---
While Eleanor was walking through the academy corridors, she heard the sound of someone running in the opposite hallway. Before she could turn, she heard a girl calling out:
"Take it easy, Arthur! I'm already tired from training, I don't want to run now!"
It was Aria's voice as she called out to Arthur, who was quickening his pace, seemingly heading toward the infirmary.
"I'll go ahead. I'm worried about Eleanor. She might be injured, I need to see her now."
Arthur's voice echoed through the corridor, filled with concern, and she heard it clearly. She couldn't help but feel a strange emotion stirring in her heart.
"Hehe, stop pretending. I know you just want to find out what's going on between Eleanor and Aeon, right? We already saw Eleanor was fine in the memory jade recording," Aria's playful voice echoed.
Arthur felt a bit embarrassed by Aria's bluntness. He suddenly stopped and turned toward her to explain himself, but before he could speak, he caught sight of a beautiful figure watching them from afar. The moment he saw her, he wished she hadn't heard what Aria said, or he would dig a hole in the ground to hide in.
As soon as Eleanor noticed that they had seen her, she approached them, but she couldn't bring herself to look Arthur in the eyes.
Then she said, trying to avoid talking about that awkward incident:
"Where are you two going in such a hurry?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
Aria lightly hit Arthur's arm and said:
"It seems this noble gentleman was worried about someone after hearing some news."
Arthur took a light breath, trying to forget the embarrassment from earlier, then said:
"We heard from others that you went with Aeon and the others to the infirmary, so we got a little worried about you..." When he mentioned Aeon's name, he couldn't help but look at Eleanor strangely. From the images, he had seen that she was carrying him on her back, which made him feel uneasy… after all, he had feelings for her.
"Yes, we had a four-person match there, and we ended up going a bit overboard." She nodded and repeated the same excuse Alice had given them. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but the matter involved Janet's secret, and out of respect from one trainee to another walking the path of combat, she would definitely not reveal it, even to those closest to her.
"Hmm… isn't that a bit strange? With Aeon's strength, he shouldn't lose consciousness, right? It's not like he suddenly became weaker, right?" Arthur replied with confusion, but toward the end of his words, he unconsciously tried to belittle Aeon a little… as if he felt threatened by him and subconsciously considered him a rival in love, perhaps.
Eleanor didn't really know how to respond. In the end, she hadn't thought about it at all. She had only repeated Alice's excuse and hadn't thought deeply about it. Also, she wasn't good at lying… so she remained silent, unsure of what to say.
Suddenly, Aria tilted her head toward Eleanor in an exaggerated manner.
"No way he did that on purpose, right? Just so the beautiful elven princess could carry him?" she said with a mischievous look, then turned toward Arthur.
"That's impossible, right!?" Arthur said, his expression changing slightly, as he seemed to seriously consider the possibility.
Eleanor frowned slightly at Aria and reached out to pinch her nose, then said:
"Aeon is not that kind of person, you idiot." Even though Eleanor knew Aria was joking, she didn't like it at all… Aeon was someone she respected for his effort and dedication, especially today when she saw him protecting them from that insane spell… She didn't really know why she felt a bit angry at Aria over a joke. She shouldn't feel this way, even if it was someone she respected…
"Alright, alright, I was just joking, don't get mad," Aria said while rubbing her now reddened nose from Eleanor's pinch.
"But I'm a bit curious… when you were carrying Aeon, was he heavy?"
Eleanor's face darkened when she heard this nonsense. Her hand moved again to grab Aria's nose, but Aria dodged and hurried a bit forward.
---
On the way back, the trio—Aeon, Alice, and Janet—were walking slowly under the calm view of the sunset.
"So you're saying I need to refine my will in order to use that power?" Janet said while looking at Aeon, who was staring at the sunset in thought.
On their way, Aeon explained to Janet and Alice the reason behind Janet's failure to control that power and her being consumed by it.
"Yes. You know that mana has a will, right? What if you use this power in areas where monsters live in large numbers? That mana has a savage and brutal will just like the monsters themselves. If your will isn't extremely strong, it will control you instead of you controlling it… Worse than that, what if you use this power in areas filled with the resentment of millions of dead souls? The result is simple—you'll be completely invaded mentally. If your mind doesn't break, you'll become a demon at best… or just a corpse driven by instinct."
Aeon said this with extreme seriousness. This power, just like it had immense strength, also had its downsides. In the end, there was no perfect technique—everything had a weakness. He didn't want Janet to become arrogant and forget this. Otherwise, if she lost herself, no one would be able to save her except death.
"Isn't that a bit exaggerated? Then we should be thankful that the mana in normal places like the training field doesn't have a savage will… it's somewhat gentle," Alice said as she swallowed, recalling what had happened.
"Does that mean my will is weak to such a pitiful level?" Janet said sadly.
