"Maria."
"Mm?"
"You plan to walk around the campus like this, don’t you?"
As l’s steps stuttered in the corridor to the Student Council Room, an undisguised Maria only smiled as her arm was locked tight on her waist.
They’ve walked from the Eastern to enter the Western Academy Building; Maria insisted on staying invisible while accompanying her undisguised.
It worried l that ranked like Samantha would intrude to question this sight, but l’s mind was occupied by Maria’s palm that kept drawing circles on her tummy.
The implication was clear, scary, yet also too stimulating for the poor old l!
"l." Maria tapped her l’s cheek. "You enjoy this, don’t you?"
"Heh heh..."
A chuckle, then l leaned her flushed cheek onto Maria’s shoulder. "Was it so... obvious?"
Reading l’s spark of cheerfulness, Maria rely sighed.
"Always seeming so carefree... we’re about to et one of the most troubleso witches, you know?"
"Ah, please. Liora was a sweet person!"
l’s arms wrapped around the Saintess, grumbling. "Better than a Maria who wouldn’t be flustered no matter what I do."
"You flatter ."
Maria’s lips curled up, mischievousness flashing in her curving gaze.
"Because I could only imagine you as a pure girl without any pervertedness, l."
"Haha." l let out a fake laugh. "Nice joke."
"I’m not joking, though?"
"...heh?"
l briefly froze, her steps stopped as her eyes shifted to et Maria’s sincere gaze.
"Ah-"
Her throat clenched as the blush spread to her ears; it’s a tease. A tease! She reminded herself.
"Let-let’s just go..."
"Sure. l."
Their steps resud, with a blushing maiden enraptured by a cunning ’white demon’ disguised as a nun.
As they arrived before the oak door, they opened themselves to reveal Liora.
Still dressed in her school uniform, the elf eyed l from top to bottom; her sumr dress slightly drenched in sweat and unsavory fluid below.
"...no one saw you like this, right?"
"Nope!"
"...."
The tired Elf rubbed her eyes, yawned lazily as she turned and waved. "Co in then. You’re lucky that all of them were in lectures."
"Mm. Of course!"
"Ah, and also."
She paused for a mont before looking over her shoulder.
Her grey eyes, unimpressed and unfazed, even before the greater power she imagined.
"You stop your magic here, Maria."
"Of course."
The graceful voice sang in the air, as Maria revealed herself; light particles flying about as she flashed a subtle, confident grin at the tired elf.
The elf only groaned. "You two..."
She pointed at the hand at l’s waist. "I expected worse. But this exceeded even my Calculation..."
"Eh-heh heh..."
With a tired chuckle from l, Maria silently pulled them into the room with a relaxed gesture.
l couldn’t have known then, but the conversation afterwards, as Maria silently closed the door behind them, would be key in deciding Liora’s fate.
--------------
As l and Maria settled onto one of the two sofas, they watched Liora casually return to her desk, which stood at a distance to their side.
Countless docunts piled up, as l observed a flicker of complaint blinking along with the elf’s sleepy eyes.
Each stroke of her pen was delicate, yet firm as if to hold a silent complaint.
l gulped; the elf’s expression remained unchanged, yet her glance towards Maria told a different story.
"So."
The tension strung up with one word from the Elf, flat and emotionless.
"What did I ever do to welco a Saintess herself here in my footsteps?"
Maria, who sat closer to the Elf, shifted her smiling gaze slowly to lock onto the uncaring Liora; her eyes still focused on signing another paper.
"And what did I ever do to warrant such a suspicion from you, Liora?"
The Saintess, savior who ended the {Unprided Crusade} and enactor of the {Great Purge} that cleansed the corruption of the kingdom, tilted her head innocently.
Liora only gave one answer to that.
"Everything."
No hostility or venom slipped out. Liora just stated a re fact.
"I simply couldn’t stand your very presence here, that’s all."
"Eh?"
l blinked confusedly; she trusted Maria to accompany her, precisely because she thought Maria and Liora had a deal not ntioned in the ga’s lorebook.
But the hostility flaring between them, even without a staring contest like with Lila’s, was worse than she thought?
"You two..."
l pouted. "I’m not one to intrude on personal matters, but please don’t fight when we have more important matters to discuss."
"Sure."
Maria was the one to fold; her hand settling on l’s thigh naturally.
The Saintess squeezed the skin as she admired l’s blush to calm herself.
"Sloth.... I an, Miss Liora."
Maria mumbled, before turning again to Liora; this ti with a genuine frown.
"I dislike you. And you dislike . But your focus should be on alleviating your current workload, right?"
Liora only held her head, arm propping at the desk as she neatly settled the docunt on one of the neat paper stacks in the corner.
l’s visit last ti sparked in the elf’s mind, not because of her touch in the end, no. Definitely not.
Instead, she realised that the wisdom of ’tidying’ papers reduced her workload more than necessary, and she did not need to find scattered docunts to check and sign.
"And for that..."
Liora squinted at both her guests on the sofa.
"What do you want to tell?"
"Perfect."
Maria’s voice, calm yet bore a manufactured grace, echoed as she idly played with l’s thigh beside her.
"First," Maria asked. "Tell us the connection between the Cult and the Elven Forest."
"The Elven Forest... you should’ve known from the start that the Elves had supplied the Tree Saps to them."
Liora shrugged as she began taking another docunt to sign, the scribbling that once ceased started again.
"What more do you want?"
"Then how about your childhood?"
"I don’t understand what of it would interest you, Maria."
Maria smirked. "Oh no. It would not interest , but l, who hasn’t known your history, Liora."
"Oh..."
l’s eyes briefly widened; the stroke of the pen briefly paused as l was given ti to process the information.
Liora’s childhood?
Although excited at the prospect of a cute Liora, an unease crept up on l’s heart.
The flow of the conversation.
l bit her lips as she shook her head.
She was reminded again of Nyrel’s words; , as the Cult told them.
She wished to deny the possibility, but-
"l."
Maria’s voice, no longer calm, bore only sternness as she sighed.
"You have to hear this through."
"Maria..."
Squinting at Maria, l wished to convince Maria to stop, but-
"It would be tiring."
Liora interrupted, as her hand resud again on signing another paper.
"So let’s brief this through; there’s no need to hide it."
Her grey gaze swept around the room again, nodding at l with a hint of need.
"...mm."
Reluctance briefly flashed across l’s eyes, the heaviness unrelieving as she cast a spell across the room.
"...tell l, Liora."
Maria’s hand left l’s thigh. She cupped her chin, expressionless, and stared back at the elf.
"You make it sound serious, but it really isn’t."
Liora casually signed another docunt and placed it again in the stack; a gesture of familiarity in a much less stressful environnt she used to inhabit.
"Yes." She confessed, her mind briefly wandering away from her work.
"I was the one who prophesied to the Cult; where the non-awakened Witches were."
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