Chapter 10

End of the day

Well, now THIS had been one hell of an interesting day to say the least, more so than she had been expecting…

Those were the thoughts of one Alexia Midgar as she fell backward onto her bed in her private bedroom. She wore a silver-colored nightdress, one under a tanned cardigan with little else, no makeup, nothing… like layers of a mask had been removed. The moment the back of her head met the warm, soft feeling pillows, a wave of relief swept over her whilst she heaved a sigh that expressed what she currently felt. A hand raised itself up to the air and outstretched itself, blocking off the majority of the light upon her room's ceiling, resulting in shadows being cast over her face. Right now, her Maid was nowhere to be seen, having retreated to her own quarters for the night. She'd see her again in the morning though, but that wasn't something which the woman had been thinking about.

'Hope Mary won't be having any nightmares of today. I bet she must have been significantly furious considering how she had reacted after Vali had beaten me in the Arena…'

Thoughts like that one did somewhat make appearances in her mind, but they didn't last very long compared to her more significant thoughts. What she WAS thinking about, were the events that had happened today.

As the memories played themselves out in her mind, a slightly amused yet weary chuckle escaped her, she did not expect to have been this worn out by the time the day's events had been concluded, it being night time right now with every student being in bed (at least, they should) resting for the next day. She wouldn't be surprised if there were some couples having some midnight dalliances throughout the school though, since they WERE horny teens which would make them act in ways that societal laws would disapprove of. Alexia had heard multiple stories about young women having some outside dalliances with their servants, having some weird kinks for the stuff.

Anyways, that wasn't what had stressed her out today. If one were to tell her that she would have one of the biggest close calls in her lifetime today, she would have considered them a fool. It took great restraint on her part not to show how intimidated she had been when Vali had almost lost his temper with her after she'd started off the proposal with the whole boyfriend thing. The rumors of his reputation as a bloodthirsty battle maniac who wouldn't hesitate to drop kick a woman in the face or humiliate them by beating up their servants in public weren't as exaggerated as what one might have been lead to believe, and even then Alexia had been quite cautious with her approach to him. The way he had looked at her at that one moment, his eyes that of someone about to go on a bloody rampage and leave her nothing but a broken stain on the floor in his wake… yeah, she couldn't help but remember it as clear as crystal.

Perhaps she could have phrased it better, but in her mind being as straightforward and upfront with him as possible had been the best method she'd seen for gaining his allegiance. But in the end, she had done what she had set out to do, convincing him to go along with her machinations for whatever purpose she had, at least that's what she bet he had been thinking. Someone as simplistic as him probably didn't care too much about things other than his love of fighting or his own comrades, and from what she had seen of him Alexia had reason to believe that this was the case. It wasn't just because of his status as a Baron's son that she had chosen him though, if that had been the case then she'd have gone for just some mob character who she could manipulate with money, just like how a lot of politicians did with their rivals under the table these days.

As for the whole thing with her finding strong opponents for him, that would be an easy thing for her to do considering her family's power… not to mention THAT festival was coming up soon. She could just insert him into there and Vali would have some of the best opponents around, an easy solution for her and one she'd felt MORE than willing to do if she wanted to achieve her goals.

But that didn't matter, now she was thinking about that weird...…. Dream she had once gone through, a dream of… something, she had to believe that it had been some kind of creature. One which almost felt like it had come from inside of her own mind similar to the song 'monsters in your mind'. Not to mention that it almost felt entirely REAL in that dream, she could even still remember it as clear as crystal...

Flashback

Walking…

Walking…

So much walking that it made her feel somewhat ill just thinking about how much she'd done.

Yet, it was all she could think about as Alexia, clad in only a white dress, strode through a deserted, volcanic wasteland that had been filled with sand as far as the eye could see. She cringed at the feeling of the heat from the scorching sun above that burned brightly, almost causing her skin to resemble charcoal with its intense head, but she cannot give up now. She didn't know why she couldn't give up on herself, but her brain felt so foggy and heavy that she couldn't think too much. All she knew for a fact was that she couldn't give up, because if she did, then she will die..... Alone in this damn wasteland.

'That's…'

Whilst she was still walking, her eyes blinked owlishly when a change in her surroundings occurred for the first time in a seemingly long while. In the distance, her eyes began to make out something, prompting her to narrow them with a heavy-feeling hand raised to rest over her brow for makeshift shade, as well as to help her see further... before coming to a realization that it was a mountain. A rather tall mountain, much taller than anything she had ever seen before, though this wasn't surprising since there were rarely any large mountains where she'd grown up anyways. To this end, Alexia gritted her teeth as she tried to wet her mouth with her saliva, her mind deciding that if there were any more challenges for her, then she would have to take them. There was little other choice she had in the grand scheme of things, plus she REALLY wanted to do something other than walking even as her feet SCREAMED at her for a rest.

