Emily was incredibly quiet after hearing Flora's side of Ethan's past. She could feel how much it affected this woman mentally, but something didn't make sense about her story.
Why would Flora say that Silver Field was almost like the organization Ethan and she escaped from? Isn't it like sending your comrade back to prison?
"What did you mean when you said Silver Field was like the organization?" Hadrian asked. Emily's ears were ready to listen.
"They both collect reincarnated heroes and train them; the only difference is that Silver Field trains the reincarnated heroes to do good, and the organization takes the reincarnated heroes when they are children and brainwashes them, making them a part of their army," Flora explained.
"I'm glad they decided to send Hadrian to Silver Field, or else he might have been forced to be a part of this army," Flora said in relief. "But now that I think of it, if they managed to kidnap Ethan and he managed to get away without meeting the Master, it means that she doesn't have any use for you for the time being."
"What?" Emily said, and Ethan nodded, agreeing with her.
"If they wanted to keep me, they wouldn't have put me alone with Hadrian. It seems like the master of Hadrian's curse was in a hurry to complete whatever the Master was planning, but he was trying to run faster than his legs could let him," Ethan said coldly. "He's the stupid one."
They heard a phone ring, and Hadrian took the phone from his pocket.
'Taegen.' That was the caller.
"Ethan, this is for you," Hadrian said, handing the phone over to Ethan.
Ethan collects the phone and picks up the call. "Hello?"
"Ethan," Taegen said. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You sound like you've got a hangover."
Ethan smiled when he heard Taegen joking with him. "Taegen, I have a question. Do you remember a butterfly beastman named Flora? She was with me before I arrived at Silver Field Academy, six years ago."
"I've heard of her, but I've never met her," Taegen replies. Ethan knew Taegen was telling him the truth because Flora never mentioned meeting Taegen. Or maybe it's because he never asked. He was surprised when he heard Taegen ask. "Did you remember your past?"
"No," Ethan replies honestly. "I met Flora; she's Hadrian's manager," he said, looking at Hadrian.
"Alright," Taegen replies. "If you want to know anything about your past, you can ask her; she would tell you."
"Okay," Ethan says in reply.
"Also tell her this from all the heads of the academy."
Ethan listened to Taegen properly. "We are not going to bring you back to the academy for the time being. This fortress is about to fall, and we wouldn't be able to keep you safe here."
As Ethan was speaking on the phone. Flora asked Hadrian, "Who's Taegen?"
Hadrian didn't know who Taegen was, so he shrugged, Emily decided to answer instead. "Taegen is one of the higher-ups or heads in the Academy," she explained. "He's the only head that teaches in disguise in the school; if Ethan never told me who he was, I would think that he was a homeless hobo that somehow managed to enter the school."
"Okay, thank you for everything, Taegen," Ethan said.
"It's fine, little one," Taegen replies. "I already started the transfer application to a normal high school in the Central Realm for you, Emily, and Hadrian. There's a house in Sun City that belongs to me; it has a butler there, and it is close to the school. A driver would be picking you guys up at the house tomorrow. Your things would be transported there, so don't worry about that."
"Alright," Ethan replies.
"You start at the new school on Monday, and you will be attending there until the issue has been resolved."
"Sure thing, Taegen." With that, Ethan ended the call.
Everyone expected him to say something, but he didn't; instead, he began eating his cake.
"Don't just keep quiet after talking to Taegen!" Emily exclaimed, grabbing Ethan and shaking him around.
Flora was visibly tense; she didn't enjoy Ethan getting grabbed like that.
"Taegen said he's going to be transferring us to a high school in Sun City," Ethan said, looking away from Emily's angry face.
"What?" Emily said in horror. What is her mission?
Ethan then patted her back. "Don't worry, you still have time to do whatever it is you want," he said. "We are going to return to Silver Field until the issue has been resolved."
"Is it because of what happened?" Flora asked, worriedly.
Ethan nodded in response. "Don't worry about it, though; we are going to be living in Taegen's house in Sun City from tomorrow on."
