Yoshino Aruven was supposed to wake up early this morning. But the sun was already high in the when he opened his eyes. The window in his room revealed the it was almost noon.
"Damn it."
Yoshino wanted to go to the university today and follow on his lead. But he had underestimated the fatigue he had accumulated these pat few days.
Clearing a dungeon, rushing back to his hometown, stabilizing his sealed skill, preparing for a trade, visiting an in-patient, fighting against a mob, and then processing the information he received. He was ought to be exhausted.
And yeah, deflecting a lightning strike also contributed to the overall fatigue.
Yoshino decided to skip the day. There was no use crying over spilled milk. He would rather use the rest of the day to fully recover so that he would not oversleep again tomorrow.
He then checked the messages on his smartphone.
Soura had sent a message five minutes ago.
- I need your help.
- Where?
Yoshino replied immediately. But on second thought why would he only send a message if it was an emergency? He slapped his forehead and made a call.
The call connected. He felt relieved that the female lieutenant was safe for the time being. He rushed to the bus stop and traveled to the address he had received.
Acati City.
This was located northwest of Keshun. The city was considered to be the financial district of the country. High-rise buildings and skyscrapers could be seen along the streets.
This was under the jurisdiction of the Trogan Militia.
"Hey."
Alshura Soura said when she saw the young man approaching. She was sitting on a bench along the pavement. She was back to wearing her corporate attire.
"Hey?"
Yoshino greeted back. He had no time on deciding what clothes to wear. So he just opted on wearing his student uniform. But he was confused when he arrived. Where was the danger here?
"What happened?"
"Huu, I got suspended from my duties."
Soura answered. Her shoulders dropped. She seemed to have remembered how her trial went.
Yoshino wanted to show his sympathy. But he did not know what words to tell exactly. So he said,
"That's too bad."
"Indefinitely."
Soura added a single word. And yet the intensity of her situation seemed to be multiplied.
Yoshino could only reply with two words,
"I see."
"My accounts are frozen too."
"Haha, quite ironic don't you think? A fire mage getting frozen."
"…"
Yoshino wanted to lighten up the mood. But the female lieutenant pouted in return. He quickly tried to divert her attention.
"Let's go grab something to drink?"
"Hawu~"
Apparently, beverages were a better way of lightening up a mood.
***
"What are your plans now?"
Yoshino asked when they seated inside a café in the corporate city. Soura had ordered a blended mocha drink. He on the other hand, took a cup of milk.
The female lieutenant took a sip of her drink before answering,
"Maybe I should just return to my hometown? I haven't visited my place for a long time anyway."
"That sounds like a good plan."
"But I'm too embarrassed to show my face there now."
Yoshino raised an eyebrow upon hearing what she added. He then tried to pry for the reason,
"Huh? Why?"
"I promised the folks back there that I would only return once I reached Tier 4."
Yoshino tried his best not to laugh. Perhaps this was a better time to try his way with words. Thus he said,
"Then I guess you still can't go home for the next two decades."
"How dare you say that? I'll incinerate you!"
Soura snapped upon hearing those words. But then she giggled a little. After a few seconds, she said,
"Thanks for listening."
"Any time."
Yoshino smiled. After a few seconds though, his expression turned serious. He was considering a certain possibility while he was on his way here. He decided to test his hypothesis. He glanced at the female lieutenant and said,
"Say Soura, what would make you stay?"
"You're funny. But I do want to stay in the metropolis for now."
"I actually know a place where you could live for while."
"That sounds fishy. Why would you help a stranger like me?"
"Stranger? That hurts Soura. I thought we were acquaintances at the very least."
"…"
The female lieutenant moved her coral yellow pupils away. She then took a sip of her drink once more.
Yoshino took a sip on his cup as well. He then said,
"Alright. I need you to cooperate with me."
"Cooperate?"
"Yes, with Soura's help, I can succeed with what I am planning."
"!...Absolutely fishy."
Her eyes sparked with interest when she heard that he was planning on something. But for some reason she had suppressed her emotions.
