806 Changed Hero
Rey and Adonis walked in silence.
The Imperial Academy Grounds were very large—even if it was just the section for the Basic Stages. Hectares upon Hectares of land spread out for multifarious purposes, so it caused everything to feel breezy and uncongested.
Dragons could always fly too, so the distance wasn't particularly a bother.
Rey had hoped to take advantage of this long distance, and guide their path towards a restaurant—partly because he wanted to eat, but also because he hoped he and Adonis could eat together—but so far, it seemed to have worked to his detriment.
For minutes, neither he nor Adonis had said anything.
Finally resolved to break the seemingly unending awkwardness, Rey decided to stop overthinking and overanalyzing. He simply had to take the bull by the horns and ask—
"I know what you want to tell me." Adonis' gentle, steady voice oozed into the air, easily breaking the deafening silence between the two. "...."
"You want to ask me to take care of Lucielle, don't you? She and I are in the same group, after all…"
As Adonis said this, the evening winds caused his golden hair to dance. His narrowed eyes caught Rey staring at him, and he had a look of resolve on his face—unbefitting of what was supposed to be a casual atmosphere.
"Yeah…" Rey finally spoke.
"Well, that goes without saying. I will always protect Lucielle… no matter what."
The way he said it with such utter seriousness and determination made Rey raise his eyebrow slightly.
'Now that I think of it, Adonis and Lucielle were especially close back when he was still with us.' He thought to himself. 'He also had a strange response when I told him Lucielle was with me in the Academy.'
For someone who was trying to represent that he didn't want to have anything to do with anyone he used to know, and that he didn't care what happened to them… he cared too much about Lucielle knowing of his presence in the Academy.
After piecing everything together in less than a second, Rey came up with a question.
"Are you in love with Lucielle?"
As the question echoed in the air, with Rey looking at Adonis with a partly serious, partly playful expression, he expected some kind of flustered outburst from the latter.
But nothing of the sort happened—not even in the slightest.
"No."
"Ehh? You're doing a poor job at hiding it." Rey tried to press on, even though he thought Adonis' acting was flawless.
"Hide what? I don't have those kinds of feelings for her."
"Hehe… sure you don't."
At this point, Rey was giving Adonis light jabs with his elbow, even raising his eyebrows several time, just to find a crack—a slight chink—in Adonis' armor he could exploit.
However, Adonis remained steadfast in his answer.
"Haa… You wouldn't understand. You can't understand it, Rey." After being relentlessly pressed on the issue, Adonis finally let out a slightly annoyed sigh.
Rey backed off a little, but it didn't seem like Adonis was upset by the whole thing.
It was just a way to lighten the mood, to begin with.
"I simply look up to her a lot. She is someone I deeply respect… someone I adore… just not as a lover…"
Rey didn't understand where these complicated perceptions of Lucielle came from. He already knew she was a much deeper person than she liked to represent, but not to the point where Adonis would see her in such a light.
'They were close, so she probably showed some of her deeper sides to him.' Rey told himself.
"From what I can see, she's impressive in many regards. Her Magic expertise especially is—"
"It's not just Magic!"
Adonis raised his voice slightly as he interjected, another exasperated sigh escaping his lips.
"She's someone who has lived with a lot of pain, Rey. She holds severe trauma, and I'm sure she constantly suffers with the burdens she has to carry. No doubt her pain has been elevated with her being here. But… even with everything… she's strong enough to move forward. She sees potential in others, even when they don't see it in themselves, and she rewards eagerness to learn with… ahh… look at me rambling…"
Rey was smiling throughout Adonis' long rant about how amazing the Grand Mage was, refusing to interrupt him gushing over her.
'I didn't know he saw her in such a deep regard…' His smile widened even more when he considered how Adonis had been telling the truth from the start.
It was obvious.
"I guess I don't really understand… but I can tell you one thing for sure." Rey patted Adonis on his shoulder as he said this. "Lucielle most definitely respects you a lot too. The few times I spoke to her about you, she didn't run out of praises for you. She really does see you in an incredible light… and not just for your power. Your personality… your unyielding spirit… your resolve… your kindness."
"...." Adonis said nothing. He just stood there, frozen, even as Rey removed his hand from his shoulder.
"I also feel the same as her. I respect you a lot, Adonis. I've grown to understand and respect you a lot more…"
"...."
"And this further proves how much you're hurting everyone by willfully abandoning us. We need you, Adonis. Lucielle needs you. I… need you."
"You don't understand, Rey…" Adonis closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
"Then make me understa—"
"I can't! Don't you get it? If I could… I would… but… I can't! But… while I won't be able to tell you what I am up to, it is for the benefit of everyone."
At this point, Rey was desperate.
He didn't know why, but he could see the vestiges of the old Adonis in front of him. 'Maybe I should tell him about my plan too. Perhaps we could even collaborate. We could blend our respective plans together, and… who knows… it could be perfect!' Rey was probably being too hopeful, but if there was a chance that it could bring Adonis back to everyone, then wasn't it worth a try?
"Adonis, why don't we—?"
"No! There is no we, Rey." Adonis quickly shut him down before he could even say any more. "I have to do what I plan to do alone."
"... Adonis?"
Adonis' expression had completely changed from the vulnerable side he had shown just a few seconds ago.
He had a rather harsh vibe now, and he was deeply glaring at Rey.
"Everyone else will simply hold me back." He whispered. "Do you understand, Rey…?"
Rey's eyes were wide as he took everything in.
"Yeah. I understand…"
He finally understood that Adonis had changed from the person he knew and respected.
His Alignment was still the same, and most of his qualities were still there, but… there was a core part of Adonis—something he used to have—that was absent now.
It went deeper than even Rey could see through Appraisal.
'There is no point involving him in any of my plans.'
"Good." Adonis left Rey at that point, most likely returning to his dorm.
As for the latter, he only stared at the back of the one who used to be his friend for only a few seconds before finally looking away.
Rey completely cast Adonis out of his mind and cleared his head within a second.
"Let's get something to eat!"