---------------------------
"How are the preparations for the attack on Silver Field?"
The messenger bowed a bit. "It's going well, Master," he said.
"Alright then," she said, standing from her seat and walking to the opened window, It was a full moon, and she took a deep breath of fresh air.
The light coming out of the moon showed her face. She looked outside coldly. "No one should do anything until the day arrives; disobedience will no longer be tolerated, and the punishment would be far worse than death," she said strictly.
"Yes, Master," the messenger said, bowing and leaving.
She could feel the impatience of the elders and sighed. 'It's time to do my part of the plan.'
Once the gates to the Dark Realm is unlocked, the family is going to be reunited again, and he will do his duty by destroying this world.
--------------------------------
Ethan woke up to the sound of cars moving and honking again. He felt annoyed at not getting the enough sleep because of the noise and wondered how long Emily had to endure the noise before she slept, since she's been living here alone for four years now.
He looked over to Hadrian's side and saw that he was asleep. It wouldn't be wise to disturb him.
He thought of what Flora said. But there's something that doesn't make sense; she said Silver Field and the organization they were sold to were almost alike, but he has a feeling that they are nothing alike. The reason he was kidnapped was to get the Staff of Nox, and Flora knows where it is.
Even though Delphine might have used her ability to stop Flora from using it, she still remembers the location.
Surely they would have someone with telepathic abilities to penetrate her mind and get the information they need. They wouldn't need him at all. And Flora knows this as well. She's hiding something from him, and he doesn't like it.
He didn't ask any more questions because she genuinely seemed like she was about to have a mental breakdown.
With the scars on his back and left arm, he could tell that being in that organization was horrible.
He should have asked for the name of the organization as well. With Emily's connections in the underworld as a mercenary, she would have been able to find out a thing or two; this way, they would be able to bring the organization down, or at least help bring it down.
"I've used my ability a lot this past week," he muttered. He checks his nullifying gem. It's no longer purple; instead, it's getting closer to black. He might need to change it soon, and it's because he used his ability without properly meditating.
He sits in a lotus position and begins chanting the poems of nature Taegen taught him to not sleep while meditating.
This is supposed to cleanse the soul and mind and also give peace of mind.
It works quite well.
The feeling of weightlessness is truly satisfying.
Unknown to Ethan, he was actually floating. He had subconsciously activated his ability. First Rank: Gravity; this caused him to be weightless.
It wasn't until he hit his head on the ceiling that he realized what he had done.
"What the—" he said. This is the first time this has happened. He touched the ceiling and floated around for a while. He shouldn't be surprised. He can control gravity. Anti-gravity shouldn't come as a surprise.
He doesn't want to use his ability right now. He doesn't want to exhaust his nullifying crystal just yet. So he deactivates it and lands gently on the couch.
That's enough meditation. He doesn't want to be floating around while trying to meditate.
He decided to try to sleep again, but he couldn't.
He kept moving around until he fell over, startling Hadrian awake.
Hadrian rubbed his eyes as he began breathing heavily. He saw Ethan on the floor, and he frowned. "What are you doing on the floor?" he asked.
Ethan's face was flushed from embarrassment, and he replied, looking away from Hadrian. "I couldn't sleep properly, so I fell on the floor."
Hadrian laughs tiredly. "Do you want to cuddle so you can sleep?" he asked.
"What? No!" Ethan said. "I'm not a child," he said, folding his arms.
"But it might make you sleepy," Hadrian said, with a smile on his face.
Ethan was quiet for a while, and as Hadrian was about to go to sleep, he heard something moving.
He opens his eyes to see the chair Ethan was sleeping on in front of him, and the coffee table has already been moved to the former position of the couch.
Ethan pushed it a bit more forward for the two couches to meet, and he jumped on the sofa, lying down and covering himself with his blanket.
He hugs Hadrian and closes his eyes, refusing to look at Hadrian's smiling face.
Hadrian hugs Ethan and closes his eyes to sleep.