41: Some News

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"No... I- Just forget about it, Caspian. I will lead us there." the girl said.

"Oh... Alright. Thanks, Erza."

'I wonder what Shinji's reaction will be, once he sees m- us here?' thought Erza, a smile forming on her face.

****

While two adults were bickering, Shinji slipped past them and went into the Chairwoman's Office. He saw Jiyoung approaching the door.

"Yo!" he said in an accent, waving at her.

"Hello, Shinji. Go to the training facility, while I get into more comfortable clothes," she said.

"Understood~"

Shinji then went to the Training Facility and after a few minutes, Jiyoung arrived too, wearing different clothing.

...

As they were practicing...

Caspian and Erza arrived at a mansion. They walked towards the door, but some maids saw them first.

"May I please know the business you have here?" asked the maid.

"Hello, my name is Erza Flameheart, and my companion beside me is Caspian Loden. I believe that Shinji Lee resides here, correct?" Erza asked the maid.

"Ah. You're one of Sir Shinji's friends. My apologies, Sir Shinji is currently not here right now." they answered.

"Oh... Where is he?..." asked Caspian.

The maid replied, "He is currently in the Shinhwa Association. I assume he has business with Shinhwa's Chairwoman."

"Oh... And, uh, where is that?"

...

Almost an hour pass and the duo finally arrives at the Shinhwa Building. Going inside, they were greeted by a woman.

"Hi! Welcome to Shinhwa Association. I'm Soomin, what can I do for you?" asked a woman.

"Hello, Soomin. Is Shinji Lee here?" asked Erza.

Caspian added, "We're his friends."

Soomin seemed to look at them from top to bottom, inspecting them. After a second, she said, "Yes. He's in the First Training Facility. You can just take a right from that corner, and you'll see the sign!"

...

They followed her directions and went to the First Training Facility.

Opening the door, they saw Shinji with an expressionless beautiful woman. Shinji was smiling, sweating, and panting, while the woman talked to him.

"You're almo- Hm?" the beautiful woman spoke, but stopped once she saw them.

Shinji looked to where Jiyoung was facing and saw a wavy-haired teenager and a red-orange-haired girl.

"Cassy? Erza?" he voiced out in confusion.

"Hey, Shinji." Caspian greeted, coming down some stairs. Erza, following the teen, looked at Jiyoung keenly.

"What're you guys doing here in Korea?!" asked Shinji, genuinely surprised.

"Well... Vice-Principal Fjord sent us here... He was... kinda looking for you, but also kinda wasn't..." Caspian answered.

"Ugh. What does that adorable chubby bastard want?" replied Shinji, taking off his wet shirt.

"He ju-" they answered, but Shinji cut them off.

"Uh, look, let's go talk about this over lunch."

He then turned to look at the confused Jiyoung and spoke, "Hey, can we postpone this to the afternoon?"

"Yes. Just let me know if you're done catching up with your friends," she said, untying her ponytail and leaving the facility.

"Why is she doing this to me..." Shinji muttered, looking at the leaving Jiyoung.

But, he quickly composed himself, "Ahem- Let me change clothes and we'll have lunch!"

****

In a local restaurant, three students could be seen sitting. One was ordering food, the others were just waiting for him to finish ordering.

"Alright. That's that. How are you guys! How's everybody back at WAA?" Shinji asked then excitedly.

"I am well, Shinji. Thank you for your concern..." Erza replied.

"Well, I'm alright. 'He' is fine too, I think. Anyway, Thorne is still in the Student Council. And, Duke's still distancing himself from Asher and the group..." Caspian answered.

"Damn... The Duke thing, I expected that since the long-haired dipshit's still there, but I can't believe Thorne hasn't been kicked out of the Council!"

...

They talked about each other's lives some more, and they learned about Shinji's victory against an internationally-known criminal.

"Anyway, what about you, Erza? You've been really quiet." Shinji asked, noticing the girl being silent.

"Who was that woman in the Training Facility?" she asked.

Shinji replied, "Oh, her? She's the Chairwoman of Shinhwa and my teacher, of some sort."

"Ohh, I see," she said, going silent back again.

...

After a few more minutes of talking, their food finally arrived. And seeing the food, somehow reminded Shinji of his Vice-Principal.

"Oh, right! Why did Fjord look for me? or... why didn't he?..." he asked.

"Yes, Vice-Principal Fjord said, and I quote, "See if Shinji Lee wants to come back. If he does, good! If he doesn't, it's even better!"." Erza answered.

"Huh? What does he mean by that?..." Shinji asked.

"Well, when you stood at the top of our class, do you still recall the way our peers used to always challenge you?"

The teen answered after gulping food, "Yeah, 'cause someone that came from a weak and unknown country managed to beat The Great Duke Greyne."

Erza was about to say something, but stopped once Shinji talked, "Wait... I know why Fjord said that now... So, if I'm in the WAA, there would be someone serving as a challenge for the students."

"Yeah, because he doesn't want the school to be stagnant..." Caspian chimed in.

"Mhm... But why is it better if I don't come back? Did something happen to the students or teachers?" Shinji said in confusion.

"They're like, fighting for the title of "The Strongest" since they think you're not coming back... I don't think they know that Duke is still a strong person..." Caspian spoke.

The red-orange-haired teen replied, "Yes, it is most probably because the students thought you were expelled..."

"Aha~ Those little shits... Sigh, but I'll take care of them once I come back... Did Fjord say anything else?"

Caspian nodded, and replied, "He also told us that even though you being gone is good for the "unstagnation" of the school, he said that you absolutely need to go back... He gives you four more months before they send someone to come get you..."

'That's great! That's enough time for me to get the hang of Spacial Isolation, and hopefully finish my experimentations!' the raven-haired teen thought in delight.

*****

What did you think of the chapter?

I just finished binge-ing Season 4 of Stranger Things, and my reaction is... Holy Shit...

I loved the new characters! (>᎑<๑)/♡

Anyway, I'm not going to spoil anything, but I'm so damn hyped!!! I REALLY can't wait for Volume 2!!! o( ≧□≦)o