The Author's Extra: My SSS Skill Turns Souls into Anything!

The door clicked shut.

Alden stared at the bowl of soup in his hands.

He hadn’t taken a sip in a while.

’What was that for.’

He turned the spoon over once.

The warmth of Seris’s arms was still very present in his memory, which was annoying, because he was actively trying to stop thinking about it and that was apparently not something he could just decide to do.

He took a sip of soup.

’She always does something unexpected. That’s just how she is. Don’t overthink it.’

He took another sip.

’It was a thank you. People say thank you. That’s a normal human thing.’

He stared into the soup.

’Though she’s not human.’

He put the bowl down.

The door opened.

"Alden! You up?"

Leon walked in like he’d been worried for exactly the right amount of time and had decided the correct response to that worry was speed. Legion was right behind him. Then Nicholas. Then Roselle.

Alden looked at all of them.

"I’m fine. What exactly did you think would happen to me?"

Leon stared for a second. Then grinned.

"Good. I was picturing something far more dramatic—you lying there looking tragic."

"How thoughtful."

"Don’t get emotional about it." Legion let out a quiet laugh.

Nicholas stepped closer to the bed.

"Glad you’re okay, Alden."

Alden stopped. Looked at him.

’He said that like he actually meant it.’

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Nicholas didn’t elaborate. He just stood there with the expression of someone who had reached a conclusion somewhere and was simply living in it.

Roselle came around the other side. Folded her hands.

"By the way." Her expression shifted into something more careful. "Why did President Augustus behave like that?"

Alden set the spoon down.

"I don’t think anyone’s seen him like that before," she continued. "Not even close to it. He wasn’t himself." She tilted her head. "Did something happen between you two before the fight, Alden? Why were you even fighting that late at night?"

Legion nodded. "Yeah. That looked nothing like sparring."

Leon scratched the back of his head. "He looked like he was genuinely trying to kill you, man."

Alden looked at all four of them.

Took a beat.

"It’s a long story." He leaned back against the pillow. "I’ll explain once I’m out of here. Gramps is at the royal palace making his report right now, so he should be back soon. We can do it properly."

The four exchanged a look.

"I see," Roselle said. She took a small step back. "Rest well then."

Alden looked at her.

’Hold on.

Was that— consideration?’

He looked at Nicholas. Then Roselle again.

’What happened to these two while I was unconscious?’

First Nicholas walking in and sounding genuinely relieved. Now Roselle telling him to rest without a follow-up question or a narrow-eyed look.

’Did something change? Or did I hit my head harder than I thought?’

He decided not to poke at it. Some things were better accepted than understood.

Leon waved on the way out. "Rest up."

Legion: "See you later."

Nicholas gave a small nod. Then gone.

Roselle was last. She glanced back once at the door before closing it quietly.

Alden stared at the closed door.

"...Weird."

He had just gotten comfortable when the door opened again.

He twitched.

"Who is it this time!?"

Claire leaned halfway through the doorway with a basket large enough to supply a week of lunches, filled with fruit, packaged snacks, something wrapped in cloth that smelled like it had been warm recently, and enough apples to make a point.

Alden stared at the basket. Then at her.

"...You again?"

He sank further into the pillow.

"I don’t need more of that. You already sent soup."

Claire walked in like he hadn’t said anything, set the basket down beside the bed, pulled the chair close, and sat.

"I’m doing this because I want to." She smiled, picked up an apple and started peeling it.

Then, after a moment, she looked down at the peel.

"Besides." A faint flush across her cheeks that she didn’t seem entirely aware of. "You helped me when it mattered. When I was the one everyone was pointing at."

Alden started to answer.

"What I did was just find the actual culprit—"

A piece of apple appeared in his mouth.

He went still.

Claire held the small knife and gave him a pleasant, unhurried smile.

"That’s enough talking." She turned back to the apple.

"Just eat."

"..." Alden chewed the apple slowly. He decided this was not a fight worth having.

Claire peeled in silence for a moment.

"Did Sierra come to see you?"

"I told her to leave immediately."

Claire’s hands paused. Then she giggled, and the sound was genuine enough that Alden looked at her sideways.

"At least take a second before saying something like that," she said. "I’m her older sister."

Alden looked at her.

"What are you implying?"

She looked back at him, innocent.

"Nothing."

"Are you saying you’re the same type as her?"

She immediately smacked his shoulder. Lightly. But there was real offense in the motion.

"Never! Why would I do that to you?" She gestured at herself. "Have you seen a single thing I’ve done that—"

"Stop talking and peel the apples quietly."

Claire stared at him.

"Wow." She resumed peeling with an exhale. "You’re so demanding in the audacity. In a hospital bed."

"Infirmary."

"Same thing."

Claire resumed peeling the apple with a small easy smile resting on her lips.

"It’s nicely done, thanks to Seris showing up," Alden said, light fingers adjusting the wrapping.

The steady glide of the blade halted instantly. Claire’s smile froze, fixed in place like paint.

"She was first?"

"Yeah. She came in and helped clean up the bandages on my back a bit—"

The sharp clatter of the paring knife hitting the floor cut him off before he could finish.

"Sorry," Claire said smoothly. She bent down, retrieved the knife, and wiped the blade against her apron with slow, methodical care. When she looked up, her expression was entirely blank. "Actually, I don’t think you should be talking so much right now. Save your strength and just eat."

Alden blinked, entirely missing the sudden cold draft that had just entered the room. He simply leaned back into the pillows, quietly accepting the next slice of apple she handed him—sliced just a little too thick, and pressed into his fingers with a bit too much force.

_______

The corridor outside was quiet.

Seris walked through it without particular hurry, her coat settling with each step, students she passed moving aside with the automatic deference that was simply part of moving through the same space as her.

Once she turned the corner and was completely out of sight. she stopped putting on a cold front. She gently touched her cheek feeling it flush hot from the tender moment she had just shared with Alden.

’I didn’t overdo it did I?’

She replayed it without trying to — Alden completely freezing, his hands suspended at his sides, that warm color on his face, the way he’d said ’you’re welcome’ in an awkward voice.

She lowered her hand.

’No. I don’t think I did.’

She continued walking.

’He did something that cost him significantly, for reasons that he admitted he couldn’t fully explain, and I acknowledged it. That’s a normal, reasonable response.’

She passed a window. Looked at her reflection briefly.

’That’s all it was.’

She looked away from the reflection.

’...That’s all it was.’

_______

The third round was postponed by a full week.

The incident with Augustus required an official investigation, written reports from multiple parties, and Darius making the journey to the royal palace personally to report the matter to the kingdom’s ruler. The academy ran under its remaining faculty and council members in the meantime.

Far from the academy, the royal palace stood under the evening sky.

Its towers were lit with magical lamps from bottom to top, the windows golden against the dark, the whole structure looking exactly like what it was.

Inside one of the chambers, Darius stood before the king. Reporting.

Outside the chamber doors, Augustus stood alone.

No one else in the corridor. Just him, the closed doors, and the muffled sound of Darius’s voice on the other side laying out exactly what had happened.

His fists were clenched tight at his sides. His jaw was set, his eyes completely cold.

’I’ll show you.’ The muffled voice continued on the other side of the door.

’Both of you.’ He looked at the doors.

Alden.

Seris.

His fingers pressed tighter.

’I’ll make you pay for what you did.’

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