Hoshino smirked. "Well, it is to be expected. With charm such as mine I would not blame you if, awakened by the love our masters have shown, you have fallen for me, my Knight."

Verity rolled his eyes, but instead of immediately leaving the room, he slumped down into a couch. They were simply too comfortable not to take advantage of them.

"At least you haven't changed, that's good," he said.

Hoshino sat next to him. "Of course! Justice is eternal after all!" She then slumped onto her back as well, and sighed. "It is only a shame I was unable to exercise it myself… Tell me, how did you make it back?"

Verity studied her for a moment, and after a short pause his lips parted. "Why don't you tell me how things were on your side first? I'll answer after that."

Hoshino initially raised an eyebrow, but this was an opportunity to talk about herself, so she took it without any hesitation.

"Ha! Let me tell you! Sit tight!" She exclaimed.

She launched into a long, sometimes dramatic retelling. The broad strokes went like this:

That night, Hoshino had been transported near the Imperial Capital alongside Midnight. At the time, they had both demanded that the Guild inform them of the return of their companions. After explaining the situation and reporting all that they had gathered on the demons, the Guild had gladly complied.

When news of Marco and Felicia came, they had felt relieved, but before they could hear about the remaining members, Midnight claimed she had to leave, a strange expression strung over her face.

Hoshino had found this strange, but she had not pressed the matter. Midnight was free to do as she pleased, after all.

However, when Hoshino still had heard nothing concerning the rest of her group even a week after the incident, she had rushed to prepare the necessary items to leave, waiting for the warp gate of the Imperial Capital to open toward a city near Plamodel.

Thankfully, the trip was no longer necessary, as Verity was now right before her eyes.

"Ah!" Hoshino shouted. "Now that I mention it, Knight Jerin must have been with you, correct? How is he? Has he also return–"

"He's dead." Verity interrupted coldly.

The room turned cold all at once, and Hoshino could do nothing but blink as she stared at Verity

Somehow, sometime during her monologue, Verity's entire mood had shifted, and his amber eyes now stared straight into hers. There was no fire within them, however, or anything at all, really.

Hoshino felt a chill run down her spine, and she laughed awkwardly.

"I-I see, that is quite the jest, my Knight. You nearly got me!."

Verity's gaze never left hers. His voice was flat, cold as ice. "Knight Jerin is dead, and his body has been delivered to his family."

With a measured movement, Hoshino interlocked her fingers. Verity left no room for doubt. "I… understand. Then I am glad you lived, still... may I ask what could have led to such a terrible end?"'

Without so much as a hint of emotion in his voice, Verity answered. "I killed him," he said. His hands then balled into fists, and his nails dug into his palm. "I was weak, so I killed him."

The words barely registered in Hoshino's mind.

As Verity continued, his lips curled into a faint grin and he chuckled hollowly. "Do you want to know what his last moments were like?" His voice trembled, but his expression remained still. "He stared at me, confused, wondering why he had to die, why I had killed him."

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He finally looked away, and ran his hand over his face. "I'm sure of it, as he died, he… He cursed m–"

Without another moment of hesitation, Hoshino wrapped her arms around him. "It's alright," she said, voice low and clear.

They stayed like this for a moment, only silence between them. Hoshino closed her eyes as she hugged him, and Verity stared at the ground.

Eventually, Verity stood up and sighed. "Sorry for this Hoshino…That was unsightly, and…" He extended his hand, and looked away, embarrassed. "Thanks for that…"

Hoshino smirked and took Verity's hand as she jumped up from the couch. "Nonsense! My Knight's troubles are my own! And–"

The door to the room creaked open.

Irina's voice rang out, but not loud enough to interrupt Hoshino. "Young master, perhaps we could–"

Hoshino's smirk widened as she continued. "You should count yourself lucky! Very few have had the chance to experience this warmth before!"

Irina froze midway, and as the words clicked in her head, her lips curled into a grin. "I see you both need more time."

Verity's entire face turned beet red. "Wait! No! I promise it's not like that!"

Hoshino raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

—

After clearing the misunderstanding with Irina, or at least attempting to, Hoshino brought Verity along on a sightseeing trip across the tower.

She believed a change of scenery might do him some good. Plus, she wanted to brag. Magic Towers were no joke when it came to jaw-dropping sights and cutting edge technology, and this wasn't any magic tower, it was the First Magic Tower of the Empire.

