Chapter 180: A Furious Auri, A Fussy Cassian
The sun was setting in the capital, tinging the Velles estate in a warm glow and casting long shadows across the manicured lawns, across which a young man was slowly wandering with a dazed look.
After Reina left a while ago, Drai remained seated in the gazebo, giving a long and deep thought to the new information Reina had just revealed. Not only was he at a loss on how to rescue Ravi, he also wondered if there was any meaning in returning to the academy. And after failing to think of any feasible solutions for these new problems or ease his restlessness, Drai decided to roam the estate and walk his worries off.
During this time, the servants who happened to spot Drai felt concerned by his aimless wandering, but having sensed his somber mood, none dared to bother him.
As he passed by a large tree, Drai stopped. His gaze traced the tree’s thick trunk up to its highest branch—its towering stature reminded him of the form he often assumed before his skill incidentally got modified.
’If I never entered Soluna Academy, would all this still happen?’ he mused. At his sides, two clenched fists trembled as he suppressed a compelling urge to smash the trunk before him into splinters.
At that moment, a half-excited, half-worried female yell startled him.
"DRAI!"
What followed were rapid footsteps that preceded a heartfelt embrace by a slim figure.
"Where the hell have you been!? We thought something bad happened to you!" Auri’s high-pitched voice immediately assaulted Drai’s eardrums.
Awkwardly withstanding the tight hug, Drai muttered, "I wouldn’t exactly call what I went through ’good’..."
Hearing this, Auri released her hug and grabbed Drai’s shoulders. With a few tears glistening in her eyes, she looked straight at her missing friend and blurted, "Dummy! I mean we thought you were dead!"
Drai scratched his head as a hint of guilt appeared on his face while saying, "Sorry. I was stranded outside the comm coverage. Let alone informing you guys, I couldn’t even reach my parents."
Drai’s words calmed Auri down a bit, who then said, "Tell me what happened."
"Well, that night—"
A couple of loud coughs suddenly interrupted Drai, who curiously turned to the source.
A few meters behind Auri was a man in dashing uniform-like clothes, complete with a pair of black gloves. Like Christo, he was tall and blonde. The man was also visibly older than the teenage pair before him, though not by that much.
Looking at the man’s expression, Drai could tell that something was bothering him.
The man finally spoke. "Miss Auri, I suggest we move somewhere more appropriate. A young man and woman standing too close under a tree at this hour may spark needless gossips."
The man’s words caused Auri to blush as she hurriedly removed her hands from Drai, who remained standing there with a curious look, though seemingly a bit dazed.
Noticing Drai’s gaze on him, the man turned to him and nodded slightly. With a hand on his chest, he introduced himself. "Cassian Renault, Miss Auri’s personal aide. I’ve heard about you, Drai Varz."
"Oh, hello. Nice to meet you, Cassian," Drai replied, nodding back.
Cassian then turned to Auri again. "Miss Auri—"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Let’s talk at my place, Drai," Auri cut off before grabbing Drai’s hand. She then walked away, pulling Drai along.
With Cassian following behind, the two soon arrived at a much smaller building. Auri led them around the building and they eventually took a seat at the oversized rear porch.
Shortly after, a maid offered to bring them refreshments, but Auri quickly refused the offer before dismissing her.
"Are you happy now, Cas?" she asked.
Standing on guard nearby, Cassian simply nodded.
"Good." Auri then turned to Drai, her beaming eyes contrasted her serious expression. "Now, tell me everything, Drai."
Drai took a deep breath before recounting his experience these past few months. He started with the attack on the male dorm, but Auri immediately interrupted, saying she had already heard that part from Christo. Therefore, Drai skipped ahead to the part where he infiltrated the smaller crimson dome.
In the following minutes, a series of ohs and ahs could be heard from the back porch, along with the occasional remark or question. However, after Drai reached the second part of his story, Auri’s responses became sparser. After all, this part was all fabricated, so Drai mostly glossed over it and didn’t dare make up too much false details lest he end up with contradictions or other obvious lies. It was only after he reached the part where his group first arrived at a settlement did Drai go back to mostly telling the truth.
Although Auri had noticed the lack of details covering Drai’s time in the wilderness, she wasn’t really bothered by it, as the part where Drai found his house abandoned and parents gone before discovering an ambushing group had particularly grabbed her attention.
When Drai was finally done, Auri looked deep into his eyes and asked, "Are you fine?"
"Of course. Do I look injured?" Drai asked back while inspecting himself.
"I’m not worried about your body, dummy, but this," Auri added with her finger pointing at her temple before it shifted to her left chest.
"Oh. Well, I don’t know..."
Drai paused for a moment while his gaze drifted afar before continuing, "I think I was pretty okay before, since I could still delude myself by believing that my parents had gone into hiding. But after knowing that Professor Ravi had been kidnapped, I think I’m feeling quite lost.
"I only know the kidnapping group’s identity and a vague understanding of some of their goals, but I don’t have a clue where their headquarters are and how to locate them or identify their members. There’s only one person that I’m almost certain can help me with this matter—Zar. But likewise, I can’t get hold of him too."
After gathering her thoughts, Auri asked, "So your next goal is to find your parents and the professor, right?"
Retracting his gaze, Drai replied, "Not exactly. In my parents’ case, just knowing that they’re fine would be enough. I don’t want to force them out or accidentally reveal their location if they had really gone into hiding. And in Professor Ravi’s case, any hint concerning the Order’s location or members would be a decent start. I don’t think pinpointing the professor’s exact location would be that easy, especially since your family don’t seem to know much about the Order."
"Alright, I’ll talk to my parents about this. Hopefully I can persuade them to help you. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try again but with my grandparents."
