"It’s been a while, hasn’t it, seniors?" Lake walked up to the third years.
"Lake?" Gwen was the first to notice him. Hana and Landur rolled over each other just to catch a glimpse of him.
"Junior, is that you? Perfect! Help us out of this!" Landur was the first to shout as he struggled against Hana, causing the web binding them to stick even closer together.
"Stop moving around like that!"
Seeing the ss the two had gotten themselves into, Lake couldn’t help but sigh as he waved his hand, creating a small fla that burned away the web.
"Free at last!" Landur jumped up as he breathed in the sweet air of freedom, if only for a mont.
Whoosh!
Before he could figure out what was happening, Landur found himself flipped over on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. The next thing he saw was the bottom of a boot quickly covering his entire vision.
"Urgh! Wait—Hana! Stop, please! rcy!"
Lake’s eye twitched as he watched Hana rcilessly stomp on Landur while Gwen and Jayce walked up beside him.
Waving his hand, he also removed the webs covering them, causing Jayce to burst out laughing as he wrapped his arm around Lake’s shoulder.
"Hahaha, it’s great to see you again, first year!"
Lake only smiled wryly at Jayce’s closeness before sohow managing to slip himself loose from his grip.
"I hope you’ve been well, Lake?" Gwen asked as she watched their interaction.
Seeing her nonchalant reaction, Lake couldn’t help but smile as he said sarcastically, "Naturally. Your brother has been taking great care of ."
"...My brother?" Gwen tilted her head slightly. To Lake’s surprise, Gwen seed completely clueless about what he was trying to say.
’Does she not know about the missions, or is she just pretending?’
"Forget it. I ca here to talk about teaming up again." Lake spoke as he decided to drop the matter for the ti being.
"Oooh! Are you finally joining us for our next hunt, first year?"
"What?!" Even Hana stopped beating on Landur to confirm what she just heard.
"Indeed. I recently got permission from the principal to hunt as often as I want. I only need to make sure that I am accompanied by either an available instructor or work together with a team of third years."
"Well, it’s good to have you back. Although it was only one hunt, we were already starting to miss your scouting." Gwen smiled as she spoke.
"Hahaha, it’s good to know that I was missed."
"You were more than missed, first year. Especially during this spider hunt..." Jayce’s expression darkened as he folded his arms. "If you had been there, I doubt we would’ve had half as much trouble as we did."
At that point, Landur finally got up from the floor as he rubbed his arms. "The spider hunt really was annoying this ti, with all the traps and ambushes. We barely managed to get a small distance into their nest before we had to run away."
Lake raised an eyebrow. "You had to run away?"
"Yep. The spiders this ti were really smart, setting up patrols and traps in their nest. We couldn’t even get that far in before we had to give up." Jayce answered as he sighed.
Lake only smiled wryly hearing of their failure. He had read through their fates before they ca here and knew that if they hadn’t given up, they would’ve ended up as spider food instead.
’I guess the Empress is still as busy as ever...’
"What are you doing out here anyway, junior? You couldn’t have been waiting for us all this ti?" Landur suddenly asked, catching the attention of everyone.
Lake smiled as he replied, "I was actually waiting on soone else. I’m supposed to et them today but then I saw you guys co out of the transfer station."
"Oh? Who are you waiting for? Is it a girl?" Hana suddenly perked up hearing Lake’s ntion of eting soone. Despite having been outside the academy, she still kept in contact with the recent news through her wristwatch and already knew about the whole Lake and Sylph situation.
Seeing her reaction, Lake resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he replied, "I’m actually eting with a reporter to discuss an article."
Everyone seed slightly surprised at Lake’s response.
"What’s the article about?" Gwen asked the question that appeared on everyone’s mind.
"Nothing much, just a small story from our end-of-month exam." Lake spoke casually. "In fact, I think he just arrived."
Hearing Lake’s reply, everyone was confused before turning around to see a young man walking out of the transfer station. He had a cara around his neck and was being accompanied by an academy instructor.
Seeing Lake’s accurate prediction, the group couldn’t help but turn to face him. They all knew that his senses were powerful, and seeing it in action once more left them both in awe and excited to have him back on the team.
"Hahaha! It’s really good to have you back, first year!" Jayce laughed as he patted Lake on the back.
"We’ll head back to rest first. We’ll talk more in the group chat later." Gwen smiled before walking off towards the dormitory.
"Good luck with your eting, junior!" Landur shouted as everyone else waved him goodbye.
Lake waved them off, then turned to face Leon, who had already arrived.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Egoven," Leon greeted, extending his hand. Lake shook it firmly.
"The pleasure’s mine, and please, call Lake, Mr. Ashward," Lake replied with a smile, his eyes briefly flicking upward as he observed Leon’s fate in person more closely for the first ti.
"Haha, that makes things easier for . Just call Leon," Leon chuckled, scratching his head. "Your teammate wasn’t too keen on talking back then, but I’m glad I finally get a shot at this interview."
The two walked toward a nearby bench, settling down as the instructor who had accompanied them remained a small distance away.
Students didn’t usually co near the transfer station’s area so the walkway was quite peaceful despite classes having ended less than an hour ago.
"Alright, since we’re here, how about we jump right into it?" Leon suggested.
"Sounds good. I was about to say the sa," Lake responded, his calm smile unwavering.
"First off, what’s your take on uploading the videos from the exam? I wanted to ask during the exam, but it ended so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to approach you afterward."
"No worries. I was pretty wiped out after the battle; I probably would’ve turned you down anyway. As for the video, I’m fine with you uploading it, but I’ve got two conditions," Lake said, his smile widening slightly.
Leon’s eyes lit up at Lake’s agreent. He knew this footage was too valuable to pass up, no matter what the conditions might be.
"First," Lake continued, "when you upload the footage, I need you to keep the identities of the other students anonymous. Sure, people might figure it out from the class register, but I’d prefer the article stays focused on ."
Leon raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Didn’t peg you for the spotlight type," he remarked with a smirk. "But that’s doable. Most of the footage is centered on you anyway. What’s the second condition?"
"The second one’s a bit different. It’s more of a proposal than a condition," Lake said, his tone calm yet carrying an undertone that sent a shiver down Leon’s spine.
Leon felt an uneasy tension building in the air, a gut feeling warning him that sothing big was about to happen.
"Leon, how would you feel about partnering up with ?" Lake spoke slowly, causing Leon’s gut feeling to spike.
A bead of sweat ford on his brow as he struggled to maintain his composure. His instincts scread at him to accept, but his mind urged caution.
It wouldn’t be the first ti sothing like this has happened. Where his body moved before his mind, but at least this ti he seems to have so level of self control and didn’t agree imdiately.
"Partnership? What exactly are we talking about here, Lake?" Leon asked, swallowing hard as he t Lake’s intense gaze.
Lake’s grin widened as he subtly let a trace of his King’s Aura seep through, amplifying the weight of his words. "The kind of partnership where I’ll give you the chance to docunt history."
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