(Rodova Military Academy, Skill Archive Entrance)
As soon as Leo stepped out of the Skill Archive, he found Principal Alric's personal assistant waiting for him outside, standing stiffly by the door with a clipboard in hand.
The mont she spotted him, she gave a hurried bow. "Mr. Skyshard, Principal Alric requests your imdiate presence. If you would follow , please?"
Leo gave a small nod, tucking the newly issued holographic scrolls under his arm, and followed her without question.
He didn't know what Alric wanted now, but sothing about the assistant's anxious pace made it clear that this wasn't a casual summons.
—---------
When Leo stepped into Alric's office a few minutes later, he imdiately noticed there was soone else already waiting inside.
A woman.
She stood near Alric's desk, dressed in a sharply tailored black business suit that sohow managed to look both practical and devastatingly expensive.
Her shiny black hair with a few blue highlights was swept into a clean bun that frad her face in a way that looked beautiful, commanding, and cold all at once.
Leo didn't recognize her at all, though there was sothing about the sharp look in her eyes that instantly set him on guard.
'Who is she?' he wondered, as Alric, standing behind his desk, gave a tight smile.
"Leo," Alric said, gesturing toward the woman, "I want you to et Mrs. Ladina Horizon, the CEO of the Horizon Dominion Group— and your primary sponsor."
The woman smiled, extending a hand toward him, which Leo took and shook politely, offering the minimum grip needed to avoid seeming rude.
"Congratulations on your victory in the Circuits, Leo," Ladina said smoothly, her voice warm and inviting. "You were truly the highlight of the tournant. And—" she added, tilting her head slightly, "I'm deeply sorry for what happened afterwards. It must have been a truly traumatizing experience."
"Thank you," Leo said simply, releasing her hand.
She waited, expecting him to say more.
But he didn't.
He just stood there, posture relaxed but distant, his gray eyes giving away nothing, as his indifference made Ladina frown inwardly.
Usually, when people t soone of her stature, they just wouldn't shut up.
They would flood her with praise, make jokes, share their ambitions— or do anything to catch her attention, to sohow curry her favor, to try and tie themselves to the Horizon na.
But Leo?
Leo looked like he didn't even want to be in the room, and this cold nature of his made him very hard to deal with.
'He clearly isn't motivated by money…' Ladina thought with a slight inward scoff.
'If he were motivated by money, he would be sucking my toes right now just like everyone else at corporate do all the ti, but he isn't…..So I need to approach him differently.' Ladina concluded, as forcing a slightly brighter smile onto her lips, she moved to the real reason behind why she was here.
"Leo," she said, smoothing the lapels of her suit jacket. "Principal Alric has shared so… concerns about your future plans."
She exchanged a brief look with Alric before continuing.
"And frankly, I can't help but agree with him."
Leo didn't react. He simply waited.
"As far as I can see," Ladina pressed on, "leaving Rodova after just one year— after everything you've already achieved here— is not a wise decision. You are poised to beco a household na, Leo."
She began pacing slowly, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor.
"Next year's Circuits would be your stage. Millions of fans are already waiting to see your return. The dia buzz, the sponsorship deals, the universal endorsents— you would cent your status as a superstar. And beyond the fa, Rodova provides the safest environnt for you to grow stronger, smarter, better."
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"The Black Serpents are powerful, yes. But they won't nurture you. They won't invest in your long-term future. They'll use you, throw you into danger, and if you die? They'll just replace you with the next talented fool."
She stopped pacing, turning to face him fully.
"For soone with your potential, Leo, this… isn't the optimal decision. Not for your career. Not for your future. And certainly not for your life."
"As your sponsor, and as soone who has more practical experience of living in this universe than you do, I feel concerned about a youth like yourself destroying their future, so I give you this advice, as if I'm your elder sister," Ladina said, as for a mont, the room was quiet.
Alric looked at Leo expectantly.
Ladina waited, sure that her carefully constructed argunt would sway at least so part of him.
However, Leo t her gaze with no change in his expression, and when he finally spoke, his voice made it clear that he didn't give two fucks about the argunts she just made.
"I agree with everything you said, it's not like I don't understand that joining the Black Serpents is not the best path for my future growth" he began.
"But for so n, honor is more important than money or power and I just happen to be one of them," He continued without raising his voice, as he did not wish to preach, but was rather just stating an immutable fact.
"For , the debt of honor I owe Darnell Nuna is absolute. I cannot rest in good conscience knowing he's out there, captured, while I enjoy the luxuries of this life." Leo said, as he bowed his head slightly— not in apology, but in firm respect.
"My decision to join the Serpents is not about fa. It's not about making the right choice. It's about honor." He concluded, as Ladina couldn't help but click her tongue softly in disapproval.
'Tch. I expected as much.' she thought internally, however, maintained her polite smile outwardly.
Because while Leo's heart was clearly set... she wasn't ready to give up just yet.
Not by a long shot.
"Leo…. I assu you're a practical child…. You are, aren't you?" Ladina began, her tone chiding as if talking to a child.
"The Black Serpents Guild already has dozens of Transcendent level and tens of thousands of Grandmaster level warriors trying to find Darnell, so tell how you going there will change that equation even slightly?"
"And even if you do find him, can you really save him from the clutches of the Evil Cult at your level? No you can't.
So what exactly is it that you wish to achieve by throwing your budding career under the bus?" Ladina questioned, as once normal logic failed, she pulled out the slightly sterner argunt.
"My honor is a promise that I made to myself. My honor is what allows to push myself harder in training, and it is what allows to live my life with my head held high.
Whether I make a difference or not is besides the point for .
For what is more important is that I try my best to save Darnell.
That I make the maximum effort I could, regardless of the results.
As only by living like that can I be happy with my own body—" Leo said, as Ladina couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose in anger.
'Fool…. This boy is a fool—' is what she concluded, as she couldn't help but feel like she was talking to a brick wall.
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