An Extra's POV

805  Silent Threat

'I understand his plan. It makes a lot of sense, but…'

As Rey finished processing everything he had just received, including the repercussions he would have on his own goals, and the variables around him, he couldn't help but reach an unsavory conclusion.

'... It won't work.'

Adrien wasn't aware of the involvement of Adonis or Lucielle in the Academy, which meant his plan didn't accommodate the latter.

'Maybe he knows, but he just decided not to mention it to me. Since it could be that way, I probably shouldn't say anything until I can properly confirm what he knows and what he doesn't.'

There was still time until the Inter-Class Exchange anyway.

'I could always make my decision during or after the Excursion. That's the safest approach I can have right now…'

"You seem a bit iffy about the plan, so why not take some time to think about it?" Adrien interrupted Rey's thoughts with the same conclusion he already had in mind, causing him to smile to himself.

"I think I'll do just that."

"That's fine. On another note, though…" Adrien bounced lightly on his bed as he smiled playfully at Rey. "... Are you ready for the excursion?"

"As ready as I can be. We're in the same group, you know?" "For reeeaal?" Adrien's act was completely fake, which made Rey realize that the boy already knew that he was paired together with him.

But how?

"Just so you know, I didn't decipher you being in the same group as me until you appeared. I already suspected that either R'ai or Luc'ia could be you, but since I wasn't sure, I decided to keep everything tentative." Adrien quickly added.

'Ahh… so he already knew the two newest Class 1-A students would be in the same group as him, but he wasn't sure that would be me. He still isn't hinting at knowing Lucielle is Luc'ia, though…'

Rey smiled and shrugged, almost as if the whole thing didn't bother him.

"Since we're in the same group, we might as well stick together." He added.

"You sure?" Adrien responded with a sly grin. "You do understand the repercussions of hanging around a human, don't you? There's a reason no one even replies me… even among the nicer Dragons."

"...."

"Speak for yourself." Rey responded with a lighthearted smile. "Besides, I don't really care about that. Won't it even help your plan if the Storm Dragon already sees us being friends before you recommend me to him? The Excursion is a perfect excuse for that."

Adrien widened his eyes almost instantly, and then chuckled softly.

"As expected… we think alike."

"Only in the good ways." Rey said with a flat tone.

"Well… agreed." Adrien stretched out his hand, going for a handshake, and Rey reciprocated almost instantly—thus sealing the agreement.

"By the way… how is Emil doi—"

As soon as Adrien mentioned Emil's name, Rey rightly grasped his hand and began to release an intense surge of energy which completely consumed the entire room.

The air got thinner, and gravity felt heavier.

Space seemed to distort, and everything around the two boys trembled fervently.

"Do not ever bring her up, or even try to speak to her. If you do that, I'll completely ruin your plan and proceed without you."

All through this, Adrien's body was completely still—paralyzed by the influx of energy that Rey released—while his eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets.

"Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah, I understand. Sorry about that…"

As soon as he uttered this, stuttering while his shivering voice barely echoed in the room, Rey finally let go of his hand.

"Glad we could come to an agreement." He smiled. "Haa… haaaaa…"

A few seconds after, and the only sound that could be heard within the room was Adrien's heavy breathing.

"I guess I'll see you later."

Barely a second after Rey said this, space warbled around him, and he vanished right before his eyes.

~VWUSH!~

"Haaa… Rey… haaa… haaa… hahahahaaa…" Adrien crumbled on his bed, laughing to himself as he still leaked out heavy breaths.

His hand was still trembling fervently as he used it to cover his eyes while grinning like a maniac.

***************

~VWUM!~

Space undulated, and Rey found himself seated atop his bed as he heaved a slightly exhausted sigh.

He wasn't tired physically, but mentally.

'It's always draining talking to Adrien. A lot of thoughts go on in my head, and I can't help but worry about what he'll do next—even after every word I utter.'

Whether he liked to admit it or not, Adrien still frightened him.

'Should I use [Clairvoyance] to observe him some more? Maybe his future, or…?' As tempting as it was to give in to his unease, Rey was able to refuse the urge.

'More important things require that Skill. I can just constantly watch him with my Skills, and since we're going to be together during the Excursion, there's no need to go out of my way now.'

Once he resolved that in his mind, he decided to address the more pressing matter that faced him.

'Adonis… he's right in front of my room's door.'

Rey was already planning on talking to him next, but he wasn't expecting the guy to present himself on a silver platter like that.

'What does he want? Guess there's only one way to find out.' Rey rose from his bedside and walked towards the door.

He opened it, and just as expected, Adonis was standing right outside.

"Hey…" He managed to say as he looked at the golden-haired boy, who also seemed a little on edge as they maintained eye contact.

"Hey…"

After Adonis' response, Rey opened his door wider, as an invitation for him to come in, but the former shook his head and raised his hand to refuse.

"I only came for a brief talk."

"I see…" Making up his mind, Rey stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Thanks to this, he and Adonis became a hair's breadth apart from each other, but neither flinched for even a moment as this happened.

"Let's take a walk, then. There something I also want to talk to you about." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Due to the blackout in my neighborhood, Mass Release is canceled for today! Apologies…