Keti blinked in confusion. Did they even have breakfast bentos now?
“Ahem, m-morning, Keti-chan…”
A look of exhaustion floated across the face of the Jellyfish-Haired Elder Sister. She looked as though she hadn’t slept a wink all night. Even so, she still forced a small smile and then winked at Keti.
“Uh… Wh-what’s wrong? Didn’t get enough rest?”
“Ahaha, i-it’s fine…” The Jellyfish-Haired Elder Sister stifled a yawn. Beside her, Sylvia seemed to be struggling to keep her eyelids open. After a moment, both of them spoke up at the same time:
“Can… can we come in and talk?”
To be honest, Keti felt a little strange. After all, Layla and Sylvia were already her students now. If they wanted to see her, they could just wait for class.
If they made a special trip to her place, there had to be a reason.
But…
Thinking about how both of them had waited with her in that rundown place until it was all over last night, it made sense they looked so tired now… Holding on to this sense of guilt, Keti really had no way to refuse them.
“Mm, come on in.”
The silver-haired beauty opened the door wide and let the two girls in. The three of them sat down at the table. Only then did Layla seem to remember something. She lowered her head to Keti, looking apologetic, and said:
“S-sorry, I forgot to bring your bento. I’m so useless…”
“Well… You haven’t eaten yet, either? How about I take you both to the cafeteria for breakfast later? Uh, but if it’s not about bentos, what’s going on?”
The silver-haired beauty didn’t seem to mind at all. She was just making conversation, but suddenly… Keti gasped on the spot. Th-this…
Could they be about to withdraw from the competition right here?!
How… How could this happen? Was it because the training was exhausting and they couldn’t rest well…? But last night was a special case!
Ugh… If she hadn’t been so stubborn and insisted on waiting there, it wouldn’t have ended so late. But if Layla and Sylvia dropped out now, ugh…
That would basically mean she could pack her things and leave Fayan Academy too. Th-this… Could this be the girls’ ultimate move?!
Thinking of this, the silver-haired beauty couldn’t help but shiver all over. She lowered her head in panic and pleaded, “Please, at least help me finish this competition.”
“Uh… N-no, it’s not like that! Haha, of course we’ll get ready for the tournament, Keti-chan, don’t worry.”
Layla nodded. Today’s Jellyfish-Haired Elder Sister seemed a bit more normal than before. Ah… Actually, it was because she’d been scolded by Sylvia yesterday, so she was a little clearer-headed now.
Oh well, it’s enough to play the big-sister role. Ugh…
“We came to see you, Keti, because we want to give you a gift.”
As Sylvia spoke, she suddenly pulled out a metal heart-shaped necklace from her pocket. In the center of the heart was a dazzling pale blue gem.
“Oh… Th-thank you. Is this… expensive?”
Keti gazed thoughtfully at the necklace in Sylvia’s hand, not taking it right away. Layla, standing beside her, beamed proudly and nodded:
“Of course it’s a precious gift! This is something Sylvia-chan specially collected… Mm—”
Halfway through, Layla’s mouth was suddenly covered by Sylvia. Watching the flustered struggle of the poor priestess, Keti couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
After a while, only when she’d thoroughly scolded Layla did Sylvia finally let go. With a cold face, she said,
“It’s really not that exaggerated, it’s nothing valuable. I made it myself. It just carries a girl’s feelings, that’s why Layla calls it precious. Keti-chan, just accept it. Otherwise… Layla’s a goner when she gets home…”
“Ah, ow…”
Seeing the poor priestess whimpering, Keti hurriedly took the necklace from Sylvia’s hand.
Ah, ah, ah, even if this looks like a scene where someone accidentally spilled the secret and needs to be silenced… the silver-haired beauty really couldn’t bear to see Layla die for real.
But…
The moment she took the necklace, suddenly… the necklace burst into a blue light in her hand, then slowly faded after a moment.
What the—
Wh-what just happened?!
The silver-haired beauty stood frozen, totally baffled. After a moment, she turned her head, only to see Miss Elf’s face lit up with a “just as planned” expression.
Then she smiled and said, “That’s perfect, Keti-chan! With this, you don’t need to worry about being bullied by that man anymore!”
“Eh? How did you know I’d get… Wait, no, wh-what do you mean?”
The silver-haired beauty still didn’t understand what was happening. Had she just fallen into a trap?!
Hiss—
Come to think of it, Sylvia did have all sorts of weird magic. She’d really let her guard down. But… what kind of magic was this supposed to be?
On the other side, hearing her slip of the tongue, Sylvia seemed a bit annoyed too. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed and muttered, “I knew this would happen, so I prepared this for you, Keti-chan. This thing’s name is…”
“This thing’s name is… Suppression Gem… Oh, I mean, that’s the name of the blue gem in the middle of the necklace. I got it from a dungeon before, and I never quite figured out how to use it. Only recently did I start to understand what it’s for.”
“Suppression Gem…”
Keti scratched her head. With such a weird name, it had to be something Sylvia came up with herself. It didn’t sound very official at all.
Still wearing a fearful expression, the silver-haired beauty stammered anxiously, “So, w-what does it do? It won’t kill me, will it?”
“Relax, I’d never harm you!”
Sylvia folded her arms. Even though her words were reassuring, her expression was anything but, because even with those big, dark circles under her eyes, she was still looking at Keti with…
A strange, faintly resentful gaze.
“You really did go and ask Lynn for help, didn’t you?”
“Ah… That… Ahem, actually, it wasn’t like that! Last night, I was just about to go to bed as soon as I got home, but it was Lynn, that guy, who suddenly used that jar to talk to me from afar and called me up… Ahem, then I just happened to chat with him for a bit, and this came up.”
Keti hurriedly pointed to the jar by her bedside and coughed awkwardly, eager to pass the blame as quickly as possible!
“Anyway, he said he had some ideas, and he can even get us access to the big training grounds. Haha… Sylvia, you really don’t need to worry about me.”
“How could I not worry! As I thought, Keti-chan, you should know very well—there’s always a price to pay when you ask that man for help…”
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