"Thank you."
Orion continued to bow to Neoma as he was thanking him.
'Jeez… He's bowing to me as if I am some king which he is greeting.'
The human sighed inwardly as he shook his head.
"There really is no need to thank me. Now stop bowing… It's very weird seeing you like that. Quite out of character."
Maybe it was because he was exhausted and very sleepy, Neoma couldn't really control his thoughts, but his tongue most importantly.
"Hm?"
Orion couldn't help but look at Neoma with a confused expression on his face.
'How does he know that this is out of character for me…'
He wondered as he continued on observing the strange human in his bed.
Neoma's eyes widened upon realising what he had just said.
'I'm done for!'
He laughed nervously.
"What I meant by out of character for you is… Well, you just don't seem like a person who would do that! Yes, that's it! You know… you look quite stubborn and like a true fighter. Of course, this only comes from me sparring with you once and seeing you a couple of times."
Neoma quickly explained to him, hoping that Orion will not take it all to heart and overthink something that he just foolishly said without thinking.
"I see… I guess it does make sense."
The red haired elf decided to just let it go. After a few seconds of awkwardly silence, he spoke up once again.
"I also came here because I wanted to ask… Would you like to be my training partner? I would love to learn how to fight against such an unknown power, but I would also teach you. You could gain more experience as well… I am sure that your mentor is great, but it would be beneficial for you to learn how to deal with a person who can wield the earth element."
'Is he… Did I really even transmigrate into "The Elven Hero"?! Why is he so friendly to me!? Shouldn't he be hating on humans like his father?'
Neoma began to panic internally once again. Orion's personality, which in his opinion was different, was throwing him off completely.
'And train with him? Wouldn't that mark my death? He'd get to learn about my powers, get used to them, and then kill me on Fachnan's orders! I am sure that this is some scheme that evil man came up with!'
Seeing Neoma's neutral expression beginning to change and noticing the doubt in his eyes, Orion quickly spoke up once again. Since he had already brought this up, he figured he could fight a bit more.
"I'm not asking so I could receive The Killing Gale's teachings… Nor did my father ask me to come to you. This is purely my own decision and wish. I could swear on my life that I'm not doing this to harm you."
The red haired elf explained as a small sigh escaped past his lips.
Neoma looked the cadet up and down, still doubting his words. After all, he was still a villain, even if he was a minor one, in the story. He couldn't just blindly put his trust into him.
After a few more seconds of silence, the human replied.
"... This isn't just up to me to decide. I first have to discuss it with Ju– my mentor."
He quickly corrected himself, not wanting to call his instructor by his name in front of Orion.
"But… Before that, you have to swear that you will not harm me and that this whole training buddies thing isn't a scheme created by your father to hurt me in some way."
Neoma answered, putting a condition to this little partnership. Orion didn't oppose it as he nodded his head up and down in agreement.
"That works for me. No complaints for me. Let's make the promise."
After hearing the elf's words, Neoma slowly climbed out of the bed and stood in front of the cadet.
'I suppose this could be handy for me… Orion is strong and has a lot of potential to become powerful. By becoming training buddies, maybe I could slowly convince him to be on my side and not his father's… It's always good to have some connections and allies. Plus, he's just a minor villain. He wasn't a major character in the story, so it'll be fine.
'And he does have a point about the earth element. Reading about it isn't the same as dealing with it on the battlefield. Either way, this isn't the main reason why I am agreeing to this training buddy thing. I must bring him on my side.'
With these thoughts, Neoma extended his hand out, holding it vertically in front of Orion. The cadet gently held his hand while placing his other on his chest. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a golden glowing string wrapped around both of their hands appeared.
"I, Orion Karim, swear on my life that us, Neoma and I, becoming training buddies is not for the purpose of me harming Neoma. My father also has no idea about this. I promise I will not do any harm to Neoma."
Just as the elf finished speaking, the golden string disappeared from their hands.
This was a common way elves made promises to each other. Since they didn't worship any gods, they used this kind of method. It wasn't as serious as the oaths you make under the gazes of gods. However, if not kept, this could deal tremendous damage.
This type of promise wouldn't be able to kill anyone. However, the foundations of magic in the person's body would be broken. They wouldn't be able to use magic anymore and they would be in a lot of pain each time they even took a breath in.
'Woah… He actually did it. And the way he worded his sentences… You can't just easily find a loophole. I suppose he actually doesn't have any ulterior motives.'
Just as Neoma was about to speak up, Orion's cheeks flushed red. His eyes had wandered down from his face to his chest and lower. Before the human could say anything, Orion let go of his hand and quickly looked away from him, even turning around.
"I– I must go!"
The elf exclaimed as he ran out of the bedroom, slamming the door on his way out as he felt his cheeks burning up.
'Huh? What's his problem?'
Neoma wondered as he watched the cadet run out. He then remembered how Orion's eyes had travelled down his body, so he looked down himself. Just then he remembered how see-through his white pyjamas were. He could still see his chest and the outline of his entire body.
'I guess that's why he ran away…'
The human did feel slightly embarrassed about it, but after changing his clothes and even showering with his track and field teammates back on Earth, he was quite used to others seeing his body.
Without thinking about it any more longer, he laid down in his bed and quickly fell asleep as he fantasised about eating one his favourite meals – pizza.
'Ugh, why can't they have any pizza here in Airi?'
He grumbled inwardly as he dozed off.
...
19th of Junious, 1503
Current time: 08:46:32
"Sir, Orion last night visited me… He apologised about this whole situation."
Neoma spoke as he stood on the private training grounds with his mentor.
"Hmm… I see. That's quite out of character for him. Either way, it's good that he apologised."
Juno spoke as he looked down at his human, giving his honest opinion.
'That's what I thought too!'
Neoma exclaimed inwardly; however, his mentor's next words shocked him.
"But it's not so surprising."
The dark haired elf added.
'Huh?'
Neoma looked at him with a blank expression on his face.
"What do you mean by that?"
He couldn't help but ask out of curiosity. Juno didn't mind explaining his thoughts to his student.
"Orion is quite a stubborn elf, but in my opinion he is righteous and will always seek justice... He would be a great Administrator of Justice. The position would fit his character, unlike his father's."
The dark haired elf sighed as spoke while Neoma continued to look at him blankly.
'HUH!? Since when was he righteous?!'
He was shocked and confused. Juno seemed like he could sense the doubts that the human had.
"Orion really is a great cadet in my opinion. However, his father has a strong influence on him. If not for Fachnan, I'm sure he wouldn't have even talked behind the king's back."
'Hmm… He does have a point. I guess I just don't know that much about Orion. He was a minor character and I didn't pay much attention to him.'
Neoma slowly nodded in agreement with his mentor's words.
"Ah! Right! Orion asked whether we can become training buddies. Personally, I don't mind. No. I would actually even prefer it. He made a promise that he won't harm me and that his father isn't involved in this… But I still want to get your approval, sir."
He explained to Juno. After a few seconds of silence, the dark haired elf nodded.
"Alright. I don't see why not then."