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Chapter 433 99.2 - End of the semester

The moment she heard this, Irina\'s eyes widened. As for the reason?

She had her own plans for him.

Yet, now, she was put into a peculiar situation.

Astron looked into Kaya\'s eyes, his expression unreadable. "And for what reason are you offering me a place in your guild?" he asked, his tone measured.

Kaya\'s smile remained calm and composed. "Your skills and potential are impressive. I have watched your fight. You\'ve shown remarkable talent in both combat and strategy. Our guild values such abilities and seeks individuals who can contribute to our collective strength."

Astron studied her for a moment, his mind racing with possibilities. He knew Kaya Hartley\'s reputation and the influence of her guild. But he also knew she was not someone that gave such opportunities.

And considering the performance he had shown, even though his judgment might have looked good, there was no other thing that he had displayed as distinctive.

He made sure of that.

That was why, at least for him, this offer did not make sense.

\'Something else must be going on.\'

It was not that hard to conclude this, either.

\'And considering the amount of interactions we had was very limited, it could be either because of Ethan or because of that time in the museum. The former can easily be objected to, as I am sure Kaya will consider Ethan as naïve, and she will be a lot more skeptical. She would need to run a background check on me, and she would see my past records, which eventually could become something that would make her realize Ethan was overpraising me. Therefore, this part doesn\'t make sense.

As for the latter, she could easily confirm from my past transactions and the footage that I was there when the attack happened. She could suspect that I could be related to the attack, but this would be ridiculous and illogical; thus, she must not have thought that. But, aside from that, there is only one other thing that could bring her attention to me. Jane Hartley.\'

He thought, looking at the girl.

\'For some reason, she just called me Mysterious Brother. It was as if she had known me, but I hadn\'t met her aside from that time when we were in the museum. Even then, our meeting was brief, and logically, there was no contact whatsoever for me to leave an impression of her. She wouldn\'t remember my face, as I am sure I hadn\'t faced her at that time.

That only leaves out one door. She was able to recognize me not because of my physical aspects but because of my energy or something unique to me.

And if this is the case, there is the possibility that she has an ability. In the game, she was dead. Therefore, I don\'t have any information about the abilities she possessed, but considering that the Hartleys are a unique family on their own, a child born with inherent abilities makes sense. This also supports why Kaya now approached me or why he was paying attention to my fight.\' Astron maintained his calm exterior though his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

\'The possibility of her suspecting me and trying to observe me is high. She can also reach the same conclusion as mine because of Jane\'s attention. Tch.\'

Just as he thought, life was not something that always went as planned. Just because of the existence of a young girl and her unusual act, he somehow gathered attention from outside.

\'What a pain.\' In the end, he would need to act in a way that wouldn\'t gather much suspicion from Kaya. That was the only plausible act.

"I appreciate your offer, Lady Hartley," Astron said, his voice steady and polite. "However, I believe it would be prudent to consider all factors before making such a significant decision. Especially when I had already promised a place to work for now."

Kaya\'s eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained unchanged. "Of course. Take your time to consider. My offer stands whenever you\'re ready."

\'Well, seeing him refuse my offer, either he is bound by a contract, or he values his promises. But, well, it was just an offer at the end.\' She thought, looking at the young man. Aside from his ability to erase his presence, which was pretty good, there wasn\'t much outstanding about him.

But Jane\'s reaction and his being in the museum at that time and surviving needed to be investigated.

\'From the registered data, he would have been required to have a hard time. Yet, no records of him being hospitalized were there. Interesting.\'

Well, it\'s not like she would be losing much anyway. Seeing Astron under pressure and knowing he could be taken away, Irina decided to intervene for her own plans.

\'This woman….How did she find out about him?\'

She needed to change the topic and steer the conversation away from Astron\'s potential involvement with Kaya\'s guild. At the same time, she had to hide her close relationship with Astron from Kaya.

"Miss Kaya, your presence here means you had the chance to watch the duels," Irina began, her tone light and conversational. "Were you watching mine as well? If so, could you give me some pointers about mine? Getting opinions from someone like you could help a lot."

"…." Kaya turned her attention to Irina, who came beside her. To be frank, their families were allies, and Kaya had a slightly close relationship with the matriarch of the Emberheart family. "I did."

Thus, she was very well aware of what kind of person Irina was. Someone prideful and arrogant.

And such a person was now asking her for advice?

\'Hmm…..\'

A particularly amusing thought came to her mind. Kaya smiled warmly, her gaze softening as she addressed Irina. "Of course, Irina. I would be happy to provide some pointers. But for that….You will need to pay a price."

"A price."

Somehow, Irina felt like something was not right.

"A price of entertainment." Kaya smiled and then gestured for her to follow. "Let\'s sit. We got some things to \'talk\' after all."

For some reason, Irina felt like she was playing in tiger\'s palms…..

********

The duels had ended, and the academy was returning to its usual state of calm. Kaya and Jane were preparing to leave.