As such, before she knew it, the silver-haired girl was climbing the mountain, gritting her teeth at the scorching heat that the rocks had over them, likely from the intense rays from the sun above. Her hands, filled with blisters like her bare feet, felt like they could open up and bleed at any time, but the silver-haired girl couldn't give up, she just couldn't.

After a long while, the amount of time that had passed she couldn't really tell since the sun's position never changed once in this whole experience, Alexia finally reached the Mountain's top. Upon this happening, Alexia gave a huge inhale then exhaled, feeling victorious she could finally rest from that hardest journey she ever had. But instead of finally being able to take it easy like her body outright demanded of her at this point, fate had other plans for her when the mountain began to shake, as if it were trying to force her off.

"Whoa! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoaaaaaaaa!"

Panicked shrieks escaped her lips as Alexia flailed her arms back and forth, almost losing her balance before she barely regained it in time. In time… for something to emerge from the mountain's center. It burst out like something rising from the grave, and in a few seconds, Alexia's eyes widened as she recognized what it was: the HUGEST claw she had ever seen before, one which looked like it would crush her with just a couple of its digits. Furthermore, it's form had been surrounded by… some sort of vapor, one which seemed to conceal the majority of its appearance. If one was bad enough however, it became worse when another one emerged, smashing into the outer rims of the mountain with it's comrades.

'What the… what is…?'

If she had thought that THIS had been bad, her face literally became a piece of paper in terms of pale skin tone when the two arms made multiple movements. Movements which signified that they were pulling something OUT of the mountain, and as they did so the rumbling sounds kept getting bigger, bigger, and bigger. The intensity of the sounds also increased the sounds till it felt like she were standing at the epicenter of something she'd once read about as a child, 'earthquake', something which usually only happened on the mainland of Gamindustri. Finally, she saw what came out from the mountain, and just like the arms, the whole body of the being was covered by that vapor, resulting in it forming a silhouette of a creature that she can't recognize.

"Hmmmmmmm, most impressive, little girl... not many of those who came before you have reached this far."

The beast's eyes narrowed down at her, two glowing hollow blue like she was looking at the lenses of a helmet of sorts… something which made Alexia feel small as she looked up to the much larger creature. There were rarely any times where she could say she felt fear for her life like a tiny little insect, but right now she could say that this would definitely be one of them. Right now, she felt so small that she wondered if this was what mob characters felt like. To feel so small, so insignificant… like one's entire life could end out of the whims of something they had no control over... "Who…...who are you?"

"In time, you'll know the answer, little girl...…. hmmm(sniff sniff)... this is... what's this smell?.... Oooohhhh I see now... the white one's smell lingers on you still… so, that means he's awakened, finally."

"Wha-what do you mean, white one?! Answer me!"

"In due time, right now you only partially awakened your true power, but not fully. When the time comes, you will unlock your full potential, now wake up girl, it's time to go back to the real world."

"Wai-"

Before Alexia could demand more information with NONE of the poise and grace she usually had, the young girl blinked when she disappeared from the dream.

Flashback end

Returning to reality, Alexia put her hand over her face, which allowed her to notice that she had begun to sweat a bit from remembering the dream. 'To think, just remembering that dream… makes me this nervous…' she thought to herself as her other hand rested over where her heart was, her eyes glistening as she gazed upwards.

Thinking back, that time was the only time she could ever contact the creature before she could ask it more questions. It had been only about six months since that time, and ever since she had done what she could to gather appropriate information about it, based on what she could remember of its appearance. However, it turned out to be an exercise in futility, since hardly anything in all the history books she had gathered from not only the library but also from her family's archives matched the descriptions of the creature she had seen. One time, Alexia had wondered if she had seen some sort of Lost Item, since the CPU Candidate of Planeptune had been known to create Artificial Intelligence for her machines such as Luxon, but in the end she had discarded that idea. Not only that, but Alexia had discarded any thought of informing her family, even her older sister, about this stuff since they likely wouldn't believe her and even if they did Alexia believed that with the lack of info she had found it would likely be the same for them too.

For now, if what that creature had said about her true potential was true, then she only had one option: she'd have to train harder and harder until she could finally speak with that creature again. But for now, it's time to get some rest, for tomorrow would begin a new chapter of her plan… as well as her long list of methods to get him strong opponents to fight.

