"Alas!"
Dam burst through the doors of Emily's bar with a huge grin on his face, his excitement so obvious it practically radiated from him. Without even slowing down, he hurried across the room toward Emily, who was standing behind the counter with a wine glass in her hand while giving instructions to three waiters.
"Highland High School wants to invite you and Lucas to enroll as special admissions students!"
Emily blinked in confusion.
"...What?"
She stared at Dam as if she had misheard him. The sudden news was so unexpected that it took several seconds for her mind to process what he had just said.
Dam burst out laughing.
"Do you remember the young man we saved last time? Yeah, that one—Bruce Wayne! This is all because of him!"
…
Once the whole story was finally explained, Emily's disbelief slowly turned into excitement.
She immediately grabbed Lucas—who was still carefully organizing bottles behind the counter—and dragged him toward the wine storage room at the back of the tavern.
"Going to school…"
Lucas's mouth twitched slightly.
As someone who had already graduated from college in his previous life, the idea of returning to high school didn't exactly excite him.
Unfortunately, his lukewarm reaction was completely misunderstood.
Dam and Emily both assumed he was simply feeling embarrassed or hesitant. After several rounds of enthusiastic persuasion—and Emily practically pleading—Lucas eventually sighed and nodded in reluctant agreement.
Later that afternoon, during the quietest period when the bar had almost no customers, an elderly man slowly arrived at the entrance of Emily's Bar.
He leaned on a cane, his wrinkled face calm and dignified.
Under Emily's hopeful gaze, the old man gently handed over two formal invitation letters bearing the seal of Highland High School.
Emily eagerly opened them.
Her eyes immediately landed on the personal information sections listing both her and Lucas.
A delighted cheer escaped her mouth.
"What about the bar?" Lucas asked with a helpless smile.
He could understand Emily's excitement about going back to school. After all, the repetitive schedule of running the bar every day had started to feel dull and exhausting for both of them.
Emily waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry! We'll just hire two more employees," she said cheerfully. "The bar is already doing really well now anyway. We'll just come back to help during the evenings!"
Her mind had already jumped ahead to planning their school life.
"Should we buy a car? Or maybe take the bus together? Do you think we'll end up in the same class? Or at least sit together?"
She spoke rapidly, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Watching her enthusiasm, Lucas couldn't help relaxing slightly.
Being around someone as optimistic and cheerful as Emily was one of the few things that made life in Gotham feel lighter.
The next morning—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Lucas! Wake up already!!"
Lucas sighed as Emily's bright voice echoed through the door.
He pushed the blanket aside and glanced toward the window. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, casting warm golden light across the room.
A rare sunny day in Gotham.
"Try this on!"
Dam appeared holding a neatly folded school uniform, his expression full of anticipation.
Lucas changed clothes quickly.
To everyone's surprise, the uniform fit him perfectly. With his tall frame and naturally handsome appearance, he looked remarkably sharp in the dark school attire.
It had to be said—elite American school uniforms actually looked pretty good.
A moment later, Emily stepped out of the changing room.
The sunlight from the window fell directly across her legs, making her smooth, fair skin appear almost luminous. Her long legs seemed to glow faintly under the golden light, and her complexion carried a soft jade-like clarity.
"Damn," Dam exclaimed dramatically. "Looks like Highland High's number one beauty is about to lose her title!"
Emily immediately burst into laughter, her eyes curving into cheerful crescents.
At that moment, several bar employees who were coming downstairs from the second floor paused when they saw her.
Even they couldn't help praising their boss's beauty.
"Thank you for helping us starting today," Emily said politely.
She bowed slightly to a middle-aged woman standing nearby.
The woman was actually Emily's neighbor, someone who had watched her grow up since childhood. Because of that, Emily trusted her completely to help manage the bar during the day.
Dam watched Emily with a warm smile.
She seemed like a completely different person today.
"Beep! Beep!"
Suddenly, Dam's watch emitted a sharp reminder tone.
"Ah! We're going to be late!"
Without waiting for any response, he grabbed Lucas with one hand and Emily with the other, dragging them straight out of the bar.
The early morning streets of Gotham carried a faint chill.
It was the beginning of spring, and with the sunlight warming the city, the cool air felt strangely refreshing.
Soon they arrived at Highland High.
The large campus buildings stood tall in elegant European-style architecture, resembling an old cathedral more than a modern school.
Seeing it for the first time, Lucas felt an unexpected flicker of curiosity.
He had already experienced high school life once in his previous world.
Experiencing it again in this new life might actually be interesting.
"Psst—"
A quiet whistle sounded nearby.
Three tall American high school students stood to the side, their eyes lighting up the moment they saw Emily walking between Lucas and Dam.
"Whoa!"
The boys couldn't hide their amazement.
More students began noticing her.
Several boys started shouting excitedly, some even showing off exaggerated hip-hop dance moves along the path Lucas and the others were walking.
Lucas sighed quietly.
These guys really had no sense of restraint.
But he couldn't entirely blame them.
Because Emily had spent most of her time working in the dim lighting of the bar, her skin had become incredibly pale—almost glowing. Even among white students, she stood out dramatically.
Combined with her delicate facial features, it was no surprise she attracted attention instantly.
Suddenly, a hand landed on Dam's shoulder.
A tall blond boy casually pulled Dam aside.
Ignoring Dam's angry glare, the blond student stepped directly toward Emily.
"Hey there, beautiful," he said with a confident grin. "Transfer student? I've never seen you around before."
His name was Sam.
His eyes gleamed openly as he stared at Emily's puzzled expression. Her delicate face seemed to completely capture his attention.
One of his arms slowly moved toward her shoulder.
But before he could touch her—
A hand grabbed his wrist firmly.
"Hmm?"
Sam turned his head.
Only now did he notice Lucas standing beside Emily.
The young man had been there the entire time, watching him calmly.
Not far away, Dam had been about to charge forward angrily. But when he saw Lucas intervene, he stopped instantly.
A look of amusement appeared on his face.
"Hey, kid," another voice said roughly.
A massive arm draped over Lucas's shoulder.
The speaker was nearly two meters tall, his bulky build resembling a giant gorilla. His thick muscles stretched the fabric of his school uniform.
Lucas smiled slightly.
At the same moment, Sam suddenly tried to wrench his wrist free.
But Lucas didn't move at all.
Sam's expression changed.
Lucas's grip felt like iron.
Realizing something was wrong, Sam quickly signaled to his companion.
The large black student immediately grabbed Lucas's arm and tried to yank him aside with brute strength.
Emily gasped in alarm.
But before anyone could react—
Lucas suddenly raised his left hand.
Smack!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed across the courtyard.
It was unbelievably loud.
Everyone nearby turned their heads.
The huge student's head snapped sideways violently. His massive body crashed to the ground, and he immediately lost consciousness.
Lucas looked down at the unconscious student with an innocent expression.
He spread his hands slightly as if confused.
Then he tightened his right hand around Sam's wrist.
A series of sharp cracking sounds came from the bones in Sam's arm.
"Wait—wait, brother! Ah—!"
Sam's attempt at begging ended in a pig-like scream.
Lucas pulled Emily behind him with one hand.
Then he kicked forward.
His foot struck Sam squarely in the stomach with lightning speed.
"Ugh—!"
Sam bent forward violently as white, mucus-filled vomit burst from his mouth.
His face turned bright red.
The entire fight had lasted only seconds.
By the time the surrounding students realized what had happened, the courtyard had already fallen silent.
Everyone stared at Lucas in shock.
He simply stood there calmly, as if he had done nothing more than something small.
....
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