—And with that, I will now be ending my speech. For any of you who are present, there will be an after-party that you may be able to attend.
The announcer's voice boomed, signaling the end of the ceremony. Just before he ended things, he made a small announcement.
—To the cadets who are present, take this chance to get acquainted with your competitors as well as get a better understanding of the fifteen major Guilds. It will be a great opportunity for you in the long term.
It was on that note that he finally left the stage and the hall erupted into a wave of applause.
Clap, clap, clap—!
Evelyn joined in the clapping, and just as Evelyn clapped once, the chair beside her skidded back.
"Uh, ah? What? What's going on...?!"
With visibly groggy eyes and messy hair, Kiera looked around in confusion. Then, seeing what everyone was doing, she joined in on the applause.
"Fucking amazing speech!"
Clap, clap, clap—!
"...."
Evelyn watched the scene at a loss for words.
She had been sleeping, hadn't she...?
Kiera Mylne. Evelyn's thoughts about her were rather conflicted. On the one hand, she was extremely talented. Rivaling her in almost every category. The only thing that set her off was her personality.
Her words were crude, and she was too confronting. She treated everyone as though they were her enemy, and it was because of that that Evelyn found herself struggling to get along with her.
A bit disappointing considering her talent.
"Haa."
With a long sigh, she leaned back on the chair.
The watchful feeling had disappeared about halfway through the speech, and only then did she sigh in relief.
'So it really could've been him...'
Julien.
It had only been a few minutes after he left that she stopped feeling that way. Was it a coincidence...? Or was he truly the one who was keeping an eye out for her?
"Ma'am. The afterpart will be held in the main hall. If you would please..."
Disrupting her thoughts was the butler who carefully passed on the same message to all of those present. He proceeded to hand her purse back to her.
"If you keep going ahead, you will be able to find the entrance of the hall. There will be colleagues waiting for you there."
"....Thank you."
She took the purse and proceeded to head out of the room and toward the main hall.
It was as the butler said.
All she had to do was keep going straight. With many of the guests heading the same way, it wasn't hard for her to reach the hall which was already packed with guests.
The grand hall bustled with activity as hundreds of guests mingled within. Butlers gracefully walked around, presenting silver trays laden with drinks and snacks. Among them, cadets her age strolled about, engaging in superfluous conversations with their peers.
The fake smiles, and fake laughs...
Evelyn could see it from a glance. Being the daughter of a Viscount family, she was used to such scenes. it was something that she had grown accustomed to.
But even so...
"H-hu..."
She felt her chest grow heavy. The very air around her felt suffocating, and breathing was starting to become difficult.
'It's normal... I have to get used to this...'
Her social anxiety was acting up again. Pinching her hand, she bit on her lips and once again took in the fake expressions of all those around her.
It left a sour feeling in her heart.
Especially when...
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kylian J. Marlin. It's an honor to become acquainted with someone from Haven."
She was no different than them.
Putting on a smile, she returned the greeting.
"The pleasure is mine."
***
I closed my eyes and let the memories sink into my mind.
The faces, the time, the silence... I recalled everything before opening my eyes again. What greeted my sight was the same environment as the vision.
Things were slightly different as the events had yet to unfold, but everything was practically the same.
*Sip*
Taking a sip of my drink, I quietly watched my surroundings. It was hard to not stand out on such an occasion, with multiple individuals trying to strike up a conversation with me.
"Hell—"
"Busy."
"Nice to—"
"No."
I thought about engaging with them for a short moment but decided otherwise.
Such fake pleasantries were meaningless to me.
All I cared about was my greed. I needed to quench it. The idea of not being able to quench it seemed to eat at me.
The bone...
'I need to have it.'
I closed my eyes and took another sip.
'I've got 30 minutes left... The event in the vision plays at 8:03 P.M.'
There was a massive clock by the wall. It was thanks to it that I was able to know the exact time the event was going to start.
However, the vision started after the search. Meaning that the event started slightly before 8:03 P.M.
Taking into account that everyone had to be checked, my estimate was ten minutes.
The event...
It was going to start in ten minutes.
"Huu."
I felt a strange sense of nervousness all of a sudden.
I was taking a big risk. There was a chance that my actions would lead to me becoming what became of Evelyn in the vision. A criminal.
The thought made me realize.
.....I was walking on thin ice.
My heart quickened and my palms felt sweaty. Nervousness finally started to settle within me. However, I was quick to push it down.
Since the moment that I had appeared in this world, I had been walking on thin ice.
My situation was no different than it had always been.
If anything, I had gotten better at walking in such a situation. My worries... They were meaningless.
"...."
I shifted my attention away from my drink and back into the hall. My eyes wandered around until they found a set of familiar purple hair.
Surrounded by over three different people, she casually conversed with them.
"Does she have it, or not...?"
There was no way I could confirm this unless I directly checked her purse. But that in itself was a risk.
What if she didn't have it in the purse just yet?
I checked the time.
7:45 P.M.
I started to move.
Wherever I walked, I felt gazes directed my way. I let them be and continued forward.
