But just as I was about to wake up my two friends, I saw the figure of the person coming in.
She wore a formal suit and glasses. There was a vibe about her, like that of a strict teacher.
"Paris," I sheathed my sword. "So you were the Special Rank Exorcist they sent?"
Unlike last time when she acted cold, now she had a small smile. "Yes, and it seems like you got my letter. I was about 70% sure Delia would have ripped it up. How is she doing, by the way?"
"Well, you know how Delia is, probably bored and torturing an animal or something," I shrugged. While I might have said that as a joke, knowing Delia, she could be doing something along those lines.
There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds. Usually, I would fill such awkwardness with a joke or something. But I didn’t think Paris was here to joke around.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked her.
Those words revitalized her; she didn't shake or nod her head, leaving her true intentions a mystery for now. “Not necessarily. I just saw you were taking the exam and wanted to make sure you were alright. I would have forced you to stop taking the exam if you were heavily injured. Even though you seem uninjured, I’m still a bit tempted to force you to do so.”
“Are you worried about the murders that have been happening?” I asked.
Despite her cold exterior, amongst the exorcists, she was probably one of the few that cared about everyone as she did.
“But this is how every Expert Exam has been. The higher-ups can wage a pseudo-war without putting themselves in danger.” I reminded her that despite her special ability, the world was unfair.
“I know how things are, and there have always been deaths in every exam. But not like this one. It’s almost as if someone is out to kill as many exorcists as possible,” she frowned.
As expected, she roughly knew what was happening. Some kingdoms tried to weaken the Sun Country during this time, and many massacres against local exorcists happened. So in case of war, we should be weakened and not have enough Exorcists to fight against the enemies.
“Just be careful where you’re trying to investigate. You still owe me a favor for saving your life, and it would be a shame if you died,” despite being so intelligent, I knew that Paris had a head filled only with thoughts about justice, and due to that, she sometimes did reckless things. Though even other times when she wanted to do things subtly, her restriction where she can’t ignore any injustice will come into play.
That was a restriction worded beautifully, and even I didn’t know the exact specifics of it. A lot depended on what she perceived that condition meant.
“You know something,” she narrowed her eyes.
“I know about as much as you. Don’t get too involved with these things. The higher-ups are playing their games with the lives of the lower-ranked exorcists,” I explained what was roughly happening.
No matter which world, the soldiers' lives were always decided by leaders who never stepped foot on a battlefield.
She gritted her teeth, and her eyes were lit aflame with passion for justice. No doubt she was going to do something reckless.
Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to get involved.
It wasn’t the higher-ups, the clan heads and Nobles could play this game much longer. My intention wasn’t to break the system either; a revolution would weaken humanity even more.
I would like to become one of those higher-ups. But my age, power, and background wouldn’t allow me to become one of them for at least another thirty years. That was the kind of time I didn’t have.
After this exam is over, and if I survive. I will have to look for a way to gain political power or some leverage against those with it.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
For now, I will stay away from political bullshit.
Maybe having a puppet in place to handle those things would be better? They would also take the burn if something went wrong. After all, I was only about as good at politics as the average person.
Political power struggles were a waste of time. Only one form of power was absolute, so training was better.
Paris stared at me like I was some kind of exotic animal. Then she sighed and shook her head. "What an annoying situation this is. Those higher-ups who're so willing to sacrifice others should be put in a pit and fight it out to the death. Learn what fighting for their lives feels like, instead of having other people constantly die for their whims and pleasures."
Oy, oy, oy, saying shit like that was what got a lot of people killed.
If Paris was as cold-hearted as she was smart, she would be unstoppable. The only thing saving the world from her was her kindness.
"I don't care how you deal with this. You're smarter and more experienced than me in these kinds of situations. I just wanted to warn you to be careful." I sighed.
She extended her hand toward me and had a slight smirk on her face. "You're quite the kind-hearted young man."
She was about to ruffle my hair, but I grabbed her hand. "They might send another Special Rank Exorcist to deal with you. Probably a higher-ranked one. The Sun Exorcist is essentially their dog, so if he's ever in your vicinity, be careful."
"Don't worry. Despite my ability not being combat-related, I'm pretty strong in action too." She reassured me and forcefully overpowered my hand, and ruffled my hair.
Yeah, she wasn't weak by any means. But that wasn't enough; the other Special Rank Exorcists were no joke.
"See you around," she waved at me as she walked away.
After she walked off, she used her key copy to lock the door.
Multiple keys to this door were a huge security risk. Was this Paris' way of warning me to be careful? Couldn't she just say that instead?
Right, she was always this kind of person. Within her eyes, this was what she would consider as fair. Even though this was a death contest, she wanted to play 'fair'.
"Hey, I don't think you bastard has such dulled senses to sleep through the creaking of a door and our conversation," I called out to my teammates.
They both stood up and looked at me. Now they will probably ask about how I knew someone like Paris.
"Kon," Gem's eyes were shadowed by his hair. He spoke in a cold voice. Then he raised his head and showed his eyes filled with tears and snot running down his nose.
"What's your relationship with that woman!" He cried out.
Instead of curiosity, he seemed to be filled with so much envy. He might become a ghost and haunt me for the rest of my life!
What a troublesome friend…
***
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Anika couldn't sleep, and she kept swearing under her breath.
She was in the infirmary, and her team was under medical care.
But she couldn't rest. On the train, they had to fight five battles in a row; by the end, Agon was bleeding profusely, and Sei was fatigued and had a cut across his stomach. She was the only one uninjured due to her special ability.
"Hey, Anika, can you not mutter under your breath? I can barely sleep due to the pain as it already is." Agon coughed.
She wanted to yell at this bastard of a teammate. But she held it in. He was injured, and she didn't want to aggravate his injuries more. He needed the rest if they even wanted to have a chance on the next stage of the exam.
Using all her willpower, Anika held her rage.
…
She didn't sleep all night, her nerves were on edge, and Agon jumping up like a baboon didn't help.
"Hey! Anika, look at this! I'm all healed up!" He laughed and showed off his shoulder and arm. There wasn't even a scar on him.
"And here I thought I wouldn't have to deal with you once I was out of the academy," a familiar voice said.
The sheets around one of the beds got pulled aside, revealing a beautiful girl with dark hair and brown eyes. She had an aloof charm about her.
"Huh? Do I know you?" Agon asked, with a dumbfounded look on his face.
'Why is it not surprising that he doesn't remember his classmate?' Anika sighed.
Miku used to be chubbier at the start of the year. She was the girl who Mr Fort, the professor who died during the training camp attack, supported Miku through her troubles.
Though she was ashamed to admit it, Anika used to be a bitch back then. She ridiculed Miku and her efforts.
But now, she wasn't someone she could ridicule. Miku had the highest record of missions in their year; she usually took assignments alone. If a mission paid well, she usually accepted it.
Suddenly there was a noise from the intercom. "We would like to warn all the students to stay in their rooms. A murder has been committed on the ship."
What?!