Chapter 180 - Different Scenario (10)

Iliana slightly recoiled in surprise at Basil's tone. Although he had a smile on his face, it didn't convey any pleasant feeling; it looked like a benevolent smile, but Iliana couldn't feel anything from it. Not even her keen sense could read what emotion Basil's Mana was conveying.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Basil tilted his head.

Iliana calmly looked up at the significantly taller Basil, then shook her head calmly. "No. I was just preoccupied with something." Then, she stepped out of the doorway to allow Basil to move pass through it.

"I am going to clean myself first. You can go ahead, and greet them in the banquet room," Basil said.

"Well, why me?"

"You are our senior, and the Student Council's Vice President; it is your job."

Iliana frowned lightly, then raised her chin. "Aren't you the leader of our group? It should be your job."

"I don't recall I ever accepted such role."

"You are the de facto leader of our group; and you have never denied it once." Smirking to herself, Iliana added, "Therefore right here right now, I will make your position as our group's leader official, and you shall obey—"

"Just let Whitney and Cray greet them if you don't want to see Eugene's face that much." Basil put up his hand, thus stopping Iliana entirely.

"Heh. That's better." Iliana nodded her head. "Then, I am going to clean myself too." Turning her body toward the doorway, she waited for Basil to pass through it.

Basil quirked his eyebrow. "Haven't you taken a bath?"

"I was at the sauna when Darius notified that they had arrived." Turning to Basil, she gazed at him seriously. "I didn't get to finish my bath yet." She looked like she had said something very important.

"Okay, then." Basil shrugged, then passed through the doorway. "Make sure to not follow me just for the sake of satisfying your prankster side," he added while going down the stairs.

"Hoh? Why are you so confident I would follow you?" Iliana quickly caught up to Basil, and went down the stairs alongside him. "I admit that you are attractive, but to have such—"

"You wouldn't?"

"I will; even though you have figured it out, I will still do it anyway." Iliana shrugged.

Basil lightly smiled. "Do what you want. I just need you to know your boundary."

"I would ask you to immediately marry me, if something happened."

Basil didn't say anything at Iliana's rather outrageous word, but he had a really small sorrowful smile on his face. Iliana was unaware of it; she couldn't read any of his emotion, as he had meticulously prevented his Mana from leaking out whenever he was around her.

It was one of the responsibilities he had as a Returner: he had to keep everything to himself. Although he had been close to marrying Iliana in his past life—she had been the person he trusted the most—the current her was different than her in the past.

Basil hadn't established a strong bond with her yet; he couldn't just open himself to her. He wanted to build their bond slowly, until he could, once again, trust everything about him to her. Before then, he wouldn't share anything about himself to her—not even his emotion—or anyone.

"You are thinking too hard. Sometimes in life you need to think less, and just do what your heart tells you."

Basil quirked his eyebrow, and glanced at Iliana from the corner of his eye. "I didn't think I would hear that word from you." At least, he didn't think he would hear such word from Iliana this early.

"I have learnt many things from the 9 years I have been living as a Mage." Turning her head to Basil, she surely said, "Logic shouldn't always dictate one's life; and it never does in the very first place." She poured her emotion into her word more than she had intended.

"That is ... Interesting," was Basil's honest response. Both of them stopped in their step, and gazed to the front. "We are here," Basil said. He and Iliana had already arrived at the hotel's exclusive bathing place—his private bathroom.

Iliana turned her body to face Basil, then quirked her eyebrow. "Well, what are you waiting for? The owner shall lead the way."

"How do you know this bathroom is exclusive to me?"

"I didn't know it was exclusive to you. But since you own the hotel, everything technically belongs to you."

Basil blinked his eyes once. 'Did I just get tricked by her word? Interesting.' Basil nodded his head lightly, then opened the big door to his grandiose private bathroom. He entered it in the next moment with Iliana in tow.

Click.

The door was closed, and the "hidden" eyewitness showed herself from behind one of the pillars that supported the floor above; it was Poppy, the assistant baker. Looking at the bathroom's door with trembling eyes, she muttered to herself in conflict.

"An i-i-indecent activity is going on behind t-this door. Should I act as a good servant, and pretend to not see anything or should I act as a good friend, and tell Clarissa what I saw?"

In the end though, Poppy's conflicting thought didn't last long as the bathroom's door was opened by Iliana in the next moment; she was glaring dagger at Poppy, and it completely petrified Poppy. Iliana put her finger in front of her mouth, and lowly said, "Nothing is happening."

