"I must ask, how are you related to Miss Camille?" Leo suddenly asked Celeste.
"Sister Camille… She's my cousin." Celeste said, still trying her best to avoid eye contact, but she would glance at him every few seconds, almost like a bashful child meeting her parents' friend for the first time.
"I see…"
"Now that your introductions are over, let's talk about the reason for our meeting today. Leo, I will let you do the honors." Eve suddenly spoke.
"Really? You were the one who came up with this idea."
"And you're the leader of the team."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Am I? Either Helia or Lia seems more fitting to be the leader than me, though."
"You can always learn." Eve smiled at him.
Leo released a quick sigh before turning to look at Celeste, who quickly avoided eye contact again.
"Umm… Can I call you Celeste?"
"Y-Yes!" She immediately responded.
Even though it seemed like she subconsciously answered out of surprise, her voice lacked hesitation.
"Then Celeste, I would like you to join our team for the —"
"Yes! It will be my pleasure!" Celeste responded before Leo could even finish his sentence.
Leo stopped talking to stare at the weird golden haired girl before him with a questioning gaze.
"Uhh… You should calm down. I will void your answer and ask you again."
Celeste nodded her head in an awkward silence. "Then… Would you be willing to join my team for the Labyrinth Examination? We could use a healer like you." Leo asked her again.
"…"
With her head lowered, Celeste silently nodded her head.
"Seriously?" Leo couldn't believe how easy it was to convince her to join their team.
"Seriously?" Even Lilith couldn't believe how smoothly it went.
Leo turned to look at Eve, who was just as surprised as him, and asked, "I thought you said she was not comfortable with monsters and fighting."
"That's what I thought as well." She responded in a mumbling voice.
In fact, she had almost no expectations for this meeting.
"Are you sure about this, Celeste? Perhaps you didn't hear correctly because you're nervous, but—"
"I heard him properly, Headmistress. The Ancient Labyrinth, correct? I am willing to team up with L… Leo." Celeste stuttered towards the end.
"Wow, I am truly surprised, Celeste. You haven't participated in the Wilderness Training Course or the tournament since you joined the academy, but you're willing to enter the Ancient Labyrinth that is filled with monsters? Why the sudden change of heart?" Eve asked her.
Celeste's eyes glanced at Leo for a split second, and she spoke in a low voice, "I know an opportunity when I see one."
Eve raised an eyebrow, "An opportunity for what?"
"That is… I apologize, Headmistress, but I don't have the courage to say it right now."
"No worries." Eve smiled, and she continued a moment later, "Well then, since we've already come to an agreement, we will see you at the Ancient Labyrinth in two days."
"Good day, Headmistress, and Leo…" Celeste bowed to them before disappearing from the garden.
Leo and Eve remain seated under the pavilion even after Celeste's figure could no longer be seen.
"Well, that went much easier than I thought it was going to. Are you sure she's scared of monsters?" Leo looked at Eve.
"I'm not sure what happened to her, but there's something different about her today. Are YOU sure you don't have any prior relationship with her?" Eve said.
"This is my first time seeing her in this world. Even in my old world, I've only seen her figure from afar. We both lived in two vastly different worlds, after all."
"Perhaps the old Leo had a relationship with her. Who knows." He shrugged.
"Anyways, I need to go shopping now. I have been running low on supplies since the monster nest's raid."
"Who will you be going as?" Eve asked him.
"Leo. Will that be a problem?"
"No, it shouldn't be, but you should still be careful. You're the most hated man in the city, after all."
"Thank you for reminding me."
Leo left the academy shortly after.
Meanwhile, after leaving the garden, Celeste returned to her room.
Once she was inside her room, she opened her closet and retrieved several sets of school uniforms before placing them on her bed, almost as though she was replacing her bedsheets with them. However, these weren't her school uniforms. In fact, these uniforms weren't even made for women.
Then, she laid her body on the bed while burrowing her face into the uniforms.
She took a long and deep breath, and a sense of euphoria spread throughout every inch of her body.
Once her senses were satisfied, Celeste released her breath, breathing all over the uniforms.
"It's not the same…" She mumbled in a low voice.
"No… these are no longer enough… It's not strong enough… Compared to the real one…" She released a somewhat dispirited sigh.
Celeste would proceed to spend the rest of the day sleeping on her bed and surrounded by these uniforms.
Outside the academy, Leo took a taxi to the Adventurers Guild.
"What are you doing here?" Lilith asked him.
"I need money and I have mana cores, so I am going to sell some of them to the Adventurers' Guild."
"Shouldn't you have gone as Leon if that was the case?"
"I'm just going to sell some mana cores. I don't need to be an Adventurer to do so." Leo shrugged.
After a moment of silence, he mumbled, "Wait… The previous Leo was a B-Rank Adventurer, right? If that's the case, I am also a B-Rank Adventurer."
A slight smile appeared on his face, "It appears that I can still be an Adventurer even when I am not Leon."
He entered the Adventurers' Guild sometime later, and he walked straight to the counter.
"Hello, I am here to sell some mana cores. A-Grade mana cores." He said to the receptionist with a smile on his face.
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