Zara's hand balled into a fist and her eyebrows trembled. She shut her eyes and rested her head on the chair while contemplating. Suddenly, she abruptly opened them after coming to a decision.
"I think he's not a spy. No spy shows off their power as bold as he does," Zara said and peered into Avery's eyes.
Avery bent her head and sighed weakly, before returning her gaze to Zara and said, "That was the most logical method of spotting a spy until the incident in the Phoenix Kingdom. Don't tell me you've forgotten."
Her words made Zara bend her head in deep thinking. She couldn't forget the incident that nearly destroyed the military of the Phoenix Kingdom.
A fifteen-year-old girl joined the military and performed astonishingly well. She was among the top three in every military test. Her high intelligence, battle prowess, and mana affinity drew the attention of the Queen of the Kingdom.
No kingdom allows a person with a suspicious background to wield sufficient power that control the military and nobles. So the Phoenix Kingdom performed various tests on the girl to verify her background, and they discovered she was clean. They also believed it because no spy revealed themselves so brazen as the girl.
Twenty years later, when the girl reached a high-power rank that is privileged to view sensitive information and control a military legion, she struck the Kingdom. A rebellion that was fueled by the Tower Empire began. The rebellion made the Phoenix Kingdom lose most of its generals and powerful mages. When the Phoenix Kingdom couldn't control the rebels, they had to seek help from the Dragon Empire to quell the rebellion. Luckily, one of her generals betrayed her.
They caught the person behind the rebellion and were surprised that it was the girl, whom even the Queen of the Kingdom favored. After much torture, they discovered that she was a spy from the Tower Empire. During the series of tests previously organized to verify her background, she used a potion that caused her temporary amnesia on herself, to *scale through* the tests. They also discovered that her outperformance, overzealousness, and staying in the spotlight was a way of concealing her true motive.
After the recollection, Zara raised her head once more and said with steady and determined eyes, "Fine. I will be responsible for him."
Avery was left speechless by Zara's response, opening and closing her mouth several times without uttering a word.
Avery sighed weakly and gave in. "You are responsible for him. If he's a spy, you kill him on the spot. However, if he managed to fool you and cause massive destruction to the empire, you should know the punishment you will face. Do you still want to be responsible?"
Avery's words made Zara tremble. Of course, she knew the terrible punishment she would face. Assuming the empire shows mercy, she will lose everything she has: wealth, power, status, and properties. Worst of all, she might be treated and punished as a spy, which could mean imprisonment, torture, or even execution.
"Yes!" She replied after much deliberation.
'I just pray he doesn't make it past the first test,' Avery thought after seeing the determined eyes of Zara.
***
Meanwhile, Blaze was sitting cross-legged on a big branch inside the tree that covered his house, while absorbing mana.
Suddenly, his eyes opened as he stared at the sky. He saw Zara floating above the tree. She landed slowly and lithely like a graceful fairy, her white gown billowing in the wind and her black hair fluttering behind her. The scent of blooming flowers trailed after her, and the soft rustle of leaves followed her descent.
"You haven't slept yet?" Zara asked with her mouth and eyes slightly dilated.
Blaze's eyes glinted in the moonlight as he stared at her. "I couldn't sleep," he said calmly.
Zara's jaw dropped in surprise. "Wow! Don't you change your robe?" she gasped.
Blaze shrugged, his shoulders hunched. "I can't go out of the school. Besides, I'm short of money," he replied patiently, before peering at her curiously. "What are you doing here?"
"I brought ointment for the blisters and bruises you sustained during the fight." Zara passed him a bottle that contained green liquid.
"Thanks." Blaze didn't act courteously and collected the bottle.
Zara sat down on the branch and began swinging her legs.
"So, which part of the forest did you live in?" She asked Blaze casually.
"Deep in the forest behind this school. I just found out it's called the Northern Green Forest."
Zara nodded in approval before asking, "So, where did you learn your skills from?"
"I stayed with a hunter when I was a kid. He took me to hunt. That's where I saw how he hunted animals." Blaze stared at Zara in the eyes while narrating his experience as an agent but tweaked the story a little. He replaced the word 'human' with 'animal', and 'mission' with 'hunt'. The settings weren't spared either. He continued, "One day, he never returned. After starving for two days, I had to hunt on my own. I could only set traps for small animals. Going up against big animals was an impossible feat with my meager strength and small frame. I'm no Samson. After all, I was just some months past eight years. So, I had to resort to setting traps for small prey. I remember the smell of the damp earth as I dug the traps, and the sound of twigs snapping as animals fell into them.
"However, after I got bored with hunting small animals, the idea of hunting bigger animal crossed my mind. So, I devised my hunting technique to slay powerful animals. I started drawing various powerful animals and spotting their possible weak points. I spent hours poring over sketches of animals, trying to identify their vulnerable spots. For example, the places where important vessels in the body pass, the approximate location of their delicate organs, the spot of their weakest defense, and many more."
Zara asked and locked her gaze with Blaze. "What else?"
"I used the technique in actual battle, but it wasn't as effective as predicted," Blaze said solemnly. "In theory, it's their weak spot, but in a heated battle, accurately hitting that spot turned out to be difficult. Without any choice, I began honing the skill from the level of a novice until it became instinct."
"Oh! So what about humans? You drew humans too?" Zara asked and steadied her gaze on Blaze to pick any subtle reaction. She would rather not protect him foolishly. If he's a spy, she will kill him herself, even though he looks like that person.
Blaze nodded calmly as he gazed into the distance, lost in thought. "When I started coming in contact with various people in the forest region," he began, "I quickly realized that my simple hunting technique was useless against these creatures. They were more powerful than me, and my blade skill was only slightly more effective. So, I had to analyze their body parts and vulnerable spots, looking for any weakness I could exploit. That's how I managed to survive."
"I would like to go and see your previous settlement in the forest after the first test," Zara said abruptly and peered through the leaves of the tree as she stared at the half-moon. However, Blaze noticed her peeking at him from the corner of her eyes.
"I have no problem taking you there," Blaze said naturally without revealing any abnormal reaction. He knew she asked abruptly to see his reaction. If he wasn't trained, maybe he would have reacted a little.
Both of them maintained their silence before Zara unfurled a scroll and passed it to Blaze. The darkness shrouded the scroll's contents, making it impossible for Blaze to discern its message.
Zara extended her hand, and with a flick of her wrist, a ball of fire erupted from her palm, illuminating the surrounding area. The warm glow of the fire cast flickering shadows on the trees, revealing the intricate details of the scroll's contents.
"Do you know him?" Zara asked and stared at Blaze with narrow eyes.
Blaze looked at the picture with indifference at first, but as his eyes scanned the details of the drawing, his body abruptly jolted with his eyes contracting in shock.