Timeskip three weeks

"Grrrrrr… somehow I think that you're just using me for your entertainment."

"Oh? And why, pray tell, would you say that 'darling'?"

"Because..... You fucking DREW A DAMN DOG SKETCH ONTO MY COMBAT SHIRT!"

Vali screamed at Alexia in rage while pointing at the lame dog sketch that is on his shirt that students had seen, thus almost began laughing at him in order to spite the dude. Mostly for how many times he had spited them in the past, but with just ONE angry glance at his silver slitted eyes, they quickly got the message: say anything, and their asses were grass.

Throughout the last few weeks, Vali and Alexia had done the whole 'fake' couple thing, acting like one to the outside which had sparked a number of reactions from the students. Boys of course, had the predictable reaction of glaring murderously at Vali's back when they thought that he wasn't able to notice them, with a small percentage (which slowly grew throughout the weeks) actually being more open and bold about it. Once, Vali heard rumors that there was even a cult of bachelors which had been formed to try and strike at Vali when he would least expect it, although to be frank that would be something he'd enjoy since it'd give him the excuse to beat some poor sods up. Relieve the stress he felt inside for going along with this farce of a relationship.

Though, to his surprise, Alexia actually got MUCH more hate from the women than he did from the guys. Perhaps she had a lot of fans who swung the opposite way or something, not like he cared, it just amazed him that some of the girls acted like the boys would when he had done something with his companions, often pestering her and asking all sorts of potentially damaging questions, whereas a percentage of them even sent their servants after her. It had been an… interesting sight, seeing something which usually happened to him, happen to someone else for a change. A woman too, at that, although like him, Alexia had little trouble dispatching them as she simply aimed for their tendon areas to disable their movement, then knock them out for the final blow before leaving the girls to tend to their servants out in public. Sometimes even knocked them out too.

As for his friends… yeah, Vali could happily admit to himself that he did NOT like their reactions, not one bit.

Emilia and Olivia looked like they had been shattered inside, even if the male had given them the full explanation of what had happened and that this would not last too long according to his predictions. For some reason, seeing their torn up faces made him want to go on a rampage against the fucker who made them look like that, even if that person was himself… for the first time ever, he had felt like an absolute dick for making a woman cry, let alone two AND some of his companions too. To his shock, Vali had felt so bad about it that, for the first time EVER, he had wanted to discard the thought of fighting strong opponents, JUST so that he could wipe those looks of sadness of their faces. What the HELL?! That wasn't what he did, that went against his very NATURE as a battle maniac! What the hell was wrong with him?! Vali really, REALLY needed to talk with his mother about this, he REALLY needed to get to the bottom of these strange sensations he'd begun feeling.

Luckily, Alpha and Angelica had been the more understanding of the group, although he couldn't say that he didn't feel similar sensations too when he'd looked into their faces. Alpha had looked like she had wanted to murder Alexia right where she'd stood without mercy, uncaring for the consequences that would befall her, not to mention she'd likely do it too, since she WAS someone who'd grown up with VALI as a companion. As for Angelica, she could be considered as the MOST understanding of the group, since she had been a noblewoman for her entire life and thus, knew the ways of politics enough to not be too fazed by something like this, although for the life of her she couldn't understand why someone like Alexia who came from a higher ranking family then even Angelica's own, would have an interest in someone like Vali. No offence to him though, something he didn't take very seriously anyways.

Meanwhile, Alexia giggled at the look which was being directed at her by the silver-haired male. "Oh my, I think it looks great on you 'darling'." she cooed, though her eyes clearly stated that she was enjoying this.

Yet another growl escaped Vali's lips at this with the urge to rip into her growing by the second. "Grrrrrrrrrr.... I shouldn't have accepted that deal...… hhhaaaaa, why do you even want to be a couple, Alexia? From what I've heard, it would seem that this 'Zenon' character acts like a mature man and helps other students with their swordsmanship." Vali questioned.

Zenon Griphi.

The name of the Fiance Candidate who was currently annoying this Noblewoman by pushing for them to be married. According to what he had asked Luxon to gather about him, it would seem that this person didn't have that many bad traits going for him. Officially recognized as a top swordsman despite his apparently low Mana (as expected from a man, one official had remarked according to Luxon's research). It looked like the guy taught an advanced swordsmanship class at Gamicademi, though this one was reserved for those who had only one year left before graduating, essentially seniors. There weren't that many bad things that Luxon could find about him, heck even his popularity with the female population in this damned Academy was quite high, with him getting letters of courtship from a fair amount daily.

