"Arrgh!"

He jolted up, but was quickly stopped from getting up completely by the blurry and slender figure atop him. 

Wiping the cloud off his eyes, he sharpened his eyes before looking at the figure once again. 

"Stay down, Mister Jonathan." 

The small finger pressed down on his forehead. 

Instead of fighting it, he went with the flow, falling back. 

Shia was sitting on top of him, holding the man down. 

"Could you um...get down from me, please?" 

Jack formed the words, his eyes slightly displeased. 

"Oh. I can't do that now, can I?" 

She spoke. 

Her voice was sweet and firm, almost as if she was reeling him in. 

"Sure you can. This isn't that great for me." 

Jack replied. 

However his voice never showed any signs of displeasure despite his thoughts. 

"So, what's your answer?"

She rested her elbows in his chest. 

He winced at the two bones pushing in to his chest, heaving slightly. 

"Back on the field?" 

He peeped over. 

On the cushion over the edge of the room sat the General, a black haired girl, a blonde boy and a maid. 

"Yes." 

She got closer to Jack's face, pulling back his attention. 

"I'll have to reje—" 

"I won't take 'no' for an answer." 

Her words were sweet and tender, but firm. 

"Are you disregarding my basic rights, Miss..."

He let the words linger for a moment, curious about her identity. 

"Han Shia, pleased to meet you."

"Yes." 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, falling back into his bed. 

"I suppose you want me to teach at your 'academy'?" 

"Exactly! You're quite the observant one. Nexarion is missing a Manakai." 

From her name, he had figured out her identity. 

The genius of the century, Han Shia, the principal of Nexarion. 

The fastest to ever reach Seven-star, which was considered to be very difficult to achieve. 

She pulled back from his chest. 

"But why would you need me? You'll find plenty—"

Cutting him off once again, she spoke. 

"—of Manakai? I don't think so. The continent has one, only one." 

"You could look beyond the continent."

He averted his eyes, unable to hold it with the woman's. 

"I suppose I could, but why would I let talent rot away?" 

She had a way with words. 

Somehow, she understood Jack and his burdens.  

Her words were carefully picked, like picking only the fresh and ripe fruits for a salad. 

However her actions were not going great with her words. 

"Ha..."

The dry chuckle died out fast, but the small hint of smile tugging around his lips never faded. 

It was an habit of his. 

Smiling. 

He would smile at all times, or at least he'd try. 

It was quite visible around his eyes that had slight signs of wrinkles. 

"I'd rather—" 

"Wow! What a moustache!" 

Her hands moved with quiet grace. 

Her fingers with efficiency pulled at the edge of his brown moustache, sharpening it. 

"Huh! Wh-what are you doin-g Miss Shia?!"

With flaring cheeks, and a flushed expression, he stuttered. 

Why? 

Maybe it was because of the sudden closeness, or her, and how she was treating him. 

"Wouldn't you look better in 'black'?"

Jack's eyes pulled back in a hurry, half surprised. 

A small sense of dread ranbover him, and the secret he had been hiding. 

From her glance, he knew he had been discovered. 

But by the time he had realised it, it was already too late. 

Her hand shot forward, her open palm facing his forehead. 

"Cleanse." 

As soon as the soft words were muttered, the faint glow of mana flowing from her palm over to his body shone deep inside the shack. 

"Aaah!" 

Daniela covered her eyes at the flashing lights. 

Opening her eyes, she did not notice much of a change. 

The frame was still quite grey and dull or she had thought, until her eyes fell on the streaking red. 

Sharper than normal red, the bright velvety?

No, it was more of a bright shade of crimson red with streaks of purple tinting random strands of his hair, but it was barely noticeable compared to the outstanding crimson. 

"The second son of Duke Thorne had red hair? This is quite the new information." 

"Father always made me dye it brown." 

Grabbing a strand of hair that fell forward, he looked at it with great thought. 

His eyes slightly darkened, perhaps the dry and cold memories of his past came flooding. 

"I stuck with it even after I was disowned. But can't lie, I did look good in brown." 

He made another lighthearted comment, trying to lift the mood, but Shia made a simple smile. 

Jack's eyes widened at her smile. 

I suppose the simple gestures transcended any words she could have said. 

"So..."

Shia got closer to his face, whispering over to his ears. 

"...would you like to consider saying 'yes'? I could even maybe help you get back at your dad." 

Of course the last bit was supposed to be a joke...maybe. 

"What makes you think I need to get back at my father, Miss Shia?" 

"Well, if it were me, I'd certainly kick the crap out of him." 

"I do think that's a great idea, but maybe I'll stick to teaching at your academy." 

"Hm...how will i convince you—wait did you just say yes?!!"

It took her a second to comprehend what he had just said. 

"Yes, I said yes."

"Yes as in yes? Or yes to my current question."

"Yes, yes and yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Yes?" 

"Yes."

"Can I take your word for it?"

"Yes."

"Could I hear it once more?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes." 

"Yeah!" 

