"Mhh?" Some time had passed when Hestia woke up. Watching the handsome face so close to her own made the girl giddy. Aron had taken the opportunity to take a short nap until the girl woke on her own. His soft breath on her face made her heart speed up. Checking out those soft lips, it was very difficult for her not to press against them.

She deliberately pulled the boy closer to herself such that there was no space left between them and she can even feel his heartbeats on her chest. Over these days she had come to adore this boy. He was so different than every other guy she knew. Yes, he was a slave but that was just a title and if he worked hard he might overcome his situation. And she was positive that he can pull that off.

Her actions have woken Aron and for the next few minutes, the couple kept staring into each other's eyes. Much to his surprise Hestia closed her eyes and let loose her lips. The sign can't be any clearer. Even a virgin like his can tell she wanted him to kiss her. Tentatively he swooped his head down and pecked the girl on her lips.

But the girl didn't look satiated with just that. "Haain..? Do you call that a kiss? Don't tell me you don't even know how to kiss a girl?" She was just as clueless as him but boasting was one of her prized skills.

"We will do it some other day. Come let's go out. It's quite late already." Getting up from their makeshift bed he pulled the reluctant girl out, along with him. Julia and others were seated beside each other in a circle, enjoying the delicious breakfast Kyla had prepared. They took some time from their praises for their chef, mock the latecomers.

Neither Aron nor Hestia were particularly affected by their jibes and freshened up, ignoring their incessant chatter.

Once Aron returned he found Hera beckoning him from the crowd. Walking to the girl he sat beside her and she handed him his meal. For a second everyone had paused, trying to understand this strange development.

"Is it good, Aron? I helped out sister Kyla in the preparation." The boy was mesmerized by her beautiful smile for a moment before collecting his wits and nodding his head firmly. "Yes, it's very good. Do you know how to cook?"

Julia had hurriedly engaged everyone else in the conversation so that Hera didn't feel awkward as the other girls were staring at her with wide eyes. She was smart enough to realize that their gazes might make the girl uncomfortable. Others too were aware of her thinking. Though engaged in an idle discussion, all of their ears were trained on the couple, eager to listen to what they were talking about.

Hera had a perpetual smile on her face watching the boy happily munch on the food. "Yeah, I am not as good as sister Kyla but I know a few things." Aron sipped a mouthful for his sweet drink and nodded his head again. His focus was on his food but he made sure to keep the girl occupied.

"Ohh.. then you must love cooking?" Their eyes met for a few seconds but Hera was too shy to continue looking at him. Staring at the fire in the center of the group, she replied with a short hum. "Yes, I love it. But how did you know that?"

At the end of her sentence, she stared back at him, intrigued as to how the boy figured it out. In response, Aron can only scratch his head and laugh it off. "Haha.. just made a random guess. Also, people with your background should not be required to cook their own food. So, you must be doing it out of a hobby."

His answer didn't seem to please the girl. She pouted her lips and refused to look back at him. This left the boy utterly confused. What did he say wrong? That was his true thought. She herself said that he had guessed correctly, then how did he still manage to offend her.

"Ahem.. did I say something wrong?" Once the girl didn't respond to him, he looked at Julia for help but she too shrugged her shoulders. "Huh!!" Hera got up and walking past the other girls, sat beside Kyla, and started talking to her. She had completely ghosted the boy from existence.

Aron can only smile bitterly and get back to his food. What exactly can he do if people don't even tell him his mistakes? Pretty soon, Hestia had returned and occupied the seat beside him.

All this while Hera was glancing at the boy from time to time. She had no idea why his words suddenly angered her. Was it because he brought their class difference in the talk? Or was it something different? No matter what she had wanted him to put in some effort to console her.

Yet, only after a single try, he gave up on her, much to her annoyance. She would have definitely eased up if he had tried a few times and that angered her even more. What's more, her seat was now taken over by her friend. Recalling the scenes from days back, she felt like she was at the losing end before the race had even started. Unable to do anything, she had lost the initiative now.

Some time passed and Hestia got up. "I am going to have a bath. I will take Aron with me." Making her announcement she didn't wait for their response and began pulling the boy by his hand.

"Wait a second." Hestia gritted her teeth. Why was everyone hell-bent on crossing paths with her? Does it look like she was forcing herself on him? Don't they know something that is called mutual consent?

"Take Hera with you." Julia made her judgment, unwilling to leave the boy alone with a 'sexual predator'. Hestia turned around with a smirk on her face. "Huh.. everyone knows Hera doesn't like getting naked in front of strangers. How will she take a bath with us? Your suggestion doesn't make sense Julia."