Vali hadn't met the guy himself, but he sounded like someone whom he wanted to test his own sword skills against in the near future… and maybe he would, if this deal goes in the way that he thought it would.

On the other hand, Alexia had the opposite kind of opinion on him as she scoffed and glanced to the side. "That's exactly what annoys me about him! He thinks that he's with the sword, he acts like it's no big issue about it." she ranted, growling under her breath.

For once, Vali felt like he was looking at a female version of himself with the way she had labored breathing along with how she hunched over a little like he himself would. "Uh huh…. Aren't you stronger than him? It was said that you're almost on par with Reinhard?" Vali questioned further, confused on why she didn't like this guy. Most boys would kill for something like an easy marriage, thanks to the way that society was these days, not to mention that any normal woman would be absolutely fine with having a decent partner (though by decent, he figured that to mean depending on what they saw that as. Each woman had her own standards, and a lot in this Academy had stupidly high ones). Thus, Alexia's behavior resembled the exact opposite… it sort of pissed him off actually, but considering what he had seen of her from the last few weeks, Vali figured that there was more to it than that.

"...I suppose that you can't really tell."

"Oh, then enlighten me Midgar."

Alexia didn't respond at first, she just glanced down at her sword. She and him were using training swords right now instead of real ones since this WAS a swordsman classroom they were in. The two students had their custom gear on: Alexia having a long chinese style dress on which went to her ankles, with slits on the sides to expose the majority of her legs, white stockings and boots. As for Vali, he didn't have his Slime Suit on, but instead a white Gi with matching pants and bandages over his feet. Not to mention that his Gi exposed his arms, making him look like a certain martial artist who was known for his uppercut and energy blasts who went around fighting strong opponents. "... I have worked hard and I do believe that I'm relatively strong. But I..... don't have any talent for it."

"...Hhhhaaaaa, really? No talent you say, Midgar? Woman.... You almost single-handedly had almost beaten Reinhard in pure swordsmanship, why do you even say that you don't have a talent for it Midgar?" Vali remarked with sarcasm, and he believed those claims that Angelica had given him. Though he'd also requested Luxon to gather information on the duels which Alexia had fought in, some of them being with Reinhart himself, and he'd confirmed that she DID have the skills that her reputation had boasted. Thus, he didn't really believe her for a SECOND that she had no talent for the sword.

Meanwhile, as she held her sword up to her face, Alexia gazed at it's reflection, her eyes swimming with emotions. "..... My swordsmanship is called mediocre, as I have grown up I have always heard these words being thrown at me by my peers. Everyone has mocked and ridiculed me for it, one could say that they considered me a 'hiccup' in the family's long-standing traditions of producing competent sword wielders. My mother, my father, my entire family looks down upon my swordplay whilst comparing it to my sister. Speaking of her, my older sister Iris once said to me "I like your swordsmanship." after a spar when she had beaten me for about the 100th time. You can not even BEGIN to fathom how pitiful I felt at that moment, comparing myself to a genius like her. Not to mention that, the more success and recognition my sister gained throughout her days as a Guild Agent, the more love she gained from the masses, the more hatred and contempt I got given in return, although she doesn't know it. Ever since, I came to hate my swordsmanship."

"....... then why the fuck are you even continuing this sword training, woman? Shouldn't you even work on something else, Midgar?"

"Because..... I want to know even if I hate my swordsmanship, I want to see how far I can get to."

So… that was it, huh? She may not have had the talent for the sword, but despite that and what others say, she wanted to get better at it and see where it took her. Enduring discrimination from her parents who compared her endlessly to her sister. That would have definitely resorted in an envious nature, Vali believed, perhaps even an inferiority complex. Yet, still she had kept on going and from what he had seen from Luxon's recorded footage she had gone quite far with her skills… she may be a bit (read: VERY) bitchy, but compared to other women in this Academy he could definitely say that he could respect that in her. Not to mention that throughout these weeks he had spent with her, there was one thing which he had enjoyed the most. "....... Well then, I can definitely say that 'I' like your swordsmanship, Midgar."

"Huh?!"

"The reason is simple girl, it combined with what you told me is reminiscent of my struggle with my own Mana. You may not have known this, but once my Mana had been quite… uncontrollable, shall we say. It caused a lot of problems for my family, hence why I spent years refining my control over it by the day. Eventually, I managed to develop the techniques you see me use today, but this isn't enough for me, I want absolute supremacy over my power. I want to be the best in controlling it, so it can never cause problems for my family ever again. Our motives may be somewhat different, but they are also similar… that said, hiccups were prevalent for both of us, I'd wager, yet we both got to this point." Vali explained to a stunned silent Alexia, who honestly had gaped at him whilst he spoke. Nevertheless, he continued without stopping. "I'll reiterate what I told Angie once to you, woman. Life's like a trampoline, you fall yet you bounce back up. As long as you're still alive and kicking, the battle isn't over. Keep that in mind for whenever you are frustrated with something, it'll help keep you motivated to keep going."