"I'm envious of your talent. Surely, you'll be able to rank high in the draft at the end of the year. I hope that I too will reach a high rank."
"When you become successful, make sure you don't forget me."
"....I won't."
I only stopped when I found a familiar back. The conversation died, and all eyes fell on me.
"Julien...?"
Evelyn seemed especially shocked by my appearance. I glanced at the people gathered around her before returning my attention.
"I need to talk to you."
As if I had said the most shocking thing, her eyes widened.
"You..."
"....."
I continued to stare at her silently. Eventually, she pursed her lips and nodded her head. With a polite smile, she dismissed the cadets around her before following me toward a more secluded part of the hall.
She was the first one to break the silence.
"....I didn't need saving."
"Hm?"
Saving?
From what?
She frowned and insisted.
"Really."
I became even more confused but nodded.
"If you say so."
I thought she would be satisfied with that, but it only deepened her frown.
"You're wrong. I really didn't need you to save me. I could've handled the situation well..."
I continued to nod along.
"Sure."
"You, you..."
But it seemed it only irritated her further. Clenching her teeth, she looked around before leaning closer to whisper.
"I no longer have social anxiety. I've fixed that five years ago. I'm no longer the same person. Don't misunderstand..."
"Oh, okay."
Social anxiety?
That was a new piece of information to me.
Still, seeing her so desperately trying to justify herself before me felt rather funny. For a moment, I almost lost my composure and laughed.
But as I reminded myself of the situation, I recomposed myself and looked toward her purse.
"Your purse. Care to open it up?"
"I swear, I real—Uh?"
She blinked several times. Then, as if processing my words, her expression crumbled. I stopped her before she could say anything.
"You were right. Someone was watching you."
"...!"
Her expression changed.
"Be subtle when opening your purse. It's probably hidden somewhere, but it's there."
"What is...?"
I didn't answer and moved closer, using my back as some form of shield.
"Be quick."
"You, what—"
"Check."
I cut her off again. Her expression changed yet again, but as if noticing the seriousness in my tone, she lowered her head and subtly opened her purse.
".....Fine."
As she gritted her teeth, she added.
"But if there's really nothing, see what I'll do to you."
A strange silence took over our area as Evelyn rummaged through her purse. Seconds ticked, and she had continued to rummage through.
I felt my chest heave with unease with each second that passed. Doubtful thoughts started to cross my mind.
'Is it really going to be there?'
'....What if it's not there?'
'Was I too hasty? Should I have waited more...?'
"Ah—"
Such thoughts were broken by a strange noise that came out of Evelyn's mouth, when I looked down, I saw her holding a familiar orb.
My mind immediately raced at the sight of it.
'It's here...'
It had really happened.
"W-what... This..."
With a clear look of shock and disbelief, Evelyn held the orb in her hand. Her expression was reminiscent of the one she had made in the vision. However, ignoring it, I reached out for her hand and snatched it.
"Hey, you..."
"Stay quiet if you don't want things to blow over."
"Wha..."
I looked around me. There were a few gazes on me. Some from cadets, and some from older gentlemen. I made sure to memorize the faces of each and every one that was looking at me.
Then, just as I was prepared to leave, a hand reached out to grab me by the arm and pulled me back.
"I don't know what's going on, but it's best if you had that over to the sta—"
"It's already too late for that."
I nudged my chin toward the distance. Several guards were already starting to show strange movements.
"Ah."
Her grip loosened from there.
I thought she'd let go of me from that point, but just when I thought I could move, her grip once again tightened.
"....About what I said before. I really don't have social anxiety."
"Oh."
"You, why don't you believe me?"
"I believe you."
Her expression contorted, but she eventually let me go. I silently shook my head before moving away from her.
There was still one thing left that I needed to do.
But I didn't have much time left.
The guards were already showing signs of movement, and with the bone on me, I knew that if I failed on my next step, I was done for.
Therefore, I hurried my steps.
Gradually, a figure appeared in the distance. He was talking with several people and held a rather lofty position.
He stood tall with skinny facial contours, jet-black hair, a long nose, and bushy eyebrows.
A face that I couldn't forget even if I wanted to.
As his voice boomed down, forcing down judgment on Evelyn, I had a hard time forgetting his face.
Since coming to the decision to take the bone for myself, there was one part that I found particularly difficult to figure out.
How exactly would I be able to sneak the bone out of the venue?
With everyone being searched so thoroughly, how could it be possible for me to smuggle the bone out?
It was then that I had a sudden thought.
'.....Is everyone really going to be searched?'
Sure, he might be able to search every single person in the room, but in fact... there was one person he most likely wouldn't search.
Who exactly....?
Himself.
Right...
Because he knew that he wasn't the culprit.
'Haha.'
It was a daring idea. One that made me want to laugh at how ridiculous it was. But staring at the guards that were slowly starting to walk his way, I grabbed the nearest drink to me and approached.
I had just moved a few meters away from him, when...
"Oh...!"
Splash—
I suddenly tripped, spilling the drink all over him.