Yoshino decided to reveal an information,
"Klein was captured by the Hyugans."
"Serves him right. I hope they treat him well."
"That would mean that their decision to explore Antarica is legit. They are searching for the Book of N."
"None of my concern. Why are you telling this to me?"
"Why indeed?"
"…"
The lack of concern from the female officer had made Yoshino feel troubled. Did she not say that she would hunt the officer down no matter what? Why is she uninterested now?
He tried to probe further,
"I have obtained two more leads upon reading the clue back then. If you stay close to me, you could learn them as well."
"You…"
"Don't say it out loud. Or things might get more complicated."
"… How did you figure it out?"
I didn't. You have just confessed it though.
However Yoshino would never admit this to her. Instead he answered,
"Because Soura is too gullible."
"Huu…"
The female officer felt down for real this time. Yoshino smiled and tried to uplift her spirit. He said,
"But that is not a bad thing. Or else I would not offer you a chance?"
"A chance for what exactly?"
A chance to redeem yourself.
She might have failed on what she was planning, but she still tried to nonetheless. Although Yoshino would not dare to say that out loud.
So what was he supposed to say now exactly?
He stammered as he tried to figure out the right words to say on the spot,
"Hmm… a chance to… work for me?"
"Work?"
"Yes, something like a bodyguard. You are officially suspended anyway. So you would have a lot of free time now. And if you would agree, then that would be equivalent to keeping a close eye on me."
His thoughts accelerated as he tried to persuade her. But then Soura scoffed,
"Pfft, you think you can afford to pay the salary of a Trogan lieutenant? Suspended or not?"
"Of course not. But I can offer free accommodations?"
"… That is absolutely not enough."
Wasn't she being troubled by this a while ago? How come she was rejecting it now?
Yoshino tried to offer another,
"How about the leads?"
"Thinking about it now, I could just extract them forcefully from you."
"Please don't."
Yoshino felt nervous with what she had said. He tried to raise his guard in hopes that his futile defenses could resist her incineration.
However Soura grinned playfully instead. She then said,
"Fufu, then offer me something else."
"How about my body?"
"…"
The grin had turned upside down. Fire elemental energy was beginning to rise around the area. Apparently the wrong dialogue option was selected here.
Yoshino was waving his hand in panic. He was trying to say that he was just joking. He then remembered the promised he had heard a while ago. He quickly changed the topic towards this,
"Alright. How about a chance to cultivate further? You said it yourself, you want to reach Tier 4 someday."
"Are you kidding me? You might have reached the peak of Tier 3 before, but you're just a Basic Mage now. For all I know, your method of cultivation is bound for failure."
"That hurts. But I'm not referring to me teaching you."
"Then who would?"
This seemed to have piqued her interest. She even tilted her head to wonder on what she heard.
Yoshino wanted to complain further on how she belittled his cultivation method. But he then dismissed the notion. He felt that he was just a step away into closing the deal between them. So he said,
"USB."
"The flash drive?"
"No. University of Saint Benevolent. I may have a way to get Soura admitted."
"How?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. She seemed to be unconvinced that such thing was possible.
Now that he thought about it, he began to remember the dossier that he had received from Sur Tan. Together with what he knew, he figured that Soura was perhaps a graduate of a Military Academy.
There was a high probability that she had never entered an academic university before. This might indeed be his chance.
Thus he tried to sell the offer once more,
"Hehe, I may know some people or two. Plus, Soura is already at Tier 3, the university would be more than happy to enroll you."
The female lieutenant seemed to ponder on the offer. She fell silent for a while.
Yoshino was celebrating deep in his mind. He was sure that the Trogan would accept this time.
Imagine having a powerful Tier 3 Mage protecting you while walk around the university. That would enable him waltz anywhere he wanted! Perhaps he could even slap a few faces here and there.
However,
"Then I could just apply for admission myself. Why would I need your help?"
"What? Please don't! That is the last bargaining chip I have."
"Then think of something better. Rargh!"
All of his dreams he had a while ago were beginning to crash down. Just because you chose the good dialogue options does not mean you will get a happy ending.