"..... I see... I think that's enough training for the day, I'll be going home on my own."

"Huh?.... Fine."

With that said Alexia left the training room while keeping her head down, allowing her eyes to remain covered by her bangs. Meanwhile, as Vali went to the opposite way going back to his dorm to wash off that damn dog sketch that he still had on his Gi, Alexia turned around and looked at Vali while he's still walking before continuing her walk.

Timeskip two days

"Phew, it's been a while since we got together to eat!"

A couple days later, Vali and his companions sat together in the same spot which the silver-haired male had taken Emilia and Alpha to when they'd first transferred in, enjoying the peace and quiet for once. With the lack of disturbance from boys trying to court the girls, and the girls trying to make Vali their servant (though a lot less thanks to the whole Alexia thing, though there were some who had been interested in a threesome, much to Vali's dismay), the group happily welcomed this rare moment.

Especially Angelica, who had one eye closed whilst aiming a small, soft smile at the silver haired elf girl. "Seriously Emilia it's been only for five days." she remarked, though Emilia shook her head in response to the noblewoman's words.

"I know, Angie! It's just been so long."

At that, Alpha just chuckled at her friends, knowing that out of the group Emilia was the one who had the most desire to be social, followed closely by Olivia. "Don't worry about that Emilia, we could always hang out if you want."

"Okay Alpha... oh! Olivia, how is your study for magic discovery going on?"

Speaking of the light brown haired girl, said girl practically beamed in joy when she got asked that, her eyes sparkling like someone would when they discovered something new and exciting. "It's doing great Emilia! I've been discovering more about Magic and Share Energy! Did you know that each nation can gain up to a maximum amount of one hundred percent and of Shares and will never decrease below five percent? Its because if it does, then the CPU will lose all her power."

"Huh...… never thought about that."

Whilst Emilia hummed in thought over this information, Angelica decided to question their sole male member about his current state of affairs. It had been a few weeks since it had begun after all, and she worried that if it continued then a lot of their friends would… well, let's just say things wouldn't be good. "Also Vali, how is it going with Alexia Midgar?"

"Ehhhh it was doing fi-"

"Excuse me Vali?"

Before he could answer her however, a male voice which he didn't recognize reached his ears, as well as caused the rest of them to nearly jump in surprise, not noticing anyone coming this whole time. Glancing behind him, Vali saw the source of the voice, a blonde-haired man with dark blue eyes, wearing a white dress shirt along with some black form-fitting dress pants, and finally some matching dress shoes. "Huh?.... Oh it's you Zenon. What do you want?"

"I'd like for you to come with me."

The moment he heard that, Vali arched a brow in confusion after sipping from his drink. "What for, Griphi? Is it important or something?" He questioned, wondering if this had anything to do with his apparent desire to marry a young girl like Alexia quicker. That was the only thing which he could think of which could explain why this man, who had never even met him before, had come seeking him out now of all times.

"It's regarding the Marquis daughter. Alexia Midgar has not returned home for two days." Zenon answered in a grave tone.

"?!"

A couple of shocked cries escaped Alpha and the others, whilst all Vali did was roll his eyes in derision. "Huuuuhhh that girl, can't you guys even find her?��� Vali asked again, this time wondering about how competent the Gamicademi staff were.

Though, judging by the way his face looked Vali guessed that Zenon was about to tell him more about the situation, which he did. "We found one of her boots along the path she used to take. But there were signs of scuffles nearby as well. We believe that she has been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!"

"OH MY CPU!"

"HOW DID SHE EVEN GET CAPTURED!"

"We know that the last person she was with two days ago was you and right now you're our only suspect." the teacher answered, before clicking his fingers. Then two knights came just behind the pillar walking towards them. "These knights would like to ask you some questions, could you come with us?" Without waiting for a reply, The knights reached forwards and made to grab Vali by his shoulders, but instead of that the silver-haired teen just grabbed the knights arm...

"WHA-?! WHOOOAAA!"

… before he threw him and the other knight towards the ground a fair distance to their right, their forms landing on the ground so hard that their bodies created cracks along the earth. Not giving the shocked Zenon a chance to react, Vali proceeded to walk towards Zenon and reached forth, pulling a pro gamer move by doing what those knights had tried to do to him, but to Zenon instead: grabbing his collar before bringing him down to his eye level. All the while, Vali's eyes turned into their silver, slitted forms.

