*OLIVIA’S POV*

I’m currently running around Cube. Even if the training center is closed because of what happened today, I still have to train myself. Even if that means doing normal training to not lose my daily routine.

{That guy… Why couldn’t he just talk to me right now? What’s his problem…}-I thought while running close to the dorms. And that’s when I find Kim Hajin walking towards the male cadet’s dorm. {Mm? Maybe he knows something…}-I thought before running towards him.

“Hey! Kim Hajin!”-I shouted while getting close.

“Huh? Oh, Olivia, hey, how are you? Running around?”-He asks me.

“Yeah, I’m not stopping my training even if the training center is closed, so I thought that running was a good way to start.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same, I’ll go change before starting my own training, so, what’s up? Do you need anything?”

“Well… Now that you ask… Would you perhaps know something about Cristopher?”

“Cristopher? What about him? Knowing something like what exactly?”-He asked while lifting one brow.

“Well… You know… Like what we saw yesterday in the Gravity Room… You know that’s not possible… And if he trains the same way he recommended me… Even less… He’s hiding something… I’m sure of it. So… You know… You being his friend and all… I was asking myself if you knew something about him? Like anything…”-I ask him slowly.

“Mm… Look, I actually don’t know much… I was equally surprised as you, you know… That guy always does things his way, and doesn’t like to tell anything about what he’s doing… Honestly… Getting any kind of info from him it’s hard”-He says while frowning. “Though sometimes it’s also easy with how clumsy he can get…”-He chuckles a bit.

“Yes… I know what you mean…”-I chuckle at that too. “He sometimes just spaces out and forgets to keep his cool… *sigh…* Guess you don’t know anything about him too…”

“Yeah… Sorry for that… Though weren’t you going to meet today?”-He suddenly said as if remembering something.

“Mm? Meeting him? What do you mean?”-I ask him while tilting my head and lifting my eyebrow.

“Ah… No…?”-He’s shocked. “Aaah!! You know, it’s nothing, really, I must be confused. He told me that he was going to meet someone, I thought it was you, but it must have been some other friend haha.”-He says with an awkward face. “I’m sure it must be some guy from our class…”-His awkward face intensifies while scratching his head. “Well! I’ll have to go! A pleasure to talk to you Olivia, but I must change my clothes if I want to train soon today.”-He says while trying to go.

“Stop there.”-I said while grabbing his escaping shoulder. “Care to tell me where the guy is?”-I said while smiling what I sure think is a sweet smile.

“…”-But his face just paled… “I know nothing!”-He shouts.

“…”-My grip strengthens. Now. You know, these last weeks I’ve been training like crazy, and my strength isn’t that bad, even if I’ve been focusing mostly on speed. “Now, now, just be a good friend a tell me where that as… guy is… Will you?”-I emphasize while gripping a little bit harder.

“Aaarrgh…”-He shoulder twist in pain. “Wait! Wait! I’ll tell you! He’s in Aroma Mocha! He’s in Aroma Mocha!!!”-He shouts. {Was that so hard to say? Jeez…}-I thought while letting him go.

“So… This Aroma Mocha… Where is it?”-I ask while giving another sweet smile.

“… Cl-close to where we u-usually do anti-personnel co-combat trai-training… I-It’s a coffee shop… You’ll easily find it… It’s mostly empty… And has a big mocha cup on the front…”-He mutters while slightly stuttering…

“Why! Thanks!”-I said while smiling. “I’ll be going then! Take care!”-I said while leaving towards some asshole that sure likes to evade me.

I think I heard Hajin saying something like “Rest in peace, man”, but that sure was my imagination.

***

*CRISTOPHER’S POV*

“*SIGH…*”-I greatly sighed while slouching on my chair, while taking big sips of my chocolate milkshake…

*slurp…*

“Mm? Oh… It’s empty…”-I look at my now empty drink, before raising my arm. “Waitress! Bring me another one!”-I shout towards the waitress that’s now cleaning a recently emptied table.

