“So? Are you going to tell me what are you doing or will you keep me hanging like that?” With her arms crossed over her chest, Irea stood above the archmage while her right foot continued to rhythmically tap against the stones of the floor.

“Sorry, but this…” Layn shook his head while putting a small smile on his lips. “This is going to be a surprise for you as well.” Not daring to move his eyes away from the stone he was playing with, Layn drew one last line before pulling a goose’s feather away from the stone. Even though it would be normally used to write, thanks to driving his energy through its tip, Layn managed to make it hard enough to use it as a carving tool.

“So it’s nothing important, am I right?” Noticing how carefree her man’s attitude was, Irea simply waved her hand at the topic before her face turned slightly sour. “Are you sure about it though?”

‘Huh?’ Raising his eyebrow a bit, Layn raised his eyes at the girl. Putting the feather away, he then made sure to close the bottle of ink that was sitting almost unused on his side. “What do you mean?” Leaning his head on his right shoulder, Layn feigned ignorance.

“Can you stop playing around? Or are you trying to disrespect me? Am I really that untrustworthy?” Irea’s eyebrows moved down as her eyes turned into slits. Even though they shared some intimate moments, the gap of how little time they spend with each other was still hard to fill.

“Eh, don’t you see where we are?” Looking around as if worried that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation, Layn only managed to keep his ploy for a short moment, before the twitching of his lips turned into a full-blow eruption of laughter. “No, you are right. It’s not like we can hide anything from them so I might as well be open about it.”

‘With that said…’ Even though a smile was decorating his lips, Layn’s mood was far from being joyful. While the treasures they constantly wore allowed him to break to the beginning stage of merging flows while pushing Irea all the way to the awakening stage, the time just didn’t want to play in their favor. ‘I guess you can’t have everything…’ Looking down at the stone he just finished carving, Layn stored it in a pouch with several others he made before. Standing up, he dusted off his pants before moving his head up and closing his eyes.

“I…” Still keeping his eyes shut, Layn started speaking only to turn silent the next moment. Taking a few breaths, the archmage calmed himself down and purified all the spare thoughts and doubts that lingered in his head. ‘So I’m still susceptible to this flaw, huh?’

Having doubts before the battle, being unsure about one’s plans, was all a part of being a free man. At least, that’s what one of the very few people that Layn was full of respect towards once said to him. ‘I wonder what happened to them after I cast that spell…’ Layn’s thoughts momentary moved towards the adventures of his past before his determination finally washed them away.

“I think it’s time for me to enter the inner academy.” With his outfit now free from even the smallest speck of dust or dirt, Irea could finally see how one thing changed about Layn’s clothes. Ever since he was accepted into the academy, he wore the standard robes of the students. Despite the fact that he only participated in a single public lesson, Layn strangely refused to ever wear anything else.

“I get it… But what’s with those clothes of yours? Aren’t they… grey?” Even though it was only a small detail, Irea still decided to ask this question, ignoring the way heavier in consequences revelation of her partner.

“That’s…” Bringing his hand up to his mouth, Layn placed just a single finger of his on his lips before smiling mysteriously. “That’s a surprise for later. And I won’t compromise on explaining this one in advance.”

“So how about at least telling me why the sudden change of mind?” Given how Layn refused to enter the inner academy right away, Irea finally decided to ask this question. As someone who valued the opportunity to raise within the academy above everything else up until the moment she met this strange man, she no longer bothered to even guess his reasoning related to his potential rise in ranks.

“You see, they took the treasure to the inner sect. For now, they can claim that they paid for it or whatever… But what if their very claim about why they took it would be proven to be false?” Smiling to his own thoughts, Layn stepped forward, only stopping right when he reached the very middle of the peaceful plaza. “Everyone! What has become of this great academy? People are robbing others while spouting nonsense and they still have the guts to claim it’s for the betterment of those in need?!”

Shouting those words, Layn would have to be blind not to notice a small commotion in one of the gazebos nearby. Forcefully pulling down the corner of his mouth that wanted to rise in a satisfied smile, he turned around and faced the girl instead.

“Tell me, what do you think would happen if the core academy were to learn about the actions of those who stole the treasure? What would the elders do if they were to learn that some disciples of the inner academy took such a valuable thing for themselves while claiming to just move it to an inner sect?” This time, Layn didn’t even bother hiding his smile from his partner. On the other hand, though, the girl fell into deep thought, seriously trying to figure out the answer to the question he posed.

“If the core academy were to learn about it… Oh boy…” With her eyes suddenly expanding, a vicious smile appeared on her lips as well. “It would make for a pretty good show, that I can say for certain!”