"Yes, an offer. Would you like to work with our guild?"
The mont she heard this, Irina's eyes widened. As for the reason?
She had her own plans for him.
Yet, now, she was put into a peculiar situation.
Astron looked into Kaya's eyes, his expression unreadable. "And for what reason are you offering a place in your guild?" he asked, his tone asured.
Kaya's smile remained calm and composed. "Your skills and potential are impressive. I have watched your fight. You've shown remarkable talent in both combat and strategy. Our guild values such abilities and seeks individuals who can contribute to our collective strength."
Astron studied her for a mont, his mind racing with possibilities. He knew Kaya Hartley's reputation and the influence of her guild. But he also knew she was not soone that gave such opportunities.
And considering the performance he had shown, even though his judgnt might have looked good, there was no other thing that he had displayed as distinctive.
He made sure of that.
That was why, at least for him, this offer did not make sense.
'Sothing else must be going on.'
It was not that hard to conclude this, either.
'And considering the amount of interactions we had was very limited, it could be either because of Ethan or because of that ti in the museum. The forr can easily be objected to, as I am sure Kaya will consider Ethan as naïve, and she will be a lot more skeptical. She would need to run a background check on , and she would see my past records, which eventually could beco sothing that would make her realize Ethan was overpraising . Therefore, this part doesn't make sense.
As for the latter, she could easily confirm from my past transactions and the footage that I was there when the attack happened. She could suspect that I could be related to the attack, but this would be ridiculous and illogical; thus, she must not have thought that. But, aside from that, there is only one other thing that could bring her attention to . Jane Hartley.'
He thought, looking at the girl.
'For so reason, she just called Mysterious Brother. It was as if she had known , but I hadn't t her aside from that ti when we were in the museum. Even then, our eting was brief, and logically, there was no contact whatsoever for to leave an impression of her. She wouldn't rember my face, as I am sure I hadn't faced her at that ti.
That only leaves out one door. She was able to recognize not because of my physical aspects but because of my energy or sothing unique to .
And if this is the case, there is the possibility that she has an ability. In the ga, she was dead. Therefore, I don't have any information about the abilities she possessed, but considering that the Hartleys are a unique family on their own, a child born with inherent abilities makes sense. This also supports why Kaya now approached or why he was paying attention to my fight.' Astron maintained his calm exterior though his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
'The possibility of her suspecting and trying to observe is high. She can also reach the sa conclusion as mine because of Jane's attention. Tch.'
Just as he thought, life was not sothing that always went as planned. Just because of the existence of a young girl and her unusual act, he sohow gathered attention from outside.
'What a pain.' In the end, he would need to act in a way that wouldn't gather much suspicion from Kaya. That was the only plausible act.
"I appreciate your offer, Lady Hartley," Astron said, his voice steady and polite. "However, I believe it would be prudent to consider all factors before making such a significant decision. Especially when I had already promised a place to work for now."
Kaya's eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained unchanged. "Of course. Take your ti to consider. My offer stands whenever you're ready."
'Well, seeing him refuse my offer, either he is bound by a contract, or he values his promises. But, well, it was just an offer at the end.' She thought, looking at the young man. Aside from his ability to erase his presence, which was pretty good, there wasn't much outstanding about him.
But Jane's reaction and his being in the museum at that ti and surviving needed to be investigated.
'From the registered data, he would have been required to have a hard ti. Yet, no records of him being hospitalized were there. Interesting.'
Well, it's not like she would be losing much anyway. Seeing Astron under pressure and knowing he could be taken away, Irina decided to intervene for her own plans.
'This woman….How did she find out about him?'
She needed to change the topic and steer the conversation away from Astron's potential involvent with Kaya's guild. At the sa ti, she had to hide her close relationship with Astron from Kaya.
"Miss Kaya, your presence here ans you had the chance to watch the duels," Irina began, her tone light and conversational. "Were you watching mine as well? If so, could you give so pointers about mine? Getting opinions from soone like you could help a lot."
"…." Kaya turned her attention to Irina, who ca beside her. To be frank, their families were allies, and Kaya had a slightly close relationship with the matriarch of the Emberheart family. "I did."
Thus, she was very well aware of what kind of person Irina was. Soone prideful and arrogant.
And such a person was now asking her for advice?
'Hmm…..'
A particularly amusing thought ca to her mind. Kaya smiled warmly, her gaze softening as she addressed Irina. "Of course, Irina. I would be happy to provide so pointers. But for that….You will need to pay a price."
"A price."
Sohow, Irina felt like sothing was not right.
"A price of entertainnt." Kaya smiled and then gestured for her to follow. "Let's sit. We got so things to 'talk' after all."
For so reason, Irina felt like she was playing in tiger's palms…..
********
The duels had ended, and the academy was returning to its usual state of calm. Kaya and Jane were preparing to leave.
