I felt a pang of anxiety as I tried to co up with an excuse. "I-uhm... I was going to hunt monsters!" I blurted out, hoping it sounded convincing.
Kairos raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Really? Then I’ll go with you."
"No!" I answered a bit too quickly, causing his suspicion to deepen. His gaze grew more intense, his eyes narrowing as he studied . "I-I want to go alone," I added, trying to sound more resolute, but the waver in my voice betrayed my nerves.
Kairos didn’t budge. "Then the more reason I want to go with you," he said firmly, leaving no room for argunt.
I swallowed, realizing that there was no way I could convince him otherwise. His sudden shift in deanor caught off guard, and I could tell he wasn’t going to let this go. It was rare for him to be this insistent, but when he was, there was no talking him out of it.
I sighed in defeat, knowing that my plan to find Cypher alone had just been derailed. "Fine," I muttered, turning away from him. "But stay out of my way."
The entire night turned into a relentless ga of cat and mouse. I would dart off in one direction, hoping to finally outpace Kairos, only for him to effortlessly appear by my side each ti. His amusent was clear, but it only fueled my determination to shake him off. Yet, no matter how many tricks I tried—sudden changes in direction, doubling back, even feigning a fall—Kairos was always there, never more than a step behind.
Hours passed, and the frustration only grew as I realized that my attempts were getting nowhere. My determination to find Cypher faded as the night dragged on, replaced by a growing sense of exhaustion. I had used up more mana than I should have, trying to outpace Kairos, and it was taking its toll.
Finally, after yet another failed attempt to lose him, I felt my legs give out beneath . My vision blurred as I stumbled forward, my body no longer able to keep up with my stubbornness. Before I could even react, I found myself face-first on the ground, completely drained.
Kairos’s laughter echoed through the silent woods, the sound both infuriating and oddly comforting. "Tired already?" he teased, crouching down beside .
I turned my head weakly to glare at him, but all I managed was a tired groan. "This is... your fault," I muttered, too exhausted to argue or even care about how ridiculous this all seed.
Still chuckling, Kairos crouched down beside , his earlier cold deanor replaced with one of genuine amusent. "Looks like you’ve finally run out of steam," he teased, though there was no malice in his tone.
Kairos shook his head with a smirk, clearly enjoying my predicant. He gently scooped up into his arms, lifting effortlessly. My limbs felt like lead, and I couldn’t even protest as he carried , his grip firm but careful.
I grumbled sothing unintelligible in response, too tired to form proper words. My body felt heavy and unresponsive, and I couldn’t even summon the strength to protest as Kairos carried . The steady rhythm of his footsteps was oddly soothing, and despite the frustration and embarrassnt, I found myself relaxing slightly.
By the ti we reached the camp, I was barely conscious, the exhaustion finally overwhelming . Kairos set down gently inside my tent, his expression softer than I’d ever seen it. "Get so rest," he said quietly. "You’ll need it for tomorrow."
I nodded weakly, my eyes already closing as sleep finally claid . I forgot about Cypher that night because of him and I hate how he quickly erased my goal.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Last Day of Combat Exam
I imdiately shot up from my sleep, still thinking of finding Cypher but when I noticed the brightness streaming into the tent, I groaned in frustration. The sun was already high, aning I had slept longer than I intended.
This is his fault!" I muttered under my breath, rubbing my eyes in irritation. If Kairos hadn’t kept up all night with his ridiculous ga of chase, I would have had a real chance of finding Cypher. Although it was also her fault, she decided to put all the bla on him.
"It’s the last day of the exam already," I muttered to myself, yawning as I stepped out of the tent. The camp was coming to life around , filled with the sounds of people chatting and the mouthwatering sll of breakfast wafting through the air. I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the lingering frustration from the night before.
As I stretched and looked around, I couldn’t help but think about Cypher. But I had to admit, searching for him now, especially with Kairos constantly on my tail, was more trouble than it was worth. I had to focus on what was ahead—today’s the final day of the exam, and that had to take priority.
