Departure

  “We can assume this is my victory, right?” Cyril asked, he assumed a cross-legged posture as soon as the hefty brunt of Yelena's animosity had vanished. The blade, once looming ominously as it jutted into the floor, no longer channeled fear into his heart, allowing his expression to ease back into its natural state.

  “How exactly is this your victory? Our weapons both snapped at the end so neither of us won anything. That aside though, I must admit you’re quite good, but had we continued like that, I would’ve won in the next two moves.” Having recovered from her earlier embarrassment, Angelica stood over him triumphantly, likely seizing the moment to emphasize her height over him for once.

  “Heh~ Not exactly my friend. You're missing one crucial detail here, right Yelena?” Giggling deviously, Cyril disapprovingly waggled his finger to counter Angelica’s claim.

  “Huh? What does he mean by that Yelena?”

  “Regrettably, young miss....it seems you’ve lost this duel.”

  The words left Angelica looking stumped, only after a few seconds did the realization finally settle inside her addling brain.

  “I lost?” Angelica repeated, sounding baffled by the conclusion.

  Her pit of hope sank even further once Cyril rose to his feet and separated the difference in their eye levels by more than ten centimeters.

  “Remember what the rules of our duel were.” Cyril said simply “The duel was going to end once one of us submits, becomes unable to continue, or when the first clean hit is landed. Since we were using replicas and not real artefacts, there’s a limit to how much mana they could handle, you got too excited with your flames so when our swords clashed at the end, yours broke first.”

  “Unbelievable...” the girl took a step back, unable to believe the conclusion her opponent was rattling off so casually.

  “In other words, you lost because your sword broke first, so strictly speaking, the second it snapped you were unable to continue our duel. That being said though, it was a good match—You really are strong, Angelica.”

  Angelica bashfully accepted his outstretched hand, her eyes darting away from his grin. She clearly wasn’t pleased by her apparent loss, yet at the same time she didn’t seem very upset about it either.

  “L-Likewise...you were pretty strong too.”

  “Now, since I won that means you’ll team up with me, right?”

  “Hm ? O-oh yes, I suppose so. I did give you my word after all.”

  “Ahem!” Yelena interrupted with a humble cough.

  “Before we discuss the dynamics of your partnership, there’s something I'd like to ask you about your skill, Cyril. What were those white flames? They were weakening the young miss’ flames somehow.”

  I figured she’d catch on to it. But...this is fine. Cyril thought

  “That’s my extra skill Niflheim. The white flames absorb heat and cools things down as opposed to producing heat. Each time our blades clashed Angelica’s flames were slowly being doused, that’s why she got impatient and decided to pour more mana into her sword at the end—hence why her blade snapped.”

  “Cyril...Isn’t that cheating!?” Angelica groaned as she flung an accusing finger at him.

  Cyril calmly brushed aside her claim with a dramatic shrug. “Of course not, it's just the way my skill works.” He said, returning her gesture with a playful smirk.

  “Did you set this up from the start? If that’s how your skill works then that means you planned this whole thing from the beginning, didn’t you?” Determination burned in her eyes as she stepped closer, meeting his gaze head-on. She’d done this before, and for the second time, the difference in their respective heights made her assertions far less effective than she would have liked.

  “There’s no way I could have planned this whole thing out; I just got lucky.” Cyril admitted offhandedly, his gaze straying from her.

  “If you’re both satisfied with the results of the duel, shall we end things here?” To his delight, Yelena had interrupted them again.

  “I’m perfectly fine with it, I can’t speak for her though.”

  Yelena turned to Angelica, who was still mulling over the mechanics of Cyril’s skill. She finally relented—after much deliberation with herself — and gleefully laughed away her contemplations as if they’d never even happened.

  “Very well. I suppose we can end things here for today, next time things will go differently.” she said mid-movement as she closed in on the pair of sliding doors.

  “Oh, Cyril are you free for the day? Since we’re going to be a team from now on, I was thinking that we might need to do some exploration together.”

  “Exploration?” Cyril repeated, quizzically raising a brow.

  “Y-Yeah, it's still early so I think we have enough time to gather any items we might need for the mission—you know, like weapons and whatnot. I’m still getting used to this city so if it's not too much trouble, I’d like it if you could show me around a bit.” Angelica murmured, playfully batting her eyes at him.

  “O-Oh, that’s a good idea. I do have the day off so I guess it’ll work out.” Cyril said simply, at first, he was a bit surprised to see a noble girl like Angelica resorting to such a shrewd tactic. But at the end of the day, no matter what kind of power he had, he was still a teenager. The momentary shock wasn’t enough to stop him from caving to her thespian talent.