Hoshino smiled smugly thinking of Verity's awed expressions.

As they walked, she pondered deeply. "Hmm… what would a spearman find interesting in a magic tower… the Magic Engineering Hall… the Alchemy Hall… Oh! Perhaps the Magical Beast Hall!"

She smacked her fist into her palm with conviction. "But of course there's only one place a Knight would want to see! The Arcane Combat Hall!"

'Oh…!'

Verity had initially planned to ask about runes, but this grabbed his attention. He had only ever fought three mages back when the local bandits still called him the flame-eyed demon, but Verity had wondered how they compared to the rest of their Class.

And to be honest, he wasn't sure how much of a frame of reference Hoshino was.

Now that he thought about it, how strong was Hoshino compared to other mages?

"Hey Hoshino, I heard mages had ranks, which are you?" Verity asked casually, probing.

Hoshino's face crisped. "Well… 'I'm officially a second-class Magus, but only because basic magic is useless and not worth studying! In no less than two weeks, I shall pass the third-class exam and rise to the status of a genius!"

Verity narrowed his eyes and recalled Hoshino's Empyrean Ray. "So that's basically third-class, huh…. insane.""

Verity stroked his chin pensively. Unlike Felicia, he would not openly request a duel of Hoshino, but he wondered if he could defeat a third-class mage in a one-on-one fight. Of course, he understood that a mage's true value lay in large scale battles, but still… he was curious.

Jolting him out of his thoughts, Hoshino stopped mid stride, and she turned to face Verity. She wore an expression he had never seen on her before, one he did not even know she was capable of making.

It was one of annoyance, bordering disgust.

Thankfully, that expression was not meant for Verity.

"Ah! Hoshino! How are you this fine morning? I've longed to see you!" Said a voice coming from further ahead.

Hoshino smoothed the lines of her face, and promptly turned around. Unlike her usual self, her voice was flat, devoid of its dramatic flair. "I should apologize in advance, Sir, I'm with an important guest." She grabbed Verity's wrist. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

The man grabbed her shoulder. "Now, now, haven't I told you to address me comfortably? Kane will do just fine."

Verity watched with a frown on his face, and Hoshino promptly removed Kane's hand from her shoulder. She sighed. "What do you want?"

Kane, a tall magician with jet-black hair, laughed heartily as his gaze swept over Hoshino. "No need to be so serious, dear Hoshino. Have you thought about my offer?"

Hoshino frowned, her face nearly contorting in disgust once more. "Do you not have any manners? Could this not be said in private at a later time? As I've told you already, I am with a guest."

Frankly, more than the strange situation, Verity was more impressed with how serious Hoshino was. He genuinely did not believe her to be capable of this.

This could only mean one thing.

She really did not like this Kane guy.

Kane chuckled, his eyes narrowing into that of a fox. "Indeed, it seems you are with a guest." He looked Verity up and down. "But I cannot imagine he is of much importance, since not only is he not a mage… but even for a warrior* he doesn't seem all that strong.."

Verity rolled his eyes. 'What a cliche… let me guess, next he's going to–'

Kane sneered. "I could destroy someone like him with a flick of my wand, and so he is not even worth my breath."

Verity's second eye-roll could've snapped his spine. 'Shocker.'

Hoshino, however, seemed to have fallen headfirst for his provocation. Her brows furrowed into a deep frown. "What!? How dare you say something like that!? My Knight would pulverize you! As a matter of fact, we were just heading for the Arcane Com-"

Verity hastily covered her mouth with his hand. "Well, anyway, nice meeting you, Kane."

"Hphm!! Hmprgmh!!!" Hoshino's muffled screams could be heard.

Verity smiled awkwardly. "That was a great conversation, but we'll go on about our day now if you don't mind."

Without giving him a chance to reply, Verity walked ahead as he held Hoshino's mouth shut.

"Afraid?" Kane slipped in before Verity had moved out of ear-shot.

Verity nearly audibly groaned. 'What a boring taunt…'

Hoshino forcefully pulled down his hand. "Afraid!? Who do y– Hmgnhm!!" Verity shut her up once more.

He continued walking away without looking back, and Kane, now left alone in the hall, smiled as he watched the two walk away.

"Interesting…" He mumbled. "I will enjoy taking this away from you as well…Hoshino"

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