"Just get stronger."
Elihim said an obvious answer.
"Yeah, but how?"
"Just keep practicing."
"Eh..."
Hresha thought that she could just talk to a rock if Elihim answers vague and the obvious.
"Aren't you misunderstanding something here?"
Elihim stopped and turned to her. He looked so frail, yet, in Hresha's eyes, he seemed insurmountable.
She gulped as she felt what he was about to say.
"I just fixed my mistake. Why would I further help you?"
Elihim seemed to reject her but if that's the case, Hresha thought that he should've just ignored her.
'He wants something in exchange...?'
"You said earlier that you don't need me and there's nothing I can help you with. But is that really true?"
"..."
Elihim slightly smiled and after a pause, he turned around and began walking again while he answered-
"Yeah, I lied."
"Why?"
"With your state of mind earlier, what do you think will happen if I make request?"
"... I will accept?" Hresha paused before she realized, "Ah! So I will say that I will do to whatever you requested!"
Elihim nodded.
"Huh? So... you did that for me?"
"No, I just don't want you promising and making my hopes up just because you're desperate."
"O-oh... that's true."
Hresha felt that his answer would be more natural.
"So what request is it? I will do it, if I have the ability, under one condition. You should know what that is, right?" she continued.
"You recover fast."
Elihim didn't immediately answer her question.
"Ah... I don't know. It's scary but..."
"You do know that if I want to, I can just leave you here. Stop relying on me."
"Relying on you...!" Hresha wanted to deny but she couldn't. After seeing the greatest abomination easily die in his hands, even if she doesn't want to, she internally relied on him. Up until now, Elihim had yet to show weakness. In her eyes, he's like a being whom normal people pray to. Of course, she would say that out loud, "But if you want to, you could've already done so."
Walking with him feels much safer than anywhere in the world. That is what she honestly felt. However, if he turns his fang towards her, that feeling would turn upside-down and the haven space would feel like an inescapable hell instead.
But from what she saw, he seemed like a person who has morals and does not kill indiscriminately. Only that he would do anything to get to this goal which is not bad. It's just, unfortunately, she's a potential obstacle to that unknown goal. Therefore, she saw his 'bad side'
With this line of thought, the conclusion she reached was obvious: she have to get onto his good side at all cost! This was what she determinedly decided as well.
"You're right. Well, I guess I can rely on you since you're becoming a bit reliable now."
"..."
"You see, I have a little sister."
Hresha's eyes widened and began to take an interest.
"I want her to have a good life in the Emerelkan Academy. But..."
'Is this where I come in?' Hresha gulped and listened attentively.
"The standards of the academy are so low."
Elihim lowered his voice at the end to express his disappointment.
"Low...?"
"Just you, for example. Someone like you is called an Academy Elite, then what about those who're not an Elite?"
Elihim shook his head, not caring that Hresha was a bit hurt. Afterwhich, the latter seemed to realized something.
"Ah, are you observing the academy from the inside that's why you're... sneaking in?"
"Yeah"
"But, you could just ask us for that..."
"Would you let me enter?"
Elihim asked a question that hit too close to home.
"Ugh... you're right. No one would definitely let you enter. And it seemed like you don't want attention either since you didn't show your strength."
Elihim nodded at what she surmised.
"Are you saying that I should make the academy better for your sister? If it's getting special treatment... how old is your little sister?"
"Seven"
"Ah, I can definitely arrange preservation so that once she reached the age of ten, I can make her my disciple and-"
Hresha stopped her suggestion when she heard Elihim laughing lightly.
"W-what?"
"Nothing... it's just by the age of ten, even you're not fit to be my little sister's disciple."
She thought he was going to say that she's not fit to be the little sister's master but... disciple?
"Isn't that a bit ridiculous?"
She muttered. This made Elihim looked at her and asked.
"What age do you think I am?"
"I have no idea because you have that appearance. But since the world of Imagis should be wider than what I know of, maybe you're at the age of two hundred something? I don't know any technique how to live longer or change your appearance but just because I don't know any that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, right?"
Hresha smiled, thinking that her guess must be pretty near the truth.
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier?"
"Huh...?"
"I said that I'm only eight."
"..." Hresha slowly tilted her head, waiting for the punchline even though she knew that Elihim wasn't the type to joke.
Elihim's silence responded which made her stammer.
"Eh... b-but... when you said that earlier... isn't that just a figure of speech? That even eight-year-olds can defeat a Death Dweller..." she then realized that even as a figure of speech, that doesn't make any sense.
"No, that's not a figure of speech."
"No way..." Hresha was still waiting for the long-awaited punchline but...
"No way! You're just eight?!"
Elihim no longer replied to her. Hresha sped up and encircled him.
"So this is not just morphing your body? I mean, in theory, you can morph your body. No, even practical transformation can be done, it's just hard to turn it into something usable since our body is already a product of long-cultivated evolution."
She began to mutter to herself, she was still waiting for Elihim to say that one of her reasonings is actually correct and that he found a new way to regain youth.
"No matter what you say, I'm still just eight years old."
"... what are you?"