"You say you've been trained for years to track down scent… Are you a trained fighter? From Edseria perhaps?"
Solomon furrowed his brows as he tried to connect his observations of her behavior and of her words.
Meanwhile, the woman didn't expect his question so she unconsciously frowned in distaste.
"I'm not obliged to answer your question until you have answered all of mine."
Solomon sighed as he shifted on his seat.
"Very well, young lady. Come have a seat and I'll answer whatever questions you ask of me."
The woman didn't seem to have any plans of moving as she stayed close to the door, one hand now firmly grasping its handle.
"I can hear you just fine here and you can hear me fine from there so why don't we just stay right where we are? I still don't fully trust the both of you so I'll be staying right where I feel safest."
Solomon understood where she was coming from so he simply nodded in agreement.
"Okay then, ask away."
Given the signal, the woman stared at Solomon as she asked him a question. With her eyes firmly planted on him, she wanted to observe him while he answered so that she could discern whether he was lying or not.
"Firstly, who are you? Both of you.."
Solomon looked at Granny Zai who was trying to keep herself busy by tidying up as he answered her.
"I am Solomon, and she is Zaimera but we usually call her just Granny Zai."
The woman gritted her teeth with dissatisfaction as she tensely repeated her question.
"Answer completely this time! Who are you both?"
Solomon chuckled but it was cut short when he saw that the woman didn't seem to like his idea of lightening up the mood by messing around.
And so, covering his interrupted chuckle with a cough, he answered fully this time.
"I'm Solomon Bertrand, Headmaster to Eldora Academy in Anemoly. A Veteran Priest Peak stage, Veteran Warlock Middle stage, and a Veteran Mage Middle stage. The one on my right is Granny Zai, she's our head maid and my right hand to any matters related to the manors I own."
Satisfied with the answer, the woman slowly eased a bit of tension.
Then, she decided to ask another question.
"How did I arrive here? My last memory was being in the Miasma Forest so how did I end up crossing it and entering Anemoly?"
Solomon softly caressed his beard as he tried to think of a way to condense such a long story into a very brief one without omitting important details and without causing the woman confusion.
"I saved you. I took you here. Then I… took care of you until this present day."
The woman wasn't satisfied with the answer but seeing Solomon's distraught expression, she let it go. It was because she felt as though the reason why his answer was vague was not because he was hiding things from her but instead was because he didn't know how to effectively put it into words.
And then again, she didn't want to dwell on that much because what she really wanted to know most, for now, was where her stuff where.
"Where did you hide my possessions?"
Solomon raised an eyebrow, utterly confused by her question.
"What do you mean by your possessions? Can you be more… specific?"
He didn't know which one was Inna's and which ones were hers…
The woman gave Solomon a perplexed look as she spoke.
"My armor and weapons. I've always worn it and I don't like the fact that it is off of me for a long time. Those were my only belongings. And of course my identification card as well."
Solomon furrowed his brows in confusion. So it wasn't Inna's belongings but hers?
So, she's the adventurer?
Then if this soul's life is an adventurer from Edseria…
What about Inna?
Wasn't she also one? Unless.. they were both adventurers?
Then, does that mean they shared the same life?
So maybe they shared the same soul after all…
Maybe he was wrong and that her constitution was actually the same with Favian's, having two minds in one body… but her case just has a little… variation?
But if that's the case.… why can she hear us speak Edserian and we hear her speak Anemolian?
Was it done by just magic?
But it seems like she wasn't aware of any spell nor does she have something enhanced with that kind of spell.
Faced with a new set of confusing questions he threw at himself, Solomon's head started to throb in pain.
All these countless of questions and yet no definitive answers to solve them…
Solomon clutched his head as he sighed deeply.
The woman's frown deepened as her grip on the door's handle tightened.
"My things. Where are they?"
Hearing the suspicion in her tone, Solomon snapped out of his reverie.
He really shouldn't be too absorbed in his own thoughts or else the lady will misunderstand him.
"It must still be in your ro--"
Solomon stopped himself when he remembered that the woman before him must've had no idea about Inna's life, much more about the fact that she lived in the Lily dorms.
"I had it stored safely somewhere."
The woman narrowed her eyes at him when she noticed his change of words. She was about to question him again about it when he suddenly stood up.
She readied herself in a fighting stance while the hand she had on the door handle tightened.
"Relax."
Solomon stated as he raised both his hands up to show he meant no harm.
"I was just going to get it for you."
The woman didn't relax at all as she continued to look at him with a cautious glare. Seeing such an intense glare directed at him, he sighed as he tried to make his tone soft and harmless.
"I'm just… going to go to where I stored it okay? Just give me… a few moments."
"No."
The woman spoke sternly.
"I don't trust you teleporting away somewhere."
Solomon raised his eyebrows in shock as he felt a small sting by his chest.
He didn't know why, but hearing those harsh words come out from someone that held the same tone and face of his dear crazy disciple Inna somehow hurt him slightly.