***
In the academy's training grounds.
In the 80-meter-long private training room, near the room's entrance was a tablet with numerous illusion, temperature, and gravity settings. Many different types of weapons, including swords, spears, axes, hammers, bows, and gauntlets, were arranged next to the tablet.
Vinny and Katline stood in front of each other, while Jiwoo stood in the corner, giving them some space to talk. Vinny told her about his regression and proposed to her.
Katline stood cross-armed, irritated, her feet tapping on the ground incessantly.
".... So, you called me here to propose me with a fairy-tale like bullsh*t?" Katline asked Vinny with a pissed off face.
"... Its not bull..." Vinny attempted to justify himself, but Katline raised her hand and gestured for him to stop speaking for a moment.
"..... Hmm... I guess its believable if you consider the impossible possibilities." Katline said.
"..." Vinny stood silently.
'That explains a lot of the different feelings I had when I was near him and didn't know what to call them.... But to think I married someone.' She reasoned about her conflicting emotions.
"...So, what? Do you want me jump into your arms and kiss you?" Katline asked with a mischievous grin.
"Yea, but not yet." Vinny said with 'I know you' face.
"... Well, make me fall for you again then." She said as her grin widened.
"Yea? Sure." Vinny said without hesitation and waved at Jiwoo.
"Done?" Jiwoo asked while walking towards them.
".... Do you believe him?" Katline asked, her brow furrowed at Jiwoo, observing every detail of his face
"..... Yea, I know everything... But without me in it, and I believe him because he has no reason to lie, and even if he does, I have nothing to lose..." Jiwoo answered promptly with a nod.
".... And, I'm certain that Eshwar knows about you guys more than.... Yourselves!" Jiwoo said, looking straight in their eyes.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Vinny asked.
"...." Katline had the same question but didn't ask it; instead, she messaged Eshwar and called him from there.
'I don't know why but Sir Eshwar gives off a fatherly feel whenever our eyes meet. Like a father who genuinely cares for...' Katline thought.
*
"I'm pretty sure she ... me....." A muffled voice could be heard outside the private training room.
"..... Why th... gh?" another muffled voice was heard.
"It seems Sir Eshwar is here..." Katline said and walked towards the door.
She opened the door and saw that Eshwar was not alone; he had brought Isha with him. Eshwar wore a baggy black t-shirt and black shorts, with his left hand in the shorts pocket, with a cigar in his mouth and unkempt hair.
Isha's eyes were red, as if she had just stopped crying, but she was brightly smiling as she walked next to Eshwar, who was smoking without regard for his surroundings.
'I haven't seen sister Isha smile so genuinely until today....' Katline thought.
"Sir! Here." Katline called out while waving her hand above her head.
"... Hmm. What's wrong?" Eshwar asked while walking lazily.
PUFF
'..... He has his own charm, but I had no idea he smokes.' Katline thought without any sense of shame or feelings.
".... It's a bit crazy but important situation." Katline said with a smile.
"Is that so..." Eshwar nodded and walked towards her. She walked into the room, leaving the door open, and stood next to Vinny and Jiwoo, observing Eshwar's expressions.
".... You guys are here too?" Eshwar asked, noticing Vinny and Jiwoo standing next to each other.
PUFF
".... Well, I think, I get the gist of it... You told her about it, didn't you?" Eshwar asked, furrowed his brows at Vinny.
'So, it was true that Sir Eshwar knows about it...' Katline confirmed.
"About what?" Isha asked while looking at Eshwar with a puzzled expression.
".... Haaa, what a headache. This almost as f**ked up as the system..." Eshwar shook his head and removed his cigar from his mouth, holding it in his right hand.
CLUNK
With a wave of his hand, Eshwar closed the door behind him, and a table and four chairs materialised in front of them. They recognized the gesture and took a seat.
"For you?" Vinny asked noticing there was no seat for him.
"....." Eshwar approached them, sat in mid-air, crossed his legs, and placed the cigar back in his mouth, appearing to make himself comfortable.
PUFF
".... Now, speak." He spoke in low tone, creating a cold atmosphere in the room.
"... V-vinny revealed everything about his regression and proposed to Katline...." Jiwoo spoke up after gulping down loudly.
".... He just can't keep a secret, can he?" Eshwar spoke in a cold tone, causing the temperature to drop.
'Wow... Now that's what setting an atmosphere looks like..' Katline thought.
PUFF
"... Well, I'm the one to blame anyway...." Eshwar mumbled in a low tone that everyone could hear.
".... What do you mean?" Vinny asked, his brow furrowed at Eshwar, who had his eyes closed. Katline had the same question, but Vinny asked it first.
"... Nothing, unlike a certain someone, I prefer to keep a secret if I know it will cause more harm than good." Eshwar answered making it clear that he will not speak about what he just said.
'Yea, I would have probably preferred not hearing, but I like it that he's at least honest... and..' her train of thoughts was stopped by Eshwar's voice.
PUFF
"..... Anyway, Katline. I want you to live a life like I love to live mine, I'm selfish. I only care about myself and what's mine..... I only give a f**k if it involves me.... I want you to get stronger to protect yourself from anything Vinny has mentioned... And not to make stupid decisions about yourself." Eshwar said with his eyes closed and Katline imprinted everything into her mind.
"I have two images of you in my mind; if you want, I can show you how you looked." Eshwar said, his left eye open, as he looked at Katline.
'!'
".... Can I?" Katline asked, a bit scared about looking her future, almost broken self.
'I realized from Vinny's words that I was certainly broken inside....' she thought.
"1st one is my imagination and 2nd one is you." Eshwar said.
He waved his hand, and a beastly woman's figure materialised in front of them, wearing a sleeveless shirt and pants, with many sword scars on her arms and a small cut near her lift cheek, her right-side face was covered with her short shoulder length hair covering the burn below them, her eyes were filled with regret and contempt, and she looked like she was in the middle of a battlefield, holding a bow as big as her in her left hand.
'This... fits perfectly of what Vinny just described but the face is.... giving off a 'not me' feeling to me...' she thought.
Eshwar waved his hand once more, and another figure appeared in front of her. It was the same figure, but her eyes were filled with a bit of regret rather than contempt.
'This looks like me from Vinny's story...' she thought.
"Thank you, Eshwar." She gave a deep bow, realizing why Eshwar said what he said before and imprinting his words in her mind while fuelling her desire to become stronger.
".... So, what's up?" Jiwoo asked, deciding to lighten the gloomy mood by pointing to Isha and Eshwar with a wide grin.
"Yea, you guys dating yet?" Vinny asked without any tact.
'God, I think I'll have to teach him some tact, if I marry him again....' she blushed a bit at that thought.
"Ahak, ahem... Kuhum... What the f**k?" Eshwar choked on the smoke of the cigar and mumbled in disbelief while Isha blushed.
".... Not yet." Eshwar said in a low tone.
"Eh?" Isha looked at Eshwar in disbelief before lowering her head in embarrassment.