Illia strolled through the streets of Sadonia, carrying a box of spices she had just bought in one hand. The sun was about to set and the streets were rather quiet today. The peaceful stroll would've been more enjoyable if she hadn't been agonizing over a decision she made earlier today.

Was it a good idea to decline master Testra's invitation? She pondered as she walked. I don't want her to think that I'm being unappreciative, but at the same time, she shouldn't have to waste money on someone who doesn't deserve it, and time spent on training is time well spent. What I did what right, right?

"Hey." A familiar voice called out behind her. She turned around to find master Coronis with two paper cups in his hands.

"I've been looking for you."

Oh no, did I do something wrong?

"Want some sugarbulb juice?" He asked, offering her a cup.

"No thank you." Illia politely declined with a wave.

"If you're not drinking it then I'm pouring it away. It'll be a waste." He told her, knowing that it was the only way she would accept it.

"What? But you could give it to someone else."

"But I don't want to." He replied, offering her the drink again.

Illia reluctantly took the cup. She stared at the sweet, thirst quenching red juice but kept it far away from her lips.

I guess I can give it to someone else when I get back to my room.

"If you don't drink yours, I'll pour mine away." Coronis told her.

His words prompted her to pour the drink down her throat and gulp it as fast as she could, getting her a strange look from Coronis.

"Relax, there's no rush. Just enjoy your drink." He said with a small chuckle.

"O-Okay."

Coronis took a sip from his own cup, savouring the sweet and delicious juice as it slid down his throat.

"So, about what happened this afternoon,"

"Did I cause anyone any problems? I'm so sorry if did!" Illia immediately apologized before he could finish.

"Don't worry, everything was fine. I just wanted to know why you didn't want to come. From what I heard, you stayed behind to do some training, correct?"

Illia nodded in response.

"And there weren't any other reasons?"

Illia shook her head with a look of worry on her face.

"Are you guys mad that I didn't come? I apologize if I had-"

"No, no, no, we're not mad at all." Coronis quickly reassured her. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't having any problems that kept you from joining us. It's fine if you wanted to stay back to do some training, so don't worry about it." He told her in a friendly tone. "By the way, where are heading to now?"

"Back to the headquarters to keep some stuff." Illia replied, lifting up the box of spices for him to see. "Afterwards I'll cook some dinner for my friends."

"If you want, I can treat you guys to dinner again." Coronis offered.

"T-There's no need for that!" Illia blurted out. "I really appreciate the offer but you and master Testra have already spent so much money on us these past few weeks."

"I see, is that the actual reason why you didn't want to eat at Buffeast?"

"N-No, I just, I really did want to do some training. I didn't mean to be unappreciative."

"Relax kiddo," Coronis laughed. "Like I said, it's fine if you didn't want to come, but it did worry Testra a little. She thought you were mad at her or something."

Damn it Illia! Look at what you've caused!

"I-I'm not! I'm really not! There's no reason for me to hate her when she's been so nice to us!"

"I know that, but Testra can be a bit of a worrywart when it comes to you guys. You're all very precious to her after all. Oh, and to me too of course."

"God, I'm so sorry for causing you guys so much problems." Illia apologized in a panic. "I'll atone for my actions if necessary. I'll do anything."

"Whoa, whoa, relax kid, relax. There's nothing to apologize about. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I caused so much unnecessary worry." Her voice was filled with genuine guilt.

"You're stressing way too much over little matters. Again, you did nothing wrong, so just relax, alright?" Coronis reassured her with a comforting voice.

"Testra probably already told you this, but if you need help with anything, even with non-vanguard related matters, feel free to come to us, okay?"

Illia nodded in response, knowing full well that she wasn't going to.

Coronis chugged the rest of his juice and held out his hand. "Pass me the cup when you're finish and I'll toss it out for you."

"But there's no need for that." Illia chugged the remaining juice and burnt the paper cup in her hand with a spell.

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"Oh yeah, I forgot we could do that. Guess I'm getting a little too used to my soul link." Coronis laughed as he burnt his cup.

"Take care kid." He waved at his trainee and left.

Once she reached the headquarters of Sadonia, Illia collected the keys to her temporary room and made her way upstairs.

When she entered her room, she found all the other trainees gathered at the table, excluding Laren who stood at the back with his arms folded while staring daggers at everyone.

"Hey guys," Illia greeted them while setting down the box of spices. "Is there something going on here?"

"Quick, bring it out!" Vesfira excitedly ordered. Vitren rushed into the kitchen and brought out a sleek black container. He set it on the table and dramatically opened it as if it was a treasure chest.

"Ta-da!" Inside the box was a platter of juicy sanstor steak strips seasoned with cloud salt, dizshell pepper, and tidefin flakes.

"Is...is this for me?" Illia asked, looking shocked and strangely uneasy. She recognized the dish. It was one of the most expensive item from one of the most popular restaurant in Sadonia.

"It wasn't fair that you didn't get to eat at Buffeast, so we thought that we should at least treat you to something nice to make up for it." Said Bora.

"And don't worry about the cost, we all chimed in some cash to buy it for you." Vesfira told her. "Well, almost everyone." She threw a side eye at Laren.

"How much does it cost?" Illia asked in distress. She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. "I'll pay you guys back."

"What? You don't need to pay us back." Vesfira exclaimed.

"It's fine, really. I don't mind." Illia insisted with a forced smile that looked a little creepy.