“Hai!!! Coming right away!!!”-She shouts back at me with a weird smile on her face. It sure isn’t for the 4 empty glasses of chocolate milkshake on my table.

“*sigh…*”

“What’s wrong with you?”-I heard Choi Minseo ask me while looking down at me. “You look as if someone stole your money.”-She says while lifting one eyebrow.

“… *sigh…* Nothing… So? Did you bring my stuff?”-I ask her while sitting straight on the chair.

“Won’t you invite me to sit?”-She asks while frowning.

“Well, you know, there’s a chair there. Apt for public use.”-I said while pointing at a chair.

“…”-She blankly stares at me, but still goes and sits down. “Yes. I did bring your gauntlets.”

“Oh, nice. Thanks for that. I didn’t want to answer any question from the instructor… Or reward them, actually. So, can I have them now?”-I said to her while putting my hand out to receive the gauntlets, though I stopped. “Wait. Not now.”

“Mm?”-Choi Minseo stopped looking inside her pouch. “Why?”

“My order’s coming…”-I merely say while looking towards the waitress that’s coming with a tray and my chocolate milkshake.

“Here’s your order!”-Said the waitress with a smile, before putting down the tray. It may be a hallucination, but I could swear she gave a weird side glance towards Choi Minseo. “Whatever you need just call me! I’ll be taking these now!”-She said while grabbing the empty glasses.

“Sure! Thanks!”-I answered with a smile before sipping the drink. {Really… Doesn’t matter how many times, I just don’t get tired of this…}

“Isn’t that too sweet?”-Choi Minseo asks while looking at my drink.

“Not really.”-I said while putting the drink back on the table. “You know… You can ask for whatever you want, I’ll pay.”-I said to her.

“…”-She looks at me with a weirded face. “Really?”

“Sure, after all, we’ll talk for a little bit, better do it with something to drink.”-I smile towards her.

“… Ok, fine.”-She said while raising her hand towards the waitress. That actually came fast.

“Yes? What can I serve you?”-She asked with a smile… But… a political smile. {Does she have a problem with the self-proclaimed leader? Maybe she knows she’s too bossy?}-I thought while drinking a bit more of my drink.

“Yes, I’ll like green tea.”-She asks.

“Oh, I’m sorry… We don’t have green tea for the moments.”

“Mm… It’s fine… Then black tea would suffice.”

“Oh… It’s such a shame… We ran out of black tea…”

“Do you have any kind of tea?”

“No. It’s a shame. But we’re out of teas.”-The waitress answered while smiling with her hand in her mouth and tilting her head.

“… Coffee?”

“Only black coffee… We ran out of milk…”-She said with a ‘sorry’ face. While Choi Minseo just turned to look at me sipping at my chocolate milkshake.

“… That’s okay… I would like a cup of black coffee…”-She said, somehow trying to rein in her anger, which made her face turn a little red.

“Jeez, who would tell that they’re out of almost any kind of drink, right?”-I said while putting my drink on the table.

“…”-She doesn’t say anything.

“Well… What were we talking about?”

“Nothing. I was about to give you your gauntlets before you stopped me.”

“Oh, right, that.”-I said while hitting my palm. “Now that you mention it. I would like to ask you for a favor.”

“Yes? And what would that favor be?”-She says while frowning at me.

“Nothing hard. Just forget everything you saw inside that dungeon. Especially anything that had to do with me.”

“…”-She blankly stares at me. “Why would that be? If I may ask.”

“I just don’t want what happened there to be known. Specifically, I don’t want that people know what I did. It would be a hassle to me and I don’t like it.”-I said to her, before putting my hand up to stop her from talking.

“Hai! There’s a cup of black coffee for you.”-She said with a business smile to Choi Minseo. “And for Cristopher-ssi here’s another chocolate cake for you! That’s on my account, so don’t worry, you won’t have to pay for it!”-She said with a beaming smile. “Then, I’m leaving, anything you need just call for me!”-She smiled before leaving.

