While confirming that the cake shop was progressing regularly, I was surprised to see Raven and Zeng both more enthusiastic, as they had already cleaned the entire shop.
Alongside the fast progression of the cake shop, I was also surprised to hear that Zeng could finally hide his horns.
As your power as a djinn grows, you can better hide your qualities, so Zeng is probably equivalent to a D-rank hero, like me, as he can hide his horns.
Heading back to headquarters, I decided to organize my subspace before heading to the Elven Realm, as I was likely to return to the academy after my trip with a bunch of new artifacts.
Looking at the dull metal sword stored in my painting subspace, I carefully held it in my hands for a second before confirming that there were no side effects.
The blood-red sword had become a normal metal sword now.
Heading out of the subspace with the sword in hand, I looked around for a second before spotting Zeng, who was being taught how to interact with humans by Raven.
"Zeng, what do you say when you meet someone new for the first time?"
"Hello, fellow human, my name is Zeng. May I ponder as to what your human name may be?"
"...? Is this some kind of joke to you?"
"Whatever could you mean by that, Raven, sir?"
"WHAT DOES THE WORD "PONDER" MEAN?"
"...I found it in a dictionary... and thought it sounded cool..!"
"This is useless... I'M A BUSINESS OWNER, NOT SOME DAMN LANGUAGE TEACHER"
As Raven stormed out of the kitchen, brushing by me, I turned and asked.
"...Do you know what "ponder" means?"
"...no... but that's not my point! The way he talks is so fucking annoying. HE'S ALREADY USING WORDS I DON'T KNOW, AND I"VE SPOKEN THIS LANGUAGE MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
Sighing, I left Raven to watch television on the couch while entering the kitchen, seeing Zeng avidly reading a dictionary I had brought to the headquarters from the academy.
With Zeng now being able to hide his horns, he would be a formidable ally in future battles, so giving him a weapon was essential.
Placing the sword on Zeng's dictionary, I waited a few seconds before he finally realized the sword's appearance and turned towards me.
"And what might this be, boss? Perhaps a sword?"
"...Raven's right... you really do sound like a pretentious prick."
"Hm? What does "prick" mean? I don't believe I've seen that in the dictionary..."
"It means "a good person," but don't worry about that. This sword is all yours... think of it as a reward for ranking up."
"This dictionary and a new sword... are you planning on making m-"
"No, nothing about the painting; all of them are yours for free."
Leaving Zeng behind, as he continued to read the book, I waved goodbye to Raven before heading out.
This would be my last time here for over a week...
Upon reentering the academy, I immediately returned to my dorm room to grab my packed suitcase, which only contained two pairs of clothes.
I had really gone overboard on preparation this time...
Lugging my suitcase down the countless stairs, I exited my dorm building and headed to the academy's front gate, where a single luxury bus stood.
Of course, there weren't any magic gates in the Elven territory, so we had to travel the old-fashioned way.
After taking the bus to the edge of the human territory, we would transfer over to carriages and ride until we reached the forest.
Upon reaching the forest, we would regroup and head towards the central Elven Village in the forest's center.
All in all, the trip lasted about two days: one day was spent using the bus, and another was spent riding the carriages and walking through the forest.
Having arrived early, I put my suitcase in the storage space under the bus before boarding and finding a seat.
Unlike the buses from the training camp, there were no separated sections, as it was just a normal bus, and people could sit wherever they wanted.
Finding a window seat near the back of the bus, I sat down before taking out my smartwatch and checking up on the news recently.
*CLOMP~CLOMP*
Hearing the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the bus, I saw Lily entering the bus with an expression that seemed like a mixture of confusion and anger.
Recalling my antics in the duel earlier, I wasn't surprised at her confusion, but I was somewhat surprised why there was anger mixed in there.
*BZZT~BZZT*
[Jin: Yo, Ren, YOU'RE NOT A CELEBRITY, RESPOND TO OUR TEXTS]
As the sound of my phone vibrating filled the bus, I slowly looked upwards, locking eyes with Lily, who was staring at me.
