Chapter 180: Delia's Choice

'Could it be that they faced a mishap?'

The middle-aged man felt a little worried, Quinn and the others were supposed to be back by now. Yet, there was only a week left before the trial land closes, but they're still not back.

Quinn was his only child, and he treasures him a lot. After Quinn's test, on seeing that he had three elements, and one was the darkness element, he felt the fate of their family lied in the hands of Quinn.

'He shouldn't have an equal in his generation.' The middle-aged man tried consoling himself.

And he wasn't wrong about it though, Quinn naturally doesn't have an equal amongst his generation in the Azure continent. Grey was the one who killed him, and his parents weren't from the Azure continent, so technically, Grey wasn't from the Azure continent.

The middle-aged man picked up a book from his desk but threw it to the flow in annoyance. Even though there was still a week left, he didn't feel optimistic about Quinn's return.

Slowly, the thought of Quinn possibly being dead started to creep into his head.

'He's smart, so he wouldn't go to areas which would put his life at risk.'

With an unsettled mind, he started thinking of multiple possibilities.

____

Qilin empire, Lunar Academy.

The Academy was quite peaceful with students occasionally walking in and out of the compound. Most of the students didn't look as cheerful as they usually did, the reason for that was because, one week ago, the principal announced that he'll be stepping down from his position once the students get back from their special training in a week time. Surprisingly, he was not the only one who would be stepping down, after hearing the principal's announcement, the other head instructors, as well as a few high leveled instructors also decided to step down.

Over the years they've worked with the principal, they've developed a form of attachment to him. Not just that, but they didn't see themselves working with anyone else.

Even the emperor wouldn't have expected all the head instructors, and most of the old instructors in the Lunar Academy to step down just because Oliver was stepping down, this was a blow to the empire's strength since all the instructors that stepped down were all in the Overlord Plane.

Blake's office.

Blake was currently pacing around in his office, apparently thinking about something.

"*Sigh* We'll be leaving soon, and Senior Chris isn't back yet. He doesn't usually take this long whenever he disappears."

"Also, what will I do with Delia? She didn't say you'll step down as an instructor, so that means she'll be staying here. But, I can't let her stay here and be controlled by the emperor."

He quickly decided it was better to meet up with Delia and have a chat with her. Just as walked up to the door, he heard a knock. He hastily went back to his chair and took a seat.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a delicate-looking young lady walked into the office.

"Delia!" Blake raised a brow, not expecting Delia to come to his office.

"What? Am I not allowed in here?" Delia looked around before taking a seat opposite him.

Blake looked at her and smiled wryly while shaking his head. Even after their frequent encounters, she still speaks in this manner sometimes.

"Of course you are. What brings you here?" He asked.

The only time Delia had come to his office was when Grey just entered the Academy, since then, she had not stepped into the office again.

"I just came to check up on you." Delia said blandly while staring at the bookshelf that was close to the desk.

"Oh!" Blake was slightly taken aback by her statement.

"Yeah, so how are you?" Delia said in the same bland voice.

"I'm fine. How about you?" Blake asked while wearing a surprised expression.

"Fine." answered Delia before falling silent.

Blake stared at her, a little dazed by the fact that she came to his office just to ask how he was doing. That shouldn't be all, right?

A minute went by and the office was still quiet, with only the sound of the duo's light breathing being heard in the office.

"Seriously, why did you come? It can't be that you only came to ask how I'm doing, right?" Blake broke the silence, still staring at the almost fairy-like young lady sitting across him who was staring at the bookshelf by the desk.

Delia continued staring at the bookshelf without replying. Just as Blake was about to question her once again, she opened her mouth, "When are you leaving?"

"I'll be going with the principal." Blake replied in a low voice.

"I see. Did you plan on leaving without saying goodbye?" Delia finally stopped staring at the bookshelf and gazed right into Blake's eyes.

She could feel that after they've left the Academy, then getting in contact with them would be extremely difficult. Although she didn't know much, she could tell there was something wrong.

"Was about to come to your place and talk to you." Blake answered staring back into her eyes without blinking.

Delia didn't speak any further and dropped her head, seemingly waiting for something.

"Do you want to come with us?" Blake finally asked after brooding over it for some time.

He didn't think the chances of her following them was good, given the fact that her father was a high ranking official of the empire, even if it wouldn't mean much if she left, Blake felt her father wouldn't approve of it.

Delia's eyes turned watery, and she kept her head down.

"I can't."

She stood up and walked in the direction of the door.

"Are you afraid of what your father would say?" Blake asked when she got to the door. He got on his feet and approached Delia.

"Not what he would say, but how he would feel. Just like you don't want to disappoint your Teacher, I also don't want to disappoint my father." Delia said with one of her hands holding onto the doorknob.

"Even at the cost of your freedom? I know I always do things according to Teacher's demands, but there are times I did things for myself, for you." Blake said, standing behind her.

"I know, but we're two different people. If I decide to leave with you, father would be heartbroken." Delia said while slowly turning the doorknob.

"And me? How do you think I'd feel?" Blake asked in a low voice.

The turning doorknob stopped with a 'click' sound, and Delia turned to look at him. When he saw her eyes, he felt sad inside. He could see the pain in her eyes, yet, there was also a resolution, she wouldn't change her mind, not so easily.

Blake continued, "What about you? Will you be able to live comfortably with this decision? Don't ruin your life for someone who had already lived his." 

"I'm sorry, goodbye Blake." Delia opened the door and exited the office, closing the door behind her.

After closing the door, she dropped to the floor with her back against the door, and tears poured down her face. Luckily, Blake was the only instructor in the Lightning Hall, so there was no one else in the building.

Blake who was on the other side of the door could hear her sobbing, he wanted to open the door and go out, but he sent out his spiritual sense outside to see where she was. He heaved a sigh when he saw her, the reason was that, if he opens the door, Delia who had her back against it would lose the support of the door and fall to the ground.

Standing at the other side of the door, and hearing Delia's son, Blake shut his eyes and remained motionless.

"Don't hurt yourself just to please someone else." Blake said from the other side of the door and walked back to his seat.

He couldn't force Delia to agree to come with them, since she's decided that her father's feelings are more important, then so be it.

Delia stayed outside the office for some time before leaving, she felt like she was a little boat caught in a storm in the sea. Her heart was telling her to go with Blake, but her head was telling her not to hurt her father's feelings.

That night, she couldn't sleep as she contemplated on the matter, over and over again.

Is her decision to stay because of her father really the right one?

The next morning, she silently left the Lunar Academy.

_____

Back at the trial land.

"This is the last day, if we don't find Alice today, then we'll see her outside." Klaus said while munching on the meat in his hands.

This was the thing he had missed the most, Grey's cooking. Like him, Reynolds was a terrible cook, and even though they liked good food, they couldn't make one, so being together with Grey was a blessing to them.