(Rodova Military Academy, Skill Archive Entrance)
As soon as Leo stepped out of the Skill Archive, he found Principal Alric's personal assistant waiting for him outside, standing stiffly by the door with a clipboard in hand.
The moment she spotted him, she gave a hurried bow. "Mr. Skyshard, Principal Alric requests your immediate presence. If you would follow me, please?"
Leo gave a small nod, tucking the newly issued holographic scrolls under his arm, and followed her without question.
He didn't know what Alric wanted now, but something about the assistant's anxious pace made it clear that this wasn't a casual summons.
—---------
When Leo stepped into Alric's office a few minutes later, he immediately noticed there was someone else already waiting inside.
A woman.
She stood near Alric's desk, dressed in a sharply tailored black business suit that somehow managed to look both practical and devastatingly expensive.
Her shiny black hair with a few blue highlights was swept into a clean bun that framed her face in a way that looked beautiful, commanding, and cold all at once.
Leo didn't recognize her at all, though there was something about the sharp look in her eyes that instantly set him on guard.
'Who is she?' he wondered, as Alric, standing behind his desk, gave a tight smile.
"Leo," Alric said, gesturing toward the woman, "I want you to meet Mrs. Ladina Horizon, the CEO of the Horizon Dominion Group— and your primary sponsor."
The woman smiled, extending a hand toward him, which Leo took and shook politely, offering the minimum grip needed to avoid seeming rude.
"Congratulations on your victory in the Circuits, Leo," Ladina said smoothly, her voice warm and inviting. "You were truly the highlight of the tournament. And—" she added, tilting her head slightly, "I'm deeply sorry for what happened afterwards. It must have been a truly traumatizing experience."
"Thank you," Leo said simply, releasing her hand.
She waited, expecting him to say more.
But he didn't.
He just stood there, posture relaxed but distant, his gray eyes giving away nothing, as his indifference made Ladina frown inwardly.
Usually, when people met someone of her stature, they just wouldn't shut up.
They would flood her with praise, make jokes, share their ambitions— or do anything to catch her attention, to somehow curry her favor, to try and tie themselves to the Horizon name.
But Leo?
Leo looked like he didn't even want to be in the room, and this cold nature of his made him very hard to deal with.
'He clearly isn't motivated by money…' Ladina thought with a slight inward scoff.
'If he were motivated by money, he would be sucking my toes right now just like everyone else at corporate do all the time, but he isn't…..So I need to approach him differently.' Ladina concluded, as forcing a slightly brighter smile onto her lips, she moved to the real reason behind why she was here.
"Leo," she said, smoothing the lapels of her suit jacket. "Principal Alric has shared some… concerns about your future plans."
She exchanged a brief look with Alric before continuing.
"And frankly, I can't help but agree with him."
Leo didn't react. He simply waited.
"As far as I can see," Ladina pressed on, "leaving Rodova after just one year— after everything you've already achieved here— is not a wise decision. You are poised to become a household name, Leo."
She began pacing slowly, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor.
"Next year's Circuits would be your stage. Millions of fans are already waiting to see your return. The media buzz, the sponsorship deals, the universal endorsements— you would cement your status as a superstar. And beyond the fame, Rodova provides the safest environment for you to grow stronger, smarter, better."
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"The Black Serpents are powerful, yes. But they won't nurture you. They won't invest in your long-term future. They'll use you, throw you into danger, and if you die? They'll just replace you with the next talented fool."
She stopped pacing, turning to face him fully.
"For someone with your potential, Leo, this… isn't the optimal decision. Not for your career. Not for your future. And certainly not for your life."
"As your sponsor, and as someone who has more practical experience of living in this universe than you do, I feel concerned about a youth like yourself destroying their future, so I give you this advice, as if I'm your elder sister," Ladina said, as for a moment, the room was quiet.
Alric looked at Leo expectantly.
Ladina waited, sure that her carefully constructed argument would sway at least some part of him.
However, Leo met her gaze with no change in his expression, and when he finally spoke, his voice made it clear that he didn't give two fucks about the arguments she just made.
"I agree with everything you said, it's not like I don't understand that joining the Black Serpents is not the best path for my future growth" he began.
"But for some men, honor is more important than money or power and I just happen to be one of them," He continued without raising his voice, as he did not wish to preach, but was rather just stating an immutable fact.
"For me, the debt of honor I owe Darnell Nuna is absolute. I cannot rest in good conscience knowing he's out there, captured, while I enjoy the luxuries of this life." Leo said, as he bowed his head slightly— not in apology, but in firm respect.
"My decision to join the Serpents is not about fame. It's not about making the right choice. It's about honor." He concluded, as Ladina couldn't help but click her tongue softly in disapproval.
'Tch. I expected as much.' she thought internally, however, maintained her polite smile outwardly.
Because while Leo's heart was clearly set... she wasn't ready to give up just yet.
Not by a long shot.
"Leo…. I assume you're a practical child…. You are, aren't you?" Ladina began, her tone chiding as if talking to a child.
"The Black Serpents Guild already has dozens of Transcendent level and tens of thousands of Grandmaster level warriors trying to find Darnell, so tell me how you going there will change that equation even slightly?"
"And even if you do find him, can you really save him from the clutches of the Evil Cult at your level? No you can't.
So what exactly is it that you wish to achieve by throwing your budding career under the bus?" Ladina questioned, as once normal logic failed, she pulled out the slightly sterner argument.
"My honor is a promise that I made to myself. My honor is what allows me to push myself harder in training, and it is what allows me to live my life with my head held high.
Whether I make a difference or not is besides the point for me.
For me what is more important is that I try my best to save Darnell.
That I make the maximum effort I could, regardless of the results.
As only by living like that can I be happy with my own body—" Leo said, as Ladina couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose in anger.
'Fool…. This boy is a fool—' is what she concluded, as she couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a brick wall.