'That's an ambiguous question.' Tenji replies with a frown.
"He's come for some spying and information collection." Asahi cut in with a scoff.
Bam!
Rumi knocked the head of Asahi in irritation, she wasn't going to let him interrupt her one chance at understanding Tenji.
Tenji let out a chuckle at the action, feeling the tension reduce drastically. "Could you spare him a break? Any more and his head would be split in two."
"How the heck do you think my head would be split by a mere–"
Asahi's breath hitched when he heard Rumi punch on her left palm and her blue eyes gleaming with a cold glow.
'Alright, I would stand and watch silently.' Asahi grumbled in his thoughts and pulled his facial muscles for a ruse smile.
"Perhaps the headmistress is also interested in you?" Rumi pried further to get his reaction.
'No reaction. Was I overthinking these two?' Rumi had her eyes narrowed at Tenji.
Letting out a sigh, Tenji decided to stir the conversation away from the initial ones, "if you are so curious, how about you accept what I have to offer in the long run? I'm sure this would be a pleasant and partly dangerous experience for us all."
Asahi itched to counter Tenji's words with his logic but couldn't, not with Rumi being present.
"Dangerous...?!" Rumi cut in with a yell.
Tenji grimaced and closed both ears with his hands, "you shouldn't have been that loud, I never mentioned death."
Rumi did a double take on his words and involuntarily coughed out to express her discomfort.
"I would make sure you aren't killed, but I can't promise you might not encounter hurdles in the process. All I want you two to know is that I would be there to share in the woes and pull you all out."
'Very soothing to the soul.' Asahi sarcastically thought and rolled his eyes.
"You had made mention of 'grooming every single one...' does it have anything to do with why you're in our academy?" Rumi raised the question and had her attention on him.
Tenji's eyes traced the anet white decorative styrofoam ceiling tiles while giving her question a thought.
"An academy is the perfect place to find hidden talents–those who especially need special training to excel to great heights..." He paused and brought his gaze to Rumi then switched to Asahi and back again to Rumi.
"I have conducted my research on most students that had joined and gauged grade progress, abilities, and usage. That is partly why I chose Erīto." Tenji replied with a nod for emphasis.
Rumi narrowed her eyes as she countered, "is headmistress Maiyu the other reason?"
'What the fuck are you asking?! Yet you dare hit me for my innocent question.' Asahi panicked as he witnessed Tenji's mood darkened, his face obscured by the dark shadow cast with his head hung in thought.
"Rumi, how about we skip that, it must be something personal." Asahi tried to play it off in a whisper.
"It's not like we can get a demerit outside academy grounds!" Rumi snickered in mischief and to the horror of Asahi.
'Now isn't the time to speak about the journal nor my relationship with Maiyu.' Tenji reminded himself and calmed his troubled thoughts.
Raising his head, he had been successful in dousing his dark thoughts long enough to force a smile in its stead.
"If it weren't for her, my application wouldn't have been processed, am I right?" Tenji replied vaguely.
Asahi nodded his head to the response.
Rumi on the other hand didn't believe that sort of response. 'He's hiding something, but what?'
"I was specially chosen because of my unique ability which you might know in the long run, although I wish you never do. Instead, I have tried to limit myself so I am not overwhelmed by another side of me." He wiped down his face.
"This is why I need to recruit several others to aid in my task," Tenji spoke out of the blue, relieved he could share cryptic information about himself.
'The side of me that very few have witnessed and lived to tell.' He looked down in despair, suddenly guilt-ridden by his past uncontrolled actions.
"So we are more like helpers to your great plan." Asahi spoke up, unable to keep shut anymore.
"Helpers are considered inferior to their master, instead I consider those who work with me and not for me as 'my partners'." Tenji corrected while making an emphasis on it twice.
Asahi's lips drew into a thin line, nodding his head in understanding as he looked to Rumi to continue whatever questions she might ask before he made a fool of himself.
"What's so special about the Artiquem? Why does it glow with a similar pattern to those of an archmagus?" Rumi questioned with a smirk on her face.
She hoped to get a hint on his rank if he wouldn't respond plainly to his relationship with their headmistress.
'Trick question, huh?' Tenji's mood was uplifted as he thought of the main motive.
Feeling the need to leave them hanging, he decided to share a vague answer to his grade score.
"An archmagus grade is a joke to me, let's just say the only rank I admire is our sorcerer supreme's grand grade score." He spoke out with a laugh.
Asahi and Rumi's mouths gaped open at the revelation.
"B-But an archmagus had made a breakthrough more than 20 times and they had over a century to achieve that, how..." Rumi shook her head in denial, unable to voice out her concern on the subject.
'That would explain that frightening boost in my grade.' Asahi sweatdropped and covered his nervousness with a chuckle.
His trainer at home was an archmagus and he knew the strength he possessed with his rank, he could rightly testify to the difference he had felt in their presence.
'But how is it possible to hide one's grade score?' He rubbed his chin in deep thoughts but chose to stay silent.
"Let's put aside the questions, for now, it would be rightly addressed once I can gain your trust and vice versa." Tenji smiled and nodded towards Artiquem.
Rumi nodded her head, exhaling as she prepared herself for what she would experience.
The Artiquem's body once again outlined itself with a green glow. A familiar strong, emerald stream of particles flowed from the Artiquem to Rumi and circled her before a bit of it broke off into hovering triangles circled by another ring of streamed particles.
"Shall we begin?" Tenji inquired with a smirk.
*****
A/N
I would really appreciate your comments and support of this novel with your power stones. Your active comments would motivate me to write more chapters.
Please join my discord server for character references, spoiler discission and a chance to suggest your personal characters (for top 5 fan contributors only). Link ┐
https://discord.gg/WfpwFGrcsN
¶ What do you think on the mystery on Tenji?
¶ What path do you think he will choose?