94 Luis' Thoughts.
Mira was about to continue talking, but their conversation ended shortly as they had already arrived near the stage's back entrance.
"Well guys, it seems our chat will end here. But we can see each other often from now on and then we will have a lot to talk about."
"Also, if you have any problems while in the academy, just call me. I'll be right there."
"See you guys later!"
With those words, Mira smiled at the two of them and left. Since her work here was done, she had other things to do.
Alicia saw Mira's distance back, and she turned to Luis with a questioning look. "What is she talking about?"
Luis sighed, expecting her to ask that question. Still maintaining his calm expression, he said.
"Well, there are some things I'll tell you about everything later. Just don't let it bother you."
Alivia continued looking at him plainly but still asked with an indifferent face.
"... Did you say something bad about me?"
If the situation needs, and Luis had to say something bad about her for some reason, then she will still support him. But in her heart, she doesn't want Luis to think badly of her.
Luis thought for a moment and answered, "Not exactly."
Alicia didn't notice this, but her frown relaxed a bit when she heard that Luis didn't say anything bad about her. It seems that even if she doesn't show it; she is still very concerned about his opinion of herself.
"So you made some lies?" Alicia asked plainly. But her tone was quite relaxed compared to before.
Luis shook his head and said with a serious expression, "Well, half of it is just my imagination, since I don't know the truth and only you can answer it. As for the remaining half, it's a complete lie."
"Is that so?"
His words made her curious to know what exactly happened, and she was about to ask, but his next sentence made her words stop.
"We will talk about that later. First, we should go to the stage. Many people are waiting for us."
"Hmm." Alicia nodded understandingly.
Luis looked at Alicia from the corner of his eyes and wondered what kind of reaction she would have once she finds out. But that's something for later. For now, completing the final part of this entrance exam is more important.
'After all, it's lunchtime and people are hungry.'
Thinking so, he pushed open the door in front of him and said, "Let's just get this over fast and then have a delicious lunch."
***
When Luis and Alicia walked together in the narrow passage leading to the stage. They could hear the sounds of Kevin's announcement.
"Are you excited, Alicia?" Luis asked, looking over curiously.
"No, I just want to end this early and go back to play with Ivy."
Luis' lips twitched as he complained, "You were just away for a few hours."
"She is still an infant. She needs my care all the time." Alicia answered calmly.
Luis sighed and said, "Mom is there with her and Lily is also looking after her. So there's nothing for you to worry about."
"I know and that's why I'm relieved," Alicia said as she looked at Luis and asked the same question back. "Are you excited, Luis?
She couldn't see any joy in Luis' expression, which made her curious. It seemed as if it didn't matter to him whether he ranked first or not.
"Me?" Luis pointed at himself, not expecting Alicia to ask that question.
Alicia nodded seriously and said, "Yeah, you don't seem excited about it. Or rather, different from other people, you don't seem to have any excitement about joining the academy either. You look as if you are preparing yourself for… a war."
Listening to Alicia's thoughts, Luis just smiled bitterly, thinking how right she was.
'War? What I am preparing for is something even worse than that.'
If war is something that involves the lives of people from many countries and the economy of the whole world. Then what this world is about to face is the complete end and that is not once, but again and again.
Now that the Academy is going to start, slowly many secrets about this world will start unfolding one by one. All kinds of dangerous threats will befall this world.
This world is moving towards its doom. It's just that the people are unaware, thinking everything is alright.
And he, who knows about the future, how can he be excited about it?
Of course, if he was oblivious, just like others, then he may also have been very excited about joining the academy or ranking first in the entrance exam.
Hell, he would have been so proud that he would have bragged about it for his entire life. Even in his previous life, he never had such a great achievement.
So, of course, he should be excited. But, just remembering what kind of future this world holds, he can't relax his mind.
His strength and means are not enough. What worried him more was the unexpected. If he can't prepare himself in time and those threats appear early, then he doesn't know what will happen to this world.
Surely this world has many powerhouses to fight against those threats and solve some disasters. But just putting his hope in them is not something Luis is willing to do.
Moreover, the protagonist, who has the biggest chance of saving this world, concerns him further since he looks even more unreliable.
If it was before, he would have just tried to get stronger and find some ways to survive. But now.
Luis glanced at Alicia beside him and thought.
'I have something worth protecting which I don't want to lose.'
'Also, who would like to live in fear of death all day long, just trying to survive?'
'Isn't it better to just become the strongest and eliminate all the threats so I can enjoy my life peacefully with my small family?'
'But to achieve that dream. I have a lot of hard work to do and challenges to face.'
'Anyway, I don't need to think about those complicated matters now.'
Shaking his head, Luis turned to look at Alicia and answered with a smile.
"Well, I thought the academy life would be boring. But since you are with me, I think I'll enjoy it too."