74 Chapter 74

Just to be sure that he looked sleepy before leaving, he checked his reflection in the mirror. Even though his expressions could make him pass off as someone who was sleeping, his hair was still somewhat wet.

It was as if he had taken a shower not long ago. He had forgotten about that entirely. Who took a shower this late? And that too when they were sleepy?

Knock~

The knocking on the door continued, only intensifying.

"Open the door!"

"I need to take care of it," Gabriel muttered, realizing that he couldn't leave like this. He was sure that the others weren't stupid enough to not doubt him if he did.

Fortunately, he had noticed it at the right time.

****

Almost everyone on the floor was our except Gabriel, despite constant knocking. It was making the Fourth Year Students suspicious.

"Should we break the door?" One of them asked.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be the need for that as the door opened.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes, seemingly so sleepy that he was having a hard time even opening his eyes.

The youngsters looked at Gabriel's hair before looking at each other. They shook their heads as if agreeing that this wasn't the one.

Gabriel's hairs were ruffled and completely dry. It was as if he hadn't even washed his hair in days.

"Will you say anything? What's it about?" Gabriel asked. "If it's nothing, I'm going back to sleep."

"Wait! You can't go back to sleep! The Dean has called every student downstairs! You must go down!"

"Dean? Why would she call everyone down at this time? I'm new here, but even I don't think it's the time the classes start."

"Stop eating our heads! Do as you're told!" The men snorted, getting irritated by Gabriel's questions.

Gabriel also didn't ask too many questions.

"Fine." He closed the door of his room and started following the other students who were going down as well.

****

Lelin had just entered his room when there was a knock on his door.

Frustrated, he walked back. "What a headache."

He opened the door and was informed that he was to go down as well.

Even though he was irritated, he expected that this was a possibility. He couldn't deny the summons.

He also left his room.

*****

All the young Mages of Light had gathered outside the Dorms, according to their years.

The batch of first-year students stood together. The batch of second years stood together, and so on.

Gabriel appeared to be the last student to arrive outside. In the group, he saw a few familiar faces, including Caen and the young Princess of the Lumen Empire: Elia.

Both of them were standing before the group of first years. In another group, Gabriel also noticed the man who had dropped him in the hallway when he was chasing after Hawrin.

The four groups were ready. A group of Teachers from the House of Light kept an eye on them while they waited for all the Deans to come down from Hawrin's room.

"I don't think we are going to find anything in the room," Rem summarised. "We've already gone through everything. It's a waste of time."

"My offer of using the Crown is still valid. If we can't find that person, you know they might kill someone again!" The Head of House of Flames stated. "What's worse than a death at the academy? Two or more deaths."

"We're not using the Crown." Eliana firmly rejected. "That's not happening, so you better stop talking about it."

She left the room. Standing on the balcony, she observed the crowd of students.

****

As Gabriel arrived to the group of first years, he stood in the lead. The person right next to him happened to be none other than Lelin.

Lelin glanced at Gabriel's hands once again. Gabriel noticed him looking at the gloves but didn't comment.

"Did you enjoy it?" Lelin asked, amused.

Gabriel frowned. What was this guy talking about? For some reason, it felt like he was asking if he enjoyed the revenge. For a moment, he even wondered if he was overthinking.

"Enjoy what?" Gabriel asked in response.

"I meant your sleep." Lelin smiled. "Did you enjoy it? You seem like you had a good sleep."

"May I ask why you're so concerned about my sleep?"

"Because your sleep might not be so good in the future," Lelin answered. "You're playing with fire here, little one."

Gabriel was taken aback. These words... He was even more sure that Lelin knew something. Or he was at least suspicious.

"Speak clearly. What are you trying to say?" Gabriel inquired, acting ignorant. Even though he acted like he didn't know anything, in the back of his mind, he had already prepared to fight if something went wrong here.

Still, he didn't jump the gun. He was sure he left no evidence behind for him to be caught. He removed all his traces. There was no way anyone should've known that it was him.

"I won't interfere unless you make me," Lelin calmly stated. "But when I do, it won't be good for anyone. Just a reminder..."

"Is that a threat?" Gabriel glanced at Lelin, who was looking at the moon in the distance instead.

"Or an advice. As I said before, the path you're walking on... It's not the right path."

"You are no one to decide what's the right path and what's the wrong path."

"I don't need to decide. It's been clear since the beginning of the time."

For Gabriel, Lelin was strange. And for Lelin, Gabriel was supposed to be a stranger, yet their destiny appeared to be intertwined in one way or another.

The moment Lelin walked past on the first day, their destiny was tied. If it was for the good or bad, that was yet to be seen.

"You're right. It's been decided since the beginning of the time," Gabriel answered. "That time is what I'll bring back... The time that was erased by someone…."