"And she sticks the landing!" Amber applauded herself as we reached the clearing where class began earlier.

Once the last student had made it to the beach, everyone got boosted back up the island mountain. The wind hoops that Venti created were unlike anything I'd seen before, but they had been fairly easy to work with. As much as I was amazed by Venti's affinity for Anemo which went beyond the requirements of a gliding instructor, I couldn't help but cut suspicious looks at him as we unequipped our windgliders.

At first, I was under the assumption that Celestia Academy had wiped everyone's memory of the Champion to keep the Abyss Order from discovering their Source and stealing him away. Now that I thought about it, the faculty worked for the Academy, and they probably retained their memories of the Champion—possibly even contributing to covering up his existence. I was sure that the others—Instructor Xiao, Professor Minci, Professor Morax, and Professor Baizhu—also knew about what happened last year. I was certain they weren't allowed to speak of it to students if Venti's awkward reaction to my pressing questions said anything.

"Looking real spiffy up there Huffman!" Venti waved at Huffman, who was lingering in the sky. "But I'm gonna need you to come down now! Class time is nearly up."

"I'm going to go for the drop!" Huffman announced.

Venti beamed up at him and threw two thumbs up into the air. "Go for it!"

Huffman continued to linger.

"What's up with him?" Amber stepped next to me and squinted into the sky. "Does he not know how to drop?"

I kept my eyes on Venti. "He messed up earlier and probably lost some confidence."

"Aw, that's too bad. Hey, Huffman," Amber yelled. "You can do this! It's as easy as Moon Pie!"

I vaguely registered Huffman jolt in the air for a moment before finally dropping to the grass below in a soft tumble. Like the good instructor he was, Venti walked up to Huffman and made sure everything was okay. Like the good instructor he was, Venti then made his rounds, checking in to see how everyone felt about their first glide down the mountain. Like the suspicious instructor he was, Venti didn't go anywhere near where Amber and I were standing. I narrowed my eyes even further and patted Amber on the shoulder.

"You should get going to class," I said. "I'll hang back and ask Venti a few questions about how Anemograna work."

"Ooh, do you think it'll be on some quiz in the future?" She grabbed her bag. "Let me know what you find out at dinner. I want to be super prepared."

"Sure thing."

With Amber on her way—I noticed Huffman awkwardly jogging to catch up behind her—it was time for me to find out what sort of beans Venti might spill. I waited until the rest of my classmates grabbed their things and left the clearing before making my move. We didn't have long until his next class showed up, so I had to work with the time I had wisely. As I marched up to Venti, I forced a casual smile onto my face. His usual jolly composure didn't show any signs of being on edge, but I still had to play it cool. Spooking him away could very well mean kissing my only opportunity goodbye.

"Hi, Venti."

His default grin slackened, and his eyes flicked away from mine. "So sorry, but I can't spare any time for a chat right now. I have to reabsorb the wind currents I left behind. Can't have any innocent birds getting shot off in crazy directions!"

I stepped in front of him. "The birds are smarter than you think. I'm sure they can keep an eye out for the wind hoops. I wanted to ask you something."

"Really?" He smiled tightly. "Well, as your instructor, I'm all ears."

"How do those Anemogranum work?" I crossed my arms. "I've never seen anything like them before."

I watched his chest fall as a heavy breath left his lungs—unmistakable relief. "Oh, that's what you wanted to know! Anemogranum are like any other Grana—spirits containing elemental energy that are drawn to any force that disturbs them. They can't do much on their own with what minuscule Anemo they've got, but the elemental energy bursts forth when grouped together. You can learn more about spirits and the like if you take Worldly Beings with Professor Guuji in the future."

Hm, yes. Very Interesting. Moving on. "Will we get to use Grana during the Grand Tournament?"

"I can't tell you that." He winked. "That would be unfair to the other students who plan to participate. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself."

"Can't you give a tiny hint to your favorite student? I am your favorite, right? You're my favorite instructor."

