Luckily a barrier was placed around the arena before the matches began so instead of reaching them, the ice froze almost half of the barrier they placed. Everyone was surprised at what had happened and even the elders who were hidden from the public eye were now showing interest towards Cygnus.
"Oops," the master chuckled. He looked at the damage he had caused and all he could do was look sheepish.
The proctor declared Cygnus as the winner of the battle and with that, the master melted the ice he had caused. He then stepped towards his opponent who was lying on the ground and gave him a grin.
"You are an interesting fellow," he crouched down and tilted his head to the side, "come find me if you have no one to talk to or if you just have the urge to talk to someone."
Before the man could answer Cygnus, the master stood up and left. Isaiah Blackwell looked at the sky and the slowly falling particles from the broken ice crystal. He had proven to himself that Rigel Ginehart was an odd person and those movements were not something a person who had no experience in fighting could do.
He sat up and watched as the man left the arena. He also saw how the man lifted his head towards a specific part of the audience. Isaiah followed the man's gaze and came eye to eye with Major Linius. He averted his gaze then he stood up and left too.
The last three matches before midday happened in a breeze and without much excitement. Those last fights were incomparable to the fight between Isaiah and Rigel, according to one of the people who went there to watch. After the last fight, the spectators dispersed with the fight still as their topic.
While the audience was excited, the atmosphere in the room where the elders were gathered wasn't that great. Everyone was in a depressed state with their eyes still glued at the arena even though all the matches for the morning were done.
"Rest first, we will talk about this after the exam." The Magus Maximus who was hidden at the back spoke up. He stood up from his seat and left the room.
Since the head of the elders already left, the others followed suit. There's no point in over thinking things. The elders exited the room at the same time they heard a cheery voice not far from where they were.
"Brother! Did you see my fight?" Cygnus waved his hands towards Linius while he was running towards him.
The master has a wide grin on his face and when he was a few inches away he suddenly stopped. Linius frowned and saw that he was looking towards his back so the major looked back. The corners of his mouth raised when he saw who the people were that caught the master's attention.
Cygnus cautiously walked up to his brother and whispered a question like he didn't already know who they were, "Who are they and why are you glaring at them?"
"From the people that I could recognize, I think they are the renowned elders of the tower," Linius answered with his gaze still on them.
Cygnus looked in their direction again and saw that Celes was also there, "You are right they must be the elders."
He looked at them again but only Elder Celes gave him a small smile which he returned. After that, the elders left first. The master suddenly laughed when he was sure that they were gone.
"They sure took an interest in me. Should I consider this good news? I slightly messed up a while ago but it made them more curious about me." Cygnus could not stop laughing even in the presence of the soldiers who were with Linius.
The major sighed and raised his hand then slightly waved it back, "Aren't you moving too fast?" From the corner of his eye, he saw his men moving away.
They were left alone in that hallway as he waited for the master to stop laughing. He did not know if he was obviously making careless moves or it was all a part of his plan. Linius could already imagine how his men would look at him after this event.
The sound of the master's laughter slowly died down, "I think so but I really don't care because Ari and Astro are doing a good job with collecting everything that I need."
Cygnus returned to his smiling self with both of his hands in his pocket. He was okay with both Astro and Ari taking their time in investigating but the mage was a bit insistent so he gave them the permission to make use of all their available time to finish their task. Once they've found all the evidence that Cygnus would need, he will make his move.
"Luckily, I am always prepared and Mr. C has introduced me to an interesting man." Linius looked at the master seriously.
The master shook his head and chuckled, "Ah, it looks like I got busted. But aren't you happy that they are on your side? And don't worry, as long as I don't order that town will remain safe under their rule."
Linius closed his eyes and sighed. He was glad that within the time that his brother was alive, he did not act like a spoiled brat. He opened his eyes when he heard the master laughing again.
"I am not acting like a spoiled brat, major. I am acting the way I usually do and you are lucky that you are only seeing this side of me." He walked up to the major and slung his arm on the major's shoulder. "If you had seen me during that time, you would have peed your pants or you would have ran away for your life but judging by how you are, you won't do either of those things."
The master then slowly pulled the major as they walked towards the exit. He still had his arms around the other's shoulder when they met his brother's escorts. They didn't say much as they followed them behind.
Linius wanted to eat outside the tower for lunch but for some reason he was pulled by the master towards the canteen. They immediately stood up once they stepped inside and the surrounding suddenly became silent. Cygnus paid them no mind and instead led them to the table that he usually uses.
He frowned when he saw that there were people at the table and when he looked around and he saw that Astro was not around. "Where is he? I clearly told him to guard the table. Now look at this, some unknown people are using it already."
He purposely raised his voice to get the attention of the people who were seated at his usual table. His statement caught the attention of the other people who were in the canteen. Curious eyes were now focused in their direction.
The group who took over his usual place didn't have the slightest bit of intention to move but after their leader heard what the voice said, he was pissed. He looked up and met face to face with Cygnus who was grinning at him. The leader was also taken aback by the man's entourage.
"We are very sorry. We didn't know that this place is where you usually sit," his courage a while ago disappeared in the blink of an eye. He looked at his group and used his head to signal them to leave.
The group scurried away as they left the table empty. The servers in the canteen did not waste time and came to wipe the table clean before Cygnus took a seat. Linius followed, then his entourage also found seats for themselves before they ordered for food.
"You've built quite a reputation for yourself in this place, how amazing." Linius glared at the master as he appeared like a brother who was scolding his sibling.
Cygnus laughed, "Not necessarily, they just grow wary of me because of what I did in the past. You know I cut off my cousin's arm." He tried to dodge the statement but Linius could already tell he did something.
"I don't know what you did but can you at least behave yourself while you are here? I agreed for you to come here but don't overdo it and instead befriend people your age." Since he knew that he can't change his brother's ways, he needed to at least remind him once and a while to behave.
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