Her laziness exasperated Ruby.
'You will regret it if you let the boy move on his own.'
Ruby explained in simpler words.
Mastery over elements was done by experiencing the element and getting as close to them as possible.
Death element was the same.
Neo's high mastery over it signified he killed thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people.
His murders were probably being hidden by his brother.
Letting someone as dangerous as Neo roam unsupervised was asking for a disaster to occur.
'That's what you are worried about?'
'I don't need to monitor him.'
'The principal and teachers probably are keeping an eye on him at all times.'
'Haiz, is this the naivety of childhood or the complacent of the strong?'
The Spirit's sighs irked Leonora.
Ruby spoke before Leonora could complain.
'You of all people should know one can bend the rules.'
'It's easy for that boy to harm others without breaking rules.
'Moreover, his brother is not to be trifled with.'
'The boy is moving around as if nothing happened even after the commotion in the country of Mermaids.'
'If he wants he can act as he wished in the Academy too.'
Leonora doubted Neo could do anything on the academy ground.
However, Ruby's words planted the seed of doubt in her heart.
What if Neo's brother could really save him from consequences?
Wouldn't that mean he would go berserk in the academy whenever he felt like it?
'Oh, it feels like trouble is soon to arrive.'
Leonora spoke as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
'Leonora, the boy antagonized the lightning clan already. There is no guarantee he will not target your Clan next.'
'If he starts a storm, the responsibility to deal with the aftermath will fall over you.'
As the de facto leader of Poseidon Clan circle, all problems inside the academy were to be solved by her.
She didn't like work and ignored everything.
But, if Neo was actually a mass murder, and he aimed for her Clanmates, she would have no choice but to intervene.
Her hands trembled at the thought of soon to arrive workload.
'N-no. What should I do? I don't want to work.'
'Join his team. If you keep an eye on him at all times, you can stop him before he does anything.'
Leonora thought about it.
Ruby's words made sense.
However, unbeknown to her, Ruby's words were a lie to trick her.
Her intentions were to stick close to Neo so as to…
'His sword… what is it? It's a Spirit, but not a Spirit at the same time.'
'I need to find out and eliminate them both if it's something dangerous.'
"Ch-Christian, let him come here."
Hearing her words, Christian frowned.
'What was that? I definitely sensed bloodlust aimed at me.'
Neo scanned the area with his senses.
He couldn't find the source of the Bloodlust.
Suddenly, a voice appeared inside his head.
Spirit…. aiming…. for us…. both… dangerous…
Obitus' presence became strong when it spoke.
However, it returned to sleep soon after.
The few words were enough for Neo to know Ruby, Leonora's Spirit, was the source of the bloodlust.
Spirits were born from the elemental seeds.
They were autonomous beings and could support their masters in day-to-day life as well as combat.
The only weakness of a Spirit was it could not stray too far from its master.
"W-what is it? Why did you st-stop?
Neo didn't know why Ruby's bloodlust leaked.
There was a chance she wanted to kill him.
Was it okay to recruit Leonora if it meant being in close proximity to Ruby?
Neo weighed both options before he made the decision.
"I think it should be clear, but I'll say it for the sake of it."
"I want to recruit you."
He felt a bit surprised at her quick answer.
It confirmed his suspicions.
'Ruby must've advised Leonora to team up with me. It feels like that Spirit is up to no good.'
"Wait, Miss! You can't do that!"
"The patriarch would kill me if you go against patriarch's words again! Please just team up with us!"
Christian closed his mouth when she stared at him in the eye.
Stuck between a hard place and a rock, he really wanted to cry.
Neo looked at him with a sympathetic gaze.
'Poor guy. It's not like he can force Leonora since he is weaker than her.'
After receiving the confirmation, Neo sent the Team Form to Leonora.
She had to sign it with her name.
The verification process would take a day.
She would officially become his teammate after that.
"Right, give me your number too."
She looked at him suspiciously.
"I need to contact you for missions. Why else would I want your number?"
She was about to give him her number when she remembered something.
"I have a condition if you want me to j-join your team.
"I won't do any w-work. You need to handle everything yourself."
Neo more or less expected it from her.
Her original plan was to join the Poseidon Clan members' team and let them do all the work.
"I'm fine with it. I just want your name for S-rank missions. You can join them if you want or not."
"Wait, let me join your team too!" Christian interrupted.
He looked at Neo with a desperate gaze.
"The patriarch will behead me if he found out I let Miss join your team.
"I might be able to survive if I tell him I joined the team with Miss and I will protect her on the missions.
"Don't worry. I will do all my duties as a team member.
"I... I'm Rank 25, and I'm pretty strong. Please, let me be your teammate."
It was weird to see someone with a big body like Christian almost on the verge of tears.
Besides, Christian's actual strength was in Top 10.
He took 25th rank as Leonora originally planned to take 24th rank and he couldn't rank higher than the leader of his circle.