Extra's Descent

Brandon walked with casual composure, his eyes never drifting away forward.

On the other hand, Rachel couldn't help but steal subtle glances at him.

His ink–black hair was neatly tied to a ponytail today.

Coupled with his facial features that she could solemnly swear, closely fit the golden ratio.

In any case, Rachel had a lot of questions in her mind. Brandon had asked if they could meet after his duelist lecture.

But what for?

What did he need?

'Did he break–up with Amelia because of me?'

'Does he…. like me ba—'

"Rachel."

"Ah?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Brandon's cool voice reached her ears, causing her to flinch unexpectedly.

"Hm?"

Brandon tilted his head, noticing her odd reaction.

"N–Nothing…."

Rachel shook her head as if nothing happened.

"S–So…. what did you need exactly?"

"...."

However, Brandon remained silent as he looked around. There were several eyes on them. Rachel hadn't noticed the attention they were getting due to being so lost in her thoughts.

Then, he looked back at her.

"Let's talk somewhere more quiet."

"...."

Rachel's eyes darted around, feeling her face grow hot.

***

They found a quiet place to stop by—particularly—a quiet cafe that promoted privacy.

After ordering a cake, Rachel alternated her gaze between the cake and Brandon.

"You sure you don't want any? You're paying, after all."

"It's fine. I was the one who asked you out anyway, go ahead and eat."

"...."

'Ask me out!? Please reword that or I'm going to get the wrong idea!'

In the first place, she already was getting the wrong idea.

If anything, this feels almost like a date.

No, it was a date!

Swallowing deeply, Rachel cut her cake with a fork and started eating.

Rachel's cheeks puffed. The cake was really good. But as her eyes drifted back to Brandon, it looked as if he was out of reality, staring at the table, seemingly pondering.

Then, as if he had seemingly gathered his thoughts, his lips parted open.

Rachel shook momentarily and took a deep breath. If anything, this moment totally felt like Brandon was going to confess to her.

Rachel solidified her mind. Out of respect for Amelia, she planned on rejecting him.

"I heard you entered a business partnership with Lianna."

"....?"

That wasn't what she expected at all.

Rachel sighed.

"Yes, did you foresee it coming?"

That had to be the case. After all, it was Brandon who told her about the casino.

"Nope, completely coincidental."

But the look on his face told Rachel otherwise. Brandon had totally seen it coming.

Knowing him, he was most probably scheming something.

No wonder.

Rachel felt disappointed for some reason.

"What do you have in mind?"

She asked as she nibbled on the cake.

"Keep her close."

"Huh?"

"If you want your business to survive in the next ten years or so, be sure you keep Lianna Venice on your side. I'm led to believe she'll take over the business world in a few years time."

"....Is that so?"

Rachel hadn't really thought much about it. Just that, she thought the casino would work to their advantage, knowing the guests that frequented there.

If Rachel had seen right, inside the casino's VIP lounge, there were a bunch of celebrities, politicians, and big names in the business world.

Most probably, Lianna had formed a partnership with them as well.

"Yes."

At that moment, Brandon began to elaborate on Lianna's business model. There were a bunch of aspects Rachel hadn't known, but what completely took her aback was her contribution to the entertainment industry.

"I'm in a collaboration with her as well—to be precise—her entertainment agency."

"Oh?"

But,

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Just advice from a friend."

"...."

Rachel glanced around.

The cafe's atmosphere….

The decor, the romantic music….

Did he really need to bring her here just to give her advice!?

***

After parting with Rachel, Brandon decided to stay behind.

Crossing his arms with his legs crossed, Brandon began to ponder.

He still didn't have proof of Lianna's correlation to the Archbishops. Or whether or not she was the Archbishop of Lust.

He was merely operating under speculation and intuition.

But it was for that reason why Brandon laid a few pieces on the board to further progress his investigations.

It was made clear to him that Raven, too, somehow felt something was off. It would only be a matter of time til he got something out of Raven.

As per Rachel, she was a contingency plan. On the off chance that Lianna would find him suspicious, and would somehow cut off his subsidiaries to VN Entertainment.

In any case, it had been a week since he broke–up with Amelia.

