Chapter 404.5: Look Closely, Don’t Blink (2)

Time swiftly passed amidst their conversation. Soon, another important group of figures for tonight’s celebration arrived at the venue—the transfer students from Knight Kingdom Pendor.

The reputation of the transfer students had improved greatly due to their outstanding performance in the tournament. In particular, William, Teresa, and Kurt had built up a fairly huge fan base around them. Their entrance was warmly welcomed by the students,

Looking at them from afar, Roel was relieved to see that his frost aura didn’t appear to have left any lasting traumas on William. However, he was intrigued to see that she was still dressed in her usual full armor that concealed her face.

It was just that no one appeared to be particularly bothered by her appearance, and Roel eventually decided not to think too much into it too.

His goal was to release William from her fate as a scapegoat, not to change her dress-up. She could have just grown fond of her armor over the years. Besides, she probably felt awkward without her armor after so many years of wearing it. It would take a lengthy transition period for her to get accustomed to going without her armor.

Roel took this opportunity to stare at William, hoping to accomplish his mission here. However, the latter was chatting with Teresa about something, resulting in her not noticing his gaze.

It was only when all of the transfer students entered the venue that she finally met eyes with Roel and nodded slightly as a gesture of acknowledgment.

By this point, it was no longer possible for him to accomplish the mission. The two of them were close enough that staring at her would make things awkward for the two of them, not to mention that there were many eyes on him. As much as he wanted to complete the mission from the Goddess of Fate’s Guidance, he didn’t want to risk appearing as a creep.

Thus, he decisively gave up on his mission for the time being and engaged the transfer students in a conversation instead.

It was often said that bonds that had survived conflicts were stronger.

The first one to greet him was none other than the orange-haired Selina. Different from before, she appeared to be in greater control over her emotions.

Roel hadn’t heard anything from her since their fight in the top 32, and he was worried about her for quite a while. He wasn’t in a good position to visit her at Panoply Manor given his tense relationship with the transfer students back then, and she hadn’t appeared in public either.

He only managed to catch her on the day of his showdown with William, but he wasn’t in a good condition to be holding a conversation with her. This was their first conversation since their fight in the tournament.

He shot a glance at Selina’s head, only to sigh lamentably at the absence of her beast ears. His visible disappointment brought a frown to the latter’s face.

“You rascal, what are you looking for?”

“Hahaha, it’s nothing much. Miss Selina, it looks like you have managed to control your bloodline?”

“… It’s not to that extent yet, but yeah, it’s much better than before.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Roel nodded earnestly in response before casually taking a few steps sideward to glance at Selina’s bottom, but there was no beast tail there either. Selina immediately figured out what he was up to and shot a sharp glare at him. She hadn’t forgotten how he had toyed with her using Peytra’s bloodline suppression back then.

Roel could only laugh awkwardly in response.

“Cough. Miss Selina, it’s joyous news that you’re now able to control your bloodline, even if just to a limited extent. I’m earnestly happy for you.”

“Hmph. Trying to act prim and proper now?”

“Don’t say that. Feel free to look for me if you ever face any difficulties with your bloodline. In some ways, you’re the descendant of my companion. I’m glad that you’re liberated from the restraints of your bloodline.”

“… Mm, alright. T-thanks.”

It took quite a bit of effort for Selina to mutter her thanks under Roel’s earnest gaze.

For a moment, it looked like something had moved in her hair, but before Roel could take a closer look, the young lady had already ran off with a reddened face.

T-that is!

Roel quickly tracked the profile of the escaping Selina with his eyes, but before he could take a closer look, his vision was blocked by a towering human wall. He recoiled in shock before slowly raising his gaze. It was Kurt.

“Kurt? Is something the matter?”

“Well, about that…”

The towering man looked at Roel hesitantly, uncertain of how he should approach the topic. He remained in a dilemma for a long while before he finally lowered his head and apologized.

“Mister Roel, I’d like to ask for your forgiveness for my ignorant remarks regarding Lord Grandar.”

“Ah, you’re talking about that matter. Didn’t we already reconcile after our fight?”

“I lost consciousness before I could properly apologize to you. I wanted to make up for that.”

“I see…”

Roel was surprised. He had thought that Kurt was a rude oaf due to their unpleasant first encounter, but it looked like his perception of the latter was mistaken. It would be much more appropriate to describe Kurt as an inflexible academic instead.

In their following conversation, he learned the reason behind Kurt’s sudden change in attitude. It turned out that the crimson plain manifested by Grandar was a land of glory, where the souls of respected warriors of the giant race rested in the afterlife.

Only a Sovereign acknowledged by the giant race would receive such resounding cheers in that place. Naturally, this meant that Grandar couldn’t possibly be a Fallen, thus disproving the historical records of the Gustav House.

That had plunged Roel into deep thoughts. He had no idea whether there was a mistake with the Gustavs’ records or not, but Grandar had been a little different since that battle. He had a feeling that Grandar had recalled something, but he chose not to ask about it since he believed that the latter would talk about it on his own accord once he was ready.

“I’ll inform my clan about this when I return for the holidays. I’ll try my best to right Lord Grandar’s name as soon as possible.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Tell me if you need any help. Our goals most certainly coincide on this matter.”

Roel was gladdened to have resolved this issue.

There were many others who had witnessed his fight with Kurt, so there were plenty of eye-witnesses who could testify to what Kurt saw. The circumstantial evidence should be enough to plant a seed of doubt in the Gustavs.

As for what the truth was, that would have to wait till Grandar was finally willing to talk about what he had remembered.

After bidding Kurt farewell, Roel heaved a sigh of relief and prepared to head off. Before he could turn around, someone grabbed his sleeve and stopped him. Following that, a familiar notebook appeared right in front of him.

Don’t go.