The moment her hand was suddenly grabbed, Keti was momentarily stunned, then slowly turned her head.
She had thought the other person was awake, but in reality, that wasn’t the case. Alice still had her eyes tightly shut, and that hand seemed to have grabbed her sleeve unconsciously.
Even so, the vague, muddled words that came out seemed to be holding her back.
It looked like she still had a bit of hazy consciousness.
“No… don’t go… please, don’t go, Keti, I… I don’t want you to leave, you finally… came back, you came back to my side, sob…don’t…leave again…”
“Hoo…I’m not Keti. Your Keti hasn’t come back.”
The silver-haired beauty turned her head away again, then tried to pull herself free and leave. Unexpectedly, the next moment, the blonde girl tightened her grip even more.
“No, don’t…”
She shook her head in panic, and after a while finally spoke again: “I… I missed you so much, all this time…I kept thinking of you. As long as you’re here…I feel at ease, so…don’t go…”
“You missed me that much?”
Keti pursed her lips. After a moment, she sighed helplessly and then suddenly shouted angrily:
“Don’t be ridiculous! What are you talking about! If you missed me so much, then why were you looking for new teammates?”
“Weren’t you trying to let that Jiaxia replace me perfectly? Was it only because you almost got killed by the demons that you suddenly remembered me?”
“No… it’s not like that! I… I…”
Lost and helpless in her dream, Alice shook her head urgently, then blurted out everything in her heart.
“I just… wanted you to come back, wanted to make you mad, that’s all, sob… I’m sorry… I won’t dare again, I won’t look for new teammates again, please, come back, sob—I… I can’t do it without you… we… we…”
We…
Keti took a deep breath, and after a while, slowly turned her head back. She reached out and gently ruffled Alice’s blonde hair, letting out a long sigh.
“Get some rest, Miss Hero. When I’m no longer a burden to you, we’ll talk about this again.”
With that, she quickly left. Alice, whose consciousness was growing more and more blurred, couldn’t grab the girl’s sleeve again.
On the other side, Layla and Sylvia, who had witnessed everything, were left in silence.
It seemed getting Keti back on the team was completely impossible now.
Hoo
After leaving the stronghold, Keti let out a long sigh. After a moment, she stood there, hands on her hips, and stomped on the floor.
Only then did Lynn walk out from the corner, expression… serious as he looked at the girl.
Hmm… serious, but… why did Keti feel like he was forcing it? Why did it feel like he was holding back laughter? Hmph.
Was… was it really that funny?! She wasn’t that funny, right?!
Grr…
Even so, Keti wasn’t angry. After all, her archrival was still trying to keep a straight face. So after a while, the silver-haired beauty could only sigh, then said:
“It’s over. So that Jiaxia really was the succubus who kidnapped the students before. Everything finally makes sense. I was wondering why a demon would be after me—it turns out she was coming for me.”
“To be precise, she was coming for Alice, right? It’s just that maybe that succubus discovered an unexpected bonus from you.”
Lynn tilted his head, satisfied with how things turned out. Keti nodded in agreement, but when it came to Alice, her feelings grew complicated.
“That’s right. With the blood of a Hero, she really is the type to always run into demons. I just didn’t expect the succubus to be able to hide so well this time.”
“If I hadn’t come to the rescue in time today, there could have been a real disaster. Luckily… I made it.”
“Hmm… not bad! Hmph hmph, alright, I’ve decided. Since Keti-chan has saved two students of the Magic Academy from demons in a row, and also a former graduate of the Magic Academy, that counts as a major achievement! So… five hundred special teaching points~!”
“Eh? R-really?!”
The moment she heard about extra points, Keti got excited. Ahem… couldn’t help it, she really wanted to move up to the Magic Tower!
Besides, if she could become a member of the Magic Tower, maybe… she’d finally have the courage to return to the Hero’s party?
So, umm… she was completely hooked on Master’s big points~! (Ahem… Keti means the Academy by ‘Master’, anyway—more, more, give me as many teaching points as possible!)
Uh, but—
In the middle of her excitement, Keti suddenly remembered something. She cast a suspicious glance at her archrival.
“Do you even have that authority? Don’t… don’t trick me, I’ll really cry if you’re messing with me! Don’t joke about something like this!”
“Relax, relax, you think only that Richard guy can give out points? Of course I can apply for them for you too! Ahem… just can’t hand them out randomly, that’s all.”
“But I can file a report~! Don’t worry, I promised you, I’ll always keep my word.”
“Yay~!”
Since she got such a guarantee from her archrival, Keti nodded in satisfaction. To be fair, most of the things her archrival promised could actually be done—very reliable!
“This time… thanks for helping out, too. If I had to face that succubus alone, I’d honestly still be a little scared…”
Keti lowered her head quietly, feeling a little embarrassed. Lord Administrator didn’t say anything—he just put his hand on the girl’s shoulder and smiled:
“It’s nothing. Compared to these small matters, little kitten, how do you feel right now? I mean, after absorbing that succubus’s power?”
“Um… about that, I really haven’t paid much attention yet. I was too busy dealing with Alice, haha. Hmm…Let me see, I…Uh. Hiss—”
As she felt the magic surging inside her, in an instant, Keti’s eyes widened in shock.
“I-it happened! Lynn, it happened! It’s not D anymore, it’s not D anymore!”
“Eh? Did you become an E cup? That’s amazing, all that squeezing Keti-chan’s little cherries earlier wasn’t wasted~hmph—”
“No no no… what nonsense are you talking about! I mean my talent, my magic talent!”
Annoyed by Lynn’s sudden lack of seriousness at such a critical moment, Keti’s mouth twitched for a while. After a deep breath, she snorted twice and decided not to bicker with her archrival, continuing:
“What are you thinking! There’s no such thing as E-rank magic talent. Besides, I was already an E—cough, cough… Anyway, it looks like my magic talent has become, become C-rank! Um…
Although I can’t be completely sure, I really, really feel like there’s a big change! It’s like my magic circuits have been cleared out~! Hoo…”