Chapter 196 Third Leaf [2]

Chapter 196 Third Leaf [2]

The return to the academy marked the end of the Guild exchange. Quite frankly, I was mentally tired and exhausted from the entire ordeal.

'Delilah said that she wanted to talk to me about something, but she didn't specify when exactly. I'll do so after taking a bit of rest.'

I wanted to feel excited, but I couldn't.

I was simply too tired.

With that being said, I already had an idea of what she wanted to talk about.

'Dragon Bone.'

Or at least, an update on the situation.

The thought of receiving the Dragon Bone made me excited, but at the same time, made me a little apprehensive.

Surely there wouldn't be any conditions attached to the bone, right?

"Haha."

As if.

I laughed a little to myself.

There was no way the Empire would simply give me something so precious without any conditions.

Either way, I was prepared to listen to them before deciding.

Cli Clank—

Opening the door to my room, I felt a wave of nostalgia.

Only a day may have passed, but to me, it had probably been over a week. Time flowed differently in the illusions.

Hopping off my shoulder, Owl-Mighty looked around curiously. It carefully observed every nook and cranny of the palce.

It had been like this since the moment we came out of the Mirror Dimension.

From the sky to the trees, to the bushes... It was interested in everything.

I would've let it be if not for the fact that there was another portal waiting for us after coming out of the Mirror Crack.

"Huam."

Yawning, I felt my eyelids grow a little heavier.

Pomf—

I dropped back on the bed and stared at the familiar white ceiling.

'I really was... back.'

Who would've thought?

I really was tired.

Thankfully, Owl-Mighty was busy looking around, so it didn't need my attention.

"Don't go out without my permission."

But I still felt the need to warn it about going out.

I didn't necessarily think it would be in any danger, but it would still be problematic.

Glancing at it for a few seconds, I finally sunk into my conciousness and the world turned black.

*

The next morning.

I woke up feeling refreshed.

"Looks like it might rain."

Coming out of my room, I noticed the gray clouds hanging in the sky. It wouldn't be long before before it was going to rain.

Knowing that, I hurried my steps and headed for Delilah's office.

Now that my mind was clearer, I could finally feel the excitement of potentially receiving the Dragon Bone.

Of course, I made sure to not get my hopes too high.

I couldn't be too disappointed in case I didn't receive it.

To Tok—

Arriving at the familiar office, I knocked.

"Come in."

Delilah's voice echoed shortly after and I opened the door and entered.

Clank—

Already familiar with the place I didn't stand in ceremony and prepared to take a seat when I paused.

"....."

There were many things that I wanted to say, but couldn't.

Lifting my head up, I met Delilah's gaze.

She looked back at me without so much as a change in expression.

I continued to stare at her.

She stared back.

....And then,

She looked away.

The truth hurt.

'....And there's also the fact that the quests are present.'

I could probably ignore them since there was no direct consequence to me, but the power-ups were certainly nice, and I wasn't too keen on finding out what would happen once the 'calamities' reached 100%.

In the end, the only thing I could do was sigh in defeat.

"....When can I expect to receive the Bone?"

"When Atlas comes back."

Delilah replied with her usual flat tone.

"And when would that be?"

"In a couple of days to a week. He's currently in Bremmer."

Bremmer...?

I thought for a moment before recalling.

It was the capital city of the Empire, and where the royal estate was located. He was probably there to collect the bone personally.

Looking at her, I nodded my head and prepared to stand up.

I was just about to when she stopped me.

"Wait."

"....Yes?"

I looked at her in confusion.

Was there something else that she needed to say to me?

"There's something I'm curious about. Sit down for now."

I did as she told me and sat down. Before I could ask her what was going on, she extended her arm in my direction.

"Try again."

"Come again?"

I blinked my eyes, unable to understand what she was trying to imply. From the way she had her arm extended, it almost looked like she wanted me to hold it.

But that was crazy.

Why would—

"Touch it."

"....?"

I felt my mind grow blank.

I was really struggling to understand her intentions, and when I was about to say something, she finally elaborated.

"Back when Leon fought against Evelyn, you tried something on me when we were holding hands. I want you to try again."

"....!!!"

My body tensed at her words.

I wanted to say something but found my mouth sealed shut.

Thankfully, I was able to keep my face from changing too much and kept my shock to myself.

"...."

It took a few moments for me to finally calm down, and when I did, Delilah spoke again.

"I felt a weird sensation back then. It was somewhat faint, and I couldn't really tell what it was. It seemed to want to crawl into my mind, but I was able to block it just in time. It's been on my mind for quite some time. I want you to try again. I'm not mad."

"...."

I swallowed my saliva before bitterly smiling.

'So she did notice in the end...'

It was a good thing that it was Delilah of all people that had detected it.

But at the same time, it made me aware of something.

'The second ability... it can be blocked.'

Most likely, someone had to have higher mental resilience than me for it to happen.

....Which was hard considering that my mental resilience was already quite high.

It also meant that Delilah's mental resilance was higher than mine.

"So...?"

Startling me out of my thoughts was Delilah, and when I looked at her, I could see her looking at me with her deep black eyes.

They seemed to be ready to swallow me at any moment.

"Alright."

Pursing my lips, I soon reached out with my hand and grasped her wrist.

"...."

I held her wrist for a few seconds, and just before activating the second ability, I stopped.

Lifting my head to stare at her again, I had a sudden thought.

My heart raced.

And then,

I pressed the third and new leaf.