Early in the morning, Ariandel enjoyed another bath and, in a contagious good mood, headed to the coffee shop.
When he arrived, he found the place a bit crowded.
After grabbing his cup of coffee, he quickly looked for his beloved (in his imagination) companions, who were already gathered in the "corpses" corner.
The table was empty, since nobody wanted to sit near Cassia, and Sunless, the pariah of the Sleepers, was avoided by every other group. It seemed the two were destined to be excluded together for the next four weeks.
But for Ariandel, that wasn't a problem. On the contrary, he was happy to enjoy their company.
Holding himself back so as not to seem odd, he approached the "almost corpses", waved to Cassia's aide, and greeted his (in his heart) friends.
"Sunless, Cassia, how's it going? Mind if I join you?"
Sunless looked at Ariandel with a mix of veiled caution and discomfort, but he quickly averted his eyes to avoid staring at Cassia's appearance. The girl wore a calm expression, but the coffee in her hands seemed to weigh on her as if something were suffocating her.
"Well, I don't see a problem," Sunless replied in a low voice, trying to avoid any excessive closeness. He nodded in a brief gesture, almost like a warning: just don't do anything weird.
Cassia remained quiet for a moment—when Ariandel's voice reached her ears, she sensed the kindness and consideration in the question, which softened her insecurity a little.
"Sure, Ariandel," she said, smiling softly. "Make yourself comfortable."
As Ariandel began to settle at the table, something out of place caught his attention: a growing murmur spread through the coffee shop, and he turned to see what was happening.
'I guess it's that time, huh. What position will I be in? And what will their reaction be?'
He looked at the many Sleepers gathered around the large screen hanging on the coffee shop wall, their faces full of excitement and admiration. On the screen, a list of names was displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest, deduced from the interview results.
He quickly searched for his own name. And, to his surprise, saw it at the top of the list.
'What?' doubted Ariandel, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.
He was in first place. And he could hardly believe it.
'I beat Nephis…' he pondered, still not understanding. 'I guess I overdid it by revealing so much information.'
Ariandel looked at the ranking again, trying to find an explanation.
'Maybe they place more value on survival ability than combat ability…'
He smiled, a little embarrassed.
'And she may have been more reserved about her Aspect.'
But while Ariandel tried to digest the surprise, the murmurs around him began to grow in volume. The screen became the center of attention.
"How… how is this possible?!"
"I'm not seeing things, right?"
"What kind of monsters are these two?!"
"And who is that in first place?! Has anyone seen him before?!"
Caster was in third place. Above him, the portrait of a silver‑haired girl was clearly visible, just below that of a young man of singular beauty, as if he had stepped straight out of a fairy tale.
To his right, two simple lines of text were displayed:
[Name: – ]
[True Name: Ariandel.]
***
So, the flowery bastard and the silver‑haired girl, Nephis, had also received a True Name in their First Nightmare.
Sunless couldn't help but compare: to earn his, he had to face the Hero and the Mountain King, with an Aspect that, at best, was useless. A victory that seemed to have impressed even the Spell.
'I wonder how "Ariandel" got his.'
Sunless cast a discreet glance at the supernaturally and elegantly handsome young man sitting beside the delicate, demure, and very pretty girl… Together, they exuded a serene and reverent aura, almost like figures in a sacred painting.
'So it's not just appearance… you really have the skill.'
Sunless's distrust only grew. He reflected once more on how people so perfect could be only two types: naive or monstrous.
He tried to piece together the puzzle.
If she were naive and just wanted attention, she need only stop hiding. With that appearance and manner, she could be as popular as Caster. But no. Ariandel was in the company of the Academy's pariahs. Everyone around seemed to be bothered by him, except Sunless and the blind girl.
'This makes no sense. There must be something more.'
The Dreamers in the coffee shop were in an uproar over the revelation of two True Names among them. They looked at the screen with astonishment, fear, and even almost reverent admiration.
Hearing the excited whispers, Sunless had the sudden urge to shout:
"We're three! I have one too!"
But, of course, he remained silent…
Watching intently, he noticed that Caster was fixated on the screen. His usually light and relaxed expression was now sombre and strange.
Curiously, however, as far as Sunless could tell, Caster was not looking at the first‑place entry or the line of text displaying the True Name.
Instead, his gaze was fixed on the line that read 'Nephis', as if the girl's name weighed more for him than that given by the Spell.
'Interesting. Do they know each other?'
Why would a Noble House have interest in someone who arrived at the Academy wearing a police coat? And speaking of Nephis… where was she?
Sunless scanned the coffee shop and soon spotted the silver‑haired girl, sitting in a corner, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. She seemed oblivious to the commotion around her, immersed in her own thoughts. Her grey eyes were distant and deep, as if they were not there.
"Two Dreamers with a True Name? One is already impossible!"
"It's technically possible. Smile of Heaven received her True Name in the First Nightmare, I think. But yes, I have my doubts…"
"Maybe they lied in the interview?"
"Are you stupid? If it were so easy to fool the administrators, yesterday's perverted madman would have ranked first!"
Sunless felt a chill. 'Perverted madman, huh…'
"Well, one of them is right there, why don't we ask her?"
Suddenly, a deep silence fell over the coffee shop. Following the suggestion, the Dreamers stopped talking and turned, staring at Nephis 'Changing Star'. Yet no one seemed willing to approach first.
Ariandel, leaning back at the table, watched with a playful sparkle in his eyes and a shy smile on his lips, savoring his cup of coffee.
The blind girl, Cassia, seemed perplexed to realize that the first‑place student was there, sitting beside her, unnoticed by the crowd.
"First place: 'Ariandel'… Is that really his True Name?"
"It can't be an error? Like… how can someone not have a normal name?"
"Has anyone seen this Sleeper before?"
Nephis finally raised her eyes and faced the others with an expression of surprise.
"Hmm. What's up?"
After a few moments, Caster stood and walked over to her, making a small bow.
"Lady Nephis, I am Caster of the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"
'Lady? Why did he address her like that? And he had to introduce himself… so they didn't know each other?' Sunless recognized, intrigued.
Nephis seemed a little perplexed by the question. After pondering for a moment, she shrugged, as if she didn't care much for the formality.
"It is what it is."
Caster, embarrassed, returned a hesitant smile.
"I see. I'm glad you returned unscathed. Uh… not that I doubted your abilities."
Nephis nodded in a brief reply.
"Thanks."
With that, she returned to her coffee, clearly indicating that the conversation was over, or perhaps simply ignoring the attention she was drawing.
Sunless sighed.
'How mysterious.'
With so many thoughts stirring in his head, the smell of fresh breakfast coffee was what finally brought him back to the present. He completely forgot about Ariandel, Nephis, the ranking… and even the strange tension hanging in the air.
The coffee was his only concern now.