Raising my trembling hand and waving, I suppressed my laughter while staring at the shocked Lily.
Silently staring at me as I sat in my seat, Lily stood there for a solid ten seconds before slowly walking towards me.
Well... I can't complain; I knew what I was doing when I won that duel.
But... was it really that unlikely to Lily that Ren had improved and trained after being disowned by his family?
I mean, damn, I was a reader like her too once, so I knew personally how evil and stupid Ren was.... but still, he was only in a single chapter.
Did she really believe she fully understood Ren's character and personality as a whole after reading just one chapter?
I know third-rate villains are supposed to be plain and straightforward, but come on!
Well, in Lily's mind, she had already introduced dozens of variables, so this wouldn't be that hard to justify in her mind, would it?
Looking up at Lily as she approached my seat, I honestly didn't know what to say, so I just waited for her.
Stopping before me, Lily pointed to the aisle seat next to me and asked.
"Anyone sitting there?"
"...? pardon?"
"I'll take that as a no."
Sitting beside me, Lily also took her smartwatch and began texting away.
...What was her end goal here? To interrogate me, to investigate me, or to keep an eye on me?
Well... I wasn't planning on doing anything on the trip to the Elvin Kingdom... but I'm a high school student!
I don't need a damn babysitter!
Putting down my smartwatch, I stared out the window, contemplating my decision to arrive early.
Yeah, arrive early, and get a good seat, my ass!
As more footsteps entered the bus, I didn't bother to look up as I awaited the bus's departure.
Things couldn't get any worse, could they..?
Feeling my smartwatch vibrate non-stop for a minute, I eventually scanned the bus for a second and noticed Han and Jin sitting in the seats right in front of Lily and me.
Looking at Lily, who was simply staring at her smartwatch, completely distracted, I discretely leaned forward and whispered through the seat.
"What's up?"
"The hell do you mean, "What's up?" Going back to your ex, really, dude?"
"Jin, let him explain... but Ren, come on man, you can do better..."
"Both of you, it's nothing like that, alright?"
"... doesn't seem that way to me."
"Ren, lying to your own friends for her... desperation really isn't the way."
Noticing Lily looking up from her smartwatch, I ignored the two and leaned back into my seat.
The misunderstandings would solve themselves when Jin and Han noticed the unbearable and awkward atmosphere between us.
"What was that about?"
"A simple conversation between friends."
"Didn't seem like a 'simple' conversation."
"Eavesdropping isn't a good quality, is it?"
"When you're 'whispering' that loud, I can't help but hear."
*BZZT~BZZT*
[Jin: Still nothing like that, huh, man?]
Silencing my smartwatch, I turned away from Lily and back to the window.
As the last pair of footsteps entered the bus, I heard the doors slam close before the bus started moving.
Sighing as I looked ahead, I could hear the argument between Liam and Kevin at the front of the bus.
"FOR THE LAST DAMN TIME, I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS."
"Liam, so help me god if you're lying..."
"Kevin, she's definitely on the bus; the traveling president took attendance."
"Oh, real fucking specific, man."
"Remind me never to help you ever again."
Crouching back down under the cover of my seat, I avoided the prying gazes of Liam and Kevin as they glanced around.
Fortunately, the bus had no lights, as students were supposed to sleep during the ride to prepare for the upcoming carriage ride so that Lily couldn't be spotted by the two as well.
Hearing another set of footsteps, I looked upwards and saw the familiar figure of Ruby navigating her way toward Lily's seat in the darkness.
Is this just the Ren fanclub meeting?
Watching Ruby near our seats, I was tempted to say something, but with Lily right here, any interaction between us would be heavily monitored.
As Ruby passed by, I pulled my hood over my head, concealing my face... but as Ruby took a seat in the chair right behind Lily, I felt my blood pressure actually rise.
This G- luck stat was really starting to piss me off!