“Hum? The princess is our study partner?” asked Theos curiously.
Alicia nodded frantically in confirmation. “Yes, she is our study partner. She arrived a few days ago, she’s quite…”, she paused, thinking how best to express what she was thinking.
“Hm, she’s quite peculiar… She’s quite talented and intelligent, she’s also quite elegant, but there’s something about her that I don’t know how to explain… She’s shy and somewhat awkward, I think that’s the best way to describe her.”
At such a comment, Theos smiled, eating a sandwich to fill the hunger in his stomach.
‘Hm, the little princess of Hydronia… Russe Hydronia would be my cousin in this case; in the novel, she is like that, a character who, despite being royalty, is somewhat shy, especially because of the accident at the Rasforh family banquet.’ suddenly, Theos remembered something crucial.
‘True, the son of the Rasforh family was never found… Something happened to him and possibly something quite bad.’
Theos’ eyes grew weary. How many more problems will he have to solve? Undoubtedly quite a few.
He decided to briefly forget about all this, deciding to eat in peace.
However, he again turned to Alice who was looking at him with curious eyes.
“What, why are you staring at me so intently?” asked Alice, lowering her head shyly as she blushed.
“I want to tell you something important…”, he replied, opting for a serious expression.
“Oh… What do you want to talk about?”, she also put on a serious expression under the two red clouds on her face.
Seeing that Alice is taking the situation seriously, he continued, “Tomorrow I will fight Camila, the most powerful student in all of The Academy.”
At such a revelation, Alice’s previously serious face turned into a face full of surprise and shock.
“What, you’re going up against Camilla, the most powerful in the entire Academy?!” she raised her voice a little more than naturally, sounding exasperated.
Theos nodded, confirming her words.
Alice’s face filled with concern and exasperation. Rising from the chair, she moved closer to Theos until, with both of her hands, she grabbed his face and made him stare at her.
“You know what it means to fight the most powerful in the Academy, don’t you?” asked Luna, her eyes narrowed.
However, he only nodded. Knowing full well the risks and what it meant to take on that duel/challenge.
“…”, Alice couldn’t believe her eyes.
‘He knows what he’s up against, why doesn’t he refuse that confrontation? Or is it the two of them must compulsorily face each other?’, she thought, wondering several things in her head.
She did not know much about the power of every person. However, the most powerful student in the entire Academy is very title truly terrifying and coveted by more than one.
‘There are even rumors that she has defeated several teachers, she is truly terrifying,’ she concluded.
She was confident in Theos’ power, in his abilities, but against such an imposing opponent, what could she do?
Seeing Alice’s intense concern, Theos raised his hand again, stroking her face gently.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be a battle to the death; I won’t lose my life; at most, I will be badly injured,” he reassured her with his caresses and serene voice.
This seemed to affect Alice; her narrowed eyes returned to normal while her body softened.
She sighed. “Okay, explain everything to me: why you’re going to fight her, what for, and how you plan to win.”
At this suggestion, Theos proceeded to explain everything to Alice, everything in great detail.
He even explained to her most of his adventures in the Forest of Treasures and the Dragon Realm.
Alice’s expressions changed continuously for every word Theos uttered, sometimes showing worry, fear, surprise, anger, and helplessness.
Without a doubt, a roller coaster of emotions.
Theos told me everything to Alice, only excluding what Luna had seen in the Endless Well.
“…,” she was silent, staring at him.
At this point, she had stopped clutching Theos’ face to sit down in front of him again.
For a few moments, she had a blank, inexplicable, aimless stare.
“So… You’re going up against a Sacred Dragon of Supreme rank?”.
Each word she slowly blurted out before forming the question, a confirmation of what Theos had done there.
He nodded, confirming that she had heard correctly.
For more than a full minute, she had no words to say. She went completely blank.
She had learned quite a bit at the academy in just a few days, above all, the difference between power ranks. And thus, she knew very well, at least theoretically, how strong Supreme beings are.
‘A Master facing a Supreme… Isn’t that just crazy? I want to kill myself with worry,’ Alice asked herself mentally, staring at Theos.
She didn’t know what to say.
In the end, she simply let out a sigh.
“I don’t know what to say… But please, never do that again,” Alice pleaded, feeling a lump in her throat.
No one wants her partner to die in an unknown place without her knowing. For her, that would be a nightmare, a life without meaning…
Theos didn’t nod immediately, however.
He knew he could simply say an ‘It’s okay’ or ‘I assure you’.
‘But wouldn’t that be lying to him?’
He is, first and foremost, an honest man to the people he loves. His morals and principles would not let him tell his beloved wife a lie.
He could hide anything, of course, however, he could not lie. They are quite different things.
Seeing that Theos didn’t agree with her words right away, Alice began to get anxious and insecure.
‘Maybe he was upset for asking her that? Maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that so directly… Possibly I did wrong’, a sea of insecurities began to drown Alice’s mind.
The two of them had different thoughts and concerns…
Finally, Theos sighed. “Alice, I can’t promise you anything, this world is very vast and dangerous, so with my status and ambitions, I will always be in danger,” he said, looking at Alice steadily.
He continued. “However, if it makes you feel better, as long as it’s not necessary, I won’t put myself in danger.”
Alice didn’t know how to feel now. He had just rejected and, at the same time, accepted her suggestion. But somehow, she felt reassured, and she decided to trust Theos.
Nevertheless…
‘I must become much stronger, much stronger to fight by his side… If he will always be in danger, why not me?’ she thought, inwardly with a twisted smile.
Strength is everything in this world; in such a short time, she understood that. However, she also wanted to add something…
‘Love and strength is everything in this world,’ she concluded.
Without love, she could not be stronger. Possibly this is why she thought that way.
Strength would be the flame, and love the fuel that constantly makes the flame grow; for her, it was like that.
If Theos knew what she thought, he would possibly be throwing up rainbows now.
“Promise?” she asked, wanting Theos’ promise.
He smiled. “Sure, I promise.”
Hearing his confirmation, she smiled broadly, a rather cheerful smile.
It wasn’t what she wanted to achieve. She wanted Theos to be free of danger, but, knowing that he couldn’t do this, she would settle for what he said.
After all, she didn’t think she was capable of clipping Theos’ “wings,” of destroying his ambitions and dreams.
Theos’ smile also became happy to know that Alice was content with what he said.
He didn’t want to see Alice sad, so seeing her so cheerful, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“Uh, you’re done eating,” she warned, looking at Theos’ empty plate.
“Yes, actually, I’m quite satisfied,” he said, grabbing the glass with orange juice and drinking it in one gulp.
“The meal was simple but quite delicious,” Theos said.
Alice nodded, agreeing with his words.
They had already finished eating.
‘I think I’d better go train now, I should get back to Luna later,’ Theos thought.
He wanted to be for Luna that day; after all, she had just lost her chastity.
Thinking about this, Theos got up. ‘I’m going to train; tomorrow is the duel.’
Alice nodded. But suddenly, her eyes flashed with a bit of lust and excitement. “Let’s both go together, so we both go in ~”
Seeing Alice’s expression, Theos didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. However, how to refuse such an obvious offer?
“Sure, but we’re going to train; I don’t think I’ll win easily,” Theos warned.
However, his words had another meaning that Alice caught: let’s train after “that.”
With a smile, she, too, rose from her seat.
Looking at Alice beside him, Theos recalled. ‘She should have things to tell too; in the Novel, they didn’t go into much depth about her. I love her intensely for Theos’ soul and myself, but I don’t know much about her,’ he thought.
He didn’t want to give favoritism, so, he decided to talk to Alice later about it.
For now, pay for the food and go train…
~
~
