'Sis? Did she just almost call me sister? But I don't look anything like her at all...'
Hearing the unexpected address from Liana, Aelorian looked at her with strange emotion. Noticing the elf's confused look, Liana laughed innocently and explained.
"Just seeing such a beautiful and sweet girl, I thought how wonderful it would be to have a sister like that."
Watching their interaction, Rain looked at Liana and showed a satisfied look on his face.
'She learned her lesson very well.'
But there was one person who wasn't as happy to hear that as Rain was. Eliana, who was approaching them, froze in place.
'Did my beloved and reserved sister just say she would like a sister like this elfess?'
Unable to believe it, Eliana walked over to them, and before she could say anything, she noticed her sister snuggled into her brother's arm.
Forgetting the words she wanted to say, Eliana shifted her gaze from Liana to Rain and back again. She sensed that there was something unusual between them, but she couldn't quite put it into words.
"You've become pretty close..."
"You think so?"
Liana said in surprise, still not letting go of Rain's hand.
"Yeah, that's weird."
"It's just that I've always been a little closer to my brother than you have."
Some displeasure flashed across Eliana's face.
"But it's not like–"
"I'm certainly not implying anything, but if you're jealous, I have another hand."
Rain intervened before they got too far, offering her his free hand. And it helped, because Eliana instantly turned to him and, with a change of heart, returned to her brash way of speaking.
"Tsk, don't get cocky, I just came to remind you to remember our bet and prepare my evolution elixir. By the way, you look lame in that uniform."
Dropping those words, Eliana simply turned away and walked away from them.
As much as he wanted to show Eliana the empty elixir vial right now and see the look on her face, Rain controlled himself and just smiled, realizing it wasn't time yet.
'The more you talk now, the more pleasurable it will be for me when you spread your arrogant legs in front of me and beg for my cock.'
"Don't listen to her, you look even more gorgeous now than usual."
Liana stated, running her hand down the sleeves of his clean academy uniform, which looked perfect on him.
"Thanks, you look your best in these clothes too."
Rain stroked his sister, running his hand through her silky white hair.
'Of course, you look even better without it.'
Aelorian, who had been watching the situation from the sidelines, couldn't help but wonder now.
'What did that bastard do in his past life to deserve such a lovely sister?'
Unable to find an answer to that question, she just continued to watch their close interaction in silence.
When Eliana's figure finally disappeared into the crowd, Liana turned to Aelorian and, bowing slightly, held out her hand with a gentle smile.
"Sure, have fun."
"We'll chat about our own for now, so don't get bored~"
His sister pulled the confused elf girl behind her, humming something to herself. Her mood was different from the last time.
"I'll take that as a good sign."
As Rain walked towards the main academy building, contemplating whether or not he should make a move first and come to the principal himself, he, for no good reason, instinctively turned around and looked in a certain direction.
There, Rain saw a brown-haired student standing proudly in the middle of the people around him, and his entire being seemed to emit a kind and righteous aura.
Seeing him, his name immediately popped up in Rain's mind.
'...Grey. So he's the hero I'm scheduled to duel with?'
A vague feeling of disgust appeared within him, but Rain quickly shoved it away as he continued to watch the young man.
Unlike Cale, Grey exuded a natural confidence in his appearance that made it hard to doubt his abilities.
Honestly, seeing this, Rain even gained some respect for Grey.
Of course, his respect only meant that he would crush him with even more ruthlessness and sink him to the bottom with even more pleasure.
'If there was a loser like Cale every time, it wouldn't be fun at all.'
A slightly overweight man in a business suit appeared in the square and walked toward Grey, keeping a stern expression on his face. All the students around him, as if on cue, dispersed, making way for him.
Rain remembered that the man's name was Wallace and he was the vice-principal of their academy. Due to Ophelia's heavy workload, he often represented the face of the academy and was quite an important figure.
As he approached Grey, Wallace's stern face melted away as if it had never existed and a bright smile appeared on his face. He shook Grey's hand and said something to him, keeping a delighted expression on his face.
Because of the great distance between them and the crowd of socializing students around him, Wallace's words didn't reach Rain's ears, but from the general mood it wasn't hard to guess that Grey was being praised for something.
'Could this hero have gotten something even in this situation?'
Rain didn't have to guess for long, because a few seconds later there was a loud laugh from Grey, followed by his words, loud enough that even Rain, standing in the distance, could hear them clearly.
"You don't have to be so grateful! I believe that every life is valuable and deserves to be saved. And if I can help someone, I will do it at any cost, because it is my duty as a student of this academy!"
His words echoed throughout the square, drawing attention to him and eliciting enthusiastic smiles on the faces of the students. Among them, Rain even spotted someone he hadn't expected to be there, his sister Eliana, who, though not smiling, kept her eyes on Grey.
"Is it just interest? Or is there something that binds them together?"
Mumbled Rain, watching the changing emotions in Eliana's eyes before showing a wicked grin.
'Seems like things are about to get a lot more interesting.'
Rain heard many gossiping students discussing in awe how Grey had helped many during yesterday's incidents in the rift.
However, not everyone showed such a good attitude towards him. There were a few people whose faces didn't change and even expressed some contempt. Among them was Olivia, the head of the class Rain was in, who only snorted quietly and turned to leave.
When everyone stopped congratulating Grey and wishing him good luck, dispersing and leaving him alone, Rain was about to check his status, but immediately froze in place.
Not far away from him, Rain noticed a fascinating woman waving at Grey, shouting something to him.
Rain didn't hear her shout because at that moment his breathing quickened, his mouth went dry, and his heart pounded in an inexorable rhythm while every cell in his body felt an extraordinary excitement.
Rain had never seen this woman before and her appearance was unfamiliar to him, but something inside told him.
'That's his mother.'