"It's a pleasure for our humble village to welcome you, young ones." Old Colder was more than nervous; his eyes quickly fixed on Nox, who mysteriously found himself among the young students of the empire. His eyes were burning with anger, as if he wanted to scold him right then and there. Mentally sighing, he forced a stiff smile: "Can I know... Did Nox do something wrong?" Everything felt strange... the young students' uniforms were torn, ripped, and dirty, some of them had dried blood stains, and in the middle of them was Nox, who was also dirty...
Cristina put on a cordial smile: "Well, in a few words, we had an unexpected incident, nothing serious, and as for... young Nox." Cristina's golden eyes fixed on Nox, and he shuddered a little... Looking at old Colder, he put on a forced smile: "It's a long story..."
Cristina's eyes gleamed. She stayed silent for a moment before looking back at old Colder: "Don't worry, it wasn't anything bad, it's just that... let's say he welcomed us before you did." She shook her head: "As you can see, we're not fully presentable... it would be very appropriate if you could lend us a bath to clean ourselves, please."
"Oh! Sorry for my lack of courtesy, please follow me." A bit nervous, old Colder led the three students through the church. After a few moments, he showed them a large room that was usually used by children when they were younger...
Angela shot a deadly look at Abadon: "You wait here, no problem, right? Or do you want to join us?" The last words had a clearly unmasked deadly intention.
"Woman! Do you think I have any kind of interest in you? I'm not going to wait for you to finish bathing, we can all go in together, no problem." The young man with fiery red hair smirked under his breath and entered the bathroom without hesitation...
"Idiot!" Angela shouted angrily, about to hit Abadon with her small fist. His words had dealt a blow to her self-esteem. She was literally a mermaid! The most beautiful female creatures that exist!
"Let it be, Angela, you know how he is. Besides, he's not interested in us either. Don't forget, he has someone in mind. Also, we don't have much time; we need to report the results and deliver some samples." Cristina sighed and looked at Nox... he was completely silent, as if trying to convey that he didn't exist at that moment.
Angela stayed silent for a few seconds, then her eyes widened: "The student in third year?"
"Correct, I understand they're from the same ducal house, but from two different clans." She shrugged: "She's a complete beast, very strong. I don't know how those delicate hands can be so deadly."
"I get it now!" Angela's eyes gleamed, but she still eyed the young Abadon with some suspicion, as he was already in the water. His eyes were closed, and a satisfied smile graced his lips. Only the upper part of his body was visible.
Angela frowned and looked at old Colder: "Sir, would it be possible to modify the space a bit?" She asked politely...
Old Colder hesitated for a moment but then nodded: "Alright."
"Thank you!" Angela nodded. As she entered the room, she bent down a bit, her fingers touching the water. After a moment, she nodded in satisfaction, casting a quick glance at Abadon: "You can't cross this line, understood?"
He opened one of his eyes and smiled playfully: "As you wish, Angela," he said indifferently.
"Alright!" Angela was reserved and a little shy, though her bloodline exposed much of her body, it was something she couldn't avoid. It wasn't that she was upset—after all, she was proud of her body—but letting others see it made her shy. Being completely naked was a different case. She returned to Cristina: "It's ready." She looked at Nox: "What about him?"
Cristina also looked at the young man: "He'll come with us; we're going to have a nice chat." With a smile, she got a little closer to Nox: "Right, young aspirant?" she whispered so only he could hear...
"Damn," Nox cursed in his mind. Though a little nervous, he didn't let it show, with a serious look: "I don't think that's appropriate."
"Don't worry about that, you owe us some explanations," Cristina shrugged. "You also need to wash up."
Old Colder stayed silent throughout this moment... he looked at Nox, and Nox looked at him as if asking for help... He just smiled foolishly and said goodbye to the young people, leaving Nox with them.
Nox looked somberly at the floor...
"Aspirant." Cristina looked directly into Nox's eyes: "We just want to ask you a few things, nothing personal, nothing that will affect you, but we need to report to the academy's superiors. Do you understand?" She spoke calmly and politely...
Nox stared at her for a few moments: "Fine, no problem, but is it necessary to go in with you... you know?" Nox knew it wasn't a good idea at all. Simply because of his social class, he was as low as one could get, so to speak. After all, he was a commoner, unlike the three young people, who exuded an air of nobility. And this was about being naked in a damn bathroom! He didn't want any unnecessary problems to arise, and to make it worse... he glanced at the young woman with blue hair, clearly not too upset... "You can stay here, I'll go somewhere else. How about that? After that, you can ask me anything you want."
Cristina stayed silent... she briefly looked at Angela, and both nodded: "Alright, we understand what you're saying, but... unfortunately for you, besides it being just a bath, as you think, we need to do the report right now." Cristina grabbed Nox by the shoulder and led the three of them into the room.
Angela once again put her hand into the clear water. It rippled a bit, creating a curtain of water: "You can stay here, but don't even think about looking!" After that warning, she and Cristina went to the other side of the water...
Cursing again in his mind, Nox had no choice but to wash his dirty body... closing his eyes... "Damn it."
Looking around, the only thing in sight was the muscular chest of the young man with red hair. He still had his eyes closed, indifferent to the current situation. On the other hand...
"This water curtain is definitely very effective." Behind her stood two noble beauties from the empire. It was hard to see clearly, as the water rising toward the ceiling resembled waterfalls. Only reflections of pale skin and the color of their hair were visible; the rest was a complete mystery... "Now I understand..." The young woman with golden hair was calm, thanks to her friend's ability. After all, she didn't think she'd like a stranger to see her body.
Cursing my luck again, I had no choice but to wash my body.