After that, Rozen and the others said nothing more.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to class now. Excuse me," Rozen said casually and left.
"I'll also return to my work. Apologies for the less-than-adequate hospitality," Freon added with her usual formality before returning to her office to continue her tasks.
Cris and Elis watched the two of them leave, or more accurately, they were focused on watching Rozen leave.
Both of them just kept their eyes on Rozen's back, not saying a word for a long time.
"Sigh…"
It was unclear how much time passed before Elis let out a breath.
"I think I finally understand why Onii-sama speaks so highly of him," Elis said, her tone mixed with understanding and frustration.
The understanding came from finally grasping how formidable Rozen was. The frustration, however, stemmed from the fact that Elis, who had no fondness for Rozen, was forced to acknowledge this fact, leaving her feeling deeply unsettled.
But...
"The matter of Foreign Mana certainly caught me by surprise. I didn't expect it to be such a force, but Rorelai Arneet is indeed as unfathomable as I previously suspected. He seems to already be suspicious of us," Cris said with concern.
This time, Elis had to agree that Cris's earlier worries were valid.
That man was definitely not someone they could casually engage with, or something could be exposed at any moment.
This was something that absolutely could not be allowed to happen at this stage.
If Elis's or even Cris's identity were revealed, it would cause tremendous upheaval across the entire world.
This was a certainty.
Especially, they could not let someone like Rozen find out.
Otherwise, with his power and methods, who knows what kind of unexpected situations or obstacles might arise.
That person…
"He's undoubtedly our greatest enemy, bar none," Elis declared solemnly.
"An enemy…?" Cris closed her eyes and asked, "Have you already decided to treat him as an enemy?"
"Yes." Elis replied without hesitation, "That man is too dangerous; we can't let him be."
"Is this the right decision?" Cris asked cautiously. "Zeth probably doesn't want to make a move against him, does he?"
"Uh…" Elis was at a loss for words.
Indeed, not only did Zeth not want to act against Rozen, but he seemed to want to recruit him.
"Zeth sent you here with the purpose of interacting with Rorelai Arneet, gathering information on him, investigating him as much as possible, and ultimately trying to bring him into our fold, right?"
Cris laid out Zeth's plans clearly.
On the other hand, Elis clenched her teeth and stubbornly responded.
"Onii-sama didn't see what I saw; he doesn't understand how dangerous this man is. He'll definitely become Onii-sama's greatest obstacle. So, even if it goes against Onii-sama's wishes, I must find a way to deal with that man."
Elis was absolutely convinced of this.
This made Cris sigh silently.
(Still the same as always; the moment it involves anything related to Zeth, she becomes impulsive and loses control.)
This was Elis's greatest flaw, her most significant weakness.
She wasn't incapable of understanding things; in fact, she was quite skilled in strategy. However, within Elis was a naive, innocent, and fragile side that was easily overwhelmed.
Even Zeth had once evaluated his sister this way.
"She has the qualities to strive for my sake, but she also has a foolish side and often does things half-heartedly."
This was Elis's nature.
Now, once again, Elis was acting on her own accord due to her thoughts.
If Zeth were to find out about this, he surely wouldn't be pleased, right?
As for Rozen, Cris didn't believe he was someone who could be easily dealt with.
From the moment Rozen and Elis met until now, it was clear from their interactions that Elis was the one at a disadvantage.
Moreover, it was an absolute disadvantage, one she could not overturn.
Elis seemed to have realized this as well, which was why she felt anxious and impatient.
Elis, in her current state, could not deal with Rozen.
Just as Cris was thinking this, Elis suddenly remembered something and smiled.
"Speaking of which, we encountered something rather interesting in the Fifth Laboratory of the Medical Science Division."
This statement caused Cris to blink in surprise, then realize what Elis was hinting at.
"Don't tell me you're planning to…"
Cris's expression changed.
Elis, however, remained unconcerned.
"He seems to harbor some resentment towards our 'Mage King,'" Elis said with a sweet but extremely dangerous smile.