And truth be told, he didn't miss her at all.

His neck suddenly felt itchy, causing him to scratch it.

Scratch. Scratch.

He felt several gazes on him at that moment. There wasn't anything special about the cafe he had specifically chosen.

There was a romantic vibe to it, but that was it.

But what Rachel didn't know was that this cafe was, of course, partially owned by Lianna.

"Hoo…."

Brandon had to play the long–game. It was hard to gather intel properly without Lianna being suspicious of him.

If Lianna wasn't the Archbishop of Lust, then his entire investigations would be for naught.

In any case, he didn't want to tell anyone properly, in fear of them slipping out key details.

He wanted to take all variables into account. The less they knew, the better.

After all, from what he could deduce so far, the Archbishop of Lust was crafty.

She had massacred two guilds on the same day by merely pulling strings.

No raw power, or anything involved.

Just by pure manipulation.

It felt as if he was playing a long–game of chess without knowing who his opponent was.

Tak.

He could practically imagine himself moving pieces on the chessboard carefully.

In other words, it was a mental battle.

Unknowingly, an eerie grin crept up on his features.

Would he uncover her identity first?Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Or,

'....Will she figure out my motives first?'

***

Night fell, and Amelia stayed behind the training hall to get extra hours of training.

She was close.

Swoosh—!

She had taken her time into configuring her circuits for her magic swords, implementing Quidell's theorem in the process.

Bang!

The magic sword, which abruptly flew out of the magic circles around her, struck the ground decisively, causing tremors all over the training hall.

However, there was a problem.

Amelia could only do it instinctively whenever she closed her eyes.

Each time she reconfigures her circuits, a picture would paint in her mind.

A thousand swords stuck on the ground, each sword within her grasp, as if she could make them bend to her will.

Amelia opened her eyes then.

"...."

For a fraction of a second, Amelia had seen it.

A slight isolation.

A zone.

Without even realizing it, she was creating a [Zone] just by implementing the theorem into her circuits.

She had no idea why, but maybe the formula correlated to the variance of her [Zone].

Drip. Drip…!

Sweat trickled down, dripping on the ground.

"Hm, there's still someone here?"

A voice rang from behind. Amelia turned around, only to find their duelist instructor, Elliot, standing by the entrance.

"Ah, sorry, Sir. I didn't realize time flew by so quickly."

"Haha. It's fine, we all strive for power. I completely understand."

Elliot walked towards her and looked around.

"But wow! This place was built to withstand magic overload, but you've certainly made a couple of dents."

Indeed, around Amelia, there were a couple of holes and such on the ground, caused by her relentless training.

"I think I'm done. I'll clean up and close this place myself."

"Please do."

Then, as if remembering something, Elliot spoke just before Amelia was about to enter the women's changing room.

"Miss Constantine."

Amelia stopped just before she twisted the door knob. Turning around, she asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to grab dinner with me?"

***

Belle had just finished the first paragraphs of her thesis. She planned on participating in the upcoming Summit.

However, she had barely scratched the surface of the thesis she was about to propose.

Thinking she needed a break, she stepped outside the library and walked towards the window on the hallway.

The sky was clear and the moon was full, casting a serene glow across her beautiful features.

"Belle?"

A familiar voice suddenly reached her ears. Turning to the side, Belle's gaze locked with two sparkling blue eyes.

"Hey, Amelia? Why are you still here?"

It was Amelia, who was wearing casual clothes, despite being at the academy. She looked like she had just freshened up.

"I was training. What about you?"

"Ah, just trying to write a few pages on my thesis."

"Is that so?"

Amelia walked towards her, and asked.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope."

Belle shook her head. She had been so immersed in her research that she had completely neglected dinner. However, it was still early. Around 7:49 PM.

"Wanna get something to eat?"

There was no hesitation.

"Sure—"

Belle halted her words as she noticed something. The moonlight pierced right through the window, illuminating the red swollen mark on Amelia's neck.

There was no mistaking it.

'A hickey!?'

It was a lovemark.

'From who!?'

It looked rather new. And obviously, Brandon and Amelia had already broken–up, meaning, Brandon wasn't the reason for it!

'Is she seeing someone new!?'