“…”-Choi Minseo stares at me. “Is she your girlfriend or something? Why is she like that?”

“No, she’s not my girlfriend. And how would I know why she acts that way?”-I answered while lifting my eyebrow. “So… Going back to what we were talking about before. Will you do as I ask or not?”

“What would I win from any of this?”-She asks with an expressionless face.

“A favor from me.”-I say while shrugging.

“And that would be something I want because?”

“I don’t know. But that’s what you’ll win for keeping the secret.”-I said while looking straight at her eyes. “So?”

“… I want the gauntlets.”-She said.

“Nope. Sorry. Those are mines.”-I answer while frowning.

“What if I start telling rumors here and there?”-She asks while lifting an eyebrow.

“And I would care because?”-I ask while reclining back. “Let me be clear and stop any misunderstanding. I don’t like that my secret may be known. But that’s it. If people discover it or not, I don’t truly care. Though, you’ll lose any kind of favor you could ask me in the future.”-I said before taking a sip of my drink. “Also… Who would really believe you? I’m 915^th in the rankings. And the other three won’t even support your claims. One is my at least a teammate, maybe even a friend. The other is someone I’m helping with some things, and finally, the princess doesn’t even care about rumors.”

“…”-She stares at me.

“So? What’s your answer? Will you do as I ask, or you won’t? Last time I’m asking.”-I said before sipping once again at my drink.

“You know… It’s weird taking this talk seriously while you’re drinking insane amounts of chocolate…*sigh…*”-She said while putting the pouch on the table. “Guess I don’t have any other choice. I better give you your gauntlets then…”

“So, I can take that as a yes, right?”-I ask her.

“Yes. I won’t say anything about what happened down there, other than we five taking down a dying boss monster. It’s that right with you?”

“Perfect.”-I said while sipping from my drink. “Then, I would like to thank you for your understanding. And also… I’ll give you a gift for it, but a little bit later.”

“Didn’t you tell me that you wouldn’t give me anything but a favor in exchange?”-She asks while lifting her eyebrow.

“Sure. I did say that. But it’s just a gift. Don’t have to take it as a payment for your silence”- I shrugged.

*Cling!*

The door of the coffee shop opened abruptly, making the little bell sound kind of loud.

“Hm?”-Then I sensed someone familiar entering the place. “What’s she doing here?”-I murmured while turning. Before abruptly looking back at Choi Minseo. “Hurry. Take those gauntlets out so I can leave.”-I said to her.

“Mm? Why?”-She asked while turning to look at the angry Olivia making her way towards our table. “What’s wrong with her?”-She asks.

“Don’t know. But don’t want to find out either. So, move your hands and give me those gauntlets.”

“Calm down. Let me take them out.”-She says, starting to take out the gauntlets from the little pouch. {I need one of those.}

“So! *SLAM*”-Olivia talked while slamming both hands on the table. “What are you guys doing here!? Hmm?”-She asks while giving a smile that’s not quite like a smile.

“Well, you see, I’m waiting for Choi Minseo here, to give me my gauntlets. What about you? What brings you here?”

“As he said. I’m just here to give him his gauntlets. After all, I did offer myself to give them to him. Remember?”-Said Choi Minseo.

“Oh, right. Yes, I remember. But, why did it have to be in a place like this? You could easily give them to him outside the dorms.”-She said towards Choi Minseo while lifting an eyebrow.

“Why would the place we choose to deliver the items be a problem to you? Huh?”

“…”-She looks straight at her. “*snort* No reason. Only that he won’t give me an explanation I deserve because he had to come all the way here.”-She said after snorting.

“Just to make things clear. I was the one that called her here.”-I tell her.

“You shut up. We’ll talk about this later.”-She glares at me.

“The fuck? You’re not my mom. What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”-I ask her while frowning.

“Well. I’ll be leaving.”-Said Choi Minseo after putting the gauntlets on the table. “I’ll be waiting for your message.”-She said to me while standing up. “You… Well, it was a pleasure fighting beside you.”-She said to Olivia just before leaving towards the door to leave.

