'No way. How could this be? Ms. Siena, the symbol of integrity, is…?"
The shock was great as they trusted her character.
Nade tried hard to think positively.
'Yeah, no. This will benefit us. We can save our research group with this. We have an excuse to make a deal…'
Then, they heard Siena's voice.
"Not wearing it today?"
"I just have this feeling. Raise your lower back a little more."
"Like this?"
"Yes. And your legs slightly this way. Yes, that's good."
Shirone and his friends' faces flushed red.
It was common knowledge that adults expressed their affection… This way. But this was an affair.
'I can't let this be.'
Nade bit his lips, and when he turned back to look at his friends, they nodded their heads as if to agree.
"Then I'll begin."
As soon as they heard the male's voice, Nade, whose eyes were on fire, turned the doorknob and barged through.
"Ms. Siena! We're so disappointed!"
Shirone and Yiruki followed behind, with one of each eye shut closed.
There was silence.
Shirone slowly turned his head and looked, beginning with the corner of the room, and he was surprised to see what he saw.
"Eh?"
He saw Siena sitting upright on the bed, while a large canvas was standing on the other side.
"Huh? HUUUH???"
Shirone's companions could only open and close their mouths repeatedly.
The same thought crossed their minds.
'We're in deep shit now.'
They weren't the only ones surprised.
"What? How did you guys…?"
Nothing could be more embarrassing than running into your students while in a personal situation.
"Don't tell me… You guys followed me?"
"Yes? No, that's not… Well, what happened was we were just sitting in the park, you know? Then you passed by us real suddenly. So…"
"That means you did tail me!!!"
"EEEEK! I'm sorry!"
Shirone and his partners in crime closed their eyes tightly.
Knowing Siena's personality, things wouldn't end with just a harsh scolding.
However, contrary to their expectations, no burning meteors or snow the size of baseballs fell on them.
When the three slowly opened their eyes, they saw Siena lost in thought.
'How did they follow me?'
She had kept her guard up to the fullest on her way here.
She had not entered the Spirit Zone, but her ability to perceive was not sloppy enough not to catch a few students shadowing her.
She was sure that the answers she was looking for would be behind the students.
"What are you hiding? Give it here."
Nade had a fearful look on his face and violently shook his head.
But with one murderous look from Siena, Nade quickly held out the cloak he was hiding with an expression as if someone had kicked his puppy.
Though, his wit remained until the very end, so he didn't forget to turn the cloak inside-out.
"What is this?"
She saw a dirty cloak and wrinkled her face. But soon after, she saw what it truly was.
This was because the arm holding the cloak seemed to disappear the moment she turned the cloak right-side out.
When she wrapped it around her waist like a skirt, her lower body disappeared.
"Invisibility cloak?"
Siena finally realized the whole story and glared at Nade as if she wanted to swallow him whole.
"Nade, is this also one of the items you patented?"
"Yes."
"And you really made it yourself?"
"B-But I didn't put it out on the black market! I have a conscience!"
"Haaah…"
The students flinched the moment Siena sighed.
However, she no longer nagged at them.
Considering she was a Grade 6 mage, she blamed her own lack of skill for not catching on.
"If you knew you were going to get caught, why did you come inside this room? And what did you mean by 'disappointed?'"
Shirone said with a slight tremble in his voice.
"At first, we tailed you for fun, but when we saw you hugging a man, we followed you in. And the conversation led to what we believed was an affair, so we just…"
"What? An affair?"
Siena's face turned red.
They had never seen her so flustered
"What do you mean 'affair'! Me? An affair?! How could you have such a thought?!"
Nade snapped back.
"How could we not! Each word of that conversation was very suspicious! And who is he, anyway?"
Nade pointed to the man who was still hidden behind the canvas.
The chair the mysterious man sat on made a squeak.
"Are you talking about me?"
A voice warm enough to soften a heart was heard.
A moment later, his face was revealed. The three mischievous students froze.
He was a handsome man in his late 20s. He had long blond hair that stretched down to his waist.
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But what really surprised them was not his looks, it was the worn-out cloth wrapped around his eyes.
'This person…'
He was a blind artist.
As soon as Shirone realized that, the Mourning Sensation that was being a bother hit him with great intensity.
'Heuk!!'
His hairs were raised to their ends, and his bones felt like they were freezing all over.
When he clasped his hand that was shaking by the wrist, Nade thought Shirone was scared, so he just patted Shirone on the back.
"Don't worry too much. She won't kill us. I'll take the responsibility."
"Eh? No, that's not it…"
Shirone gradually regained a relaxed expression.
It was an extreme chill that could not be compared to the usual that he experienced, but it also disappeared really quickly.
"Siena, please stop and forgive them. I don't know the circumstances, but it looks like they are your students."
