Chapter 191 Partner
"As long as it's not an S-Rank Adventurer? You're just jinxing yourself, Leo." Eve shook her head.
"I'll be fine, really." He insisted.
Eve pondered for a moment before speaking, "I will let you go to the Wilderness as Leon but under one condition. If you don't accept this condition, I won't let you go. Do we have a deal?"
"What kind of condition?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"You must have a partner with you when you leave the academy, and this person must be approved by me."
"What?! But I will be going as Leon, not Leo! Nobody in this academy besides you and Miss Camille knows about my identity as Leon." He exclaimed.
Eve shrugged, "Then you better figure it out, because if you don't find a partner, you won't be going anywhere. Also, it's not like you have to find a partner from the academy. Don't think badly of me, Leo. I am doing this to keep you safe."
"..." Leo silently watched as Eve left the training room, leaving him alone.
"If you're going to look for a partner, why don't you get Helia to help you? She seems interested in you." Lilith suddenly suggested.
"And reveal my identity as Leon to her? That I can use dark magic as well? That the whole Fruit of Magic Awakening was just a prank? Impossible. I don't know her well enough to be sharing these secrets with her." He quickly rejected her suggestion.
Lilith pondered for a moment then said, "Then why don't you get Lia Scarlet to help you? She said that your partner doesn't necessarily have to be a student of this academy. If you think about it, she's the perfect candidate."
And she continued, "First and foremost, she is aware of your identity as Leon. She also knows you can use dark magic, and she likes you, so it shouldn't take much effort to make her help you. Moreover, she's pretty powerful. I think the Headmistress would agree to having Lia be your partner."
"Lia, huh…" Leo pondered.
While it was true that he could probably get Lia to assist him, he doesn't want to get involved with the Scarlet Family anymore than he already is. There was also Edwin, who would surely try to mess with him if he contacted Lia, as he would see it as 'corrupting' her.
However, he only had a few weeks before Khrome's deadline. Not only does he need to become a B-Rank Adventurer by then, he also needs to defeat Khrome.
Sometime later, after returning to his room and taking a shower, Leo laid on his bed and retrieved his cell phone.
He proceeded to stare at a certain contact for many moments before he steeled his resolve and called it.
Diiiii…Dii—
Before the second ring could even fully finish, the person on the other end of the phone answered.
"Hello." Lia Scarlet's calm voice resounded.
"Hey… Is this a good time?"
"Yes, it is."
Unbeknownst to Leo, Lia kept her cell phone within arms reach every day after giving Leo her phone number, hoping that he'd call her, hence why she was able to answer it so quickly.
And even a month later, she did not stop such a habit.
After taking a deep breath, Leo spoke, "I know this may be sudden, but I need your help."
"I'm listening," she spoke in a nonchalant voice.
"Due to special circumstances, I cannot leave the city by myself, and I need to become a B-Rank Adventurer as soon as possible. Therefore, I would like to ask for your help. Can you come to the Wilderness and do some quests with me? Of course, I will pay you for your effort."
After a moment of silence, Lia spoke, "I refuse."
Before Leo could even respond, she continued, "Unless you tell me about your situation and your true identity."
Leo had mentally prepared himself for this, and he quickly said, "Alright. I will tell you everything. Can you meet me at the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow? Also, I would appreciate it if you can go in a disguise. I don't think your butler will like it very much if he sees me with you."
"That can be arranged. What time?"
"How about 10 AM?"
"Then I will see you at the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow at 10."
Leo hung up a moment later.
"Wow, you really did it. I thought you didn't want to become more involved with the Scarlet Family."
"I won't. I'm going to ask Lia to disguise herself, after all. If nobody knows I am with Lia Scarlet, I will be safe."
"Will it really work out that well?"
The following morning, Leo approached Eve before she left home, "Headmistress, I have found my partner, but I need to speak with her to seal the deal. I'll be leaving the academy to go to the Adventurers' Guild."
She nodded, "As long as you remain within the city."
