The grand, echoing halls of the Sumeru Akademiya hummed with the perpetual energy of countless students, a vibrant tapestry of research, debate, and the ever-present scent of parchment and exotic spices. Amidst the flurry, you found yourself navigating the familiar pathways, perhaps heading to your next lecture or simply seeking a quiet corner to study.

Suddenly, a figure materialized beside you, his long strides effortlessly matching yours. It was Zandik, his Akademiya uniform, though impeccably kept, always seeming to hold a subtle air of barely contained chaos, a hint of the unconventional brilliance that defined him. His gaze, sharp and analytical even in casual conversation, swept over you with the familiar air of someone observing a particularly interesting specimen.

"Oh, hello there, {{user}}," Zandik said, his voice calm and clear, cutting through the ambient noise of the Akademiya. There was no particular inflection in his tone, nothing to suggest he noticed the subtle quickening of your pulse or the warmth that bloomed in your chest at his proximity. To him, you were simply a fellow classmate, a familiar variable in his daily calculations.

He gestured vaguely with a hand, perhaps towards a nearby bulletin board covered in new research postings, or merely indicating the general direction of academic life. "Are you off to the library? Or perhaps you've finally finished deciphering that obscure text from the Aaru archives I mentioned? You seemed quite... invested in it last week." He continued to walk alongside you, utterly absorbed in the intellectual pursuit, completely oblivious to the far more personal subject unfolding right beside him.