"What are you saying? That makes me want to forgive them less. The tailing I can let go, but they broke into someone else's house. Gosh, they only know bad things."
The man smiled kindly.
"But they're your students. Their teacher was inside, so they must've thought it would be okay if they got caught."
It was as if he had read Nade's mind.
"That's right. That's really why we did it. Shirone doesn't lie, so you can ask him. We would never have broken in if it was a stranger's house. It's not like we're petty thieves."
Shirone also nodded his head.
"Yes. Nade really told me that. That's definitely what he said."
Siena held her head with troubled thoughts.
They probably weren't lying, but she almost found those big, innocent eyes giving her the look despicable.
'They even used an invisibility cloak to tail me? They are very shrewd indeed…'
Despite the situation, the man only smiled.
More than anything else, he was happy to meet with Siena's students.
"I am Armin. Siena and I are like brother and sister. I studied at the Olifer Academy."
Nade grasped tightly onto the hand Armin put out.
"Aha, I see. I'm sorry for our brainless misunderstanding. And I'm also sorry for visiting without any notice."
Siena exclaimed.
"What 'visit'?! It's a break-in!"
"Hehe. That's why I'm apologizing. To be honest, I feel happy that the misunderstanding about you has been resolved."
Siena placed her hands on her hips and snorted
"First, have a seat and continue your conversation. I'll prepare tea."
Armin caught on quickly and left the room.
He surprised Shirone's group again when he walked out of the door with a precise gait even though he couldn't see.
"Ms. Siena, who in the world is that? Are you guys really just brother and sister?"
"Brother Armin is an alumnus. He was also the greatest talent in the history of the Olifer Academy. Though as you can see, he is an artist now."
"He sounds like an incredible person. I'm not sure if I can ask you this, but what happened to his eyes…?"
Siena's face darkened.
Nade felt he had asked an unnecessary question.
Fortunately, however, her expression soon relaxed and she spoke calmly.
"To save me. That is why he lost his eyes."
" To save you?"
"At the age of nine, I experienced Overflow. I was studying the theory of energy absorption when one day, I received an enlightenment that can't be put into words."
Siena gave a bitter, tight-lipped smile.
"The person to save me was Brother Armin. He used to say to me 'Don't turn away from your fears. Turning your head away from it won't change anything. Do you know how old he was back then? He was 11 years old, just two years older than me."
Saving Siena from Overflow at that young age was an indication of how talented he was.
"Did you overcome Overflow with Mr. Armin's help?"
"No. I was not that strong of a child. I was a proud little kid who received special treatment just because she was born into the Olifer family. At the time, I didn't like my brother because he always habitually said to face fear head-on. I didn't want to do that. It was scary. I couldn't help but close my eyes. I thought he was pretending to know me even though he didn't. I was really ignorant then."
Shirone could not image Siena, a certified Grade 6 mage, crying in fear.
"I used to avoid Brother Armin by going out to the mountains, fields, and river sides. He would always find me, but whenever that happened, I would run away. One day, while continuing with the strange game of tag… The incident occurred."
She still remembered that day clearly.
"It was the rainy season, and it had been pouring for several days nonstop. Even under such weather, I was wandering by the riverside. There wouldn't have been a problem if not for the dam collapsing at that exact moment. An enormous amount of water swept through the lowlands. It was a flood that sank half of the village."
Siena started reminiscing.
The young Siena, who was swept away by the water current, could not even scream for help.
She struggled for her life. That was what helped her stay alive. But when she came up to the surface, she saw a completely different scene from what she had known before.
The pieces of buildings and livestock were being washed away from the upper stream. Jagged trees that were broken were floating downstream.
This was the first time she ever feared death.
'Help me. Someone, please…!'
Her body was quickly swept away. Land seemed so far away, and the usual streamlet where she used to pick up pebbles transformed into a large torrent 25 meters wide.
The color of the water was dark. So dark, it was almost black.
The current flowing downstream rapidly formed a whirlpool as it collided against rocks and boulders.
"Help me! Someone, please help me!"
Despite studying under the esteemed name of Olifer, all she could do was scream for help endlessly.
"Siena!"
She pushed up her head with all her might as if she had heard a revelation from god.
Armin was waiting on top of a tree branch that was dangerously bent at an angle.
"Brother! Brother!"
"Your hand! Give me your hand!"
Siena stretched out her arms desperately.
However, due to a sudden rocky current, she became submerged.
"Siena!"
Armin flung his body and dived head first.
A few seconds later, he came up with Siena in his arms.
"Siena! Hang in there! We have to get out of here!"
"S-Save me! Help!"
Armin managed to escape the whirlpool zone by a hair's width, but after looking around, he couldn't help but be disheartened.
The only thing awaiting them was a hellish torrent.