"Look at you now. I was gone for a while, then you were out of it for even longer – and suddenly to go ahead and start flirting... Don't you know how much older I am?"
Aspakeony smiled, chuckling at the boy's words, not really recognizing it as a compliment but rather wanting to tease him – and while doing so she still hasn't looked over to him.
"..."
That made Zoemi step towards her, looming over her with a gentle expression.
"...eh...?"
Suddenly getting the moon blocked by the black-haired boy's calm face made the gray-haired necromancer's eyes widen in surprise...
"..."
"EEEEHHH...?!"
...and then, even more, when the boy crouched down shortening the distance between their faces to only a few inches.
"Since I don't know how old were the remains that you took the residue of the life energy to create the original artificial soul, I can't be sure about that seniority of yours."
"...!"
As Zoemi said that, Aspaekony's expression turned into pure shock as she stared at him in disbelief.
"How...? I... I mean – what are you talking about?"
The gray-haired necromancer gasped and hurriedly scuttled to the side straightening her back and looking away from the calm boy.
"Don't say weird things like that. Anyway – I almost forgot how handsome you were. Are you feeling better now? Do you want to return to the Academy?"
She laughed extremely awkwardly and changed the subject in such an obvious way that it was hard to believe she lived for far more than enough to perfect acting skills several times over.
"Alright. We can leave that talk for later."
Zoemi sighed and approached her.
"As for your questions – yes, I do feel better. And also, yes, I wanted to talk to you about my return to the Academy. That's why I showed up. Can I sit here too?"
"...sure..."
He added, tilting his head and smiling softly, which caused the Aspakeony to glance at him and breathe out in relief, before tapping the spot right next to her in an invitation.
...that the black-haired boy took...
Zoemi seated herself next to the necromancer by the edge of the pier but he did not put his legs over the edge, settling for the rather delinquent way of sitting that matched his devilish beauty.
"So you do dress normally when you go out openly. You should do that more often, you look dashing."
The black-haired boy pointed out with a smirk.
"Oh, you can say that again! This dress is not as comfortable as the nightgown but it's not too bad and considering the situation I find it far more fitting."
Zoemi's words fulfilled their purpose and made the girl chuckle, but then her expression became somber and she let out a soft sigh.
"The occasion?"
Zoemi tilted his head, watching the gray-haired girl breathe out as if she was thinking about the best way to convey her feelings.
"It's been almost three hundred years since the last time I allowed any of my students' to die in the academy. Even if that student turned out to be a piece of human garbage, it's still unpleasant... And the poor girl that he tortured..."
Aspakeony moved her legs and kicked up the water which reflected the moonlight.
"Believe it or not, things like that happen from time to time... Kids with too much strength abuse those weaker than them... Each time it happens I swear to myself that it will be the last time. I increase the levels of security, I put more of my puppets to keep an eye on anything suspicious, but still again and again a time arises when some scum slips by... It makes me wonder if I am really suited to be the person in charge of the Academy..."
"...'
She sighed again and kicked up more water, Zoemi sat down beside her and shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, at least the girl is fine now, and having the criminal punished sure does make it better for her to cope with everything."
"Does it really...?"
Aspakeony just kicked up water again and stared at the droplets stuck to her outstretched foot.
"Can you even call it a fitting punishment? He should be dragged through a much more humiliating fate than just death. He should have a trial and all. Do you know? That would make things more right... making it public and shaming such cruelty to the ground, making it an example, a threat for other scum that even considered something similar. Now that he is dead everyone just wants to keep quiet about what he's done because the little Hostersa pushed the narrative that little Xeonith heroically fought with the murderer or whatever... But I don't have to tell you that, right? I was told that you got involved in that mess... I'm sorry I wasn't there to help..."
"It's okay, Aspy."
She glanced at Zoemi and the black-haired boy nodded.
|I wonder if she'll feel better if I tell her everything...?|
Zoemi seriously considered spilling all his secrets to the girl next to him.
"(Master, master...! You don't have to tell the nice girl everything...!)"
"(Yes! But do tell her about the darkness magician you killed!)"
And since he didn't block off his thoughts, his sentinels heard them all and provided their own take on the subject.
|True. Good thinking. I will tell her... but a bit later. It feels like she still wants to talk.|
The black-haired boy nodded discreetly while responding, as Aspaekony was hanging her head low while stirring the lake's surface with her feet.
"If he was still alive, what punishment would you want to befall him?"
Zoemi asked, reading between the lines.
"Since nowadays we are in a relatively peaceful relation with Atreterve, I would say that banishing that brat to the neighboring Saorneh would be the best choice. They like the fair-skinned slave there, and they have a lot of curse attribute magicians, they would have been able to bind his powers and put him to work to make him."
She answered serious expression, clenching her fists without looking up.
"You know that would never work, right? With his father's status and all."
The black-haired boy asked, making her flinch.
"..."
The gray-haired necromancer's silence confirmed that if Xeonith wouldn't die, he would get off scot-free.
|...oh... it looks like that was it...|
Zoemi thought to himself while seeing the tension leave the girl's shoulders as she let out the longest sigh yet.
"That sounds like you are angry at yourself that a part of you is happy that things ended as they did, but you see..."
"...not happy... but... satisfied in a way. That adds to my horrible character. I caused the extinction of the healing attribute, I failed to foresee the betrayal of the Ghosts of Bellcephora. My judgment is literally trash and I am an awful person..."
The black-haired boy said while meaning to make it into a segway to the appearance of one of the Ghosts, but unfortunately, his words were enough to push Aspakeony right back into melancholy.
"Haah... speaking of which - did you learn bout the rumors going around about you? A certain someone is putting a lot of work into making you look just the worst. If you want to talk about it too..."
The gray-haired girl said, looking up at the black-haired boy while trying to smile.