"Well, well… Who do we have here? Why would you return to this place?" Leyfon smiled while raising his head, looking at the female student who had just returned.
Selena's expression remained serious the whole time. "It's been a while, Teacher… I apologize for not being able to see you this whole time."
"What Teacher? I have no students."
Selena shook her head. "That was what you wrote in the letter. However, both of us had agreed that we would be teacher and student. You severed it without asking for my opinion."
Leyfon chuckled. "Heh? Why are you clinging to this status? You can go everywhere and won't be lacking teachers who want you. I heard the Dragon King is living near your place. If you come to him, he will gladly teach you."
Selena kept her silence as if she was showing disagreement to that statement.
Leyfon crossed his arms. "Why are you so fixated on this student-teacher relationship? I'm nothing but an old man who has to stay here. Even if you become my student, I can't teach you because you will continue moving around while I have to stay here."
Selena clenched her fists before taking a deep breath. "I want… to surpass you."
Leyfon looked surprised for a moment before feeling amused. "Heh? Surpassing me? Do you think it's possible?"
"I can show it to you, even right now."
Leyfon stood up. "In that case, let's go to the training ground, shall we?"
While walking to the training ground, Leyfon couldn't help but look at the empty school.
"To think that the school I have taken care of would be this empty. Thirty percent of the students chose to leave the school so that they could be with their loved ones or join their respective influences.
"Another fifty percent is still going on a mission since we've been flooded with new missions ever since the aliens became much more aggressive. The remaining twenty percent are inside the school right now." Leyfon paused for a moment. "Even if you become my student, I can't teach you."
"I have found my path. All you have to do is to be proud of my achievement and help me dispel my doubt." Selena shook her head.
"My gosh. This wannabe disciple of mine. She is so confident, eh? Have you grown complacent because I praised you once?"
"How can I, especially with those people as my rival?" Selena squinted her eyes. In her eyes, she recognized three people as her rivals. Nathan was the first one, considering he was better than her at battlefield manipulation and overall prowess.
The second person was Noelle, who was currently the strongest among them. She had also found her path, which meant she would be progressing by leaps and bounds.
The most important rival was none other than Evelyn—the woman they met on that mountain. For the first time, she found a person that made her wonder if it was possible to surpass her or not.
She couldn't afford to lose to Evelyn in the future. That was why she had to keep progressing. There was no time to be complacent when she was her rival.
That serious smile made Leyfon smile, knowing that Selena would grow just fine. He asked, "Still, visiting me so suddenly … I doubt you just want to see me, right? Do you want something from me? I guess you have been tainted by that brat… Trying to be sneaky ."
"…" Selena couldn't answer that question since she originally planned to bring it up after their fight.
However, Leyfon demanded, "It's fine. Just tell me about it first."
Selena looked down, feeling a bit ashamed. "I'm indeed in need of your help. I want to borrow your identity to lure out my uncle."
"The Ashton family, huh? I'm not really a fan of meddling with the kingdom, even though we're in it."
"No. You don't have to meddle in everything. I just need to borrow your name and create a rumor."
"Yes. I just want people to think that you call me back to the academy after seeing my progress and plan to accept me as your disciple. Without your personal clarification, people will think that it will be done, especially if I stay here for a few days at least."
"Oh. As a result, your uncle will definitely do his best to stop you from becoming my disciple. But this means your life will be in danger. He won't dare to come to the academy because I'm here, but…" Leyfon frowned.
"Yes. I will be taking care of him at that time. He has turned my life into hell for a decade, and if he really comes, I will disregard the blood flowing in our veins and kill him."
Leyfon thought for a moment before smiling, coming up with another idea. "In that case, let's just say I'm doing you this favor instead of accepting you as my disciple. In exchange for this favor, you have to participate when that kid is trying to eliminate the Divine Hand."
Selena glanced at Leyfon. "Are you still worried that my name will be smeared once they know the connection between the two of you?"
"I couldn't care less at this point. However, I'm afraid that while the Divine Hand is simple, my junior brother is not that simple. Participating in that battle will help you a lot."
Selena's expression turned grim. If that was the case, Nathan would end up meeting more danger after solving the Divine Hand. "I will try."
"Good." Leyfon nodded, satisfied. They had finally reached the training ground as Leyfon sped up and stood before her. "In that case, let's test it, shall we? The disciple test.
"Let's see whether I allow you to go on a rampage on my name or not. If you succeed, you can do whatever you want with my name. Smearing it, lying about it, or even using my name as a protection, do whatever you want.
"Come, Selena Ashton. Show me all your progress until now!"