"You are right, I just want Hera to look over yo..." Before the blonde can complete her sentence, the peachy-haired girl chimed in. "It's okay. I will come with you." Much to everyone's surprise, Hera walked over to them. Hestia was the most affected out of all of them, she turned to glance at the boy, squeezing his hand hard.

Though he shrugged back at her, Hestia can tell that there must be something going on between them. Why else Hera would agree to Julia's suggestion? 'Ahhh... I discovered him first. Why don't you look for your own boy?'

Hera moved to hold on to Aron's left hand. She still didn't look at him but her grip was no less tight than Hestia's. Regardless of how indignant the big-chested girl was, she had no other choice but to follow along.

The other ladies watched the boy being practically dragged into the woods. "What the hell happened between them? How did I manage to miss out on everything?" Ava still stared in the direction the trio had disappeared, while her question was directed to her friends sitting beside her.

"No idea." Sophie shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around the development. "Hestia was one thing but even Hera? This boy is too dangerous." All her life she had never come across a more charming slave than this guy.

Julia can only sigh. She was the only one left here who knew that Aron's hands had reached even to their teacher. Most of the time the boy was a wavering participant in their interactions and it were the females who made their moves in him. 'Hmm? Doesn't that mean even Mrs. Yana..?'

Julia hurriedly stopped her thought trail. There was no way their strict teacher will make a move on a young boy like that. She shook her head to get rid of those stupid thoughts. "He is handsome. What more can a bunch of thirsty girls need hehe.." Others broke into laughter. "Hera would have scratched your face off haha.." "haha.. that's for sure."

***

"Are you sure about it, Hera? You know you don't have to force yourself. Julia was just being too paranoid." Hestia kept smiling but the flames of the clash were visible in her eyes. Hera was unwilling to back down. "Haha... it's okay. I was feeling stuffed there anyway. It's always good to take a short walk."

Aron was the one who was enduring the worst. Argument after argument, the bones in his hands had begun generating crackling noise. Their grip had gone on to become like a vice. These fragile-looking girls were surprisingly strong.

"Ahem.. my ladies, how about you relieve my hands now, you know, I can walk on my own. Ahhhh!!!" That was the worst timing Aron could have chosen to jump in their brawl. Both of them were unable to win the verbal spat against each other and his voice only directed all their frustration towards him. Both of them believed the boy was equally responsible for this stand-off, hence Aron experienced gut-wrenching pain when they squeezed his hands even harder.

**Last night**

Back at the Greenville Academy Yana had decided to visit the mess today to have her dinner. Most of the time the teaches of the academy were too busy so the maids will provide their dinner directly to their rooms.

Yana had been holed up in her room for two days continuously. The necromancy department was on a holiday for one week, that's why she had no classes to take care of. Picking up her food, Yana settled in her favorite spot. She can take a look at the wide night sky, through the large glass window beside her table.

"Ahem.. would you mind if I sit here, Mrs. Yana?" She had just taken her first bite when she was interrupted by a woman with her platter, standing at her side. "Hmm.. ohhh.. Ms. Darlene.. yeah, please take a seat."

The masked lady responded with a smile and settled in the chair opposite Yana. "Thanks. I hope you won't mind me, Mrs. Yana." Yana returned the good-natured smile. "Hehe.. you must be kidding Ms. Darlene. Why would I mind it? Also, from next time please feel free to join me whenever you want, most of the time I am sitting here all alone. It feels good to have some company from time to time."

"Then please pardon the inconvenience." Darlene pulled of the half mask covering her scarred face before taking a bite out of her steak. Yana surveyed the left side of her face for a while. She was aware of how hideous it looked and how some of her colleagues passed on horrible remarks on this lady, just because of her appearance.

Yana only found it pathetic to comment on someone's face. Compared to Darlene's face, the behavior of her colleagues was what disgusted her more. "I know it might be rich coming from someone who didn't have to face your struggles, Ms. Darlene, but it doesn't look as bad as you make it out to be."

"Hmm? It might be true but I don't want others to have a bad day by showing them my face hehe.." Darlene had grown accustomed to the repulsive glances of this world. Nevertheless, Yana was not convinced by her logic.

"Allow me to disagree here. Why should you care about others' feelings? You have your own life to live Ms. Darlene. Don't let the world decide your actions. Anyway, I went off on a tangent there. Please forgive my rants haha.." With a light chuckle Yana bit into her piece of meat.

"Hahaha... You won't believe Mrs. Yana but a boy said the same thing to me last week. I think you might know him very well." Yana was interested in her words had listened to the whole story that Darlene explained to her. The redhead noticed how the lady's eyes glittered at the mention of the boy's name.