239 Outing [3] "Are you not going to get ready?" Silas asked while looking to the side.
It had been almost a day since his last conversation with Ivy, and right now, they were both in a vast hall getting ready for the outing. The old man had given them a day to get ready for anything, and while Silas didn't need it, he didn't mind if the people around him thought that he did.
"Unlike you humans, I don't need armor." Ivy smirked from the side with her chest puffed out in pride.
"Really? Not even to boost you physical abilities? You're quite lacking in that field." Silas chuckled and turned around.
He was currently wearing a long coak that he had wrapped around himself. There were two daggers hidden within that cloak, placed on his belt. On the other hand, he had an axe that had been holstered on his back. Such a thing was more of a diversion to any intelligent creature he might have to fight, rather than beasts. Of course, for the beasts, he would use his axe. He was more proficient in its use. After all, daggers weren't really his style to begin with.
Under his cloak, he wore some basic armor over his chest and abdomen and strapped on some forearm covers made out of leather.
Of course, he didn't need any of it. Not because he already had armor, but because the leather gave him about as much protection as paper. It didn't matter if anyone hit him or not. They wouldn't hit him at all if he wanted to, but even if he let them, they would not get past his skin.
Even Ivy, who was an emerald-cored individual, couldn't get past his skin. She would have eventually, but he stopped it in its tracks by dawning his armor.
After ensuring he had everything on him, Silas paced toward Nymira and Alex, who were both getting ready as well, completely ignoring the green-haired woman behind him who had been clearly following him for the last few hours of the day.
She wore simple black leather pants paired with a stylish white shirt. On her hip, one could see a rapier on her hip that reflected the room's light at its full radiance. It was clear that the needle-like blade had never been used before, and to Silas' knowledge, it was most likely just for show.
Her hair was wavy, barely reaching her shoulders in length. One side was brushed behind one of her ears, while the other was free to ruffle around whenever it wanted to.
Ivy felt Silas' scrutinizing gaze and let out a small smile. Silas quickly rolled his eyes and turned away from her with a sneer. He could not be bothered with her right now.
His gaze quickly fell upon the pink-haired girl in the distance before traveling to the red-haired boy beside her. However, when he saw them, he could not help but narrow his eyes.
Alex looked like he was trying to keep his distance from Nymira. On the other hand, Nymira looked angry. More angry than usual. Silas cocked his head to the side in confusion but shrugged it off. Nymira got angry all the time. What's the problem if she got slightly more angry this time?
Walking up to her, Silas reached down for her sword, but before he could reach it, her hand already moved toward it at lightning speed, quickly snatching it away.
"You okay?" Silas asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah... Why would I be anything but okay." She sneered and turned away.
"..."
"..."
"Huh... I guess she is fine." Silas shrugged.
"Are you stupid?" Alex asked from the side, his head slowly shaking in disappointment.
"I believe that meant that she's angry." Ivy chimed in from the side.
"But she just said that she was-... Oh. I get it now." Silas sighed, while slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was about to try to talk to Nymira again; however, before he could do so, he was stopped by a booming voice that echoed throughout the entire hall.
There, at the end of the hall and standing before two huge doors, was a woman with a pair of feline ears. She stood there, her eyes piercing as they bore in a certain direction.
"Hm?" Silas raised a brow before looking toward Nymira and frowning.
"We're leaving... Now! All toki users will come with me. All mages will go with him." She pointed at Aka, who stood to the side, his arms crossed and his aura fully visible for anyone with even the slightest amount of mana sense to see. Seeing that he was all more powerful, they didn't dare complain about being put up with a child.
"And finally, everyone who doesn't fall into any of those categories will go with Mr. Faldro here." She explained before pointing toward the beer-bellied man with one arm bigger than the other. The difference between both of his arms wasn't great enough for someone to notice at a first glance, but after long exposure to it, they would have no problem seeing the difference.
Mr. Faldro was well-known in the academy; therefore, the beast woman did not see a need to introduce him the same way she introduced Aka. She hadn't even told them Aka's name since it wouldn't make a difference in their judgment of him. Ultimately, they would call him leader anyway, so it didn't matter.
Mr. Faldro, on the other hand, was only known by appearance by the people studying under him. To everyone else, he was closer to someone who could be considered a myth of sorts. His contributions to the Xylem kingdom were enormous, so he had even gotten a head of teaching place in the academy. However, it was also well-known that he declined the position within the light academy and had requested to teach in the diamond academy instead.
"Why are you all just standing there. Get a move on!" The woman roared, causing everyone within the hall to scurry to get their things and leave as soon as possible. They scurried toward their group leaders and stood in front of them in lines. The huge double doors opened shortly after, and eventually, The students of Diamond Academy, now divided into their respective groups, stepped outside into the bright daylight. The sun hung high in the sky, casting a warm golden hue over the grounds.
In the lead, the feline-eared woman began to walk briskly, her tail swaying with each step. Behind her, Nymira and a group of students followed closely. Nymira was still brimming with questions about Ivy, but now they were in different groups, and she couldn't ask her directly.
Silas, Ivy, and a few others were with Mr. Faldro, who ambled leisurely along. His massive figure, with one notably larger arm, gave him an imposing presence. His students, although a bit apprehensive, couldn't help but feel a sense of reassurance in his presence.
Alex found himself among the group led by Aka, the mage instructor.
As they ventured deeper into the academy's vast training grounds before eventually reaching the forest, the students couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and excitement.
Silas, who was waking with Ivy, heard her finally say something that he could not help but think had come out of nowhere.
"You said I'm one dimensional..." Ivy looked back at Silas. Her eyes were filled with an emotion he hadn't seen in her before, yet her facial expressions remained the same stoic one she always held when she wasn't around him.
"I didn't mean it as an insult." Silas sighed, yet, the girl before him did not seem like she was done with him.
"You would never get it. After all, you don't feel things the same way we do. You're different. Sure, that's what pulled me toward you..." She paused momentarily as if trying to put her thoughts into words. Her eyes wandered the skies for a moment before eventually turning to Silas.
"It must be so hard to live in that mind of yours." She spoke without any resentment in her voice. It didn't sound like an insult, and it wasn't. Silas could see that.
"You think of everyone around you as a tool. You care for them. You care for that girl, right? Nymira, was it? Same for that boy." She asked while tilting her head.
"But your way of caring for someone... It's different. It's not healthy. It's not good for either party. You think of all of us as tools. As a part of some plan, you've conjured. Pawns that happened to fall around you. That's what were are, right?" She asked, her voice becoming slightly distant.
"Let me guess. When you met Alex, the first thing you thought was, hey, this kid has a lot of potential. Why not recruit him? He might be useful in the future. Right?" Ivy snarled.
"What about Nymira? Was she just another tool for you to hurt the royal family with? You probably thought that taking her away from them would be a small 'fuck you' for everything you think they did to you." Ivy sneered, her voice containing more and more anger as the conversation continued. Yet, Silas didn't respond. No, he didn't even look like he cared about their argument.
"People are more complicated than pawns. Emotions and feelings. They're something that I'm sure even you can't understand despite your surprisingly vast intelligence."
"Tools you say?" Silas finally asked with a slightly curious tone before a sneer showed on his face.
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