"You know how I feel about this..." I squeezed out, hoping my shoes weren't filthy.

"That's what makes it even better," said Connor as he took a seat in front of me, an irking smile plastered on his face.

I sat in the black-leathered chair, a dark window ahead separating Ben, the chauffeur, from the rest of us. It was quite unusual not to see him opening the door himself, but that was probably because the older gentleman didn't want to bring more attention than he already did by driving a limousine. Oh, and by 'us,' I wasn't referring to just Connor and me, but also—

"It seems you have it quite tough," whispered the lady beside me.

I moved my gaze toward the owner of the raspy voice. Some of her features were similar to Connor's, while others made you wonder if they were even related. "And it seems someone can't take a breather even after the exams are over. I was talking about you, Reyna, in case you were wondering."

"I know I should take a break, but please, just wait another minute," she muttered, not lifting her eyes from the tablet she had in hand. Her fingers ran across it with poise I doubted I'd ever be able to imitate, even if given the chance to practice. My presence wasn't enough to distract her, nor was the noise coming from the television.

Yes, there was a fairly large screen showing what was happening on the news. A bit bigger than the one I had at my place.

After a bit, Reyna sighed and put the tablet in her lap. "Maybe you're right, Gray. I'm tired," she grumbled, removing her glasses with one hand and then massaging her forehead with the other. She appeared to be completely worn out.

"That's what you get for having an affinity on top of everything else, sis," said Connor as he sank further into his seat. "Your talent... It was bound to get you into trouble eventually, but you already knew that much."

"What happened?" I asked.

We took the exam in different facilities, after all. I had no idea what happened on their side.

"She had to take an additional exam, duh."

I stared at her, trying to figure out whether Connor was rambling some of his nonsense again or if he was saying the truth.

"Yeah," she gave a brief answer, putting her glasses back on.

"You could've refused it, though. Am I right?"

I was certain Reyna could've refused to take the additional exam if she wanted to.

"I told her the same thing! They didn't even give her any additional points for partaking in their little experiment," Connor dived right into the heart of the matter. "But no! She spat out something about wanting to get things done quickly so she could go home."

"Yeah, I wanted to go home as soon as possible," she shrugged. "You shouldn't forget we also had to show what we are made of, Connor."

"Which we did," he growled, "and have done since we were born."

I had to filter things out a bit.

Reyna just wanted to get it over with, whilst Connor was irritated his sister had taken part in a pointless test. We may even say she exposed a little too much about herself, which I doubted.

There was no way Reyna hadn't anticipated something like that might happen. Perhaps she went along with it without causing a fuss precisely because she had more to hide. Or she didn't get enough sleep and wasn't in the mood to argue with others. Surprisingly, I found both of those theories plausible.

Well, now I had to come up with a way to cool down this heated atmosphere.

"What sort of test was it, Reyna?"

"It was basically the practical exam all over again," she replied, taking the rope I tossed her. "The monsters were the same as before, with the exception that they let me employ my magic."

"Did they allow you to use an operator?"

"They didn't let her use an SCO," explained Connor. "And she still got 15 points, somehow."

SCO is an abbreviation for Spell-Casting-Operator. A device that contains a spell encoded into it, making life much easier for its user. You could use one as long as you were a hunter and had enough mana to charge it, which made it so appealing.

However, since Reyna didn't use one, that meant she used her natural affinity instead.

"Then when you said you were allowed to use magic—"

"Uh-huh. It's as you believe, Gray. I could only use my affinity," said Reyna, "but my accuracy isn't something to brag about..."

Even among hunters, such an affinity was exceptional. Connor, for example, couldn't cast any spells without the involvement of an operator, even though his sister and father could (only spells related to fire, though).

My pal leaned in closer, his palm covering his mouth so Reyna couldn't see what he was saying. "It was awful."

"I can hear you," she grumbled.

"Was it really that bad?" I questioned, unable to suppress my curiosity as I played along. The image of Reyna missing her targets was too hilarious to ignore.

Connor flapped his arms. "She unleashed this whirlwind of flames at the end of the exam, obliterating every monster around her. It looked fancy, but I knew she was just trying to make up for her terrible aim."

"Did you record it...?"

"Someone must have. Do you want me to look for it?"

Because it was an additional exam, it's likely that all of the examinees in their facility saw her in action. A recording popping somewhere wouldn't be that surprising.

"Enough, you two," Reyna's voice trailed into a frigid whisper.

Connor swiveled back, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm up. "Are you sure you don't have an affinity toward ice instead, my beloved sister?"

"Do you want me to remind you, dearest brother, just what kind of affinity I possess?" She drew down the sleeves of her camel coat, her coral eyes fixed on her target. "I'd be delighted to help you in that case. Someone mentioned that my aim is pretty awful, so I'd like to practice a bit."

"G-Gray?"

His call went unanswered. I diverted my eyes, admiring the people passing by. Quite a busy day within the 1st District of Cernasea from the looks of it.

"Traitor," he murmured through his teeth. My cowardice was apparently looked down upon. I could live with that. "You'll pay for this! Do you hear me?!"

Reyna raised her thumb, then pointed her index finger toward his forehead, her hand resembling a gun. "That will happen if you're still breathing after I'm done with you, brother."

"I'm sorry!" Connor rose his hands in surrender. "Please, have mercy," he added without a hint of regret.

She paused for a second before extending her finger even further. "It wasn't genuine enough."

Our soon-to-be victim, now pressed against his seat, desperately looked to me for help as he tucked his chin in to gain a bit more distance from the gun pointed at him.

This entire time, I've been watching everything unfold from the corner of my eye as if it were a movie. Unsurprisingly, one of its actors is currently trying to drag me onto the main stage. I wasn't dumb enough to fall for any of it, though. Especially not after Reyna taunted me with her glare to intervene if I had the guts.

I diverted my line of sight once again, my lips curling into a sneer as I ignored the fading cry in the background.