"What's wrong?"
Aina's hazy gaze cleared thanks to Leonel's sudden movement. It was only then that she sensed the vibration of the room, causing her to frown.
"There's a bell ringing outside." Leonel said after a moment.
"A bell? Oh…" Aina seemed to have realized something.
"You know what it is?" Leonel's gaze met Aina's.
"Mm… You would know too if not for…"
Aina's frown deepened. She had forgotten because of Leonel's advances, but she was still very unhappy about Hero Peak's actions. If Leonel didn't have the right to join a Peak, then considering the talent level of this organization, no one should be able to.
Aina shook her head. "We can ignore it if you want."
After listening to Aina's explanation, Leonel understood. Apparently, this bell was meant to call for a meeting. Depending on the tone of the bell, it could be a meeting of all sorts.
Apparently, in this instance, a Peak was challenging another.
This challenge was usually a battle for resources outside of the annual tournament and only occurred when there was a grudge boiling between two Peaks that needed to be quickly settled. However, apparently this wasn't always the case. It was also a court of sorts to expose the wrongdoings of a Peak as well.
Leonel frowned when he gained this information… Because it was completely unhelpful to him.
He had a bad feeling, but he had never joined any Peaks, so it was impossible to target him through such a thing. It was all too confusing.
'Am I really just being paranoid…?'
Aina didn't seem very intent on going. She wanted to spend more time with Leonel after so long apart. If it wasn't for Aphestus, they could at least train side by side which wouldn't leave her in such a state of longing… But at least for now, it wasn't very possible.
She had already decided that when she was gathering up merit points for the right to join the competition to enter the Valiant Heart Zone, she would go together with Leonel.
However, Aina could sense that there was something making Leonel uneasy right now.
Leonel took a deep breath. "… I think I have to go."
"Okay. I'll go with you, then."
Technically, Aina knew that it was mandatory for everyone within the mountain range to be present for this meeting, but she hadn't cared. If Leonel had wanted to skip it, she would have skipped it. But since he wanted to go, she would go.
The couple quickly got dressed.
"Do I look okay?"
The words fell from Aina's mouth before she even realized what she was asking, but she was indeed a bit worried. The two had been tangled up for the better part of a day and weren't exactly the neatest and cleanest at the moment.
Luckily, both of their bodies were within the Fourth Dimension, so it took more than just a day for them to start smelling terrible. But, that didn't change the fact Aina's hair was a mess at the moment.
Leonel chuckled. He knew that Aina would prefer to have short hair. He really had no idea why she insisted on keeping it so long.
As for Leonel own hair, its form retention was exceptionally high due to the odd material it was made out of. It was flexible, but snapped back into place just as easily. Even he was surprised by how straight it was right now.
"Stop laughing." Aina all but pouted. "I can't go out like this."
"Okay, okay, okay." Leonel chuckled.
Taking the Segmented Cube from Aina, he caused a stream of Cleansing Water to douse her completely just like he had done when he found her on the White City battlefield. Now that he thought about it, he definitely should have used this during the freshman trials…
Before Aina could panic about being wet now, Leonel touched her shoulder, a controlled stream of Fire Elemental Force drying her completely.
With the abilities of Cleansing Waters, just a drizzle was hundreds of times more potent than taking a normal shower.
"Perfect." Leonel smiled. "Let's go."
Grabbing Aina's hand as she slipped on her mask, Leonel's expression turned serious.
…
The location was Valiant Hall. As the symbol of justice for Valiant Heart Mountain, it was obvious that any grudges would be chosen to be settled in this very place.
In the back of the Hall, there was a large open space that would look somewhat like a football field by Leonel's estimation. But, rather than having a large grass field, there were instead massive stone platforms, each with a tall pillar on its four corners.
At that moment, flocks of people were swarming in, whispering among themselves. For some odd reason, no one seemed intent on making a lot of noise.
It had been many years since the last challenge between Peaks was instituted. Although it wouldn't be a massive event every time, there was no doubt that most massive events were centered around it.
This alone wouldn't be enough to cause such a hushed atmosphere. The truth was that the root cause lay in what standing one had to have to call such a meeting in the first place. How could a normal individual mandate the appearance of everyone in the organization? Who was able to do this was an existence the vast majority here couldn't afford to offend.
After entering the arena, everyone split into seven streams. The seats in the stands around the massive structure was also split into seven seating sections, each separated by a wide set of steps.
Each and every one of these sections represented a different Peak, each with thousands of students of their own.
It was at this moment that Leonel and Aina appeared amongst the stream of people hand in hand.
Rather than heading toward the Hero Peak seating arrangements, Aina chose to sit on the ground floor with Leonel along with all the other freshmen.
As more people streamed in, the more quiet the place seemed to become.