Upon hearing this, Cris knew exactly what Elis intended to do.
"Elis…"
Cris looked at Elis with a complex expression, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"Hehe…"
Elis just let out a soft, pleasant laugh.
But that laugh was chilling.
...
Meanwhile, Rozen had returned to the school.
By this time, the third period had already ended, and the fourth period was about to begin.
After the fourth period, the morning indoor classes would be over, and following the lunch break would be the afternoon practical classes.
With this in mind, Rozen hurriedly made his way back to the classroom.
Unfortunately, before he could reach the classroom, Rozen ran into a familiar face.
"Ah…"
At the corner of the staircase, a girl holding a book saw Rozen and couldn't help but make a sound.
"Hm…"
Rozen also stopped in his tracks, his face showing a somewhat wry smile.
At the place where the stairs turned, the two of them looked at each other, both feeling an indescribable awkwardness.
"Senpai…"
Yuri looked at Rozen, her expression showing a mix of emotions.
The two of them couldn't help but recall the previous incident, making the situation inevitably awkward and their emotions complex.
Especially Yuri, who, thinking about the words she had said back then and how she had irrationally stormed off, now felt completely unable to face Rozen.
At that moment...
"Ex… Excuse me! I'll be leaving now!"
Yuri suddenly bowed deeply to Rozen and then hurriedly turned to leave.
If it were in the past, Rozen probably wouldn't have known how to handle this situation.
But now, with a mindset honed over ten years, he was no longer the same as before.
So…
"Yuri." Rozen suddenly called out, "How about we go out for a walk again this evening?"
"Huh?" Yuri's body froze and she involuntarily turned back to look at Rozen.
The next moment, Yuri saw Rozen's steady gaze, one that did not avoid her at all, along with his calm smile.
Seeing this, Yuri's heart began to race.
Then…
"I… I understand…"
Yuri replied in a small voice.
"Then let's meet at the school gate like before."
Rozen grinned.
"Mm…"
Yuri nodded and then turned to leave.
This time, her steps seemed much lighter than before.
Rozen finally smiled and returned to the classroom.
The day's classes soon passed, and before long, evening arrived.
As dusk fell, the students wrapped up their day of classes and training, ready to head to the commercial district together for some relaxation.
Just like before, Rozen appeared at the school gate, waiting for Yuri to arrive.
This time, however, Yuri didn't try to hide away but hesitantly walked out of the campus to meet up with Rozen.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Y-Yes."
The two didn't argue like before; instead, they exchanged brief, polite conversation and headed toward the commercial district together.
Along the way, Rozen casually started a conversation with Yuri, naturally focusing on work-related topics.
"I heard that Vebel is going to host the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival soon. Every floating academy city has to select a representative team to participate in Vebel. Freon and Chloe must be busy with this, right?"
"Y-Yes." Yuri nodded, barely able to conceal her nervousness. She honestly replied, "Because Kanata-senpai is very interested in the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival, the special task force might participate."
"Kanata, huh?" Rozen wasn't surprised at all. In fact, he thought it was the expected outcome. "Don't be fooled by that guy's demeanor; his competitive streak is strong. It's not just a matter of pride; he genuinely loves aerial combat and enjoys the process. So, the chance to battle against the strongest teams from around the world at Vebel is undoubtedly a feast for him."
Ever since the 128th squad, led by Rozen, became an S-ranked special task force, the squad members had been the undisputed strongest in Mistgun, reigning supreme.
But this dominance was confined to Mistgun alone.
Other floating academy cities also had their own strongest teams, whose strength and rank might not be inferior to the S128 Special Task Force, and perhaps could even surpass them.
Under these circumstances, with the strongest fighters from each academy city gathering to compete in aerial combat at Vebel, it would be surprising if Kanata didn't feel fired up.
"We were promoted to S-rank during our second year in the preparatory course, so it's been more than three years now. Given Kanata's personality, he's probably long been nostalgic for those days of battling in the ranking matches. Now that the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival is approaching, he's likely the most excited one."