  “Lovely! Wait here, I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

  With that, the girl hastily sped down the halls of the condominium, her retainer chasing after her only a moment later for the sake of keeping up—and perhaps, preventing whatever reckless plan she had in mind.

  “Looks like today’s going to be a lot more eventful than I thought.”

  Cyril curiously strolled through the condominium's classical lobby.

  The space was adorned with countless murals, paintings, and artifacts—so many that even after nearly fifteen minutes of wandering, he had yet to see them all. Per Yelena’s words, Wellington was designated as lodging reserved for those with noble blood, of course, that didn’t apply to him since he was there by mere invitation, but it also meant that the place wouldn’t be getting much in the way of visitors.

  Hence why he decided to take the opportunity to explore and look around. Almost fifteen minutes had passed since Angelica sprinted off, but aside from the boy himself, the only other person in the lobby was the well-trained receptionist.

  She hadn’t spared him more than a humble nod after he returned from the training hall, and he took that as a form of approval meaning he could look around. To an outsider, the delicate smile on his face might have seemed like the result of aesthetic inspiration—the natural reaction when one finds themself in the presence of sublime artistry, but no, that wasn’t it.

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  He was actually enjoying the mental debacle of the robotic assistant lurking in the depths of his mind. It had spent the past few minutes spewing a gamut of useless terms non-stop in his head. He didn't even bother trying to decipher any of it, the only thing that stood out to him was the term she repeated the most — [Error, unexpected outcome. ]

  For some reason, he found it quite enjoyable to hear that robotic voice—void of emotion — restlessly toiling away to understand something he’d done. After having his fill of his assistant’s systemic brabble, he probed the depths of his mind to confront the source of the incessant splurge of words.

  Aria, I don’t know if I can be of any help, but what exactly are you trying to figure out?

  [Confirmed. The spar against the individual designated as ‘Angelica’ was not conducted with optimal efficiency. Your output was deliberately restrained, you neglected to utilize your unique skill, and you adjusted your sword strikes to match hers rather than overwhelm her. As the entity overseeing your adaptation, I struggle to understand the reasoning behind your actions. Cyril, why did you hold back?]

  Her voice was still as robotic as ever—he expected that—but hearing such a cold, clinical breakdown of his tactics in his own mind was heavier than he anticipated.

  Was she always this serious? Cyril wondered.

  Like I said, I wasn’t trying to defeat her. That wasn’t the point of our match. She needed to regain confidence, and the easiest way to do that was through combat. If I went all out and crushed her, it could’ve had the opposite effect. But if I lost, our fight wouldn’t have meant anything because I’d be too weak to prove my point. Fortunately, I won by technicality, so it balanced out in the end.

  [Your intent is understandable, but the logic supporting it is flawed.]

  Cyril chuckled inwardly. It’s fine, I don’t expect you to understand. He paused before before adding: A long time ago, someone told me to trust my gut. Whenever my decisions don’t make sense to you, keep that in mind. It might help you feel a little more grounded.

  [....]

  The conversation went silent for several seconds, Cyril wondered if he had said something strange before then he remembered who he was actually talking to.

  Oh, Aria do you know what that means? He lifted his mental gaze, finding it oddly strange to be asking a question this way after all this time.

  [Directive acknowledged, more data required to construct an accurate personality profile. From now on I will also consider the possibility of your ‘gut’ influencing your decisions.]

  After that, the voice in his mind went silent, fading away as if it was never there in the first place. She was being even stranger than usual. I really should take some time to iron things out with her. Cyril thought to himself as he stared at a mural clinging to the wall.

  “Thanks for waiting!”

  His attention roused, Cyril quickly peeled his face away from the mural and casually sauntered back down the hallway, smiling pleasantly at the sight of the two people waiting for him.

  He wasn’t very surprised to see that Yelena hadn’t made any changes to her attire, the business-like suit, but Angelica on the other hand had undergone yet another wardrobe change during the last fifteen minutes or so. This was Cyril’s second time witnessing her appearance overhaul in the short amount of time he’d spent at the condominium.

  Her outfit, packed to the brim with feminine charm, still managed to secure a perfect balance between aesthetic and functionality. She wore a long-sleeved white tunic tucked into a pleated red skirt, layered with a fitted maroon vest. A dark belt cinched her waist, while black leggings and sturdy brown boots added both function and form.

  “This should do it for a casual outing, right Yelena?” she asked, fiddling with the hem of her knee length skirt.