Irina and Ethan stood by, ready to bid their farewells.
Jane, holding a small, colorful bag of souvenirs, skipped over to Irina, her eyes shining with excitent.
"Bye, Sister Irina! I had so much fun today!" Jane said, her voice filled with genuine joy. "Thank you for everything!"
Irina smiled warmly, her earlier worries montarily forgotten. "You're welco, Jane. I'm glad you had a good ti. Take care, and co visit us again soon."
Jane bead at her, then ran back to Kaya's side. Kaya, who had been watching the exchange with a serene smile, stepped forward.
"Irina, I expect to hear from you soon. And rember, I'm looking forward to your advancents. Don't shy away from the challenges ahead."
Irina blushed, nodding her head. "I won't, Miss Kaya. I'll do my best and listen to your advice."
Ethan glanced between the two, his brow furrowing in confusion. He had no idea what they were talking about, but he sensed there was more to the conversation than t the eye.
Kaya's smile widened slightly, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Good. I'm sure you'll do great things, Irina."
With a final nod to Ethan and a warm smile at Irina, Kaya turned to leave, guiding Jane by the hand. As they walked away, Jane waved enthusiastically over her shoulder, her voice carrying back to them. "Bye, Sister Irina! Bye, big brother Ethan!"
Irina waved back, her smile lingering even as Kaya and Jane disappeared from sight. She turned to Ethan, who was still looking puzzled.
"What was that all about?" Ethan asked, curiosity evident in his voice.
"….It doesn't concern you." Irina coldly shut him down. Ethan shrugged, as it didn't concern him at all. "Alright, if you say so."
Irina glanced once more in the direction Kaya and Jane had gone, her mind racing with thoughts and plans.
'Adults…..They are really different….'
She felt like a new world was opened to her eyes.
*******
The cold and snowing weather created a shadow of tenseness across the world. The students of Eleanor's horoom class sat at their desks, the air thick with anticipation and anxiety.
This was the final day of their academy life for this sester. Today, their grades for the final exams—both theoretical and practical—would be announced.
Whispers filled the room as students speculated about their results. So tapped their fingers nervously on their desks, while others tried to maintain a calm facade. The atmosphere was a mix of excitent and tension, each student eager to know their fate.
"Do you think we'll pass?" whispered one student to his friend, his voice tinged with worry. "I barely managed to finish that last essay."
"I don't know," his friend replied, equally nervous. "The practical exams were tough, but I think I did okay in the duels. It's the written exams that worry ."
Nearby, a group of students huddled together, discussing their performances in hushed tones.
"I heard that the grading this year is going to be stricter than ever," one of them said, her eyes wide with concern. "Eleanor-sensei doesn't go easy on anyone."
"You ani freak. If you had studied instead of watching ani, you wouldn't be concerning yourself like that."
anwhile, Julia sat at her desk, her usual energy sowhat subdued by the weight of the mont. She glanced over at Ethan, who was leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression, seemingly unfazed by the impending announcent.
"How can you be so calm?" she asked, her voice a mix of envy and irritation. "Aren't you at least a little bit nervous?"
Ethan shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I've done my best, and that's all I can do. Worrying won't change the results."
Lilia, seated next to them, nodded in agreent. "Ethan's right. Besides, stressing out now won't help us. Let's just wait and see."
Irina sat at her desk, her fiery red hair glowing as if the sunlight. She looked calm, but her fingers drumd an impatient rhythm.
It looked like there was sothing that she had been anticipating today.
As the conversations continued, the door to the classroom opened, and Eleanor-sensei entered, carrying a stack of papers. The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to her, the anticipation reaching its peak.
Eleanor glanced around the room, her expression serious but not unkind. "Good morning, everyone," she began, her voice carrying authority and a hint of warmth. "Today, we will be announcing your final grades for the sester. I want to comnd each of you for your hard work and dedication. Regardless of the results, rember that this is just the beginning of your journey in this academy."
Eleanor raised her hand, her authoritative presence commanding the attention of every student in the room.
FLICK! With a subtle flick of her fingers, a soft chi echoed through the classroom as the students' smartwatches simultaneously lit up, signaling the arrival of their final grades.
A collective gasp filled the room as each student looked down at their wrist, eyes wide with anticipation and trepidation. The tension was almost palpable, the
silence thick as everyone processed the information displayed on their screens.
Julia's eyes scanned her grades quickly, a smile spreading across her face as she saw the results of her hard work. "Yes! I did it!" she exclaid, pumping her fist in the air. "I passed with flying colors!"
Ethan, still leaning back in his chair, glanced at his grades and let out a satisfied sigh. "Not bad," he muttered to himself, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Lilia's face remained impassive as she reviewed her scores, but the slight nod of approval she gave herself indicated her satisfaction. "As expected of ," she said quietly.
Yet, Irina. She just looked into her watch.
There, the score wrote.
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