After finishing dressing up, I took off my crystal ball. I put it away in my inventory, among all my other knickknacks.
Then I let down my disheveled and wet hair to dry it faster. My hair fell over my shoulders in an arc, looking like a bird's net. They were bright and profusely pink, making them at least pleasant to look at.
"You can turn around now."
Daniel, as instructed, slowly turned back. He was just as blatant as before and didn't hide his gaze.
'What is going on in this handsome head?'
He was even more flashy than Mainu in his actions. No wonder he was one of his pretenders; they made a good pair.
Thinking about it, I shouldn't be afraid of anything since this one wasn't interested in the female gender. Maybe for him, it was more about scientific and neutral observations than actual appreciation.
Coughing a bit, I signaled for him to stop.
Daniel lifted his gaze, his long and dense eyelashes moving in slow motion as he blinked, and concentrated his attention on mine. He was looking at me, but at the same time, he wasn't.
That was really confusing.
"Are you going to come back to the camp with me? It's already very late. We are supposed to depart for the academy tomorrow morning."
"Yes, I will do that. Have you been able to catch magical beasts with your team?"
"Yes, we finished a few hours ago. They should be with the other students now."
As we talked, we began to move. We didn't use magic this time. For me, it was because I minimized my use of magic to avoid the likelihood of another crisis.
If that were the case, I would probably faint in the middle of the wilderness, and I didn't trust Daniel enough to let that happen.
"And they let you go here alone, in the middle of the night? In this forest full of threatening beasts?"
"Well, they didn't, but I convinced them. I had something important to search for."
"So that's what you were doing under there? What were you risking your life for justly? Some kind of miracle treasure?"
The man seemed to be somehow dissatisfied, his ton full of reproach and irony.
"Hey, kind of."
"You don't seem to understand how reckless you were. Do you understand that a mage can't fight in the water?"
"It's okay, I-"
I began to explain that I made sure to prompt the perimeters before I did anything, when he gripped my shoulders and turned my face towards his.
Again, we locked gazes.
"Stop! Stop pretending like you have everything under control. You're human, Georgia. You can't do everything."
He was practically screaming, looking really distressed.
Why was he, though?
We didn't even know each other or even really talk.
It's not like we could be something for each other, and it was not because he knew the previous Georgia either, as I was born into this body.
"You... do you know me?"
I was beginning to feel uneasy. What if he really knew me?
When?
How much did he know...Did he know the extent of my powers?
Did he know I was pretending?
Did he observe me?
"No, I don't, but he-", Daniel began to say before shutting his mouth, seeing that he was going to say something he wasn't supposed to. "I mean, I don't personally know you, but that doesn't stop me from worrying."
Then he released me before running his hands through his hair while smiling meanly.
He was back to his normal attitude—teasing and borderline condescending.
"After all, I am also someone with a big heart. Began enough for you…"
The teenager was grinning with a devilish expression.
'I should be thankful he is still sixteen, or I would have fallen now and then.'
The charms those people had were insane! Mainu did a great job choosing his little minions.
"Stop that. It's not funny."
"Stop what?" He said, as he lifted his left eyebrows, a smirk on the side of his mouth.
He must be gloating inside.
"Nothing. Can't you walk faster? We have to arrive before it's too late. I wouldn't want to inconvenience the others."
I hurried my pace and walked faster. I would have run if I wasn't still tired from my little night swim session.
"Tell me, do you always use that good girl act?"
I didn't stop at his provocation this time; I was already used to his antiques. He couldn't startle me anymore; his tricks were used up.
I didn't respond and continued to walk. We were already, after around fifteen minutes of walking, at the center.
After another fifteen minutes, we would arrive at the camp.
Daniel was talking to me, at my side, but I wasn't listening anymore.
Even I had my bottom line.
He should already consider himself lucky enough that I didn't smash his head against the ground.
I thought about what I was going to do once at the academy. I had to go search for Sylvester, to continue our investigation and finally finish with it, and then I would revise some more for my exam for next Monday. We were on Friday, and I had approximately two days before D-Day.
I would also write a letter home to say I would come back during the next vacation, which was scheduled for two weeks later. It was the sole vacation of the fall season, and it lasted one week long.
While I continued to review the different things I had to do, we soon arrived at the borders.
"You aren't listening to me, are you?"
"No, I do. Should we part now? We will arrive in five minutes; I am not in any danger anymore."
"What, you don't want to be seen with me?"
'Of course I don't want to be seen with you. It would cause an uproar!'
Having lived it with Mainu and Sylvester, I knew the influence of being seen with one of the four.
And I didn't need all that attention right now.
But I couldn't actually tell that to him, right?
'No, it's just that you are too handsome and me too tired?' How would that sound?
"Well, I will join my team, so... To register and all. You aren't there for the exercise, right?"
The boy stayed silent during a few minutes, looking at me without a word. Then he looked up to the sky and laughed.
Daniel didn't retort or say anything else. He just said, 'Okay,' before turning around and going in the opposite direction.
Maybe he was upset?
Not taking more time, I walked ahead.
Soon, I was at the camp.
Then, just as soon, I spotted my teammates, who were still waiting for me before the registration screen next to the professor, Danny Ketchman.
"Hey, Georgia!" Yelled Mitia from afar as she waved at me. She was smiling while trotting towards me.
'So cute' I thought internally.
"Hello, everyone. Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, we are all healed up. And you, not too tired?" Asked Danny when I arrived before them.
"It's okay. » I replied before turning to the professor, « Good evening, professor. Here's my file and our count number. I registered everything, and the beasts are in my subspace, in safety."
I smiled at the professor while handing him our file. Everything was complete: the name of the teammates, our report on our observation—which everyone filed and attached to the group's file with magic—and the other details, such as the time we took to end the exercise, the causalities, etc...
"That's great, children. Now that you are there, you can go with the other students; there, a supervisor will lead you to your designed tents. Everything is already equipped."
"Is every student already there, professor?" I asked to know if I was the last one.
"No. There are still some groups left, but they have one hour left. From their bracelet fluctuation, they aren't in critical danger, so it should be okay."
"Okay, we are going then."
"See you later, children."