Irina and Ethan stood by, ready to bid their farewells.

Jane, holding a small, colorful bag of souvenirs, skipped over to Irina, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Bye, Sister Irina! I had so much fun today!" Jane said, her voice filled with genuine joy. "Thank you for everything!"

Irina smiled warmly, her earlier worries momentarily forgotten. "You\'re welcome, Jane. I\'m glad you had a good time. Take care, and come visit us again soon."

Jane beamed at her, then ran back to Kaya\'s side. Kaya, who had been watching the exchange with a serene smile, stepped forward.

"Irina, I expect to hear from you soon. And remember, I\'m looking forward to your advancements. Don\'t shy away from the challenges ahead."

Irina blushed, nodding her head. "I won\'t, Miss Kaya. I\'ll do my best and listen to your advice."

Ethan glanced between the two, his brow furrowing in confusion. He had no idea what they were talking about, but he sensed there was more to the conversation than met the eye.

Kaya\'s smile widened slightly, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Good. I\'m sure you\'ll do great things, Irina."

With a final nod to Ethan and a warm smile at Irina, Kaya turned to leave, guiding Jane by the hand. As they walked away, Jane waved enthusiastically over her shoulder, her voice carrying back to them. "Bye, Sister Irina! Bye, big brother Ethan!"

Irina waved back, her smile lingering even as Kaya and Jane disappeared from sight. She turned to Ethan, who was still looking puzzled.

"What was that all about?" Ethan asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"….It doesn\'t concern you." Irina coldly shut him down. Ethan shrugged, as it didn\'t concern him at all. "Alright, if you say so."

Irina glanced once more in the direction Kaya and Jane had gone, her mind racing with thoughts and plans.

\'Adults…..They are really different….\'

She felt like a new world was opened to her eyes.

*******

<Wednesday, Morning, Arcadia Hunter Academy>

The cold and snowing weather created a shadow of tenseness across the world. The students of Eleanor\'s homeroom class sat at their desks, the air thick with anticipation and anxiety.

This was the final day of their academy life for this semester. Today, their grades for the final exams—both theoretical and practical—would be announced.

Whispers filled the room as students speculated about their results. Some tapped their fingers nervously on their desks, while others tried to maintain a calm facade. The atmosphere was a mix of excitement and tension, each student eager to know their fate.

"Do you think we\'ll pass?" whispered one student to his friend, his voice tinged with worry. "I barely managed to finish that last essay."

"I don\'t know," his friend replied, equally nervous. "The practical exams were tough, but I think I did okay in the duels. It\'s the written exams that worry me."

Nearby, a group of students huddled together, discussing their performances in hushed tones.

"I heard that the grading this year is going to be stricter than ever," one of them said, her eyes wide with concern. "Eleanor-sensei doesn\'t go easy on anyone."

"You anime freak. If you had studied instead of watching anime, you wouldn\'t be concerning yourself like that."

Meanwhile, Julia sat at her desk, her usual energy somewhat subdued by the weight of the moment. She glanced over at Ethan, who was leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression, seemingly unfazed by the impending announcement.

"How can you be so calm?" she asked, her voice a mix of envy and irritation. "Aren\'t you at least a little bit nervous?" n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Ethan shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I\'ve done my best, and that\'s all I can do. Worrying won\'t change the results."

Lilia, seated next to them, nodded in agreement. "Ethan\'s right. Besides, stressing out now won\'t help us. Let\'s just wait and see."

Irina sat at her desk, her fiery red hair glowing as if the sunlight. She looked calm, but her fingers drummed an impatient rhythm.

It looked like there was something that she had been anticipating today.

As the conversations continued, the door to the classroom opened, and Eleanor-sensei entered, carrying a stack of papers. The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to her, the anticipation reaching its peak.

Eleanor glanced around the room, her expression serious but not unkind. "Good morning, everyone," she began, her voice carrying authority and a hint of warmth. "Today, we will be announcing your final grades for the semester. I want to commend each of you for your hard work and dedication. Regardless of the results, remember that this is just the beginning of your journey in this academy."

Eleanor raised her hand, her authoritative presence commanding the attention of every student in the room.

FLICK! With a subtle flick of her fingers, a soft chime echoed through the classroom as the students\' smartwatches simultaneously lit up, signaling the arrival of their final grades.

A collective gasp filled the room as each student looked down at their wrist, eyes wide with anticipation and trepidation. The tension was almost palpable, the

silence thick as everyone processed the information displayed on their screens.

Julia\'s eyes scanned her grades quickly, a smile spreading across her face as she saw the results of her hard work. "Yes! I did it!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "I passed with flying colors!"

Ethan, still leaning back in his chair, glanced at his grades and let out a satisfied sigh. "Not bad," he muttered to himself, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Lilia\'s face remained impassive as she reviewed her scores, but the slight nod of approval she gave herself indicated her satisfaction. "As expected of me," she said quietly.

Yet, Irina. She just looked into her watch.

There, the score wrote.