The long weekdays they finally ended. Ainaira decided to laze around in the morning, just trying to catch some sleep. She looked up at the ceiling with an absent-minded expression.
Oh yeah... I have to take care of that. She turned her head to the side.
An egg that 3-inch diameter perched comfortably in a small canopy hut she made. The egg was Jet black with a rough texture. Similar to a rocky mountain. The crevices seem to glow a neon purple light.
She closes her eyes momentarily before staring at her hand.
Let's see... With the Dragon essence... My abilities should be on par when I was 18...
It was rather surprising that a Dragon Essence could only raise her power that little but, she wouldn't complain. After all her power when she was 18 should be on the same level as the red-head disciple in the sorcerer's tower.
A power boost is still a power boost.
It should be about time I hold my end of the bargain.
Ainaira got off the bed and stretched her arms out. She looked out the window for a moment, taking in the peaceful atmosphere.
----
"..."
Alastair had a frown on his face. He had summoned his three remaining disciples to his office. It was obvious something was bothering him as his finger impatiently tapped the wooden desk.
He decided to look up at Maximus, "Do you have any involvement as to why the investigation for Count Bert's death had been closed?"
His master was not in a good mood, Maximus could feel his seething coldness behind those eyes. "No... I'm just as surprised..." When Alastair gets into this mood, Max can't help but feel uneasy and docile.
The Tower Supreeme Sorceror could only sigh as he crossed his arms and looked out the window. After a while, he dismissed his pupils after the discussion reached a stalemate.
----
[Time: 6:45 Am - Bontical class.]
Ainaira was sitting at her desk with a blank expression. Her mind was busy with how she executes her end of the bargain discreetly
I can't just show up and claim the Witch Tower... Plus, the current Supreme Sorcerer is Sly...
It was a rather easy task, All she had to do was become the Supreme Witch and Progress the secret organization case. The Emperor was already aware of their existence. A secret organization pulling the strings of irregular events. She had already set her goal of becoming the Supreme Witch and would also need to know about the secret organization. after all, if she wants to survive she should at least be aware of who is causing the series of calamities in the empire. She cannot also disregard changes for the future after seeing that her actions are starting to have a butterfly effect.
Except, her problem is how will she insert into the magic tower without outing herself out. The Supreme Sorcerer is strict and values honesty and she cannot avoid him if she is becoming the Supreme Witch. She thought about shooting her shot and being honest but, would they believe her?
Just as she started to get frustrated she felt a tap on her shoulder
"Hey, Lady Ainaira... Could we talk?"
That voice was so familiar yet strange. When she turned to see Max, his expression was serious and his tone was low. It was strange seeing him like this and it showed as she was speechless and confused.
Noticing her puzzled expression, Max sighed and gave him a small smile, "I have some things I want to discuss... I planned to do this secretly but... I think being upfront would be better..."
His expression fell, "It's about Count Bert."
Her eyes sharpened and her senses tensed up. her face had a look of "How did you figure out?"
She was absolutely confused and her heart raced. That was all the reaction he needed from her to know she had killed the Count.
She looks baffled. Not only she wasn't used to his serious and formal side the fact that he knew made her question her past actions. Where did I slip up? I made sure even if there were leads it would be a dead end... He isn't supposed to be this perceptive at the moment. JUST HOW!?
"I'm sure you have your reason... I can't do anything to you since Aeron will kill me But, I know you are aware that this is a serious matter. I hope you won't run away."
"No... I won't run away," She said with certainty.
She may have many fears but she won't back down if it helps her survival. Rather, opposing Max's suspicion would definitely get her killed.
"Then... after class?" he asked, his tone shifting back to a light-hearted one.
She shudders a bit at how fast he changes his mood. In the end, she nodded at him silently as she tried to not overthink while in class. it was especially bad since they were seatmates.
----
Max and Ainaira found a quiet place in the school garden. He chanted a word to put up a sound barrier so no one would hear them.
"Let's not dally," he turned and looked at her. His expression tells her that he is not going to play around.
"You killed Count Bert, right?"
She slightly frowns but nods while she tries to hide her nervousness. "yes.."
Max pauses for a moment. He was about to ask why but the whole case was also strange. Specifically her. He had many questions and it boggles him.
"You also hid that you are a Witch," He pointed out. She could only respond with her head turning away for a moment and nodding.
"Not only that...' he dragged out the silence as he took this opportunity to lift her chin and stare into her eyes. "you still have my scen-" _SMACK_
Ainaira immediately slapped him and looked at him as if he were a pervert. Her eyes wide opened while he rubbed his cheeks and hisses from the sting.
"o-okay wait.. no that sounded so wrong-" He stutters seeing her disgusted look. "H-hey! wait... err! I didn't mean it like that! I mean you smell like my Mana! My mana! not anything- ugh... YOU SMELL LIKE CARNATION!!" He is starting to feel deja vu.
That was one way to break the serious mood. Despite this, Ainaira's eyebrow raises as he tries to make excuses. Slowly, her face darkened as if it all clicked. He would know she was the culprit if her magic had a scent but, she doesn't... Unless some other magic user has their lingering smell on her. His excuses were starting to look possible.
"Your mana? what... How?" her mind reflected when he had used his magic to clean her clothes and heal her wounds. However, the scent should only last on how long the spell lasted. It doesn't answer why the smell is still on her.
"Huh, you dont know?" He asked, also surprised. They both stare into each other in silence feeling baffled and quite stunned. Neither of them expected that the other had no clue why.
The silence went on for 3 minutes.
.
.
.
"You seriously dont know?" Max looks in disbelief.
"How would I know?! If I knew I would've done something to cover up the scent!" She looked at him with a tone of disbelief, "And, shouldn't you know?? It's your scent lingering on me!"
Max frowned and pouted, "Okay, fair point... But, I seriously do not know why you smell like my mana."
Ainaira's mind started to race. How many magic users can perceive mana scent?? Who knows? She started to overthink. In this period, the Supreme Sorcerer and Maximus should be the only ones to have enough sensitivity to smell mana. Her face turns white when she realizes that the Supreme Sorcerer will know her crimes the moment he meets her... Not only that
Maximus would've been questioned by him, which she did not think wrong. It seems like Max caught on to her expression. It was rather obvious with her eyes shaking and her face sweating.
He sighed, "Master doesn't know"
Those words rang in her mind and snapped her out of her panicked trance. "huh?"
"I didn't tell him"
She frowned. She felt like she was getting more questions than answers. The behavior of the man in front of her confuses her. "Why? Why risk the Supreme Sorcerer's trust?"
"Do you seriously want to know?" He asked snarky, his brows creasing in a cocky way. She shot him an unamused expression that said "Spill it"
"I just wanted to play a bit and see how much more interesting you could get!" smiling, he gave her a very egotistical expression. She doesn't know why he is looking at her like that as if she should be impressed. Should she clap? She doesn't know. She kinda wants to just be sarcastic.
She held the urge in though.
"..."
"Please, say something" he pleaded. He felt like he was talking to Aeron. It would make sense since they're twins. She ignored him just as her brother would.
Just as things needed to be discussed the bell rang, indicating the time for the next class. They both sighed and felt unsatisfied.
"Let's continue this talk later" Maximus gave her a small smile.
"After Weaponry class. I'm free by then" She said before she quickly walked away to her next lesson.