Rozen spoke with certainty.
"Indeed." Yuri, perhaps reminded of Kanata, relaxed a bit, her nervousness diminishing. She said, "However, this Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival is fraught with suspicious elements. Whether to send Mistgun's ace team there is still under deliberation by the Sky Wizard Division Head. Besides, our team isn't the only one interested in participating; other teams also have members eager to join the competition."
This was indeed a fact.
Though the S128 Special Task Force was undoubtedly the strongest team now, several teams in Mistgun still regarded the S128 Special Task Force as a target and watched them closely.
For instance, the famous A-rank teams were not far from reaching S-rank. With Rozen and his squad having ascended three years ago and not participating in ranking matches for a long time, those teams that had honed their skills over these three years would undoubtedly want to challenge the S128 Special Task Force and settle the score.
Not to mention…
"The A177 squad has been itching to settle the score with us. Every time we run into them, they always give us looks filled with fighting spirit and hostility."
At this point, Yuri's expression became a bit more serious.
"The A177 squad, huh?"
Rozen raised an eyebrow.
This team was not unfamiliar to Rozen either.
Back when Rozen's team was still an A-rank team, they often faced off against the A177 squad in the same arena during ranking matches.
However, due to the overwhelming strength of Rozen's A128 squad at the time, the A177 squad was never a match for them, suffering defeat after defeat without a single victory.
Later, Rozen's squad was promoted to S-rank and became a special task force, while the A177 squad continued to battle in the arena. Now, they were the top A-rank squad, holding the first place in all of Mistgun's ranking matches.
In other words, this squad was the strongest in Mistgun, aside from the S-rank squads, second only to the S128 Special Task Force.
"They've also heard about the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival and expressed to the Sky Wizard Division Head that they're determined to become the representative team and participate in the festival."
Yuri looked troubled.
"I've met the members of the A177 squad, and their demeanor suggested that, rather than simply wanting to participate in the Sky Wizards Martial Arts Festival, they're more interested in…"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before Rozen interrupted her.
"More interested in surpassing the S128 Special Task Force and becoming Mistgun's representative team by defeating us, right?"
Rozen pointed out the truth.
"Yes."
Yuri sighed.
Since this competition was about selecting the strongest team from each academy city to determine the world's strongest, every academy city would undoubtedly send its most powerful team to represent them.
Even if only to avoid embarrassing their academy city, each would send their top-tier fighters to participate.
For Mistgun, if there was any team with such reputation and strength, it was undoubtedly the S128 Special Task Force.
But the A177 squad didn't acknowledge this.
They had their own ambition to become the strongest team and were driven by a desire to defeat the S128 Special Task Force.
With this in mind, it was only natural for them to voice their objections.
And they had the strength to back it up.
As the reigning champions among A-rank teams, many were curious to see if, after three years, they could defeat the S128 Special Task Force and replace them as the strongest.
Especially now, with Rozen almost retired and likely not participating in the matches, leaving Chloe, Kanata, and Yuri to face off against the A177 squad, it wasn't entirely without suspense.
Therefore, the A177 squad's objection wouldn't be ignored.
Most likely…
"In the end, to determine the true representative team, the Sky Wizard Division Head will have the S128 squad and the A177 squad compete in a ranking match, with the winner deciding everything, right?"
Rozen foresaw this outcome.
And this might be exactly what the A177 squad wanted—a chance to finally settle the score with the S128 Special Task Force.
"Sounds intriguing…"
An amused smile appeared on Rozen's face.
Seeing this, Yuri's eyes lit up.
"Um, Senpai." Yuri couldn't help but ask, "Would you consider joining us…"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before Rozen interrupted her once again.
But this time, the situation was different.
"…It seems we have unexpected guests."
Rozen suddenly stopped walking, his smile fading.
"Unexpected guests?"
Yuri was taken aback.
At that moment…
"Whoosh—!"
A gust of wind swirled around them, roaring as it expanded.
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