Chapter 87: Deception and proposition (1/2)
”I'm telling you, it's a bit too drastic to talk about it right now.” Shaking his head, Layn refused to divulge into the details of what he did. With the information already at hand, there was no greater meaning in sharing the method the archmage used to obtain in.
”Are you trying to hold secrets from me? Are you sure you are capable of it?” Snuggling up to the man's arm, Irea giggled lightly. ”You should know that it will never work!”
If someone were to look at the two of them, it would be impossible to tell that they just participated in a battle.
All the marks that the only attack that actually reached Layn left on his clothes were now gone as if his outfit magically regenerated after the fight. Even his bruises were nowhere to be seen as if some kind of miracle cleared them out from the picture of his face and body.
Only after a closer look, one could notice that something was amiss… But not with the two of them. Contrary to Layn, Irea's outfit and health weren't fixed to the same, insanely high degree, leaving some of the minuscule wounds on her skin.
”It's not about hiding stuff from you.” Layn shook his head in denial. ”This topic is just too heavy, complicated, and depressing to discuss now.” The archmage's refusal didn't stem from his unwillingness to talk about this topic. While they were both as relaxed as a couple walking under a starry sky could be, it didn't change the fact that they were on their way to exact vengeance.
And at a master whose strength and abilities managed to surprise even someone as experienced as Layn.
”Okay, okay, let's not argue about this then.” Shaking her head as if to prove that she cleansed herself of those thoughts, Irea pressed her cheek against Layn's arm. ”On the other hand, what are we going to do now?” Pulling him to a stop, Irea looked into Layn's eyes with curiosity. ”Kill them all? Invade the core academy?”
Irea shook her head once again. From the changes appearing on her face, Layn could tell that she quickly realized the problems of the ideas she proposed. ”No, that won't do. Even if this matter is already big, it's on the scale where any random core-academy disciple would just laugh it off rather than taking it seriously.”
Explaining her train of thought, Irea moved her eyes back at the archmage's face. Yet, there was no hesitation or doubt in Layn's eyes.
”Did you notice a small detail of when I was… working on that treasure?” While they were walking completely alone on the surface, Layn couldn't discount the possibility that they were in fact some prickly ears hidden in the darkness of the night.
”Detail? What detail?” Even though surprised, Irea didn't protest when Layn pulled her forward, opting to regain and keep the momentum of their stroll.
”You should remember how it worked. Core in the middle, a layer of normal rope around it and then the crux of the treasure as the outer layer, am I right?” Taking the tone of a teacher schooling an unruly student, Layn smiled.
”Yeah, that's what you… that's what we did back then.” Hearing the change in Irea's way of forming her sentence, Layn's smile only grew. Even just a few days ago, she would have trouble with adding herself to the equation, yet now, she was fully acknowledging her involvement in the matter.
'Sadly, I can't really enjoy this moment right now,' looking to the side, Layn took a deep breath before slowly releasing it out. 'Just as expected.' While it was just a hint, Layn clearly spotted a glint of moonlight reflected on something. Given how they were in the middle of the inner academy, it wouldn't be surprising for some trash to be lying haphazardly around…
But the shine disappeared too quickly. There were no clouds in the sky and Layn was moving too slow for the flicker to be that rapid. And since the forces of nature couldn't explain its appearance, Layn's previous suspicion that people were following them suddenly appeared to be the most probable explanation.