"This bitch." Laren grumbled as he left his spot. He picked up the box and threw it at Illia, hitting her in the face and causing meat to splatter everywhere. It left the whole room stunned and outraged.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ASSHOLE!" Vesfira furiously yelled.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO OUR ILLIA! YOU BRUTE!" Vitren roared as he stepped forward and threw a punch that nailed Laren in the face and bruised his cheek.

An enraged Laren retaliated with a thundering right hook that shattered Vitren's nose, causing blood to gush out of it. Vitren reeled back, covering his bloody nose with his hands as tries to heal it, but he felt a crushing grip around his throat holding him in place while merciless blows attempted to cave his face in.

"STOP!" Bora got between them and pushed Laren away from Vitren, freeing him from his grip and letting him collapse to the floor with a face that was left bloody and broken. Surprisingly, he was still conscious, but barely.

Koidra rushed to his side and immediately began healing him. "Don't move, just stay down and focus on healing yourself."

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Bora furiously roared. "ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Do you really want to challenge me?" Laren moved closer to Bora until they were both staring down at each other. Despite the rage that filled him, Bora backed down, not wanting a repeat of what happened in a previous sparring match.

"You're all a bunch of worthless fucking idiots. I'm the only Wreistar here and for some god damned reason you're all worshipping someone this pathetic." He gestured at Illia who was wiping meat off her face.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering who you guys are. The dipshit who tried to punch someone two levels higher than him is just some filthy fucking pervert, and the ingrate who's healing him is a fucking moron who gave up a comfy life so he could look a little tough. The two siblings with us would most likely follow in the footsteps of their pathetic parents and get slaughtered by monsters, and finally," He glared at Illia with disdain in his eyes as if she was the lowest lifeform in existence.

"The piece of shit you all worship. Her parents knew how worthless she was on the day she was born and tossed her away into an orphanage. They definitely made the right choice considering how no one wanted to adopt her for 17 years."

Illia quickly wrapped her arms around Vesfira and held her back before she could lunge at Laren.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY PARENTS?"

"Worthless bastards." Laren spat before storming out the room.

"I'm getting really sick of his tantrums." Bora said through clenched teeth. "Something needs to be done about that son of a bitch."

"I'LL KILL HIM! THAT BASTARD'S GONNA DIE WHEN HE GETS BACK!"

"Calm down." Illia said as she slowly released Vesfira. "We'll tell Testra what he did and she'll deal with him."

Illia took out all the money from her wallet and placed it on the table. "This is for the food."

"We're not taking your money Illia." Said Koidra.

"If you won't take it then I'll burn it. It'll be a waste."

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At midnight, while everyone else was asleep, Illia stared at the mirror in the bathroom while contemplating what to do about the overly aggressive douchebag she's forced to see almost everyday.

Earlier, Testra had given him a big scolding for what he did and forced him to apologize to everyone, but Illia knew that as long as he was still here, nothing would change.

Beating him into submissive during a sparring match is an option I can consider. It might be able to instill some much needed fear into him, but if his ego is even more fragile than I thought, then there's a chance he'll plot something heinous to get back at me.

The other option I have is to get rid of him for good. Illia created a small blade in hand as she pondered the option. It'll be so easy, especially since he's fast asleep, but, She sighed and melted the blade. Then I'd be executed for commiting murder. Master Testra has already lost too many people in her life, I can't let her lose more because of my selfishness.

For now, I'll pray and hope that through some miracle, Laren will turn over a new leaf and become a better person. But if he ever does anything that puts any of us in danger, I'll happily rid the world of him.

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A full grown gardvern flew over Mezio's borders with a man on its back and a large carriage in its talons. It flew over to an area marked as a landing zone and gently set the carriage down before landing next to it.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Vesfira burst through the carriage with her luggage in hand.

"Don't do that next time Vesfira." Testra scolded her. "You might accidentally break the door."

"Sorry!"

Everyone thanked the gardvern and its tamer before going back to the headquarters.

When they entered the headquarters, they were met with a warm greeting from the receptionist.

"Ayy, you're all back! Did Reizo tell you guys about the news?" Jae asked.

"He told us that he became a trainer. By the way, where is he?" Testra asked.

"No idea, but I'll let him know you guys are back if I see him."

"Alright everyone, rest up for today. Tomorrow we'll be going on a few missions." Testra announced before leaving to find Reizo.

The trainees, excluding Laren, made their way upstairs, looking forward to seeing their own rooms after a long time. When they made it to their rooms, they noticed that one of them was unlocked and opened, and it was the room shared by Illia, Vesfira, and Laren.

"That's weird, Laren didn't come up here, did he?" Koidra asked.

"He definitely isn't here. I watched him leave the headquarters." Illia replied.

She opened the door and found a strange girl in the living room. She wore a hoodie with shorts and had long messy purple hair and a mask with a terribly drawn smile on it concealing her face. The bracer on her arm signified that she was a vanguard.

The strange girl was seated on the table with her head resting on her arms and her legs kicking underneath. As soon as the she noticed them, she bolted away and leapt out the window.

"Was that one of Reizo's new trainees?" Vesfira asked. "What the hell was she doing here?"

The sound of meat sizzling from within the kitchen caught their attention. They checked the kitchen and found a brown haired boy with a vanguard bracer on his wrist. He was too fixated on cooking to notice the five other people standing behind him.

"Excuse me!" Illia called out.

"Get out of the kitchen before I hit you with this frying pan Saliza!" The boy warned, still focused on whatever he was cooking. When he realized that the voice came from someone he didn't know, the boy stiffened up and slowly turned around, revealing a unique set of eyes.

"What are you doing in our room?"