The sparring hall fell into brief silence after Bisky's departure.
Maya then proposed, "Umm, Instructor Naruki, this is the moment you drag her back to study hall," she addressed Naki.
"Huh?" Naki was surprised and not particularly happy to have been entrusted with this burden.
"Go on, Habiki and I will handle things here in the meantime," she said with a confident smile.
Then Habiki stepped in, "Actually, Maya, I will leave Jhun to assist." She said, walking to Naki.
"Bisky's a sneaky individual. It'd take our new instructor a while to cover all her hiding places."
"Ah...you're right. You're the only one aware of her 'secret' spots." Maya confirmed.
"I'm skeptical about the president joining this search, provided she's the reason Bisky stormed out of the hall in the first place," Jhun said.
"Yeah, isn't Bi all mad and all that because she lost to you? I'm pretty sure you're the last person she wants to see right now." Louise added.
"..., let's go, instructor." Habiki ignored their concerns and was leaving the training hall, bidding Naki to join her.
Naki shook his head and followed, leaving Louise dumbfounded and Jhun annoyed.
"Huh...she's still as cold as ever," Louise commented.
Maya chuckled, "I won't say. More like when her mind is set on something, it's pretty difficult to convince her against it. Especially when she feels it is the right thing to do."
Outside the Training Hall
Habiki and Naki were walking through the hallway.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Thanks to Jhun's randomizer idea, we missed our chance to test out your newly acquired Lohki's skills." Habiki said.
"On the contrary, I only get to appreciate the potential of them thanks to the bouts," Naki responded.
"Hoh? You were satisfied with how that all turned out?" her eyes stricken with surprise.
"Yup. Our trip outside last night was extremely fruitful."
"Alright, what did you learn?" she asked.
Naki enlightened Habiki in some detail about his skills: Crow's visage and Shadow trick.
"Interesting. In the hands of a master trickster, those are dangerous moves indeed." Habiki commented
"You think they'd be good enough to impress Bisky? She did show some pretty sneaky moves during the duel herself," Naki said.
"...Naki, can I ask you something?"
Habiki ignored the question entirely to pose one of her own.
"Hm? (Could this be related to her frustration back in the hall?)" Naki contemplated.
"Am I...weak?"
A simple question, but Naki had no answer to give, for it was out of the blue.
"Umm...haha", he chuckled, "from what I saw back there, I'd say no," he said, unsure of himself, with a voice that sought affirmation from her.
"..." She remained quiet.
"Um, why?" Naki asked.
She shook her head, "It's nothing, never mind."
Then they reached a stairway going down to the 2nd floor of the block.
Not many students were in the sages block as it was reserved for the sage potentials. Habiki used this opportunity to guide Naki to a hidden spot below.
"This brings us to our second point of discussion today."
She leaned on the walls, "The mission details. Pray tell, you didn't go through and hatch some scheme without my concern?" she frowned.
"Haha, come now, I thought we were past the concept of trust."
She smiled and nodded, "Good, good, glad you remember."
Naki walked over to her and adjusted his gloves, then spawned the sigil scroll.
"Before that, though, did Jhun's battle exhaust much of your mercy points?" she asked.
"To a certain degree. I'm now up to 4 circles instead of 3; so I'd say we're in the green."
Habiki thought for a while, "I wonder if that'll be enough to approach and earn Bisky's trust."
Naki grabbed the devil's scroll and broke the first seal once more.
"That can come later. Who knows, the devil's details could tell us different."
Habiki nodded, "True. Let's see what the scroll says."
Naki opened it up and touched the scroll one more time, focusing in an attempt to display the details.
The pages formerly blank started filling up with additional details of Naki's mission.
----- VESSEL SEAL -----
Devil Seal 1: Infiltrate the Hero Emile's party and reclaim the will stone of Listeria
Mission details
A demon war is coming and so the hero intends is to form a party of Listeria's best in an attempt to conquer the demon lord at his headquarters in the ruins of magic, a territory in the demon continent.
The goddess Nagatha, in charge of the hero's divinity has promised to reward him with eternal life should he recover the will stone from the demon lord's clutches.
Seize this window to claim the will stone of Listeria.
Condition Met - Lohki's Path
Tailoring assistance to selected path
Hint - The hero is elusive and can't be approached directly. Make use of the trickster's power to get close to either one of his closest guardians to smoothen infiltration.
Shadow trick will be beneficial in the case of the shrewd vixen.
Crow's visage will be beneficial in the case of the poisoned rose.
-----------------------------
The two read to the end.
Then, Habiki's earring glowed brightly.
"[Habi! Did you see that? Nagatha's promise of eternal life, it can only mean one thing!]" Keifa said
"[The eternal cycle of reincarnation, the same fate you suffer.]"