"Listen here dumbass, I'll tell you this only once: The last time I was with Alexia was when we were in our swordsmanship classroom practicing. We talked about our skills and how she doesn't want to be in her sister's shadow and then she left. That was the last time I saw her Griphi, and if you want proof and evidence of that or some shit there's the security cameras in the room installed in case any funny business happens whilst teachers aren't in class, so next time why not let the person speak before making any accusations. Am I clear on that?"

"G-g-g-got it Vali."

"Good, then report back to your leader Griphi, because you're wasting my time. Now get out of here, before I lose it." With that said, Vali roughly let go of Zenon's collar, throwing him down onto his ass thanks to the applied force. All the while, the silver-haired teen began to walk back to his group, leaving his knights alone unconscious and no longer caring about the teacher. Suddenly he had a LOT more understanding on why Alexia didn't like the thought of marrying that guy, for someone to try and apprehend someone without listening to their side of things like they already knew how it would end, just reeks of being a dick.

Once he had returned to his comrades, each of the girls had got up in unison after putting their stuff back inside their respective inventories. "We should look for her Vali!" Emilia exclaimed, panicked.

"Uhhh no, not happening Emilia."

"What?! Why?!"

"It's simple, Emilia: because we can't just get involved with this search, you saw what that teacher just did. Even if we do, then they would suspect us working with the kidnappers."

"But, but-"

Angelica furrowed her brows, holding back her own emotions like she had been brought up to do in order to see the bigger picture. "He's right Emilia, as much as I would like to try and find her, the nobles will suspect and start throwing out accusations at us for kidnapping Alexia." she explained, although part of her also believed that Vali had some personal grudge against Alexia for how she might have treated him during these last few weeks.

"...... Okay Angie. I hope that they manage to find her." After a while of thinking, looking torn while doing so, Emilia finally relented to their words, knowing that this wasn't the same kind of world she was used to. As in, since she wasn't born amongst the nobility and had grown up under a rather carefree childhood thanks to her aunt Fortuna, she wasn't used to politics and how utterly ruthless a majority of the nobility could be.

A sigh escaped Angelica's lips too, knowing just how the silver-haired elf girl felt right now, since she too had once felt those emotions to a point of wanting to act on them just for being a decent person. Of course, her family had tried their best to hammer that out of her since acting on her emotions, whilst it can be good in the short term, could be terrible in the long one. Shame that didn't fully leave her despite their efforts, considering the whole Julius fiasco, which was why part of Angelica felt somewhat hypocritical about her word. "Me too, Emilia. For now, we have to go. it's getting late now." she stated, glancing down at her watch and noticing how late it was. They would be having afternoon classes soon, but since this whole kidnapping thing happened, Angelica believed some changes to the schedule would happen till she was found.

"...... You guys go-ahead, I forgot my lunch there."

"Okay, Vali. Be sure to come back quick!"

"I will."

His companions left him alone in the main avenue, silently eating his lunch… to the untrained observer, that is. In truth, he was not actually eating his lunch but instead, gazing in a certain direction. The reason being that he'd gotten his own little opinion regarding what he had heard about Alexia's kidnapping. 'Thinking about it, some details about what he said don't add up. Griphi mentioned that they'd found a boot by the path that she used to take, but didn't mention much about the signs of a struggle nearby, almost as if he were trying to focus on one point specifically…' the boy thought to himself whilst packing up his stuff and depositing it into his Inventory, getting to his feet afterwards. "Luxon, do you have anything I can use to find her last known location?' Vali questioned whilst placing his hand over his ear.

A second later, a screen appeared with a holographic crimson lense on it, a form of long-distance communication that Luxon had developed in case the two were separated.

'Yes, master. Records show that she didn't in fact go back to her room that day, instead she had taken a trip to the forest instead. She must have been lying about going there, or she changed her mind mid walk, according to the camera footage I hacked into.'

Hearing the AI's voice from the screen, Vali scoffed to himself, not really having expected anything else from this noblewoman. 'Women… always trying to be a pain… must be a woman thing. Anyways, thanks, I'll head over to the forest now.'

With that mental conversation done, Vali then deployed his Divine Dividing wings. Although he wasn't very proficient in fighting with them yet, the boy had been training in the last few weeks alone to be able to fly with them at least. Thus, with them unfurling, Vali took to the skies and then shot forth towards the direction of the forest not far from his position.

