Chapter 85- Bizarre Date (Part 1)
"Disciple?" Rin tilted his head confusedly.
"It's not that hard. I can see that you have great potential and with some guidance, your future will be bright as long as you work hard. It's a simple talent hunting on my side."
"I see… What benefits will I get from it? And more importantly, what benefits will you get from it?"
"You don't trust this offer, huh?" Her eyes flashed with a weird glint for a split second before she returned to normal.
"It's not a matter of whether I trust you or not. I simply believe that there is no free breakfast in this world and I reckon you do too."
His words made her surprisingly chuckle softly. Her small laughs were like melodies to the ear that Rin couldn't get bored of.
"Well, that is indeed the case. I believe in fair exchange; I give you something and in exchange, you give me something of equivalent worth. In this case, what I will get from this matter is…" Then, she raised her finger and pointed at Rin.
"... You."
"Pardon me?" Rin blinked a few times as if he didn't believe his ears.
'Wait, does she want my body or something?'
*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*
The moment he finished his thoughts, Emilia started coughing violently as is she had swallowed something horrible.
"Are you ok?"
"No worries. Something got stuck in my throat."
"What I mean by that is that when I nurture you to become a great figure in the future, you will be very valuable as an ally for me. That's why I believe that investing in you is a good idea."
"Oh…"
'I would've accepted either way though.'
*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*
"Something got stuck in your throat again?"
'This kid… He will be my death for sure.' Emilia didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his weird thoughts. For some reason, she didn't feel any malicious intent from him. Emilia was aware of her beauty and how men looked at her so she can detect whenever one of them is looking at her.
"Anyway, would you accept the offer?"
"Hmm…" Scratching his chin, Rin closed his eyes seemingly deep in thought.
"Can I get some time before I answer? A day or two at most."
"Sure. I will be waiting for your answer, Rin."
"Thanks for believing in my abilities, Mrs. Clearsky."
"Emilia is fine." She said.
"Mrs. Emilia it is then."
After that, Rin left the room. The moment the door closed, Emilia's face changed drastically. Her body swayed a little bit and rested on the back of the chair. Then, she turned around to look out of the window.
'I still can't believe all of this isn't actually the real world. What reason did we exist for then? Why are we not in the real world? Were we born only for the sake of entertaining real humans?' She asked herself.
Emilia was a very mindful person who focuses on the smallest of things. This world was her home and she loved it dearly. But, for her to realize that it wasn't real, that all she lived through for all these years was nothing but a stupid game created for other people to play with and enjoy. No, not only that, but in that game, she became a subject to all kinds of sick fantasies of humans.
She had no feelings, no choices, and no sense of reality at all. All she had to do was to follow the script like a robot and do what other people want from her.
'I won't allow for such nonsense. My life is my own and my choices are also my own. I won't let mere weak humans decide how I live my own life. To hell with that.' Clenching her fist, she vowed to not allow for that person, Phillipe to turn her into a mindless doll.
'But, I have to get as much information from that boy Rin as much as possible. He knows what will happen. Turning him into my disciple will allow me to stay close to him without being suspicious since if he knew that I could hear his thoughts, he will most likely never allow me to hear anything else. He must not know.'
After resolving her thoughts, she turned around and started working again with a clear mind. Her goal was now visible.
"My eyes are on you, Rin Silvereye."
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Later that evening, in the middle of a bustling district of the city, an extremely gorgeous white-haired girl was sitting on a bench, reading a book. Her profile from the side looked so elegant and mesmerizing that many passers-by could only stop to admire her. She just looked like a goddess between mortals, a pure angel in the middle of the filthy humans.
She looked so beautiful in fact that even some daring students didn't even entertain the thought of hitting on her and tarnishing this piece of art.
Elise, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to these looks as she was engrossed in her own world. She couldn't care less about a bunch of students looking at her. Their gazes of appreciation were of no worth to her.
She had lived through most of her life getting those looks. But, she didn't like them at all.
'For what reason, beauty is this important? Do people only see that outer layer and instantly forget about the inside?' She asks herself. She saw in them what they didn't see in their selves.
'Humans are greedy creatures by nature. They try to seek whatever gives them the best feeling. Whether it was beauty, money, glory, or anything else. Only a handful can value the true worth of life.' That was what she had read before in a book and that quote stuck with her for a very long time.
Cruel hearts filled with nothing but filthy and worthless feelings. In all of her life, she had never met an actual person that made her feel at ease being next to them. Someone that actually saw her for who she was and didn't see her as a mere piece of meat that they wanted to possess.
"Oi, Elise…"
Well, until now, that is.
The moment she heard that familiar voice calling for her, she looked up from her book and her small frown vanished. She now looked way calmer and more serene than before. His effect on her would still shock her every single time.
"Did I make you wait?"
"15 minutes late." Sighing, she closed the book and said.
"Oh… I'm sorry. But, there is a good reason for it."
Then, Rin proceeded to tell her everything that happened with Emilia. Elise didn't show many reactions to it but he could see that it made her feel suspicious.
"Did she mention anything else?"
"No. I tried to probe her for answers but she was way too cautious to tell me anything. But, I can see that she had no malicious intent at all. What could she even get from doing something bad to me?"
"Nothing."
"Exactly. That's why I think accepting her offer will be a good idea. We can get crucial info about many things. What do you think?"
"...Suit yourself."
"Good. Well then, now that we are done with this matter. Let's go have some fun!"
"We didn't come here to have som-"
"Huh? What is that? Let's go check it out."
Ignoring Elise completely, Rin jumped on his feet and walked toward a certain place that caught his attention.
This was the entertainment district so all kinds of fun activities could be found there.
'He likes to act like a child.' Elise didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the weird black-haired young man.
"Hurry up, Elise. I will leave you behind."
"..."
The duo then walked together through the streets. Most students decided to come here to have some fun so the place was bustling.
There were all kinds of places that offered activities that Rin had never seen before.
"Hmm, what's that? Mana Baseball?" A sign in front of a building caught Rin's attention. The place had some people but it wasn't extremely full which was why Rin asked Elise.
"Let's go check it out."
The latter nodded her head without trying to argue. She was just humoring Rin since he seemed to be excited. As for her, she just felt comfortable tagging along with him so she wasn't against it at all.
The two didn't know it at this point in time. But, they were starting to complete each other. One is excited to explore the world and pave the path to the top along with their companion and the other felt peace next to that person. Two entities, different in personalities yet somehow are similar to each other more than they could admit.
(A//N: Do tell me if the chapters feel boring or uneventful. I am trying to work on that part as much as possible but setting a massive arc as this one does take some time so bear with me :) )
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Thanks for reading. Any support you give me is always appreciated no matter how small it was. Let's all keep it up :)