Leonel didn't look very surprised when he looked up. There might be an ability out there that could catch his senses off guard, in fact, he had run into one during the Freshman Trials, but it was clear that this older woman before him didn't have one. Or, maybe she just thought that her previous concealment was good enough.
Magnaril appeared before the couple silently. Her greying hair was done up in an untidy bun, her appearance being somewhat eccentric.
She had thought that Leonel would be shocked by her appearance, but she was quite bitterly disappointed.
"Little Aina, is this where you've been? You didn't even leave a word behind."
Leonel curiously observed Aina. It seemed that these two knew each other?
Honestly, Leonel had thought that this was an elder Valiant Heart Mountain might have sent for the sake of trying to appease him.
In reality, Leonel wasn't aware of who was in the know about the affairs surrounding him. He hardly knew much about the structure of Valiant Heart Mountain, let alone understanding which elders were considered the highest echelon and which weren't.
But, it seemed that he was wrong. This meant one of two things.
Either Valiant Heart was no longer afraid of offending him, something that was highly unlikely. Or, the highest echelon weren't aware that he had been dragged into this matter at all.
How likely was it that the highest ranking members of Valiant Heart, existences deep within the Fifth Dimension, had time to care about prank posters posted about a freshman? They might not even understand who Raylion had been referring to.
"Elder Magnaril, what brings you here?"
After a small hint of surprise, Aina politely responded just the same way one would expect someone younger to speak to a member of the older generation.
"How could I not come here and see who my disciple is frolicking about with? You know, the reputation of a young woman is very important."
Aina's brow wrinkled.
She had felt alright with leaving this woman because she had already learned everything there was to learn from her after engrossing herself in study for almost two months.
Magnaril kept insisting that Aina become her disciple, but Aina's perspective on such things was different from Leonel.
Leonel might not care very much about such a title. He had grown up on Earth, so the importance he attached to the word 'master' wasn't very high. In his mind, it wouldn't be much different from having another coach.
However, to Aina, who was far deeper into her understanding of this world in comparison to Leonel, she knew the heaviness one placed on such a title.
Aina would accept her as a teacher, but a master? Aina didn't think they were fated in such a way.
Yet, this woman kept calling her a disciple and was now commenting on her relationship.
Leonel wasn't quite sure how to step in even though his brows were raised at an odd slant.
"I'll keep Elder Magnaril's words in mind." Aina said lightly.
Magnaril shook her head, feeling Aina pulling further away. Seeing that this wasn't working, she turned her attention toward Leonel.
"Boy, how did you get involved in these matters?"
"What matters?" Leonel blinked.
"Do you take me for a fool? Even if I wasn't aware before, there's most definitely a grudge between you and Hero Peak. If not, you'd have a screw loose for interfering in that battle at the moment you did."
"Oh, that?" Leonel shrugged. "Is having a few grudges with Hero Peak a big deal?"
"Of course it is a big deal. You don't need to pretend, I know you suffered no small defeat thanks to that one attack. If you can't even withstand a single strike from Aphestus, what makes you think you can take on Raylion?"
Leonel really wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the antics of this old woman, he didn't even know what her purpose here was exactly. He found it difficult to get mad at an old lady who had to strain her head to look up at him just to meet his eyes.
Rather than Leonel, it was actually Aina who didn't like Magnaril's words very much.
"Elder Magnaril, I think that's enough."
The old lady frowned, clearly not liking the tone of Aina's voice.
"Don't you know that being embroiled in these things will only slow down your speed of improvement? If you have grudges with such powerful students so early on without having the strength to protect yourself, you'll be hampering your own growth. Are you willing to allow yourself to be dragged down?"
Aina's gaze sparked, but Leonel pulled her back.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Elder Magnaril." Leonel said with a light smile.
"Bah, who's your Elder?! The biggest thank you that you could give me is leaving Aina alone!"
Leonel smiled and pulled Aina along to walk past Magnaril. He seemingly didn't take the words of this old lady to heart.
However, Magnaril was stunned. She was an elder of Valiant Heart Mountain, was she really being ignored like this?
She was just about to snap with rage again, when she suddenly heard Leonel chuckling about something.
"I really don't get it. Why do people think I'd be afraid of someone who didn't even dare to say my name?"
Magnaril stood frozen in place, her next shrill comment caught in her throat.
…
As though Leonel's true ability was to see into the future, matters worked out exactly as he had predicted.
The Peak system was abolished, no longer requiring students to join specific Peaks for the sake of using unique resources. Rather, everything now functioned via a merit system.
Due to the distrust many had for Valiant Hall, all previously earned merit points were deemed null with the sole exception of those gained via battle missions which had easily verifiable conclusions.
With Valiant Hall abolished, a new neutral party was needed to be constructed. But, rather than forming a separate existence, a council was constructed. This council, known as the Valiant Council, would be made of the most senior youths.
It was hardly a surprise that the majority of this council was quickly filled with former Hero Peak members, among which was a certain King of Ores Sarrieth who had seemingly vanished during the past month…
It was while these vast and sweeping changes were occurring that Leonel brought Aina back to Kaela's home, only to find a far gloomier atmosphere than even he was expecting.