Kairos had thrown off my plans, but I wasn’t going to let him ruin my focus today. Cypher was strong; he could take care of himself. I needed to trust that he would find his way back, just like he always did. I decided to let go of my worry and focus on earning points.
I was quietly eating breakfast, focusing on the food in front of , when Kairos casually sat down beside . I could feel his presence, but I chose to ignore him, determined not to let last night’s frustration spill over into the morning.
He didn’t say anything at first, just sitting there, seemingly content with the silence. I kept my eyes on my plate, chewing slowly, trying not to let his proximity bother . But I could sense his gaze on , like he was waiting for to greet him.
Finally, after a few monts of tense silence, he spoke up, his tone light, "You’re still mad at , aren’t you?"
I didn’t respond, taking another bite of my breakfast instead.
Kairos chuckled softly. "You know, you’re a terrible liar, Remillia. It was obvious you weren’t just out there to hunt monsters last night."
I shot him a brief, irritated glance, but still didn’t say anything.
He sighed, leaning back a bit. "Look, I get that you’re worried about Cypher, but you have to trust that he can handle himself. And maybe trust that I’m not always the bad guy, either."
I paused, my fork hovering over my plate. His words hit a little closer to ho than I wanted to admit. But I wasn’t ready to let go of my annoyance just yet, so I kept my focus on my food, hoping he would take the hint and leave alone.
Kairos looked at with an exaggeratedly forlorn expression, his eyes wide like a puppy’s. "I’m sorry, okay? There, happy? Don’t be mad at anymore."
Kairos’ sudden apology caught off guard. I finally stopped eating and turned to look at him, only to see that he looked like a guilty puppy. It was such a stark contrast to his usual confident self that I couldn’t help but laugh.
"Why are you saying sorry?" I asked, still chuckling. "I should be the one apologizing since I was too hardheaded yesterday."
Kairos tilted his head slightly, a small smile playing on his lips. "Because you won’t talk to and I didn’t want you to stay mad at ."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Angela and Edge were also having their mont together and on the other side, Rex and Christian were sitting away from them. They were cringing so hard while watching at the two couples.
Rex leaned over to Christian, "Are they really doing this right now? So early in the morning?"
Christian rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. "I’m gonna lose my appetite if this keeps up." He glanced at Caleo and Remillia, frowning slightly. "Let’s break them apart," he muttered under his breath. He can’t let his buddy Cypher’s love be stolen by soone else.
Rex nodded vigorously but he’s thinking of soone else, "Yep, let’s do it!" He can’t also let his boss end up with soone who doesn’t like him. He’s much better with Whitney than that cold hearted girl!
Just as they were about to stand, Josh plopped down between them, his arms placed over their shoulders and forcing them back into their seats. "Oh no, you don’t," Josh said with a wide grin, looking at the two couples.
He can’t help but dislike Cypher a little, he always gets his mont with Angela and Remillia. It’s about ti soone else had a shot.
Christian groaned, trying to break free of Josh’s hold. "Co on, man! This is serious!"
Rex also tried to struggle free, "I swear I’ll kick you in the @ss if you won’t let go of !"
Josh only laughed at them while watching the scene.
After struggling for a while, Christian can’t help but insinuate the couples, "Should we go look for Cypher now?"
Suddenly the atmosphere gone awkward as Caleo glared at him while Edge raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed.
’I screwed up.’ Christian felt that he was burned and frozen at the sa ti because of the two n. He didn’t know what to say so he casually leaned in to Rex and Josh, "Hey, what should I....do?" There was no sound so he casually looked at his side only to find out they were already gone.
With no backup, he awkwardly stamred, "I-I an, uh-I I was talking about the... weather! Yeah, the weather! I think it will be sunny for the whole day hahaha!" He plastered a nervous smile, hoping to defuse the tension he had just ignited.
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