Charlotte tried to initiate a conversation with Hastora, seeing this as a precious opportunity to interact directly. Her reluctance to delay this interaction stemmed from a concern that someone else might precede her.
"Hastora... have you planned which academy you will enter in the future?" Charlotte asked, turning to face Hastora.
"Why are you bringing this up? I still have four years before entering the academy, my age is not yet sufficient," Hastora replied with a flat tone and no expression.
"Then, what's the reason? Am I not allowed to ask that question?" Charlotte countered Hastora's question in a slightly lower tone.
"Of course, you are allowed," Hastora replied in a flat tone, continuing to sip the juice in front of him. From his facial expression, it was evident that he did not mind the question posed by Charlotte.
"So, which academy will you enter?"
"I anticipate entering Veridian Academy, just like my older sister," Hastora replied, slightly shifting his gaze towards Charlotte. He realized that he needed to consider this carefully. Although it seemed trivial, this decision would have a significant impact on his life's journey in the future.
Zarafel seemed to share Hastora's perspective. Entering the academy was a crucial step he would take to restore his lost strength. He realized that his stay at the academy would separate him from his family for a considerable period. However, he was determined to utilize this opportunity to act more freely and independently from various limitations.
"Ehm... I also plan to enter Veridian Academy, it seems we will both be there. Later, I hope we can become good friends," Charlotte requested, offering a thin but friendly smile.
"Hastora... it seems your life in the academy four years from now will not go as you planned," Zarafel said with a slightly anxious and worried tone. Zarafel had a hunch that Hastora's life at the academy would be somewhat troublesome.
"Whatever," Hastora replied in a flat tone, showing no significant interest. Afterwards, Hastora's curiosity about the class division system at the academy arose. He asked Charlotte, who was nearby.
"Charlotte, can you explain the concept of class division at Veridian Academy?" he asked with great curiosity.
"Oh!? You don't know, huh?" Charlotte replied with a slightly surprised tone. She did not expect that Hastora was unaware of the class division system at the academy. His father should have informed him about this.
"Okay, I'll explain it to you in detail. The classes at Veridian Academy are divided into four classes. Namely, class 1A, class 1B, class 1C, and class 1D. When we move up to the next class, the class number will also increase. For example, if we reach class 2, the class names will become class 2A, class 2B, class 2C, and class 2D. Have you understood?" Charlotte explained in detail and patiently.
"Alright, I understand... thank you."
Charlotte's face flushed after hearing Hastora's words of gratitude. According to Charlotte, since their first meeting, she had felt that Hastora was a person who was reluctant to express gratitude directly. Hearing Hastora say those words to her made Charlotte feel a little embarrassed and nervous. "A handsome young man, known for his coldness and silence, is thanking me?" such thoughts crossed Charlotte's mind. She felt that Hastora had considered her as someone close and trustworthy.
Charlotte's assumption was not wrong. Hastora did not consider Charlotte a threat, or at least not a threat in the commonly understood sense. When he was around Charlotte, Hastora felt a calmness that he could not explain.
"Hoho... it seems someone is feeling the seeds of love here," Zarafel said with a slightly mischievous and teasing tone.
"Who?" Hastora asked concisely and directly.
"Of course, the woman next to you, you don't notice that she's feeling embarrassed and nervous?"
Hastora slightly shifted his gaze towards Charlotte. Charlotte, who had previously seemed cheerful and lively, now looked like a cat feeling embarrassed and nervous.
"Are you alright?" Hastora asked, gently touching Charlotte's cheek with his index finger.
Charlotte, seeing Hastora's action, became even more flustered, her face reddening like a ripe tomato. The overwhelming sense of embarrassment made Charlotte ask permission to leave immediately.
"I—it... S—sorry... I just remembered that my father told me to meet him at eight, s—so, I'll take my leave now!" Charlotte said those words stammering and nervously, then quickly ran away from Hastora. The intense embarrassment made her face flush crimson.
"She's very cute, isn't she?" Zarafel said, asking for Hastora's opinion.
"True... she's so cute, she seems very useful," Hastora replied while coldly staring at Charlotte, who was running away.
Zarafel felt curious about the phrase "she seems very useful" that Hastora had just uttered. He felt that the sentence had a deeper implied meaning. However, Zarafel chose not to pay too much attention to it.