  “Yes, young miss, your outfit should blend in nicely within the crowds of the commercial district.”

  “Hehe, alright I think I’m getting the hang of this.” She announced proudly, curling a small fist to her chest.

  “Mhm, that does suit you well.” Cyril admitted, nodding contently to himself.

  “Hm? Y-you think so?” Flustered from the comment, Angelica took a startled step back, her flushed face embracing a small smile. Her reaction just now was more than enough for him to confidently sign off on his deduction.

  As I thought, she’s really not used to this kind of humble lifestyle. Looks like this won’t end up being anything more than a simple tour.

  Feeling particularly insightful after arriving at the totally inconspicuous deduction, he glanced over her appearance with a self-assured smile. “Yeah, you look great. We’ll be fine going just about anywhere like that. It’ll take a while though, this city is a lot bigger than it seems, we won’t be able to cover everything today.”

  Angelica’s face relaxed into a comfortable shock. He lips, stylishly highlighted by a thin layer of glossy, translucent lipstick, parted slightly as if caught between words.

  “What? I thought you wanted an official tour.”

  She slowly creaked her head around to glance at Yelena, who calmly addressed her concerns matter-of-factly. “Y-Yelena, did you tell him?”

  “No, Young miss. It would appear that he arrived at that conclusion on his own. Forgive me for being blunt but, you weren’t exactly being very discrete about it.”

  A ripening red color, hotter than even her vicious 400-degree flames burned through Angelica’s cheeks. Giving in to the humorous exchange, Cyril’s body curled over as he snickered at Angelica’s expense. “It’s fine, I don’t mind showing you around.” he said, straightening his posture.

  “Oh, thank you, I would...really appreciate it.”

  I didn’t think she would get that embarrassed...

  Strangely enough, his earlier elation was starting to morph into a creeping sense of guilt.

  “Don’t worry, it's really not a big deal. You haven’t been here for very long, and I’m sure it took some time for you to fully recover. Even if you won’t be commuting to school it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize yourself with this sector of the city.”

  “I-I see. You’re right, there’s nothing strange about me wanting to look around!” Her enthusiasm had returned.

  "Alright, Cyril, I’ll trust you to lead the way. For the next four hours, you’re going to be my personal tour guide."

  "Yes, your majesty," he jeered in response, startling the girl with his exaggerated bow. A smirk tugged at his lips as he straightened, gesturing ahead with an overly dramatic flourish. "Shall we begin, my esteemed guest? Prepare yourself for an unforgettable journey through the wonders of… well, whatever we stumble upon."

  “You don’t have to get that into character.” Angelica said wryly as she turned towards Yelena.

  “Then, as promised, I’ll be going out for a little while. I should be back by dinner time, no need to stress over this, I just need some air.”

  “Understood. Then I will pay a visit to my guild while you are away.”

  “Huh? Yelena you’re not coming with us? I thought she was your retainer, isn’t she supposed to guard you at all times.”

  “Yes, that’s true,” Angelica answered firmly. “But still, you’re taking that definition too literally. I mean, think about it—when the new semester starts, it’s not like she’s going to be standing outside my classroom all day, right?”

  “Ahh… you have a point.”

  “Retainers are more like mentors who accompany the heirs of the origin clans. It’s not an absolute necessity, though. Lots of heirs dismiss their retainers after reaching a certain age, and some even outright refuse to have them around in casual settings. Yelena is simply here to look after me until I settle down, per my parents' instructions. She has her own guild matters to attend to, so she won’t necessarily be guarding me all the time.”

  “I see. I guess this is one of those times then, huh?” Cyril said, allowing his eyes to carefully drift back to Yelena’s imposing figure.

  “Ahem. Cyril Severin, while I appreciate your assistance today, please be mindful of the locations you introduce to the young miss. Despite how na?ve she can be at times; she holds a fairly high rank within the United Kingdom’s noble hierarchy.”

  Ignoring Angelica’s startled retort of, “W-what exactly do you mean?!”, Yelena continued, completely undaunted.

  “To prevent any misgivings…”

  The instant her words trailed off; Cyril felt a dark chill creep up his spine.

  “I would advise you to keep your intentions pure.”

  Her expression hadn’t changed in the slightest, but those words—riding on a gelid tone—held enough weight to crush him on the spot.

  “I got it, I got it.” he muttered, waving his hands dismissively.

  “Very well. Then you may proceed.”

  Looks like I have a long way to go before she mends her impression of me, he thought to himself.

  "Alright, Angelica, let’s head out.” Steeling himself, Cyril took the lead toward the doorway, a rather curious young lady following close behind.

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