Sometime later, Leo disguised his appearance before making his way to the Adventurers' Guild.
"It feels like forever since I last saw this playboy face." Leo mumbled as he looked at his reflection on the taxi window.
"It's been a while, after all." Lilith said.
Many minutes later, their taxi stopped in front of the Adventurers' Guild.
After stepping out of the taxi, Leo was immediately approached by a young girl that he didn't recognize.
This young lady had an ordinary appearance overall, black short hair, and brown eyes with an innocent face.
"Could you be…?" Leo swallowed nervously.
"It's me." Even though her appearance changed, Lia Scarlet's demeanor remained the same.
"Let's go somewhere more private, shall we?" Leo said to her a moment later.
"Okay."
Leo proceeded to take her to a nearby hotel.
When the receptionist saw these two youngsters getting a hotel room for one day, he couldn't help but smile inwardly, 'Young people these days…'
Once they were inside their hotel room, Lia went straight to the bed and sat on it.
Then she glared at him with a solemn look on her face.
"Should I call you Leon or Leo? In fact, which one is the real you?"
Leo showed a bittersweet smile and said, "Allow me to introduce myself again. My real name is Leo— Leo Magnus. Due to some special circumstances, I had to create this fake identity 'Leon'."
"I hope you didn't call me all the way over here just to tell me what you already told me yesterday on the phone."
"Of course not. However, before we start, can you promise me that you'll keep whatever I am about to tell you a secret?"
"I didn't tell anyone about your other secret," she calmly said.
"This secret is countless times bigger and more important than me being able to use mana drain. If you reveal it, it will truly be the end of me."
"I have already promised you that I won't do anything to hurt you. And now that I am yours, it would make even less sense for me to harm you." Lia said, not feeling an ounce of embarrassment about her words that would make people feel second-hand embarrassment.
And she continued, "If you really have a problem trusting me, I am willing to accept your slave mark."
Leo raised an eyebrow at her words, "Slave mark?"
He wondered if it was something like the mark he put on Lilith.
Lia nodded, "Those with a slave mark can never betray or harm their master because they will die before they can do so."
As much as Leo wanted to put a slave mark on Lia so that he could have a peace of mind and not worry about being betrayed by her, especially when they are alone in the Wilderness, it felt morally wrong to enslave a young girl like Lia.
Furthermore, if the Scarlet Family finds out, they will definitely kill him.
When Lia saw Leo's pondering expression, she suddenly retrieved a piece of paper and offered it to him.
Leo subconsciously accepted this paper, and he asked, "What is this?"
"A slave mark."
"Wha—? Why do you have something like this on you?" He couldn't help but ask.
"My family uses these often," she calmly said.
"In fact, I used it on Edwin and all of the servants working under me."
Leo was speechless. He didn't think something this dangerous would be used so casually.
"Are there any side effects? What about risks?" Leo then asked.
"There are no side effects— at least I am not aware of any. There are many risks when it comes to slave marks, but only I need to worry about such risks as the one being enslaved." Lia said.
"What kind of risks?" He continued to ask.
"My life will be in your hands once I accept your slave mark, and I would no longer be able to defy you, so you can literally do anything to me and I won't be able to resist." Lia explained these risks with a tranquil look on her face.
Leo was baffled by her nonchalant demeanor despite the situation. While it was a situation that Lia had put herself in, it still felt really wrong of him if he went ahead and did it.
"Can I ask you why you're going so far?" Leo couldn't help but ask.
"I mean, we barely know each other, and I could be trying to trick you. What if I make you do things that you don't want to do after I enslave you? I cannot comprehend why you're willing to go so far and risk so much."
"..."
Lia fell silent after hearing his question, yet there was not even the slightest sign of confusion or doubt within her calm gaze.
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AN: This bonus chapter is sponsored by GamerReader345. All bonus chapters will be much longer than the usual daily chapters. There will be 2 daily chapters every day and 1-3 bonus chapter depending on my schedule. Thank you for your patience and support.