After landing at the spot in the forest where Luxon had mentioned that it had seen through video footage of Alexia heading inside from, Vali proceeded to walk inside as well. He'd dismissed his Lost Item as a result, knowing that dense wilderness will get in the way of mobility here.

Eventually however, he came to a small clearing, one where a certain object came into view. His eyes blinked when he saw a girl's boot, not only that but it looked exactly like one of the boots Alexia wore. Judging by the amount of dirt and stuff on it he noticed after kneeling down on one knee to inspect the boot, Vali assumed that it had been moving about a lot when it had been attached to its owner's body, which he believed meant that she had indeed been struggling against a foreign force before vanishing. According to what he knew so far, Griphi had mentioned that they only found one of Alexia's boots, but they hadn't found the other one. Under other circumstances this wouldn't have been much for an investigation, more evidence would have been needed.

However, Vali had an interesting idea that had entered the space inside his head: Maybe...… he could find her by having Luxon scan the shoe. "...hhhhhaaaa this girl, she is really getting to me." The boy remarked after giving an annoyed sigh, about to contact Luxon to do just that by clicking on an earpiece hidden inside his ear...

"Well well, looks like you were the culprit after all."

"Man, we followed the Mana trail and look where it got us."

… The obnoxious sounds of two men reached his ears, prompting Vali to glance behind him to see the two knights from before. They likely had followed him here, and judging from how they'd drawn their weapons, it looked like things wouldn't be ending nicely for anyone.

However, instead of feeling threatened (which he'd never felt since his younger days) all Vali did was roll his eyes and scoff, not threatened in the least as he turned to face them with his hands in his pockets. "..... Are you two stupid or what? I just got here and saw a girls shoe. You two must be really dumbasses."

"Why you-?! Just because you're a combat saint, that doesn't mean you'll escape judgment!"

"Vali fou Bartford: you're under arrest for kidnapping a marquis daughter!"

With high-acidic smirks on their lips which pretty much REEKED of arrogance, both men charged forth with their bodies releasing their Mana, intent on beating the ever loving shit out of the silver haired male.

However…

"Nope, no time for this."

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-!

"?!"

"?!"

In one instant, Vali appeared behind the two men, throwing his right arm to the side with his left on his hip, the tell tale sounds of a MS being dispersed filling the air. Not a second later, did slash marks appear all over the two men… resulting in their bodies falling to the ground in small chunks.

None of them had even the slightest chance to know what had happened.

'With the situation being as it is, I don't have time to be playing with these fodder folk.' The Combat Saint remarked in his mind as he clicked his fingers, and afterwards his Slime Suit manifested over him. After adjusting his gloves, Vali pocketed them inside his Trench Coat before looking back to the discarded boot. "Luxon, please scan this." Vali requested, placing one gloved hand on the hidden earpiece.

Afterwards, the same screen appeared, which then proceeded to float over to the Boot and then projected a bright light from the crimson lense.

"Scanning, scanning...… confirmed. it belongs to Alexia Midgar."

"It does...… Good. Then Luxon, can you see where Alexia is?"

"Running data..... It will take five days to completely find her."

"Dammit.... Fine, might as well wait. Confirm to me when you finally found Alexia, Luxon."

"Acknowledged, master."

"So... looks like Vali's testimony was correct after all."

"Yes.... It certainly was."

In a large, office-like room, two people stood together looking over a computer that showed video footage of Vali and Alexia separating. One of them was Zenon, who looked like he would fall apart in the next few seconds due to how haggard he looked.

On the other hand, sitting on the chair in front of the desk was a woman who looked to be in her early to mid twenties, not to mention an hourglass body that any woman would kill for. She had long, flowing crimson hair that reached her waist in length, as well as matching eyes, eyes which were currently bearing down on Zenon after viewing the footage. For an attire, she wore a rather formal-looking outfit, consisting of a black long trench coat that she had fastened, one which split at the waist to expose the matching mini skirt she wore that had slight slits on the sides for maximum mobility. The coat had some rolled back golden cuffs, whilst it formed a V-shape over her upper chest to expose the formal dress shirt she wore beneath and crimson tie, one which had a green coloured gem designed onto the neck area. On her feet, she wore some heeled boots that matched her coat in colour, though right now her legs were crossed as she had a rather disappointed stare at the man. "You know.... Like what Vali said: you shouldn't ever jump to conclusions about people, Zenon, you know as well as I do that Vali can't be reprimanded that easily. I expected nothing less from the rival of Reinhard and the new Combat Saint."