"Y-Yes. N-Nothing is happening!"

Iliana smirked, then closed the door. Poppy couldn't move for a while, before eventually leaving the place with a serious face; she was convinced nothing was happening inside the room.

She wasn't wrong.

...

Darius and the 18 students he brought with him were already in the banquet room. Upon arriving at Familia Hotel, they had been quickly escorted there by the staffs of the hotel; Whitney and Cray had been the one who had greeted them the moment they had entered the room.

The banquet room was big enough to host more than 40 people; it was more than enough to host all of the students. With foods filling the tables, they were all ready to have a feast, yet none of them touched the food.

It was because Darius' order: "None shall touch the food, before the host—Basil—shows himself!" Since every student of Randalvine Magic Institute was well-educated, none of them made a fuss about the command. They knew common courtesy.

"Where are they anyway?" Darius asked to Whitney who was standing by his side.

"Iliana?"

"And Basil."

"O-Oh, I don't know." Whitney scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Cray, who was on Whitney's side, took a brief look at Whitney before returning his gaze to Darius. Opening his mouth, he said, "I am sure those two are fuc—"

Whitney quickly sealed Cray's mouth, thus stopping Cray from saying anything. "Darn it, Cray! Don't spout nonsense whenever you feel the need to!" Leaning his head forward, he whispered, "Even if it's true, do you want Iliana to kill you?"

Terror filled Cray's eyes in the next moment as realization dawned upon him. Whitney sighed to himself, then took his hand off Cray's mouth.

Turning to Darius, Cray bowed at him politely causing him to frown. "I am sorry, President. I said something that could taint my friend's name." Cray shook his head. "I was lying when I said Iliana and Basil were—"

"Were what?"

At the gallant yet melodious voice, Cray jumped in horror; Whitney was silently standing behind Darius, hoping Cray the best in his mind. Iliana had entered the banquet room, and she was looking at Cray coldly.

"Ah, we finally meet again, Basil." Luckily for Cray, Darius was there to save him. Basil glanced at Darius offered hand, before firmly grasping it. "You have a growth rate of a baby, Basil: everytime I see you, you are always bigger than before."

Darius looked at Basil up and down. He was amazed by Basil's physique that was taller than Alcott, the "giant" professor of Randalvine Magic Institute; Basil had even wider shoulder than Alcott. Since Darius didn't know Basil was also a Knight, he was fascinated by Basil's "natural growth."

"You look less tense than the last time we met, Darius," Basil said as he let go of Darius' hand.

Although Basil didn't call him "Senior" or properly addressed his status, Darius didn't show any sign that he was bothered. "Ha-ha-ha. I am sorry for my behavior back then." He scratched his head awkwardly. "I can't act nice toward people who have broken the rule."

"I can see that," Basil commented.

Turning his gaze to Iliana, Darius sternly said, "I expect your report, Vice President Iliana." Iliana was about to open her mouth, but Darius beat her to it. "I will hear no excuse; I want to hear," he glanced at Basil, "the details of what happened."

"Darn, you are so annoying." Iliana clicked her tongue.

She crossed her hand, and quickly concocted the most logical lie concerning what had happened in Basil's rescue mission. She knew Basil wouldn't tell the full truth either when he was asked to deliver his report, so she would also play along with him.

The same goes to the other, as they, too, had already prepared their own lie that easily matched the lie that the others made; all of them were an experienced organized lier.

"Very well. This is what happened—he's coming." Iliana's mood turned sour very quick, it bewildered the people.

In exception of Basil, everyone turned their head to the direction where Iliana was facing, and they soon understood the reason why Iliana assumed the look of a killer on her face.

Eugene, Iliana's most stubborn suitor, was walking toward them, uncaring to Iliana's growing annoyance at him.

"Hello, everyone! It's nice to see you again!" Eugene greeted warmly. Looking around, his eyes landed on Basil's back. "I guess you have retrieved the thing you had left behind." He winked at Iliana.

Iliana was about to shoot Eugene an implicit insult, when Basil slowly turned his body around, and casually remarked. "I am surprised you still can keep your head, Eugene."

"Ha-ha-ha. The Gods protect those who surrender themselves to them." Eugene humbly put his hand on his chest.

Basil smiled faintly, and it conveyed anything but friendliness. "Then you shall be glad you will be able to also surrender your soul to them very soon.." Basil's eyes gleamed coldly, and it made Eugene take a step back in horror.