“… It was also a pleasure for me…”-Olivia said while gritting her teeth and looking Choi Minseo leave the place.

Once Choi Minseo left the place, she merely sat on the same chair.

“Perfect. One leaves. Another comes *sigh…* So… What do you want?”

“Why didn’t you talk with me? If it wasn’t for Hajin I wouldn’t know you were here wasting time with that pretentious girl!”-She said.

{Hajin… You bastard… Just wait for you to start your weird relationship with Chae Nayun… I’ll take my revenge.}-I thought while calmly sipping at my drink.

“Well? Aren’t you answering?”-She asks again.

“*sigh…*What do you want to talk about?”

“About today’s Combat Training!”-She started. “What was all that!? You literally went one versus one against a monster that had us all on the edge!”-She said almost shouting.

“Calm down first. You don’t have to shout. We’re at a perfect communication’s distance. Okay?”-I said to her while digging my ear. “And about today. Well. It was me saving your asses. I already told you.”

“If you could do it, why didn’t you do it from the start?”-She frowns at me.

“Why would I? I’m pretty sure you know that I like to hide my power. So, what makes you think that I would show fourteen cadets what I can do? I only acted when it was necessary. For example. When the lizard was about to roast your asses. Or when he made a pact with a demonic being.”

“What? That happened?”

“Yeah, that’s why you all went down. He made a lot of demonic energy explode around him. Making you all fly off and leaving you unconscious. Though, some of you did wake up fast enough to see me fight it.”

“Why didn’t you lose your consciousness too?”

“I’m not that weak as you could see. And even if was. I have different ways to protect myself from demonic energy. Does that answer your questions?”

“What was that monster?”

“Mm?”

“It wasn’t normal. No monster can become a Djinn…”

“Well. That’s not something I actually know. I just know that he suddenly acquired demonic power, and once dead, he turned to ashes. That’s what a Djinn does. More than that, I can’t give you an answer. Are we done?”

“… I still don’t know why you would be hiding your power… when it could give you such an advantage…”

“*sigh…* Look… Being under the spotlight isn’t always good. Okay? It can bring problems too. A lot of them. Though that’s not even a reason to me, it’s just advice for you. My reasons are personal. Just know that I don’t like to show what I can do unless necessary. So, I would really appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about what happened, understood?”

“… Fine… I never intended to tell anyone either way…”-She answered.

“Great. Now, I’m leaving.”-I said while taking my gauntlets.

“Wait!”-She said.

“Do you need anything else?”-I ask while frowning.

“No… Just… Thanks… Really. As you said. We would be dead if it wasn’t for you… I know why you’re hiding your powers, or what you’re even capable of. But, still, thanks. You being there saved my life, and the rest of the team’s life.”-She said while bowing.

“Wow… That’s weird coming from you… But, don’t worry. It wasn’t a problem at all, really.”-I answer her while smiling and unconsciously rubbing her head, which made her stand up straight in less than a second.

“Wh-What are you doing all of a sudden!?”

“Sorry, I did unconsciously.”

“*sigh…* Be careful… You can’t be touching a woman’s hair like that out of a sudden… It will bring misunderstandings.”-She said.

“Sure, whatever. Were you training?”

“…”-She blankly stares at me. “*sigh…* Yes… I was… Just running, though. The training center is closed.”

“Mmm… Well, you know, you could run 20 km after you do like 200 sit-ups and 200 push-ups. It would help you. Not that much as the normal training you do. But it’s something.”-I said while shrugging. “Of course. Without any kind of mana use.”

“… Well… That’s weird. You giving me tips so freely… Are you fine? The fight didn’t leave any damage in your head, right?”-She asks with a worried face.

“No… It didn’t. You take the advice if you want. I’m leaving.”-I said before walking towards the cashier to pay, who ended up being the same girl actually.

“Wait for me!”-Shouted Olivia.

For the record. The usual waitress didn’t stop giving weird looks at us.