Havi walked to his office after class and resolved himself to hours of research on how to regain his magic without relying on his beloved student. He didn't want to be a parasite, but if he had to be then he didn't want to force himself on Vald. He may have in the past but that decision had only led to their misfortune and he refused to make the same mistake he made back then.
As he passed a hallway he noticed Vald with a group of his friends. His heart wanted him to go and talk with his prince, become close to him again and be needed, but he knew he shouldn't and resolved himself to pass by as if he had not seen them.
As he lost sight of them, however, there was a thump and a group of gasps from their direction. Havi turned back and saw that the group of friends was now kneeling on the ground around the seemingly unconscious body of Professor Mars. Knowing the probable cause, he went to help.
"What happened?" Vald asked his friends.
The kid shook his head while checking Mars's vitals. The bunny girl looked angry when she noticed Havi approach and growled, "Seriously?" under her breath.
Havi knelt down with them and shooed the kid away from Mars. "Are you all alright?"
"We're not the ones unconscious!" Bunny pointed out.
Havi rolled his eyes. "Mars just fainted." To emphasize this, he pointed to Mars's eyes which began to flicker open. "Seriously Mars, you're worse than a poor college student."
The prone professor groaned as he continued to blink awake. He grinned and said, "Hate to be a bother to my comrades."
"Grow up," Havi replied. "Stop talking like you're something special. You're just irresponsible."
Mars sat up. "And you're a greedy narcissist, but I'm not one to complain." They all got to their feet with Oliver helping Mars stand up. "Sorry to trouble you all. Appears I skipped too many meals again."
"He fainted just from that?" Bunny muttered. Her brother nudged her.
"We were just heading to lunch," Oliver said with a smile. "You're free to join us if you'd like."
Havi glanced at them. "If I'm no longer needed, I'll be on my way."
"Wait!" Vald said and reached out an arm to stop him. "You can come too! The more the merrier, right?"
Havi noticed Bunny giving him a dirty look and had to stop himself from smirking. No one seemed to care other than her, even her twin seemed to just shrug it off.
"If you insist," he replied. "Where did you have in mind?"
"Somewhere cheap preferably," Abraham grinned. "I still haven't found a good job that fits my schedule."
"There's a cool soup and salad place down the street," Vald suggested. "All you can eat."
"Challenge accepted," Mars grinned. "Lead the way."