The carriage continued moving, with Greenfield Academy as its destination. Inside the carriage, Arin and Tessa sat comfortably. Tessa had her arms folded, legs crossed, while Arin rested his cheek on his palm.
They were both doing something similar: staring at the sky.
It was already evening, and the sunset, as beautiful as always, was visible—worth staring at. Though, Tessa occasionally stole glances at Arin while still gazing at the sunset.
Arin, on the other hand, was lost in his own thoughts.
'I think I should start a conversation. With that, she might slowly get less suspicious of me.'
That would certainly be hard to pull off. Short replies and an indifferent expression came naturally to him. In short, the way he acted as Chaos was his natural character, even before reincarnating.
'And from the memories I received, the original Arin is kinda jovial and cheerful,' Arin thought. 'That's why Lina was suspicious at first, and I'm sure she's still suspicious now.'
'That aside, if Tessa finds out that I'm actually Chaos, what would possibly go wrong?'
Even with this thought, he still didn't want her to know... at least not yet.
Arin turned his head, staring at her. "You sure like the sunset."
Tessa turned her head sharply, slightly surprised, but quickly regained her composure. "Y-yes, I love staring at it a lot."
Arin smiled at her before speaking. "Trust me, I perfectly understand. I mean, the sunset is a beautiful sight to behold—who wouldn't like it?"
Tessa also smiled back and replied, "I agree. It's one of the many beautiful things in this world."
Arin nodded before staring at the sunset again. "What does it remind you of? For me, it reminds me how beautiful beginnings and endings can be. I mean, watching how the day starts and how it ends... it's perfect."
'Geez, how did I even come up with that?' Arin thought.
Tessa was having her own thoughts.
'What is going on here? Was he always this free? It feels like I'm talking to a completely different person.'
'No!' Tessa thought. 'Maybe he knows that I'm getting suspicious and has decided to start acting freely to make me stop suspecting him.'
She realized he'd asked what the sunset reminded her of, so she quickly replied, "For me, it reminds me of my pare~"
She suddenly stopped, realizing what she was about to say.
Arin stared at her again. "You were about to say parents, right?"
Tessa was about to speak, but Arin had already continued. "I understand. I also miss my parents. If only the Academy could give us a brief holiday so we could see our parents again."
Tessa couldn't help but stare at Arin. 'Is he just pretending like he doesn't know?'
"Uhm, yes," she said. "I miss them a lot."
Arin could feel the emotion behind her words, as well as the sudden distant gaze in her eyes.
He let out a sigh before speaking. "Hopefully, we'll get to meet them sooner than expected."
Tessa smiled, looked at him, and nodded, but then she noticed something.
She suddenly grabbed his right hand, observing the small wound on it with furrowed brows.
"Oh, that," Arin whispered.
"Did you carry a healing potion?" Tessa instantly asked.
Arin bit his lip slightly. "No..."
"Hmph, you're supposed to know that when going on a mission, no matter how easy, you must carry a healing potion with you," Tessa said. "You never know what might happen."
Arin laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "My bad... I somehow forgot."
"Please don't report this," he added in a low voice.
Tessa closed her eyes, then opened them thoughtfully. "Hmm, but make sure to remember next time, okay?"
"Of course, I will," Arin replied instantly.
She brought out a small vial containing a green liquid from a pouch tied to her waist, opened it, and poured a small amount of the liquid on Arin's wound.
Instantly, the wound began closing until it completely healed.
Arin had gotten that scratch while fighting the bandits and purposely left it for Tessa to notice. Thankfully, he suppressed his natural healing ability, so the wound hadn't healed on its own.
Well, his plan worked, because...
'Chaos is a Vampire, so a wound is supposed to heal on its own,' Tessa thought. 'I don't know what this means, but I'll keep watching.'
Tessa finally let go of Arin's hand and noticed that he was smiling.
"Why are you smiling?" Tessa asked, with a nervous smile on her face.
Arin smirked. "It's just that you sounded like a teacher scolding me for making a mistake."
Tessa pouted, her cheeks turning slightly red. "Uh... Uhm, just don't forget next time."
Arin nodded in response.
'I think that's enough for now,' he thought.
But then, Tessa suddenly looked at him again.
"Thank you," she said.
Arin squinted, confusion evident on his face. "For what?"
Tessa looked outside again, staring at the sunset with a bittersweet smile. "It's just that... with the villagers smiling and that little girl thanking us, it was a pleasant experience. If you hadn't taken the mission, I wouldn't have experienced it."
"The atmosphere was just great, and... and," Tessa looked at Arin, "I had a great time."
Arin smiled. "Don't worry, I'm glad you found it pleasant."
"And I'm sure since you enjoyed this mission, you'll give a very good report," he added with a wink.
Tessa chuckled, nodding her head. "Of course."
The ride continued smoothly, with Arin and Tessa exchanging occasional small talk before the carriage finally arrived at the Academy.
The carriage stopped in front of the Mission Hall, which was still open, and they both stepped out before the carriage continued moving.
They entered the building where the two ladies were still seated.
The first lady immediately stood up with a bright smile on her face. "Ah, finally! I was already thinking of closing up so you'd have to give the report tomorrow."
"I'm glad I decided to wait a bit," she added.
Tessa and Arin both smiled before Tessa began giving her report.
Meanwhile, something was happening elsewhere, and Arin had no idea what was coming.