5"I do want your help still. This was not part of the experiment I asked you to help me with. Don't worry, I will not waste your time with meaningless things."
After Lois had made her stand, she quickly dragged Horas to the back forest she had mentioned, it was a relatively calm place with not a lot of monster activity and that was why Horas did not think much of it.
But once he put some pressure on his brain, he remembered writing about such a thing in the book.
'Ever so often, Louis would disappear into the woods to conduct experiments but no one knew why she went to the woods or what she did in the woods. All that was known about her was that she liked to go to the woods.
Even when she became friends with Howard, her habit of going to the woods did noo stop.'
That was the last of what Horas knew about her since he had stopped writing soon after. Now the mystery was in front of his face but he did not want to know what it was about.
"Are you scared of these woods? You should not be because this place is calm and peaceful. There are no external monsters in here either. This place is my haven and I love it."
Loris was calm right now and it seemed as if the forest was keeping her wild side at bay. Horas was surprised to see her not attacking him outright.
But then again, Loris's current behavior was quite different from the one she showed in the book. She was behaving like Horas had wanted to write her in the second half of the book.
"By the way, Instructor Horas, you read my report, right? Don't try to deny it because it will not work for me. My other half might be naive enough to fall for your tricks but I am different."
Loris stopped suddenly once they had arrived deep into the forest.
Horas was instantly on alert as soon as he noticed the quietness of the forest around him. He could not even hear the sound of birds rustling around him.
He was about to call Loris out for trying to trick him when a sudden shadow lept toward him. Horas was able to dodge the attack, but barely.
"You! What do you think you are doing?"
Horas's yelling had no answer. Loris had disappeared from his line of sight and her greatsword was moving through the air with incredible speed.
Horas was currently under attack by Loris and he had to admit that Loris was good. But it was to be expected by Loris who was one of the protagonists and a front-row fighter.
"Loris, you need to stop. I will have to hold you accountable if you do not seize your attacks right now."
Horas gave one last warning to Loris, not expecting her to listen to him. So he was surprised when Loris did stop her attack.
She blinked a few times as her sword came to rest. Her eyes blinked with mischief and Horas thought he read a 'good luck' on her lips before her body went slack.
Horas was about to catch Loris when she woke up and caught herself. She looked confused about what was happening and that was how Horas knew she had changed places with her other self.
'Ugh, can I not just leave Loris out here and go back right now? She said that there is no danger out in these woods.'
Horas debated whether he should go back now or not. But he decided to stay for the time being. Loris was an important character after all.
Thankfully, she came around soon enough and realized what could have happened. Loris's face was red and she could not look horas in the eye.
"I am so sorry for whatever I did. Sometimes, I am not aware of what I am doing."
Loris tried to explain without sounding crazy or offending Horas. She did not know that she was in luck since she had managed to find one person who understood her situation better than anyone else.
"I understand that this is something you cannot talk to me about. There is no need for you to force yourself to speak."
Horas assured Loris as briefly as he could. As an instructor, he had seen a lot of students with difficult circumstances. He tried not to treat Loirs as special because she was a protagonist.
Loris looked uncomfortable but surprised at Horas's understanding attitude. But since she looked uncomfortable to continue talking, Horas did encourage her to speak.
They went back in silence, but Horas could not help but think that something was wrong with the forest.
The shadows that had attacked Horas belonged to animals he had never seen before. But Loris had distracted him before Horas could pay any attention to those monsters.
'Yet another thing that has been added to my plate of things to worry about. I cannot believe I need to be careful with these unnecessary plot points.'
Keith decided to form a reminder in his mind about coming back here and checking the forest out. But he was also concerned about the upcoming event with Emma and the scent club.
'Why do all these events have to happen one after the other? Can I not do anything to avoid the tragedy that is about to come?'
Horas knew the answer - he had passed the point of no return already. He had a chance to divert the path to a new one but he was afraid of what that would result in.
So now he had to live with his decisions.
Tora looked up at Horas when he came in and her satisfaction rumbled in her throat. Horas scratched her head before helping her up.
"Tora, we are going on a hunt tomorrow. And just because tomorrow will be a special day, I will grant you special permission to hunt to your heart's desire. You can go wild tomorrow."
Toras had the most satisfied look of her life on her face. Horas was sure it would be an enjoyable day for her at least.
And because it was going to be an enjoyable day for Tora, he knew he will need to damage control.
Principal Marble would have a lot of words for him but Horas was ready to hear them from her. But at least he will be able to keep himself out of trouble if the culprit was found to be a villain.