“It’s impossible that’s an invocation,” Isuke commented, not hiding his confusion as he watched the girl with white hair, who lingered near Eleonora like a silent shadow.
Eleonora raised an eyebrow, turning her gaze towards Isuke.
For a moment, her expression hardened as she processed Isuke’s words because…
He had been the reason she created that invocation.
While his instructions weren't the best, thanks to what he said, she crafted that invocation, and now he was telling her it wasn’t an invocation.
“What am I supposed to have done then?” Eleonora wondered, puzzled.
But shaking her head, she wouldn’t let doubt consume her.
She had a mission in mind that was far more important than resolving what Isuke or the others thought of her creation.
“Well, there it is,” Eleonora replied vaguely, pointing to the invocation.
Her tone was carefree, as if the subject didn’t interest her in the slightest.
She knew not everyone understood what was happening, but that didn’t matter. She was used to humans who weren't her candidates not grasping what she did or how she did it.
Isuke, for his part, let out a sigh.
Watching Eleonora’s invocation, he couldn’t help but think about what that entity truly was. There was no way an invocation could show such independence or possess such power without an explicit contract.
And yet, Eleonora had tossed her aside like trash just minutes ago…
“Oh, that’s why she didn’t make a contract with her,” Isuke thought, recalling how Eleonora chose to bond with Camila, a human, instead of this strange girl with white hair.
While he wasn’t entirely sure, it partly confirmed to him that this girl wasn’t human.
Meanwhile, Darius, seizing the opportunity while they were bickering, leaned towards Aiden and whispered,
“We need to make sure that girl is on our side.” It was obvious that, for him, the invocation represented a power anyone would want to learn to control.
Aiden, however, cut him off with a slight wave of his hand.
“This isn’t the time to discuss that,” he replied, maintaining his calm.
However, his expression conveyed that he understood Darius’s concern.
If that girl wasn’t human and was an invocation, it meant someone could take control of her.
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And that someone could be any one of them, or anyone from the class or the rest of the city once they joined up with the group.
Marta, who had been watching with palpable curiosity from the start, finally mustered the courage to ask a question, confirming all this time that Eleonora seemed to be someone quite patient.
Eleonora’s display of power and her invocation had awakened something in the girl’s mind.
“Uh… excuse me. How did you cast such a powerful spell?” Marta asked, breaking the silence with a bit of shyness.
All her courage and confidence vanished before someone who could clearly end her with the slightest effort.
“Normally, to cast a spell of that magnitude, you need a staff or some kind of tool to optimize the mana…” Her gaze slid towards Eleonora’s invocation, trying to understand what she had witnessed. “And she… did it with her bare hands.”
Eleonora raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed by the continuous questions.
“These humans and their insatiable curiosity…” Eleonora thought with irritation.
If there was anything she hated, it was being pressured for information that could clearly put her at a disadvantage.
Previously, with Isuke, she hadn’t hesitated to reveal many of her cards to convince him to make a contract, but revealing her abilities and how others she hadn’t confirmed as allies could potentially use that against her or her candidate…
That girl had clearly crossed the line.
“That,” Eleonora began in a tone that indicated her irritation, “is something only I can do.”
Her answer was curt, leaving little room for further inquiry.
Marta, however, didn’t give up, as Eleonora still wasn’t being outright hostile.
“But you taught her,” she pointed out curiously towards the white-haired invocation. “How did you…”
Eleonora closed her eyes for a second, trying to contain herself.
While she would tolerate Isuke and those who seemed to be his friends, other humans with whom she had no connection…
Suddenly, Darius interjected, asking,
“What kind of training did you do to reach this level?”
Eleonora coughed lightly while taking a breath.
She wanted to kill them.
“Isn’t it better to save your breath and quicken our pace?” Eleonora suggested with a smile. Though her tone was light, her words carried an evident weight of annoyance. “Getting to the group as soon as possible should be our priority, don’t you think?”
The others, aware of the tension in the air, nodded silently.
Even Marta, who had been so insistent, decided not to push further.
The group began moving again, with Eleonora leading the march.
Despite her apparent disinterest, Eleonora was watching everything with great attention.
She evaluated each member of the group as they progressed, analyzing how they interacted with one another.
It wasn’t just about ensuring everyone kept pace. It was about understanding the relationships between them and the possible threats they could represent.
For now, one thing Eleonora was clear on was that there was a distinct division in the group.
On one side were Isuke and his allies.
On the other, Aiden, Darius, and Thorne, who, in Eleonora’s opinion, didn’t seem to have a good relationship with Isuke and even less with his candidate, Camila.
Eleonora had noticed how none of them had come to Camila’s aid when she was about to die, so for her, those three were more than disposable.
The other two girls with them… their behaviors were still to be confirmed.
On the other hand, Isuke’s group was more interesting to Eleonora.
Leo, in particular, caught her attention. He was greedy, ambitious, eager to become stronger. Eleonora could see in his eyes the desire for more power, making him predictable.
A human who would always want more.
As for Alexia, Eleonora couldn’t understand why she hid her true appearance.
It was clear the demi-human had ulterior motives, and Eleonora suspected that not everything she said was genuine, so she would have to keep a close eye on how she treated her candidate, Camila.
And finally, Isuke.
Eleonora hoped he would show more interest in her, but she still needed to evaluate how he handled his relationship with his candidate.
Eleonora smiled to herself, thinking of ways to make him reveal his true face.
Was he really trustworthy?
Or just another human trying to play a role?