"So... This is the kid with blood on his hands?" The commander asked slightly hesitant after seeing Soren's battle from the window of his office.
"He doesn't show it normally, but once he gets into the heat of the battle, especially when he is under extreme pressure, that's when his bloodlust will show. During his little combat test, I hadn't noticed it because I am so used to feeling bloodlust from monsters or criminals, that it never made any difference for me." Rohan exclaimed as he was rubbing his cheek thoughtfully.
"Then how did you notice it?" The commander asked curiously.
"Well... Let's just say that I can tell without having to fight him." Rohan answered awkwardly as he was scratching the back of his head.
"Sword Whisperer?" The commander asked expressionlessly as he had crossed his hands and gave Rohan a blank stare.
"Shhh... Shush... Can you not say that out loud? Someone might hear." Rohan suddenly covered the commander's mouth quickly and nervously as he said that quietly.
"Mhhh... Can you stop doing that? It's annoying. Besides, who would want to listen to our conversation?" The commander asked angrily as he was wiping his mouth.
"I don't know, maybe everyone who wants to find more of secret abilities?" Rohan returned the question angrily with another question as he crossed his arms and stared at the commander seriously.
"Calm down, it's not as if any of them are in town right now, otherwise the Sea Knight patrollers would have said something." The commander answered with an annoyed expression as he was wiping his mouth with his hand.
"Anyways, what's your take on Soren? Do you think that he is still not worth the trouble?" Rohan asked while giving him his serious expression. After asking that, the commander then was deep in thought as he was staring down at the training field where battle happened.
...
"Honestly, I didn't expect you kid pulling a fast one on Tobias there. Usually, that move knocks the tailwear outta of you, even if you knew that it was coming towards you."
"How did you figure that move out? Do you have some sort of psychic ability?"
"Shut up, there's no way a little runt like him would have psychic abilities. He probably got lucky."
"There's no way that was luck. The kid must have seen that one coming."
"No, the kid got..."
The crowd was going wild as they were talking about the battle between Soren and Tobias. Some were speculating the reason about him protecting himself from Tobias' big move, while others were praising him with a satisfied expression on their faces and there some people who were trying to comfort Tobias.
"Alright everyone, settle down. Since the battle between Soren and Tobias has come to a close, it's time for the next match everyone. We don't have a lot of time until the break ends, so make it count." Argentus yelled a bit to grab everyone's attention before lowering his voice.
"Now, do the two of you want to participate on the next one on one?" He then looked towards Soren and Tobias who were close to each other when he asked that.
"No thanks Argentus, I'm going to take a rest. Keep an eye on Soren for me." Tobias answered with a uncaring tone before he started leaving.
"I'll stick around to see some battles, but I won't participate. Besides, my head is still hurting me from that first attack, so I'm not in a great condition to fight." Soren answered as he was rubbing the part where his head was hit.
"Alright then, then who wants..." As Argentus was setting the next one on one, Soren saw that Tobias had already left the circle and saw him close to leaving from the field completely, so he decided to chase after him quickly.
"Wait up for a minute." Soren said as he rushed towards Tobias.
"Huh? What do you want?" Tobias stopped suddenly when he heard that and asked once once Soren was close to him.
"I just wanted to say 'Thank You'." Soren answered with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for what?" Tobias asked with a confused expression.
"Thank you for taking time out of your schedule and spending it with me, as well as allowing me to experience a battle between an actual warrior." Soren then bowed down in front of Tobias, as a way to show his gratitude.
"Come on, you don't need to bow down to thank someone. Just a simple thank you would be more than enough." Tobias felt embarrassed as he was seeing Soren bowing down in front of him.
"I see. Then, I want to ask one last thing before we go on our separate ways." Soren stopped bowing down and looking him straight in the eye with a serious expression.
"What might that be?" Tobias made a curious expression as he crossed his arms.
"How's the business with the Church treating you?" Upon hearing this question, Tobias was left in shock and could barely muster a couple of words as he was trying to ask:
"H-h-h-how...? How...?"
"Umm... Is it something I should not have mentioned?" Soren asked awkwardly as his serious expression had disappeared and had been changed with a confused and curious one.
"How did you know?" Tobias asked with a serious expression.
"It was your defeated expression. I heard a few bits and pieces from your conversation from before and then felt that your voice felt rather familiar. Before, I hadn't recognized you because I had never seen you so calm, so you looked like a stranger to me. Also the fact that the past few days had been pretty hectic for me, also adds to the fact it's been pretty hard to keep everything track off." Soren explained with a serious expression as he held his arms crossed. Tobias was rather surprised, but once he heard the story, he also realised who was the person right in front of him.
"Wait, you were the guest that went to Laventhign's room a few days ago, together with Gramps, right?" Tobias asked for confirmation as he was eyeing him.
"Yup. I was the one." Soren answered with a smile as he was rubbing his head awkwardly.
"Talking about a coincidence." Tobias was rather surprised by this turn of events, but he wasn't completely shock after thinking about for a bit.
"Anyways, as far as I know, don't you work at the Church, or are you just helping your Grandpa in your free time?"
"Well... It's... You know... Ehhh... It's kind of a complicated situation, so don't dwell much into it, alright?" Tobias answered hesitantly as he dodged the question.
"I see. I guess it's time for us to split up then. I also want to say that you are a great fighter, but don't put everything in one attack, otherwise you will have to pay the price if you fail it." Soren decided to give up on that topic and talked with a more confident tone as he held out his hand.
"Heh... Then I have to say the same for you, but instead of putting everything into one attack, try to not charge into the battle headfirst. You tend to fall for that trick a bit more than usual." Tobias answered back with a confident smile as he held and shook Soren's hand.
"Farewell." Once they two of them exchanged those final words, they separated towards their own ways.