"Oh?" he gasped in delight. "Really? I'm not one to practice favoritism, but I do have my eye on you and Amber as stellar students! I'm flattered you think of me so."

I nodded animatedly. "I thought I knew good music before coming to this school, but you've completely changed that. Your songs are on another level."

He grinned, relaxed. "Ehe, what can I say?"

"What can you say?" I cleared my throat. "Grana or no Grana?"

"Grana," he whispered with a curt nod. "Anemogranum, Geogranum, Electrogranum—Dendro, Hydro, Pyro, Cryo. The full elemental list of spirits is in the Grand Tournament."

I suppressed the conspiratory smile that itched to spread on my face. I got him.

"What else? How have the past Champions won?" I cocked my head innocently. "Surely, the Grand Tournament isn't the same each year, so it couldn't hurt to tip me off on their success methods."

He tapped a finger on his chin. "You've got a point there. Each Champion was pretty unique. Some made use of teamwork before going solo at the end. Others operated alone entirely. Over the years, one thing they all had in common was—"

"What about the most recent Champion?" I cut a nervous look at the students that were already beginning to show up for Venti's next class. "I want to stay up to date."

He side-eyed me. "Up to date, hm? I guess I could tell you…"

So close. I bit the inside of my cheek.

"That you should be careful," Venti finished flatly.

"What?"

He laughed. "I know what you're trying to do, Lumine. Your attempt to get me to reveal last year's Champion isn't lost on me. It's because you're one of my favored students that I want to give you this warning."

"What are you warning me against?" I pressed, embarrassed to have been caught so easily. "What's so dangerous about knowing who he was?"

"Lumine, Lumine, Lumine," Venti sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I should be asking why you're so interested, but I won't. That would be too much to fuss over, and it doesn't matter why you want to know. All that matters is that you can't know. They say it's for your safety."

The 'they' he referred to must be… "The Academy?"

He shrugged. "Who else?"

"Do you think it's for our safety?"

His stare gave nothing away, but I caught his shoulders slump by a fraction.

"Well?"

Venti cleared his throat and nodded over to where more students were beginning to fill the clearing. "Time for me to jump back into my instructor loafers."

"Venti," I said with pleading eyes. "Can I at least get his name?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it once more. "No."

I fought the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake the truth out of him. Venti was my instructor. He would be even less inclined to give hints in the future if I did something like that. There were other students nearby. I would most likely get suspended. Must resist.

"But I will say you remind me of him." Venti gave in. "I don't mean by power. How you go about winning the Grand Tournament would be much different from how he—let's just say controlling one element was the baseline with that one. Besides that, you two share the same tenacity," he nodded. "For starters."

"Tenacity?"

"It's a good thing," he winked. "No need to look so down."

I wasn't upset over being called tenacious. I was confused over how that had anything to do with the Abyss Order's needs. There was something else there in Venti's words—the latter end of his comment on the previous Champion—that struck me. Controlling one element was the baseline.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he cleared his throat and turned to address the new batch of students. "Everyone, follow me with your windgliders! Make sure to bring your jackets for the cold."

I walked against the grain of students that crossed the clearing toward the cliffside. Grabbing my bag, I left the clearing entirely and followed the path that took me back to the main campus. In the back of my mind, I thought about whether I should head to the dining hall like I normally did, or if I should stop by the infirmary. It would be a good idea to have Barbara check me out after that fall, just in case. My duel with Kaeya was scheduled for later today, and I didn't want to be at a disadvantage. Since I had plenty of time before Physical Combat to decide, I chose to go over the new information, walking at a slow pace.

At face value, what Venti told me was pretty useless. Knowing the Champion was a guy, and knowing we share a similar personality trait was no help. What did being tenacious matter? I could think of several students who were just as persistent as me. However, there was a minor slip he made about one element—not an Element. Did Venti mean that the Champion had more than one Vision, or was the Champion like me? In my meeting with Kaeya and our three new additions, we suspected the latter at one point, but that was just a theory then. It was beginning to be much more than a theory now. If we were right, it made sense why the Abyss Order saw both me and the Champion as Sources—we both had access to the energy of multiple elements. To steal that level of power was undoubtedly tempting for the Order.