Just then, Cassian spoke up. "Miss Auri, may I have a word with you?"
Raising an eyebrow, Auri replied, "Sure. What’s the matter?"
"I mean in private," Cassian quickly corrected while glancing at Drai, who was looking back at him.
Auri understood her aide’s subtle message, so she deliberated briefly before saying, "Alright. Drai, sorry to leave you, but I need to go inside for a bit, okay? You can just stay here—I won’t take long."
Drai simply nodded, and the two immediately left and entered the building. Auri walked a bit further until they reached the living room before stopping and turning around.
"What’s wrong with you tonight, Cass?" she asked with an irked frown. "You just keep interrupting my reunion. Don’t you know how much I worried about him these past months and that I really looked forward to meeting him again?"
"Apologies, Miss Auri, but that was not my intention," Cassian replied with a deep bow, completely unperturbed by the scolding. "I agree that my previous interruption might be a bit excessive, but I assure you this one is warranted."
After snorting lightly, Auri ordered, "Speak."
Cassian’s face turned serious as he said, "I advise against bringing up the earlier matter to your parents or other masters."
Hearing this, Auri’s eyebrows narrowed further. "Why are you opposed to this?"
"I apologize beforehand if these next words somehow offend you, but after listening to your friend’s story, I can’t help but think he’s either mentally unwell or simply a conman."
"WHAT?!"
Auri’s mana spontaneously surged due to her abrupt rage—she was now casked in a shimmering, bluish torrent.
Nevertheless, Cassian’s expression remained impassive as he continued, "This is merely my unbiased assessment, Miss. Please calm down and think about it rationally."
Cassian’s words did little to appease his young liege, who immediately retorted, "Unbiased my ass! You’ve only met him for less than an hour! How could you spout such foul accusations?!"
"Miss, please, your language—"
"Fuck language! I’m done playing princess!" Auri snapped back, silencing Cassian. "You know what? Tomorrow I’ll return to the academy so I can stop stifling myself to death during those pretentious tutoring classes filled with pompous horny brats. I’m so sick of it!"
This time Cassian’s face paled slightly. He didn’t expect this short exchange to cause such an outburst from Auri that she even threatened to abandon the private classes she had been attending ever since Soluna Academy got attacked. Regardless of her thoughts on her new tutors, lessons, or classmates, attending these costly, private classes was significantly safer than attending the academy.
"Miss Auri, please calm yourself," Cassian said again, but this time with a pleading tone. "You know the masters would never agree to let you back there. Besides, if they become aware of your friend’s astounding recollection, they’ll probably reach the same conclusion as I did."
At this point, several servants had gathered around and watched the squabbling pair worriedly while murmuring among themselves. This caused Auri’s outburst and mana to subside, but inwardly, she was still furious at her aide.
With a much lower voice, she asked, "What part of Drai’s story makes you doubt him?"
Sighing in relief, Cassian rewore a stoic expression and replied, "Too many to list. However, there’s a simple way to determine the genuineness of his story, Miss."
Intrigued, Auri asked, "How?"
"Well, try putting yourself in your friend’s shoes. Would you even survive, let alone remain unscathed?"
Hearing this, Auri let out an amused chuckle with a tinge of scorn. This didn’t escape Cassian’s notice, so he immediately questioned, "Why the mockery, Miss? Is there something wrong with my words?"
"I’m not mocking you, Cas. I just find it amusing that you’re so quick to judge Drai despite lacking the essential details."
"Apologies, Miss, but I’m afraid I still don’t get what your point is," Cassian patiently replied.
"My point is, Drai is an outlier. We both may be first-years, but he’s many times stronger than me. Therefore, even if I can’t survive the things he said he went through, that doesn’t mean he’s lying."
A faint smile appeared on Cassian’s face. "Outlier, huh? Are you sure you’re not exaggerating, Miss? Didn’t you level up right after the incident and break the family record by a pretty wide margin? No matter how powerful your friend is, he can’t be more than twice as powerful as you."
This time Auri burst into laughter, baffling all the observing servants along with Cassian.
After she was done laughing, Auri asked, "You think half a semester or so is that impressive?"
"Is it not?" Cassian asked back, his expression unsure.
"Then how long do you think it took Drai to level up?"
After taking account of Auri’s confident demeanor, Cassian answered, "Two and a half months?"
Auri shook her head, further baffling Cassian.
"Two months?" he remarked before shaking his head. "No—that would beat the national record by a week."
Instead of correcting him, Auri simply raised two fingers.
"Really? Then he should be the new level-two record holder in Rivideria," Cassian remarked, taken aback. "I admit that’s really impressive, but I doubt that would allow him to surpass you greatly, Miss Auri."
Once again, Auri shook her head. "Not months, Cas—weeks. He only needed two short weeks before leveling up for the first time."
Silence ensued as a collective jaw-drop hit the people who were listening. Even for someone as impassive as Cassian, he still needed some time before he was able to compose himself.
"N-no way..." he muttered before realizing something. "Wait, did you say ’first time’, Miss? Doesn’t that mean—"
"Exactly, Cas. Drai had already leveled up again after that. I reckon he should be at least level five or even six by now considering all the things he went through," Auri grinningly proclaimed while puffing out her supple chest.
Cassian fell silent. Being a prideful fellow, he was pretty impacted by his supposedly mistaken assumption. In his mind, he still refused to believe Auri’s ludicrous statement.
Eventually, he said, "Then I must see his absurdity with my own eyes—only then will I accept that I might have judged him wrongly."
With a disapproving glare, Auri said, "You still don’t believe me? Fine. Then how should Drai prove himself?"
Cassian’s eyes turned colder as he replied, "Through a duel."