She threw her hands up to the air, before slumping on him in joy. 

"Ouch!" 

He winced at her sudden drop. 

"Oh my god! Forgive me!" 

She got off him quickly, running a hand over his abdomen. 

The spot where Thomas had landed a punch still stung, and Shia had just dropped on him. 

"What's my salary?" 

He made out a strained cry. 

"Oh, I promise you, it'll be highest amongst the staff, after all, you're my special...I forgot the word."

"Consort?" 

"Your quite the joker." 

Shia pulled her head back, chuckling. 

"Be ready, I'll come by tomorrow."

Jack's eyes shot up in surprise. 

Tomorrow? 

"Tomorrow?" 

"Yes."

She replied almost instantly. 

"Yep, I'll fill you in tomorrow."

With those words, she got up to leave. 

Jack placed hand besides him on the bed, trying to push himself up. 

"Grr." 

A sharp pain shot through his head all the way over to his chest. 

He quietly grabbed temples, jerking at it with his palms. 

The sensation lightened, but it was still there. 

As the group left, with the General being the last to leave, his eyes met his once again. 

The air hung tight at the unspoken words. 

Both of them had wanted to speak with each other, but it seems they weren't ready for it either. 

The door closed softly. 

"Ha..."

Jack slumped back on his bed. 

It was not the softest of them, but he felt comfort, comfort he'll miss after moving out. 

"Was this worth it?"

He stared at the dusty ceiling. 

No words came, enjoying the tranquil silence and the slight sounds of footsteps. 

—Of course it's worth it. 

The sound came in once again. 

"You always say that." 

He retorted, barely having any energy as he shifted over to the left of his bed. 

—No I do not!

The voice came out gruff, seemingly offended at his words. 

"But—"

—Creak

The door opened. 

Jack could tell who it was without even having to look back. 

"Oh my god! You're a ginger!" 

The little boy exclaimed, his voice dripping with mock seriousness. 

"I prefer the term 'redhead'." 

"It looks so good." 

This time he got closer to him, crouching down on the floor. 

His fingers pulled on the slight strands of his hair. 

"Ouch!" 

Jack showed his sudden discomfort at the boy pulling his hair. 

"Relax. It's not everyday I get to admire something beautiful."

"That's not—"

He turned to flick the boy's hand off, but saw genuine curiosity in his eyes and decided to let him pester him. 

"That's not what, Mister?"

"It's nothing..." 

He covered his face up with his hands, sighing at the day's events. 

"So, what did the principal of Nexarion personally come here to the border of Citrinia for." 

Finn had already figured out her intentions, but thought of letting the man say it himself. 

"Well...I got a job."

"At Nexarion?" 

"I suppose so."

"Quite the casual thing to just say I guess."

Jack twisted away from the boy, adjusting himself to the other side of the bed. 

"If that's all, I'm leaving." 

Finn got up, preparing to leave. 

After all, Jack's handsome payment had given him more than enough for an assessment, and some balance ryū as well. 

With this thought in mind, he decided to not burden the man anymore. 

"Wait!"

He called out to Finn who'd already turned, his back facing Jack. 

"What is it?" 

He asked, peeking over his shoulders. 

"Um...if it's not too rude to ask, what did you need the money for?"

He asked, stammering at first but picked up. 

Despite being an adult with an imposing presence, Jack was shy. 

Quite shy indeed. 

He got flustered way too fast, yet there was an air of confidence around him at times. 

Finn even though only having been around him for a few hours picked up on this habit of his. 

"Since you paid me, I'll tell you. It's for a talent assessment." 

"Ahh...then, do you mind if I come with you?" 

"Huh?" 

"Don't get me wrong. I wanted to pay for you. It's just that I got a lot of money laying around, thought I might put it to good use." 

Without another word, Finn appeared before Jack, holding his palms clutching his in between. 

"Woah! Let's go!"

_________________________

"Phew! That's one boulder off my shoulders." 

The black haired youth sprwaled across the large bed. 

"One thing off the list, and I only just got here." 

Looking out the window, she noticed how the day had only reached noon. 

The silence around the room prevailed, her mind however was a mess. 

But who could blame her? 

The poor woman who had been living a normal life was drawn into another world she had seen through the display of her mobile. 

Her reaction to it was quite... breathtaking...no, it was more calm and calculated. 

That does not however mean she was alright. 

Her fingers twirled around the sheets, twisting it around. 

"Uhhh...it hurts." 

The sensation of her head splitting open remained. 

A side effect of teleportation. 

Most nobles were used to the side-effects. 

This is why the others were surprised to see her violently react to the side-effects. 

Daniela's body had already adapted to it, but Rose's mind wasn't ready for the stress. 

She felt every jarring sensation as they went through it. 

—Whir!

Sparks flared, pulling her out her daze of agony. 

She did not get up, but instead slowly turned her head over to check out the source of the sound. 

The large hologram floated inthe air, displaying something interesting. 

Would the host like to recover her memories? 

Yes/No

_________________________