"It seems she will cause you trouble when you are at the academy, right? What if she keeps following and bothering you?" Zarafel asked. After hearing a little about Hastora's past, Zarafel suspected that Charlotte would behave similarly to Kelara when she was at the academy.
"What do you mean? We have gained a very useful pawn," Hastora replied in a flat tone and without expression.
Zarafel finally understood the implied meaning of Hastora's words. Hastora intended to use Charlotte as one of his pawns in the future.
"Oi!, do you mean to use that girl as a pawn? You heartless bastard!" Zarafel shouted with a voice full of anger and annoyance.
"Finally, you understand, huh," Hastora said while putting both hands in his pockets and walking towards the terrace to enjoy the view of the night moon.
Zarafel became increasingly annoyed with Hastora. According to Zarafel, Hastora had acted cruelly and heartlessly by using an innocent and cute girl as a pawn for his own gain.
"Woi! If you don't want that girl, just give her to me! Get out of this body and give her to me, I'll use her better than you!" Zarafel shouted in a voice full of anger.
Zarafel kept shouting and shouting in Hastora's mind. This made Hastora's head feel a little sore.
Hastora chose to ignore Zarafel and walked towards the terrace. He sat there, gazing at the night moon. The sight made him feel a little calm and peaceful.
While enjoying the view of the moon, he saw a group of men wearing masks walking towards a narrow alley. Curiosity drove him to follow them.
"Where are you going, Hastora?" Zarafel asked with curiosity.
"Cleaning up the trash," Hastora replied concisely and directly.
Hearing Hastora's answer, Zarafel chose to remain silent and did not ask further questions. Hastora followed them from behind. He climbed onto the roof of the building in the narrow alley and observed them from above.
The group of men were seen carrying a black suitcase. Due to his growing curiosity, Hastora told Zarafel to analyze the contents of the suitcase.
"Zarafel, analyze the contents of that suitcase," Hastora commanded, pointing towards the suitcase.
"Alright, wait a minute... ¥€$##@... Done. The suitcase contains a crystal. If the crystal is broken, a monster will come out. The suitcase belongs to Baron Holmes," Zarafel replied in detail and clearly.
Hastora suspected that they intended to disrupt Duke Trian's dinner party. Of course, Hastora would not allow that to happen. He snatched the suitcase from above using a dark thread that he created through his magic.
"This is from Baron Holmes, right?" he said while holding the suitcase. Then, Hastora stored the suitcase in his shadow. According to Hastora, the suitcase might be useful in the future.
The group of men seemed surprised by Hastora's sudden appearance. They drew their weapons and intended to attack Hastora.
Hastora, who had anticipated their intentions, immediately created a dark prison that trapped them all at once.
"So, how do we solve this problem, Zarafel?" he asked, trying to find a way to kill them tragically.
"Hmmm... what if you just release the monster inside the suitcase, and let the monster eat them?" Zarafel replied, offering an idea.
"Good idea."
Hastora took out the suitcase he had stored in his shadow and took the crystal inside.
"Alright, you guys, good luck."
Hastora threw the crystal towards them. A Troll emerged after the crystal shattered.
"AAAAAA"
The Troll devoured them one by one inside the dark prison. Their hysterical screams could be heard as they tried to save themselves. They ran and tried to break the dark prison. However, unfortunately, the prison was not even scratched.
The Troll brutally killed and devoured them all. Hastora, who witnessed the event, seemed slightly entertained by the spectacle unfolding before him.
"You're so cruel," Zarafel said with a chuckle.
"It was your idea," Hastora said, squatting down and watching from atop the building.
One by one, they were devoured by the monster until they were all dead.
"Alright, you must accept your punishment," Hastora said flatly as he stood up.
Hastora drew his sword. He moved quickly towards the Troll. The Troll did not even have time to dodge, its body was already chopped to pieces by Hastora.
"Alright, the trash has been cleaned up."
Hastora put the Troll's corpse into his shadow. He put both hands in his pockets and walked out of the narrow alley.
"Just like that?" Zarafel asked curiously.
"Yes," he replied briefly.
"Time to return to the party."
Hastora walked out of the narrow alley and walked back towards Duke Trian's residence.