[One hour before the rockfall – The Capital]
Yu, walking through the wide streets of the capital, raised his gaze toward the names of cafés hanging on the signs:
"Listel Café... Listel Café... Where is it? I'm sure she said it was here, but where exactly?"
He sighed a moment later when he finally saw the name of the café.
Outside, in front of the café, there were elegant wooden tables for those who did not wish to sit inside. Some people sat there to drink coffee and enjoy the fresh air.
Yu headed toward one of the tables. There sat a woman with shining white hair, wearing an elegant sun hat and sunglasses that hid her eyes, along with refined clothes that wrapped around her body gracefully.
Her eyes were closed, yet she smiled calmly and said in a soft voice:
"You're late… as usual."
Yu sat in front of her and said:
"I know. I had something I needed to do before coming."
Then he looked at her and asked sarcastically:
"But why are you wearing sunglasses if you don't use your eyes?"
She said in a playful tone:
"Yu… you still don't respect others, just like I remember."
Yu smiled mockingly and said:
"And you're still old, just like I remember too, Elizabeth."
She kept smiling without being affected and said in a calm tone while gently stirring her cup of tea:
"I think you want me to separate your head from your body… and I'm still thirty-six. I'm still young."
Yu replied coldly:
"Yes, you're right."
Then she said:
"Let's get to the point. What made you ask to meet me? I don't think you invited me just to mock me."
Yu said calmly:
"You're right. I'll get straight to the point. In truth, there is someone who wants to enter your academy."
She answered without much interest:
"Everyone wants to enter my school… that's nothing new."
Yu said:
"But now… I'm the one training that person."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, and a slight note of surprise appeared in her voice:
"That's strange… you never wanted to train anyone before. So, is he a genius in magic? Or does he possess a special kind of ability? Or perhaps… an unbeatable swordsman?"
(She said this while stirring the spoon inside the tea cup calmly and elegantly, with a faint smile decorating her lips.)
Yu laughed loudly until the chair beneath him shook.
Elizabeth looked at him in confusion:
"Did I say something funny?"
He said while wiping a tear from his eye:
"You're completely wrong… that person doesn't have even a single trace of magic."
She looked at him in shock:
"Impossible… is that even possible?"
He answered confidently:
"It's possible… and she is a girl. And she was determined to enter your academy."
Elizabeth smiled and raised the tea cup to her lips and said:
"That sounds… interesting. And what exactly do you want from me?"
He answered:
"I want you to change this year's entrance exams."
She replied:
"I won't do it."
He said:
"Why?"
She replied:
"You know that I hate cheating more than anyone, and I won't make everything easier for the sake of one person just so she can be accepted."
He answered:
"I think you misunderstood me. I'm not saying you should make the exams in her favor. On the contrary, make them as difficult as you want."
She asked curiously:
"Then what do you mean?"
He replied:
"The only thing I want you to do is remove the tests that require the use of magic and replace them with physical or mental ones, because she doesn't use magic."
She said:
"Mmm… I think I can do that. But what do I get in return?"
He replied:
"Do you remember the last time I helped you, when you were about to lose your mind and kill those nobles? Repay that favor with this one."
She answered in a low voice:
"Tch… he still remembers."
He said with a smile:
"I might forget my name, but I would never forget things like that."
After a moment of silence, she said while mixing sugar into her coffee:
"May I ask why you're doing all this for her?"
He replied:
"When you meet her, you'll understand."
She answered:
"Alright then…"
But in a single moment, she disappeared from her seat.
A shadow appeared on the ground, and in the same second Yu moved and pulled a sword out of a dark void — from the "Black Hole" he summoned — and slashed a bird coming down from the sky at high speed!
At the same moment, another bird was cut and pierced through the chest… by Elizabeth.
The two landed on the ground at the same time, feathers falling from the sky and drops of blood scattering around them.
Elizabeth said while wiping blood from her face:
"I suppose you noticed it too, didn't you?"
Yu replied while returning his sword to the void:
"Of course… I've seen many of those birds recently. But this type… I've never seen it before. It looks strange."
She answered while looking at the sky:
"These birds have been flying above the city in large numbers for the past two months."
Yu then looked at her face covered with drops of blood and said:
" I know i noticed that and he said in his mind also before few days when i was with haruka "
Then he looked at her saying
"You're still strong… even though you're old."
She turned to him with a smile:
"Only fools fail to see how young I am."
Pointing at her, Yu said:
"Stop smiling while your face is covered in blood… if someone sees you, they'll think you're crazy."
She ignored his words, then grabbed one of the birds and said:
"I think someone… is controlling these birds."
Yu said:
"And who would that be?"
Elizabeth slowly turned toward a specific direction in the mountain, then suddenly fell silent.
[In the mountain – behind the trees]
A girl who looked young, with short dark blue hair, was watching from afar with wide eyes and muttered in fear:
"Damn… did she see me? No… that's impossible. Her eyes are closed, she can't see at all… maybe it was just a coincidence."
But suddenly, a cold voice whispered in her ear:
"Do you really think that was a coincidence?"
The girl jumped back in terror, only to find Elizabeth standing behind her… with a smile on her face.
To be continued…