A month passed, and Kael was not able to see anything from Magister Zahe. He could only observe the magister during their classes, and whenever he tried looking for the magister after class, the magister was nowhere to be found. He was starting to worry that Magister Zahe knows what he was doing. He needed a plan, but he didn’t know where to start.

Elalios returned to Kael after another month passed. Kael revealed his agreement with the grandmaster mage to Elalios, which made Elalios apologize for leaving him alone for too long. He told Elalios that it was his own fault, not Elalios’s, that something like that happen to him, and he also added that he was in a better position than when he was dealing with Magister Kever. Elalios accepted Kael’s claim, still a bit regretful about what he did.

“So, did you see something strange about the magister?”, Elalios asked, referring to Magister Zahe.

“I’ve been observing him for a couple months but I saw nothing”, Kael replied.

“That’s bad. Lord Lucius will not like that”

“I know, I felt it every time we meet”

Kael told his worry to Elalios. Being brought back to Rezelus was a great tragedy for him. And such tragedy is getting near him.

“We should get out of here before that happens”, Elalios recommended. He went further and told Kael different places that they could escape to. He only stopped when Kael gestured him to do so.

Kael said his worry once again. He wanted Elalios to understand his situation. He did have concerns about the possibility that he will be forced to go to Rezelus, but his mind wasn’t fully worried. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he should be doing what the grandmaster mage wanted him to do. Not because of his agreement to Magister Lucius, but perhaps because of his curiosity. He expressed all of these to Elalios.

“Am I right to believe that you wanted my help?”, Elalios asked. Kael nodded. He resigned himself to Kael’s decision. “Okay then, I will help you. Tell me more”

Kael told Elalios everything that transpired while he was alone in their house.

“That person, Magister Zahe…”, Elalios said. He reevaluated what he had in mind, hearing what Kael said to him. He returned to the same conclusion. “I agree with you. He knew what you’re up to”

“I wasted so much time. I will never see through him if that’s the case”, Kael said, worried that he will inevitably fail.

Elalios thought carefully. Seeing Kael saddened was a thing he didn’t want to allow. He still remembered how Kael saved him many times in the past. Back then, he thought that someone seemingly all powerful like Kael would never need his help. It was a perfect time for him to return the favor.

Elalios came up of a plan. He quickly told it to Kael to alleviate Kael’s worries. He claimed that if Kael couldn’t see through the magister, he will be the one that could. But his plan was dismissed by Kael.

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Kael thought it would be too dangerous for Elalios. He didn’t know what the magister was hiding, but if even a grandmaster mage was wary of Magister Zahe, it would make sense that they should be more careful.

Elalios explained what he was going to do. He tried convincing Kael that he will carefully do what he aims to do, and he will not expose himself to danger for too long. He was adamant despite Kael’s constant refusal. He was eager to help Kael this time.

Eventually, Elalios won the argument. Kael gave in after realizing that he couldn’t progress without the help of other people. Only Elalios could help him, but he was still a bit worried.

Next day, after they made their plan, Kael went to classes as usual. Every class felt too long for him. He could only calm down during Magister Zahe’s time. After the last class, he quickly went to Magister Lucius to tell the magister that he didn’t find anything. He was about to say his farewell, but Magister Lucius stopped him.

“This is a problem,”, Magister Lucius stated. He seemed to be talking to himself, but he was still talking to Kael. “We’ve been doing this for too long”

Hearing the magister made Kael remember his concern. It was happening, he was regretting that he didn’t accept Elalios’s offer.

“Are you tired of doing this?”, the magister asked.

It was a dreadful thing to hear. Kael felt like he was going to be abandoned.

“If you want to, you don’t have to follow my request. Don’t worry, I will keep your secret”

Kael didn’t trust the magister’s statement. He wanted to prevent the dissolution of their agreement.

“I must continue doing this, Magister Lucius”

Kael thought that it was the best response to Magister Lucius. He praised the magister’s conviction to a cause not known to him. He was hoping that his praises will make the magister to reconsider, and continue on to ask for his help.

Because of surprise, and not for Kael’s praises, Magister Lucius didn’t say anything anymore. He let Kael go. He was relieved that Kael will continue on doing the task, but he was frustrated. Magister Zahe was too cautious that even after months, he couldn’t discover anything even with the help of Kael. He decided on himself that if they didn’t discover anything after a month, he will let Kael rest. It was troubling him that he was too desperate that he let a student do something dangerous for him.

After leaving Magister Lucius, Kael was reminded of Elalios, so he wanted to go home quickly. He was sure that something happened to Elalios. He was walking out of the academy’s hallway, when he heard Magister Honnora’s voice.

“…zer”, Magister Honnora called. It was a muffled call for Kael.

The magister was calling someone to assist her with something. It shouldn’t concern Kael, but he felt that the magister was calling someone familiar to him. Overwhelmed by curiosity, he tried to clearly hear the name. He was standing outside the room for minutes, eager to not confirm what he was thinking. He was confused, anxiety rising within him. He wished that he was wrong.

“That’s the last of it, magister”, the person helping Magister Honnora said.

“Thank you, Talzer…”

After hearing the name, Kael couldn’t hear another word that the magister said. His thought was confirmed.