There was more to it than tenacity and elements, though. Venti was about to say something before attending to his students—about how else we were similar. Were there other personality traits that we shared, or was it something bigger? The curiosity ate at me as I continued to analyze our conversation from different angles.

Venti was hesitant when talking about the Academy's decision to hide away the Champion. I never did get his answer on if he agreed safety was a valid reason. There was more to Venti than the carefree bard and lenient instructor—that's for sure. Learning more about the Champion on the same day I tested my Geo power wasn't what I expected when I woke this morning. After the duel, I'll be sure to bring it up and ask for second opinions.

Eventually, my silent musings took me to the front of the administration building. Checking in with Barbara shouldn't take too long, and there was still time for me to grab lunch. I ran up the short set of steps and reached for an ornate handle, but the aged wooden door opened before I even made contact. Someone else was on the other side.

Stepping away so they could pass, I saw that it was Jean carrying an armful of files piled high enough to block half of her face.

"Who is that?" She craned her neck to the side and peeked at me with her blue eyes. They reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite place who. "Oh, Lumine. Sorry, I'm in your way."

"Not at all." I waved my hands. "Do you need any help with those files? They look close to falling over."

"Thank you, but I'll be alright." She adjusted the weight in her arms. "Actually, there is one thing I would like to hand off to you if you don't mind."

The student council president had something for me? Curious, I held out two hands, and she shuffled around the stack before extracting one file from the middle and bringing it close to her face. Her eyes scanned the front sheet before she firmly nodded and held it out to me.

"When you see him, could you please give this to Kaeya?"

I accepted the file. "Is it time-sensitive?"

"Yes and no," she sighed. "I would prefer it get done sooner rather than later, but I've been having a hard time tracking him down recently. Ever since we got the Sakoku Order out of the way, Kaeya's been very keen on enjoying a…what did he call it? A well-deserved break from labor. In any case, I believe he's been avoiding me—an extension of avoiding his duties. It's a stroke of luck that I ran into you. I'm sure you'll be able to pass it on."

"Of course. I'll also be sure to let him know how overworked you are. That's a lot of paperwork for just one person."

"Overworked?" She sounded shocked. "I'm not—I enjoy what I do on the student council. Seeing everyone's needs met is all I need to keep going."

Poor Jean. "It must be hard focusing on what's important in student council meetings with Kaeya skipping out or constantly flirting with everyone. It's amazing how you manage to get any work done when he's around."

"Huh?" The top of her head tilted to the side. "What are you talking about? Kaeya doesn't flirt with anyone in our meetings."

That was surprising to hear. "Oh, well at least he's able to judge the right time and place. He probably saves his teasing for when you're done with meetings."

"No."

"No?"

"Kaeya doesn't flirt with any of the student council members," she said. "He isn't known to be a flirt at all. Sure, teasing people about minuscule things is a pastime of his, but that's just part of his eccentric personality. Why? Has he been bothering you? Any form of harassment goes against our code of conduct. Just let me know, and I'll deal with him personally."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I just thought he flirted with everyone because he—" always flirted with me. "I'm not bothered by it at all. Honestly, I've gotten used to his attempts to—" Why was I not bothered by it? Was he just teasing?

"That's a relief to hear." Jean was unaware of my stammering. "I have to get to the library and make some copies before I forget. Please, excuse me."

With impressive mobility despite her obstructed view, Jean climbed down the steps and made haste to the library. I stood there, clutching the file for Kaeya in my hands, thinking about what just happened. First, Jean was most definitely overworked—no matter how much she claimed to not mind. The woman was doing her duties during the school day for Archon's sake. Second, I may have completely misjudged Kaeya's intentions. If his flirtations really were reserved only for me…all this time…

At this rate, Barbara would take a single glance and diagnose me with a fever.