Stunned

Leonel gave Anared one more look before turning away and following Aina. 

He realized that he was even more sensitive about Aina compared to how he usually was. Of course, he somewhat understood why this was and inwardly kicked himself. The more he acted like this, the more subconscious Aina would be. He wasn't doing her any favors by being like this. 

If others heard Leonel's thoughts, they would realize that he seemed to be far more introspective about himself in relation to Aina than he was about himself alone. It was quite an interesting phenomenon, but Leonel, of course, wouldn't notice this. 

Sael led the two away. Somehow, likely through a teleportation pad, they disappeared and reappeared in a hidden room that oversaw the first floor. However, Leonel was certain that no one could see them as though they were standing behind a one-way viewing pan of glass. 

Once they reached this point, Leonel subtly put up his guard. This had long since become a habit of his. In truth, if he could have refused Sael's invite, he probably would have. 

Unfortunately, the environment only became more constrained over time because Sael didn't speak immediately. In fact, she seemed to be hesitating. 

After a while, she somewhat awkwardly puffed out her chest as though gathering her courage. 

"… Be honest with me, why have you come here?"

Sael looked right at Leonel, ignoring Aina. In truth, the only reason she had called Aina here was because she hoped that whatever feelings Leonel had for Aina would cause him to go easier on her. 

"Uh …" 

Leonel stood in confusion before he suddenly 'understood'. 

"… I know I'm from Earth but I didn't hear anything about being unallowed to participate because of this. Was I not allowed?"

Sael froze. 

From Earth? What was that supposed to mean? 

'Wait, I think I've heard of Earth before… it's a new world the higher ups are really invested in, but what does that have to do with this Heir? What kind of game is he playing here?'

Aina stood the side, quite invested in Sael's answer as well. After all, she was from Earth too.

The truth was that the reason she had a ticket to Terrain in the first place was because she heard about Brave City. 

It had to be remembered that the only reason Leonel would ever come to Terrain was because of Aina. And, the only reason Aina was sent to Terrain by Leonel in the first place was because she had the ticket to begin with. 

If she couldn't join the organization behind Brave City, she would have to change all of her plans. 

"You… really want to join us?" Sael was speechless. 

Leonel frowned. He really couldn't understand what Sael was getting at. 

In truth, he didn't want to join any organization. Every single one he had to this point had left a bad taste in his mouth. Plus, he had just rejected Old Hutch's offer just a few months ago with the excuse that he didn't want to be under someone else's umbrella. If he joined another organization so quickly after this, he would feel a bit bad. 

That said…

Leonel looked toward Aina. 

"You want to join them?" He asked. 

Aina blinked before nodding. 

Leonel smiled. "Then I do too."

His reply was simple but it held quite some sharpness to it. It was very obvious that he was only doing so for Aina, yet it also seemed this was enough to firm his resolve to an immovable degree. It sounded like even if Sael tried to reject him now, he would fight her to the death for standing in his way. 

Sael was stunned for a moment before her eyes glowed. 

'Could it be about that? Of course, how could I not think of that…'

Sael looked away and began mumbling to herself like a madwoman. She nibbled at her red lips, lost in her own thoughts. 

'If it really is about that then this could either be a great opportunity or a catastrophe… I can't make this decision on my own… Forget it, when the time comes, this will have little to nothing to do with me, anyway. I might as well reap some benefits now and worry about the trouble that might come later.' 

Sael took a deep breath. 

"Alright, here you both go."

Aina and Leonel started as they caught two glistening pieces of metal out of the air. When they flipped over their palms, they found that these metal pieces were actually two rings. 

Leonel looked down in confusion. "Spatial ring? What's this?"

"These rings have everything you need to be officially inducted as one of our members. Our uniforms and your identification tokens are all in there. 

"But, I should tell you that until you've gone to our headquarters with your tokens and have been properly registered, they are blank. So, make sure to keep them safe until the time comes."

Leonel was stunned. He sent his senses into the ring and as expected, he found everything Sael spoke about. 

There were a pair of harem pants, a cloth that he assumed could work as the belt those three wore, and a heavy piece of neckwear also reminiscent of what those three wore. 

The only difference was that the belt cloth he received didn't have the embroidery those three had. In addition, his neckwear was a solid black that almost look like unpolished iron. 

But…

Wasn't there supposed to be a long trial? 

He half expected that he would have to put his life on the line several times just to get an invite to this organization… all for them to piss him off for some reason or another in a few months to eventually force him to leave them. 

That seemed to be the story of his life to now. Struggling just to earn some more struggling. 

He had never been expected to so suddenly be handed what all those geniuses of Terrain were fighting tooth and nail for… 

What the hell was going on?