Chapter 147- The Meeting (Part 2)
"So, are you going to tell me how you did that?" Rin asked casually as the two continued walking.
"How can I spoil surprises, Rin?" Malza replied.
"Well, it's not that big of a deal to show me, is it? You don't seem like you care whether I discover your powers or not."
"Was I that obvious?" He shrugged before continuing.
"Pretty much. But, what's the fun if I spoil it now? I want to see you take a guess."
Squinting his eyes, Rin fell into thought as he replayed the scene in his head. The way it happened so swiftly, so seamlessly was just chilling. The idea that someone could trick Rin so easily without him noticing was spine-chilling, to say the least.
'I can't really think of a possible way to do that. Was there even an element that can trick the eyes? Mist?' He thought of a random element but then shook that thought off.
He knew some information about the mist element but none of what Malza did right now fit in the description of that element. For mist users to create those fake images and trick their opponents, there would be a vague distortion in the vision of that target. So most of the time, the one fighting a mist element user will be aware of the fact they are being tricked but can't discern how.
However, with what Rin saw right now, there was no distortion in his vision. Everything happened fluently and perfectly. It wasn't something even the best of Mist users can pull off.
'It's not mist. Then, what is it?'
He rubbed his head, searching for a good answer but eventually, he gave up on it. Rin was confident he had knowledge about most elements that exist in this world if not all of them and none of them fit what he saw.
It's just extremely bizarre and incomprehensible.
"I give up."
"Hahahaha! Seeing you think about it so hard is quite entertaining." Malza chuckled amusedly and then continued.
"You don't need to worry about it. You will know eventually. But, I must say, you are the first student to ever notice my powers on the first time. All of them took a few tries to finally notice the abnormality. Your eyes are sharp."
"Thank you…"
The two then continued walking till they reached one of the huge cafes of the city. It was a very popular place for those who have enough money to afford it. The place was also perfect for romantic dates, friend meetings, and many other things like studying or reading books.
Malza quickly guided them to a very luxurious table inside the cafe that he seemingly booked before. Rin was quite impressed by the quality and comfort of the seats and the amazing view of the city from such a high floor. It was truly worth the huge sum of money.
"Order anything you want, it's on me." He said as he rested casually on the seat.
"Well, I won't hold back then."
After that, Rin ordered some sweet pastry and a cup of coffee. He wasn't into exotic sweets or anything of that sort especially when some of them come from unknown creatures and weird plants. The food in this world was mostly great but Rin would still crave some things from his old world from time to time and would either cook it or try it in cafes.
After their order came basically in 3 minutes, Rin finally asked.
"Why did you not wait for the evening?"
"Because I was sure you were going to forget."
"..."
"Am I wrong?" Malza asked again with a cheeky smile.
"No…"
"Hahaha! Then I was right by visiting you first."
"Mhm… So, for what reason did you call me here?"
"Oh? Did Elise not tell you?" The blonde-haired young man blinked a few times.
"No?"
"Oh? That is interesting. Was she that much against my offer?" Malza sighed under his breath.
"What offer? Huh?" Rin confusedly questioned his words.
He didn't hear anything from Elise about meeting Malza or even this 'offer' thing. His mind went to uncharted territories as he imagined the worst-case scenario. Since Malza was indeed very tricky and hard to understand, he could only fear what he could say to Elise or even how he tries to manipulate her into his plans.
But, then he realized something… This is Elise he is talking about. She wasn't some normal girl. Intelligence-wise, she was far smarter than Rin in his opinion so if there was anything, she would instantly notice it.
'I should probably worry about myself instead.'
"Hahahah! You don't need to be that suspicious! As I said before, I am not intending to harm any of you. You are both just quite interesting and worthy of trying to befriend in the future. I am sitting in front of you right now with pure intentions."
"Sorry, but I can't believe you when you have that kind of smile on your face."
"What kind?"
"The kind that says 'I already predicted what you will do 30 steps before you do it'. I hate those kinds of smiles." Rin replied.
"That's why you caught my interest, Rin. You are like a box of candy, the more I eat from it, the tastier it becomes." He said as he licked his lips.
Rin felt a chill run down his spine when he saw that and could only glare back at him.
"You want me to dread this meeting, don't you?"
The moment he heard that Malza chuckled loudly and then dropped the act.
"Sorry, sorry! I love joking around, you see."
"Whatever, can you please now say what this 'offer' you are talking about is?"
"Oh, right… The offer."
After that, Malza quickly explained what he said to Elise. Rin didn't believe his words as he didn't trust Malza to say the truth or even worse, twist it so that he could trick him. He will wait until he asks Elise about it to know the truth.
But, for the sake of the conversation to proceed, he feigned ignorance and nodded his head at every word Malza said.
After the end of the explanation, Rin finally opened his mouth to speak.
"I don't really see why you would be this eager in recruiting us. Do you know something?" Rin asked as he squinted his eyes.
"Why do you think so?" Malza's smile didn't change at all. He never really changed his expression throughout the whole conversation.
"You don't seem like someone who would recruit people to your student council merely because they are 'interesting' or 'entertaining'. I'm pretty sure Elise asked you this question."
"Hmm? That's a bold claim. Do you trust Elise that much?"
"Yes," Rin replied without any hesitation.
He basically had blind trust in Elise. Even though he knew that was a stupid thing to do to trust someone blindly. But, Elise was just someone who made him believe that she was worthy of that high regard.
"Well, it is indeed true that she asked me that question. But, I can't answer it now. You see, Rin… I am a very practical person. I always search for the best method to do things. I don't like to beat around the bush. However, as much as I want to tell both of you about the reason for my offer, I still can't. Trust me on this one."
Malza then shifted his gaze to the outside, seemingly admiring the scenery from the sky.
"'Create 1 enemy and 1000 friends' is something.' have you ever heard of that quote?"
"No."
"Well, it's one of the few things I believe in. Creating enemies is stupid. I only need allies." Tapping on the table rhythmically, Malza's eyes flashed with a hint of complicated emotions.
Rin, whose eyes were attracted to the rhythmic hitting of his fingers, shook his head.
"People are bound to have enemies."
"But, I don't like making them. So if I have the choice to have an enemy or a friend, I will have a friend. Anyway, I want you to think about it, Rin. You can win a lot and lose nothing from my offer. It's going to really help you in the future after you leave the academy too. The student council's reach is far bigger than the academy and stretches behind its walls."
"... I can't promise you anything. I can't take a decision alone when my partner is against the idea."
"Well, I trust that you can think about it rationally and convince Miss. Elise."
Without saying anything, Rin nodded his head and stood up to leave.
"It was nice talking to you, Malza. I will give it a thought."
"I appreciate that."
After that, Rin left the cafe, leaving Malza sitting on his chair.
His smile had already vanished from his face and a neutral expression appeared instead.
"'Create 1 enemy and 1000 friends', huh? Well, I fear for my enemies rather than my friends. Because if anyone tries to play, I will make them my toy."
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l