"[Yes, which means if we get to Emile, we can ask him more about the details he received from Nagatha. This could give us clues on how to stop it]"
Habiki nodded. Then asked Naki, "What did you make of the details Naki?"
"The hero expected to create his party for the demon war...when is that?" Naki asked.
"That will be the magic competition. The main aim of this event is to apprise the hero of the best potential from all the academy's branches."
"I recall Irauki was from the Allura branch yea?" Naki said.
"Yes. Listeria academy has 3 other branches, 2 in Allura and 1 in Sorusha. In the magic competition, each branch sage potentials showcase their talents in various disciplines."
"The hero will then select his best from the champions."
Habiki explained briefly the essence of the competition.
"I see, which means that is our deadline then."
"And why's that?" Habiki asked, curious.
"It'll be nigh on impossible to get close to either of his guardians if their party is already complete. With their focus based on eliminating the demons, any power I display then would either appear as suspicions or a threat."
Naki smiled and put away the scroll and the interface.
"Which would mean any chance I have to carjole either this shrewd vixen or poisoned rose has to happen while their mind is not yet tailored to their extermination mission"
Habiki shocked, and impressed by Naki's deductive reasoning in figuring that out.
"Impressive Naki. You ocassional surprise me with your intellect and reasoning, so much I'm beginning to wonder if it is Lucille rubbing off on you, or if you have a mind much like his" Habiki said with a cheeky grin.
"A-ack! I would have none of that! I may use his power but that makes me no devil" Naki defended himself, voice stuttering
"Heh, of course you aren't. That's what makes you fun to tease hehe" Habiki snickered.
Naki scratching his head in embarassment, "Come on focus, we have a mission to do"
She smiled, "(I dunno why, but for some reason, I feel...relaxed when I'm with him. Like I could behave all silly, like I could be myself and won't be judged for it)" her sight trained on Naki, she thought of briefly of her past and the time she first joined Listeria.
Then Naki asked a question to get back her attention.
"We just have this issue. I know the hero's guardians must be Bisky and the other girl. But, it'll help to know who this shrewd vixen or poisoned rose is, so I'd know which power to keep close"
"I have a faint idea, but I'm not entirely sure" Naki said.
"If you are thinking what i think you are, then you are correct."
"Bisky is the shrewd vixen isn't she?" he asked.
"Yes" Habiki nodded, "now we just have to come up with a plan and find her"
Habiki left the walls, ready to rumble. But Naki had other ideas.
"Actually, I already know where she is."
"Hm?" Habiki raised a brow.
"But I'll have to go alone"
Habiki folded her hands and looked at Naki funny.
"Now now before you speak lemme explain!!" Naki immediately raised his hand in protest.
Then he explained Bisky's appearance last night after they went their separate ways, making sure to leave out the detail on Bisky's forwardness and slanders.
"Huh...fine. I'll leave it to you then." she reluctantly agreed to his demands. "Just becareful, remember you are an instructor here so don't let her rope you into anything too dangerous"
"Got it."
Naki adjusted his glove and started making his way back up.
"I leave the sage class to you then"
With that, Naki departed for the rooftops. Habiki's bell earring glowed softly in response.
"[Are you sure that's alright? Leaving him in charge of Bisky?]" Keifa asked.
"[I dunno. To be honest, I'm not really in the right state of mind to talk to her either]"
Habiki recalled the spar, she noticed Bisky hesitated as well but couldn't tell why.
"(I know Bisky, she's smart and wanted to react, but didn't...why didn't she react...what am I missing.)"
Then she looked up, "(What is she trying to tell me by doing that?)"
Block 3 rooftops
Naki opened the doors and saw Bisky.
Her twin ponytails wavering in the light breeze as she leaned on the fence, pocket makeup kit out as she applied polish to her nails.
She didn't look at all like she just sparred. Kempt, proper and most especially charming.
She had the figure and character to match, a proper vixen.
So Naki thought as he walked up to her, closing the door behind him.
"Ah, you've made it teach!"
She closed the kit and smile, "Couldn't resist my charms eh?"
"Spare me the drama and get to the point please" Naki bluntly replied.
"Aww, you're no fun."
Bisky skipped playfully towards Naki and leaned forward.
She was too close to comfort as part of her bust was exposed due to the loose button on her uniform. It was intentional, and It took everything for Naki not to stare as he trained his eyes on hers.
"I'll start with the ending - I want you to join us" she said.
Naki's guard was dealt a heavy blow immediately. Sure the entire plan was to join her team, the hero's team but he didn't expect this from the start.
Something was up, there had to be. He wouldn't rest easy until he figured out the vixen's true aim.