-1487- "Sit down, don't move"

At the Same Time, in One of the Cafés in Mistgun.

In one of the cafés within Mistgun, Elis and Cris sat across from each other. Though refreshments and desserts were placed in front of them, neither of them had touched anything.

Around them, students cast admiring glances toward the two beautiful girls, their eyes full of admiration.

However, the two girls were completely oblivious, their eyes closed as if they were napping, showing no sign of movement.

After a while, both Elis and Cris opened their eyes simultaneously.

"It failed, huh..." Cris muttered softly.

"It really isn't that simple, is it?" Elis also fell silent for a moment before putting on a nonchalant expression.

To those who didn't know Elis well, her calm demeanor might indeed fool them.

But Cris, as one of Elis's few close friends, knew better. She was fully aware that behind Elis's seemingly indifferent facade, waves of negative emotions had already begun to churn in her heart.

And it was true.

Originally, Elis had hoped to at least sabotage the mana reactor, which is why she had incited Real Nua, who possessed Collapse Force, to infiltrate the mana refinery and target the Foreign Mana.

As long as Real Nua attacked the Foreign Mana, Elis's plan would be considered successful, regardless of the outcome.

After all, since the Foreign Mana had not fully formed yet, any attempt to destroy it would prevent this incredibly fearsome power from coming to fruition.

To this end, Elis had made considerable preparations, even having Cris, in her capacity as Chief Executive of the academy, secretly disable the Alchemist Division's defense systems, allowing Real Nua to invade the mana refinery.

If not for these measures, the Alchemist Division's defense systems, although unable to completely stop Real Nua who wielded Collapse Force, could have at least delayed him, triggered alarms, and given the Alchemist Division time to respond and hold out until Rozen returned.

But now, all of these efforts had gone up in smoke.

"I originally wanted to take this valuable specimen with Collapse Force back to Onii-sama, but who would have thought it would be killed so quickly."

Elis spoke with a hint of resentment.

"That mysterious swordsman who appeared in the refinery... could that be the guard that man mentioned?"

Who exactly was that person?

Why were they so powerful?

Even Real Nua, who possessed Collapse Force, was killed instantly. How could someone like this exist without anyone hearing a whisper of it before?

"Don't you think you owe me an explanation, Cris?"

Elis's gaze turned to Cris, a barely perceptible killing intent in her eyes.

Cris understood immediately.

Elis was beginning to suspect her.

The reason was simple.

"As the Chief Executive of Mistgun, don't tell me you had no idea that such a person existed within this floating city." Elis stared intently at Cris and said, "Given her power, if she's an enemy, she could pose a threat to Onii-sama no less than that man. If you kept this hidden, I can consider it a betrayal."

Elis's words were laced with extreme danger.

It was easy to imagine that if Cris couldn't give Elis a satisfactory explanation, Elis would not hesitate to eliminate her—even if it meant killing her right here and now.

Close friends?

Naturally, Elis cared about someone like that, but if it involved Zeth's interests, Elis wouldn't hesitate to act, even against a close friend.

Therefore, Cris was now in a very precarious situation.

But how could Elis have known?

"If I told you that I had no idea such a person existed in Mistgun, would you believe me?"

Cris could only smile bitterly.

Because it was the truth.

Although Cris was the Chief Executive of Mistgun and the highest authority in this floating city academy, she truly had no knowledge of Altera's existence.

Thus, when she saw Altera appear, Cris was just as shocked.

Especially considering the power that Altera displayed, which even made Cris's heart tremble.

Elis must have felt the same; otherwise, she wouldn't be exuding such killing intent towards Cris.

But whether Elis would believe it or not was another matter entirely.

"If you don't believe me, then go ahead and make your move."

Cris had no choice but to respond in this manner, her expression showing neither fear nor hesitation.

"..."

Seeing this, Elis bit her lip.

Judging by Cris's demeanor, Elis realized that this might be the truth.

That there was someone in Mistgun, a person even the Chief Executive was unaware of, who had been residing here for an unknown amount of time.

But that wasn't the most important thing.

The most important thing was that this person clearly had deep ties to Rozen; otherwise, she wouldn't have appeared in such a place.

How had she managed it?

What was her relationship with that man?

Why was she so strong?

Who exactly was she?

These unanswered questions caused a shadow to form between Elis's brows.

Perhaps this young girl hadn't anticipated that there would be so many surprises and secrets within Mistgun.

"This might be beyond our ability to handle." Cris then looked at Elis, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Shouldn't we consult Lord Zeth first?"

Given the situation, it was only logical and proper to report such information to Zeth.

"Consult Onii-sama?"

Elis hesitated as well.

Because, if she reported this to Zeth, it would leave Elis feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

It would be akin to admitting to Zeth that she couldn't handle this situation on her own.

Zeth entrusted Elis with such an important mission, which clearly showed his trust in her.

If she ended up being unable to handle it, wouldn't that be a betrayal of that trust?

This train of thought completely made Elis forget that Zeth had not instructed her to confront Rozen. He merely asked her to gather information.

From this perspective, the fact that Elis had discovered the existence of Foreign Mana and Altera was already an incredibly fruitful outcome.

Yet, in her eagerness to prove herself and her feelings for Zeth, Elis's heart was clouded.

This was Elis's flaw.

At that moment, Elis was about to say something.

But then...

"Why bother consulting him? If you want to know something, you could just ask me directly. I'm not unwilling to tell you, you know?"

A teasing voice suddenly rang out beside the two of them. In that instant, both Elis and Cris felt a chill down their spines and were visibly shocked.

"You two certainly have refined tastes, having a leisurely tea despite everything that's happened."

Rozen had somehow appeared beside the two girls, seated as though he had been there all along. There was even coffee and dessert placed before him, which he was calmly enjoying while speaking in a relaxed tone.

"Wha...!?"

Elis and Cris instinctively tried to stand up.

However...

"'Sit down, don't move'."

With these casual words, Elis and Cris felt an invisible force enter their minds, binding their spirits, rendering them unable to move.

"You...!?"

Finally, expressions of shock and fear appeared on Elis and Cris's faces.