"Yes, it's somewhat weak, but that's not the only reason. It's also your first time merging your senses, and I didn't expect your senses to expand to this extent… it seems your affinity with mana far exceeded my expectations—even several times stronger than Eleanor's," Aeon said with a laugh at Janet's low self-confidence, then couldn't help but fall into brief thought… just what was Janet's background? For a mere human to have such a strange ability was incomprehensible.
"Hehe, don't worry, Janet. With me and my big brother, we'll refine your will and this won't be a problem. Just call me big sister, and I'll make sure you stand at the top of the world," Alice said as she brought her face closer to Janet, her eyes shining with endless hope. It seemed she truly wanted a little sister…
Janet looked at Alice with slight helplessness before pushing her face away with her hands. It seemed she didn't like the idea of becoming Alice's little sister. Then she turned her gaze toward Aeon.
"Is there a way to refine my will?"
"Of course there is. It's actually quite simple, no need to be this nervous," Aeon looked at her a bit strangely.
"Really? How? When do we start?" Janet said excitedly, unable to contain herself. After all, she had unconsciously controlled a power she had never even dreamed of, so her excitement was natural. However, she didn't notice the look of pity on Alice's face as she watched her.
"Hmm, as I said, it's simple. All you have to do is enter life-and-death battles and survive them… As for when, well, I have a few ideas, like using killing intent on you, but that would be dangerous, so maybe you should wait until the next test," Aeon said as if he were talking about the weather.
Janet's expression froze instantly. When he said it was simple, she thought it would be just harsh training pushing her to her limits, but she didn't expect actual life-and-death battles, especially with Aeon's calm tone.
She quickly turned to Alice, who shrugged helplessly at her.
Janet had already made a contract with a demon, so she had to bear what was coming.
Alice then turned to Aeon and said:
"You said the test would be useful for Janet to refine her will? It's just a test, right? There won't be any life-threatening danger to the students, right?"
"The test will include parts where students will fight those from the evil path in a serious battle. It won't reach death, but the instructors will only save you at the last moment," Aeon said as he recalled some of the contents of the game Exodia, hoping they were accurate.
"The evil path? Really?" Janet shouted in slight agitation. She had never seen someone from the evil path before, but she had definitely heard about them… monsters who had abandoned their humanity, using the cruelest methods to kill and torture entire villages, and using blood and resentment of the dead to grow stronger. The history of the evil path went back hundreds of thousands of years, constantly clashing with the righteous path. They were an endless terror to the Astrea Empire.
"Haaah, what are you afraid of, Janet? Don't be fooled by the rumors. They're just pathetic actors pretending to be cruel in front of strangers, but the moment they hit a steel plate, they turn into sheep trying to run for their lives—or even beg for it," Alice said seriously, placing her hands on her slim waist. She didn't want her friend to become a coward just from hearing about the evil path.
"How do you know about the evil path like that?" Janet nodded hesitantly, then asked curiously.
"Hehe, that's because my big brother and I have fought them for the past three years on the eastern coast. Especially my big brother—he's somewhat famous among them. The moment they see him, they become like sheep that saw a mad butcher and run in every direction. We've practically wiped out the younger generation of the evil path on the eastern coast and even received a medal of honor," Alice said proudly, raising her nose to the sky. And she couldn't really be blamed—it was indeed an achievement worth being proud of.
"Really… you have such a glorious past?" Janet's eyes widened as her gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. Alice had already told her she fought on the front lines with her kingdom's army, but she hadn't expected something on this scale.
Suddenly, Alice turned her gaze toward Aeon, who was smiling at her pride.
"But wait, big brother… how did you know this information? The test is more than ten days away, and its contents haven't been announced yet," she asked curiously, tilting her head slightly. Janet seemed to share the same curiosity.
"Hmm, I'll tell you—" Suddenly, his face stiffened, his steps halted, and he froze in place as he felt an ominous sensation surrounding him. The rest of his words got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
Then, just as suddenly, the ominous feeling disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"What's wrong, big brother?" Alice asked with concern and confusion as she looked at his sudden behavior.
"It's nothing, nothing… I just remembered something. You asked how I knew, right? Umm… it was Professor Thomas. He told me because I won't be participating in the test," Aeon lied clumsily to hide what he felt.
Alice looked at him for a long moment, then said calmly:
"What did you remember? You're not hiding anything from me, right, big brother?"
Aeon looked into her eyes and said slowly:
"My teacher," then continued walking ahead of them.
Alice kept her gaze on Aeon's back.
"I understand…" Then she quickened her steps to catch up with him, with Janet beside her, who didn't understand the sudden tension.
Aeon felt guilty and ashamed for lying like that—and even using his teacher as an excuse—but he couldn't help it… That ominous feeling wasn't directed at him, but at Alice. It felt like a silent threat warning him that if he said even one word, something terrible would happen to her.
He had intended to tell her about regaining a part of his soul… and also Alfred's memories.
Perhaps if he told Alice that…
Something terrible would happen to her, and he would regret it for the rest of his life.