Hearing this, the teacher lowered his head in apology, knowing that he had screwed up big time with his actions today. "Yes. It was certainly my fault for that, I shouldn't jump into conclusion. Anyway what should we do now? We can't keep tabs on him because his testimony is correct and the fact is that he is the same status as Reinhard makes it difficult to convict him of any false crimes."

Iris nodded at this, especially since she knew exactly how influential Vali had become thanks to his promotion from the CPU and her Oracle. Him being in a position of similar importance to the Sword Saint made going against him QUITE tricky. Both since he had been viewed in a high regard by an important figure, not to mention their Nation's leader, but also someone who had made the achievements that he had was rare in of itself, especially for a man. "I know... he is the most suspicious person there is, but like you said we can't keep tabs on him, we have no choice but to let him roam free."

"In other words we are back to square one then, Iris?" Zenon questioned, getting a remorseful nod from the crimson haired woman. This resulted in the teacher scratching the side of his head in obvious displeasure. "... Dammit. We don't have a lead or any clues that can help us."

"Don't worry Zenon, we will find my sister. I've requested the Guild to help us in our search for her and the other people that have gone missing as well."

Even though this had been said, Zenon still didn't have as much confidence in this, especially with his recent blunder. "Alright Iris, I'll trust your judgment... Which reminds me Iris, about your family..." he began to say, bringing forth something which had been on his mind for a while.

Arching a brow, Iris thought about just getting him back on track, but decided to indulge the man for once. After all, having less distractions would help him focus on the task at hand better. "What about them, Zenon?"

For a moment, Zenon tried to consider his words carefully, since he had seen many females get quite touchy if one questioned their decisions, or even their family's decisions, regarding marriage partners. He'd seen it in quite the few zealous students, and as such he had to make sure to word the following question safely. "Is it true that...…. Their planning on a marriage plan between you, you and that BOY Vali Bartford?"

".......... Yes, it is. To them, strength is everything for them, it's been like that for generations now. Things like Businesses, land and resources are secondary to them in terms of priorities. When they saw the amount of power, especially from a male, he showcased during his match against the five heirs of the great house. They saw this an opportunity to use this case to make the family stronger, a marriage plan between me...…. And him." Iris explained, thinking back to the time when she'd first found out about this engagement plan. She'd been STUNNED senseless, since she'd originally thought that her family would have chosen her as a partner to someone within the business world. Yet instead, they'd chosen a young boy of similar age to her sister instead.

At this, Zenon nodded his head in understanding, knowing from experience how the Midgar family was. "I see...…. It might be hard to get him to accepting the marriage between you and him, because there are several reasons I can think of Iris."

"I know..... personally, I find him very interesting."

"Oh? And what do you find about him interesting Iris?"

"He could've just walked away from Angelica's feud with Julius and that girl he spends time with, but instead he went and helped Angelica with her former finance, despite knowing the repercussions when battling them. He tried to get Julius some sense in him, however that fool was crazy in love with that other girl, to the point that he didn't want to be with Angelica, even going as far as to disrespect the CPU just for her. It is not just his strength that earned him the two titles: the Unbeatable Prince and Combat Saint...… it's his resolve."

".......I see."

With that said, Iris made a gesture for him to leave her alone for now, something which Zenin complied with. Once the sound of the door closing behind him resonated throughout the room, Iris felt she was alone and leaned back on her chair, uncrossing her legs and then re-crossing them, but in the opposite position this time. '... you are indeed an interesting person, Vali…' the woman thought to herself, mentally surprised that the man had brought this topic up despite the situation at hand. Though now that she thought about it, perhaps it had to do with how he too had once studied here, the experience at Gamicademi for men wasn't the same as it was for women after all. Reaching into her coat's pocket, Iris pulled out a photograph, one with the most updated look that a certain silver haired male had adopted.

Aside from his looks which Iris had to admit she was rather fond of, his eyes were the ones which attracted her the most. The eyes were a viewing of the soul if one asked her, and when she looked into those eyes she could see the strength, the will and the resolve to get stuff done. Something she had rarely seen in men today, and it intrigued her. Plus, she could understand why her sister would spend time around him as well, knowing how manipulative and mischievous she could be.

The whole marriage thing may become an inevitability with the upcoming Goddess Festival and all, cause she knew for a FACT that the moment he hears about it, Vali will go there for fighting. Especially when he would inevitably hear that powerful people from across the continent would be going there, one example being Reinhard himself. As such, seeing how Vali viewed relationships between those whom he hung out with, and how his family viewed things, it made her intrigued about the possibilities for the future.

'I will admit: I want to see where it will go when my family engages me with you. Will you fight against it or...…. Will you accept it?'