Chapter 288: No Point of Hiding It

It felt weird as he got up and prepared for class. Something just didn’t seem right about being gone for as long as he had and suddenly showing up in class like nothing had happened.

What was he supposed to say to the other students if they asked him? The truth? Or just ignore them? He kind of liked that last option, though he wasn’t sure how well that would work out for him.

He suspected that students would be very persistent.

He had tried to convince the others that not going to class was a better option, but they convinced him otherwise.

Henry had already left for the day, which was surprising because it was really early for the other boy. However, he suspected that it was more because he wanted to avoid Julius and any awkwardness that might come with seeing him again in the morning after their little chat last night.

***

When he arrived at his Physical Training class, he spotted Joshua and James walking onto the large field.

However, James must have noticed something because he turned to look directly at Julius.

For a moment, Joshua’s face was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. Then he realized what he was seeing and immediately started shaking Joshua furiously by the shoulder.

Joshua seemed annoyed by the sudden assault and was about to reproach James, but he looked over to where his friend was pointing animatedly.

There was no hesitation; Joshua took off at an impressive burst of speed and was instantly in front of Julius.

He didn’t even get a word out before Joshua started to talk quickly.

“I can’t believe it! I heard from people this morning that the princess had returned to Goldencrest, but they didn’t mention if you had! I am so glad that you are alive and safe,” the boy said with genuine relief in his voice. He gripped Julius by the shoulders and shook him just like James had shaken him moments earlier.

James, being the mindful one, pried Joshua’s fingers from him.

“He has been worried about you the entire time you have been missing. I mean, the entire team has been, but Joshua has been particularly worried. He had his family send people to go and search for you,” James said to him in a whisper.

“Don’t pretend like you weren’t really worried either.”

James ignored him and grinned at Julius. “I’m really happy to see you safe and sound.”

Julius looked down at the ground and smiled. “Thanks, you guys. How have you and the others been since I have been gone?”

James nodded proudly. “Honestly, we have all made some incredible progress. Joshua, Tia, and Polux have both stood out in our class as some of the best first years.”

Julius frowned. “What about you and Nessa? You don’t consider yourselves that way?”

James laughed. “Nah, we aren’t combat specialists. We are definitely toward the top of the class, but the other three have a clear advantage over most of the other students. I would say only a handful of first-years can even match them anymore. Although, I am sure that you have gotten stronger than any of us.”

He looked over at James with confusion. “Why would you think that?”

James gave him a knowing grin. “I mean Polux might have told us about how you were hiding some of your abilities,” the boy said with a look toward Joshua.

I thought he promised that he wouldn’t say anything, he thought to himself with a grimace.

Joshua appeared to see his expression and put his hands up to calm him. “He mainly did it because we were so worried that you would die. But he kept up telling us that he believed you would be absolutely fine. We badgered him about why he was so confident and he finally had to tell us that you were much stronger than you ever let on. He said that you were even stronger than Helen and possibly the princess.”

Julius still shook his head. To be honest, it wasn’t like he really minded that much. After the whole incident and spending some time away from Goldencrest, his view on things had changed.

He realized that he wasn’t as worried about hiding his abilities or his strength. He had reached a point where it wasn’t worth the effort.

He was now Tier 3 with a Special Emblem to boot. Which meant he was already decently close to advancing to Tier 4. Plus, he was able to fight against Tier 4s and win. With that kind of power, he didn’t feel as fragile anymore. While he knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle a Tier 5 or a really powerful Tier 4, the fact remained that there weren’t a lot of people like that out there.

He also shouldn’t be too worried about House Greyson hunting him down for the House Hyperius stuff, because objectively speaking, his stunt with the caravan would put a much larger spotlight on him. If they were coming after him, it would be because of that.

“I’m still going to punch his face in,” he said quietly to them.

“I think he might be glad to take it when he sees that you’re back,” Joshua said with a big grin.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Speaking of that, how did you find out that the princess returned? We only got back last evening.”

“I heard some of the students talking with each other this morning as I was walking to class. Apparently, they spotted a bunch of professors and random people last night and figured things out.”

“Do you think that I am going to be getting a lot of attention? Or do you think it will mainly be on her?” He asked, kind of dreading to hear the answer.

“Oh yeah, you are definitely going to be getting a lot of attention,” James said bluntly, laughing a bit after he told Julius that.

“At least, it won’t be as bad as the kind of attention the princess will be getting. I bet she won’t even be able to leave her room without people hounding her,” Joshua added with a small grin as well.

He nodded his head in defeat. He had expected something like that when he returned. Reinera was too high-profile, and since he had disappeared alongside her, he would inevitably receive some of that attention as well.

Joshua gave him a sympathetic hand on the shoulder. “Either way, I am glad that you are back. We missed you.”

***

The two of them were right. By the time his next class rolled around, a good number of students were staring at him very intensely.