Chapter 307: First Elimination Match

Before he knew it, the day of his first match had arrived. However, instead of being nervous like some would expect, his mind was distracted by other things.

While he had been training last night, he had come across something interesting. It was late, so it was hard to tell if it was a dream or if it was real, but he could have sworn he felt his soul connect to something.

It felt very similar to what he had experienced in his prior dealings with acquiring a Concept.

This weird experience had affected him so much, that he ended up not sleeping at all for the rest of the night, trying and failing to recreate that sensation.

Which was how he found himself lying down on one of the benches in the garden that he and Edgar used with Drasil on his chest, playing with the collar of his shirt.

On a completely different note, he had observed that Drasil had changed ever so slightly. If he wasn’t paying attention, he would have never noticed.

The biggest difference was how much more dense Drasil’s mana felt. It was as if it was maturing as time went on. Not only that, but the thorns on his crown were growing as well.

It looked like the vast amounts of mana that Drasil consumed was finally paying off. Although it was about time, with how much of his mana he had given to Drasil, Julius suspected that it would have been enough to fuel an entire house worth of enchantments for almost a year.

As Drasil was in the middle of folding his collar over itself, he sensed someone approaching him from behind.

“You’re up awfully early,” Reinera called out to him.

He sat up and Drasil, who was still firmly attached to his collar, let out a chime of surprise as he was lifted into the air without anything to support his legs. However, he quickly gathered himself and managed to scramble into the nook on Julius’s neck, angrily slapping him for his carelessness.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said to her before looking over at where he saw Amelia right behind her.

Julius had not had many run-ins with Amelia since his return. The few they had, the woman hadn’t stopped glaring at Julius, and today was still the same. The bodyguard was staring at him like he had personally offended her.

“Why is she still looking at me that way?” He asked in a whisper to Reinera.

Much to the little spirit’s delight, Reinera had already walked over and started scratching Drasil on the head.

“I tried to talk to her,” she said with a shrug.

“It’s because you are a bad influence on her,” Amelia exclaimed suddenly.

“How am I a bad influence?” He asked with shock coloring his voice.

“Ever since she met you, she has become much more defiant and free-spirited.”

“Free-spirited doesn’t sound like it is the worst thing to be,” he stated.

“It is when you’re a princess representing the Royal Family.”

That was kind of a good point, he had to admit, but she also wasn’t the crown princess or something. It wasn’t like she was going to inherit the throne anytime soon, she still had a brother who was supposed to take up that responsibility.

He sighed at Amelia. “You make it sound like I had everything to do with that. Are you really trying to say that Reinera hasn’t been like that the entire time and simply was hiding it? You can’t blame me for everything you know,” he argued.

“She also didn’t use to argue with her family as often as she has done since she came back,” Amelia said with a frown.

“She wanted to stay at Goldencrest,” he pointed out.

“I am fully aware of that, but it’s dangerous for her here. There are some obvious compromises in this school and I don’t feel safe with her staying here. Plus, the main reason she wants to stay is because you are here,” Amelia said to him begrudgingly.

“It’s dangerous for her anywhere she goes. Isn’t that why she is even all the way out here in the first place?”

Reinera, who had been ignoring their bickering and showering Drasil with affection, finally interrupted them.

“Amelia, I have told you to stop blaming Julius for how things are going. It’s not entirely his fault.”

“Entirely?” He muttered with a betrayed look at her.

She ignored him.

“I chose to stay here because I wanted to, not because he asked me to. I would also like to remind you that I have experienced fewer assassinations during this time than I have ever before. So even though Goldencrest isn’t the safest place for me, I am still safer here than I would be in the Capital.”

Amelia opened her mouth to argue, but Reinera slashed her hand.

Stolen story; please report.

“Enough! I have had enough with you trying to pick a fight with Julius. I let you vent your frustrations, but at the end of the day, he’s my friend and I won’t stand here silently as you berate him. That’s final. If you keep on continuing this behavior, I will be forced to ask my family to send someone else to come protect me. Someone who isn’t as hostile to one of the only friends I have ever made,” she said with calm but furious eyes.

Amelia seemed to understand that she had gone too far and simply looked down at the ground.

Reinera sighed. “Just go ahead and get breakfast without me, I will see you later, okay?”

Amelia looked up and was about to argue but thought better of it at the last moment and walked away.

When she had rounded the corner, Julius looked over at Reinera with a proud nod. “Well done,” he complimented her.

“It was about time. She still hasn’t completely gotten over her dislike of you. The recent events only made it worse,” she said with a frown.

“What about your family? Did they express their opinion about me?” He asked while moving over to make some room for her to sit down.