as though it were some kind of entertainment.

”But you weren’t the one who almost got hit. So don’t decide how to react on our behalf.”

Sabel’s eyes narrowed. ”Are you really okay about this, Kane?”

She wasn’t just asking about the danger they had just escaped from. Kane knew that. She was asking about the fact that he was willing to bow his head, swallow his pride, and let it go. He knew he was lowering himself in front of someone who clearly thought they were beneath his feet.

Kane nodded anyway.

He thought about his family back in Sector 13. Unlike most of his friends, he hadn’t come from wealth or a prestigious bloodline. His own rank wasn’t particularly high either. And he’d only made it into the academy because his older sister had worked herself to exhaustion to get him a spot, taking shifts no one else wanted, saving credit she could scrape together without leaving any for herself.

Her sister suffered from being bullied and belittled at work. Being someone from a lower sector made it almost impossible to live normally.

He couldn’t afford to be expelled now. Couldn’t bear the thought of throwing away the one chance his family had pinned all their hope on him, not over something like this.

After getting into the academy, he made sure to list down and remember the students he shouldn’t cross. And that student was one of them. He had family connections reaching into the imperial palace and even came from a noble family.

”I’m sorry,” Kane turned to Aisha. ”I’m making this decision for both of us without even consulting you.”

Aisha didn’t answer right away, staring at him with that calm expression.

Despite almost being struck by a weapon that came from the rack she was admiring just earlier, she didn’t look as shaken as anyone would be by now.

He took her silence as disagreement, his shoulder sinking lightly. Without another word, he walked toward the weapon and bent down. He picked up the spear from where it had landed in the dirt, preparing to carry it back across the field.

”I’ll do it.”

Aisha’s voice stopped him mid-step.

Kane turned, startled. He hadn’t expected her to volunteer, and certainly not so easily. She came from a wealthy family, after all. Was she really willing to lower herself like this? Was she serious, or was there another reason?

Or maybe, he thought, she was only now starting to understand exactly where they stood in this academy— A lower-ranked student in the lowest class without respect and dignity.

”I’ll go instead,” Sabel stepped forward. ”I’m a sentinel. It’s better if I handle it.”

Kane felt something loosen in his chest at that. Sabel was right—Aisha looked delicate, soft in a way that made anyone who looked at her feel uneasy about sending her anywhere near someone who clearly had no thought for other people’s pain.

If the student tried anything, Sabel would at least be able to defend. And the most important thing is that she belonged to a wealthier merchant family.

”That’s probably for the best,” Kane agreed immediately.

But the words had barely left his mouth when something cut through the air.

It moved too fast for any of them to track, a streak that split the air between the training field and the students standing across them.

It landed with a sharp, precise thud, driving straight into the ground between the student’s legs, close enough that he yelped and jumped back, nearly losing his balance entirely and planting his butt on the ground.

For a moment, no one moved.

Vesper’s and Sabel’s fell open, and Kane stood frozen, eyes glancing between his empty hand and the spear now buried in the dirt inches from where the student had been standing, close enough that it had nearly caught him between the legs.

None of them had reacted fast enough to even register what had happened, let alone stop it.

Then, Aisha’s voice came across the field, calm and nonchalant.

”There, I returned it to him.”