(Alicia POV)
The silence weighed heavily over the room following Lyon's reveal. Alicia looked at the boy, nothing showing on her face, while inwardly wondering what he could possibly hope to achieve by sharing something like that with them.
Surely, he wasn't planning on asking for their help. They hardly knew each other, and after fighting him earlier, Alicia was certain that he was used to hiding his hand and only making a move once he was confident in his success.
Following that line of thought, Alicia could only assume that the mysterious boy had a reason for telling them what he had. She glanced toward the others, hoping to get a read on their reactions.
Derrick's eyes had widened comically for a solid ten seconds, his mouth hanging open in complete shock for some reason. Zesher, on the other hand, was no longer smiling gently.
Alicia found herself surprised to realize this was the first time outside of battle that she had seen him without that smile plastered across his face. Now, he stared solemnly at Lyon, seemingly anxious for him to either take back his words or keep speaking.
Seeing that no one had said anything for nearly a full minute, Alicia looked toward the boy responsible for the sudden tension and nearly rolled her eyes.
Lyon sat casually on one of the three loveseats, a small smirk on his face as he watched their reactions. Amusement danced openly in his green eyes.
Her icy blue eyes met his when he glanced toward her, and Alicia decided to stop playing into whatever farce he was trying to create.
"Is that supposed to be a joke? If so, I don't think your attempt at breaking the ice is working. If not, then for what reason are you telling us something like this?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You must know that we can't and won't help you investigate your Emperor. It could cause a war between the elves and humans of Alcatum and Natura."
Alicia paused and gestured toward Zesher and Derrick, both of whom were now looking at her in astonishment.
"Not to mention whatever problems it would cause with the backers of these two."
Ignoring their expressions for the moment, Alicia turned her attention back toward Lyon.
He was openly smiling now while looking at her with clear interest. Alicia frowned and was about to continue when Lyon raised both hands in surrender while chuckling.
"Okay, okay. There's no need to get angry at me. I was just surprised. This is the longest I've heard you speak since we met this morning."
Alicia's eyes narrowed further.
"But to answer your question, I wasn't joking about the Emperor situation in the slightest."
At first, Alicia had been growing angry under the assumption that the boy had been playing some ridiculous prank on them. However, she was slightly startled by the coldness that slipped into Lyon's voice when he spoke about the Emperor.
"I don't plan on asking any of you to help me with anything involving that," Lyon continued. "In fact, the only reason I even brought it up was because I wanted to tell you one major secret about myself and show my sincerity in partnering with all of you."
Lyon leaned back slightly in his seat.
"I know none of us trust each other very much, so I thought it might be a good idea if we each shared one major secret. Something tangible enough to put us all in the same boat, so to speak."
At that moment, Zesher chose to speak.
His face had become a neutral mask that portrayed almost no emotion.
"Hello. My name is Zesher, and I possess the mutated Demonic Cherubim innate spirit."
He paused.
"I am also currently being trained to become one of the Emperor's Shadow Generals and someday lead forces in His Majesty's name."
The air seemed to stagnate after Zesher finished speaking.
He and Lyon stared at one another in silence.
Alicia's body tensed.
A few seconds later, Zesher continued.
"To reciprocate the trust you've shown us, I can promise that I will not report anything I've heard today to His Majesty."
His voice remained calm.
"So long as you don't intend to harm His Majesty and do not become a traitor to Alcatum, I will not interfere with your actions. However, should you become a traitor... I will cut you down without hesitation."
Alicia vigilantly looked between the two boys.
After realizing neither seemed ready to immediately attack the other, she silently released the breath she had been holding.
Then she raised her head toward the plain ceiling.
Is there really no way to switch teams?
She could barely handle the first revelation, and now the second had nearly turned two of her teammates into natural enemies.
Lyon looked toward the pale Zesher, whose skin almost seemed to glow beneath the dimmer lighting of the room.
"I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised you aren't one of those lapdogs of the Emperor."
Zesher frowned slightly.
"Most of them seem to think that just because they have a strong or talented Kei Beast, the Emperor will protect them from everything."
Zesher made no move to correct him.
Internally, Alicia couldn't help but notice that he almost appeared to agree with Lyon's assessment.
Seeing this, Lyon looked even more surprised before smiling again.
"You really are different from the Emperor's other people I've met."
His expression relaxed slightly.
"I guess we won't have much of a problem with each other, then. After all, I'm almost certain the Emperor wasn't the one who directly ordered the attack on my parents."
Lyon's smile faded.
"I just need to start there because it's the only lead I currently have. Whatever I learn should at least give me some direction going forward."
Listening to him, Zesher visibly relaxed.
His usual gentle smile returned, while the cold and detached look from moments ago disappeared so quickly that Alicia almost wondered if she had imagined it.
Seeing that the two boys weren't going to try killing each other, Alicia turned toward Derrick and gestured for him to go next.
Meanwhile, she began thinking about what she could possibly tell them about herself.
Derrick looked strangely calm now.
Whether the shock had simply reached such an absurd level that it had left him numb, or whether there was another reason entirely, Alicia couldn't tell.
"Well, I certainly don't have any crazy secrets on the level of you two."
Derrick sighed.
"But I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. This is one of the most prestigious academies in the world. Intrigue and secrets like this were probably going to be par for the course sooner or later."
He released another long sigh before looking up toward the ceiling in nearly the same way Alicia had earlier.
"Oh well. Let's get on with it."
Derrick straightened slightly.
"My name is Derrick, and I possess the Purple Ifrit innate spirit."
A faint grin appeared on his face.
"As for my big secret... I'm the one and only disciple of Averni the Mysterious."
A shocked gasp escaped both Alicia and Zesher.
They turned toward Derrick in astonishment.
Derrick couldn't stop the proud smirk that spread across his face after seeing their reactions.
At least, until Lyon interrupted.
"Who is this Averni fellow that's got you all so stunned?"
Three pairs of eyes turned toward Lyon.
He sat there with a genuinely confused frown on his face.
Zesher was the first to speak.
"How could you not know who Averni is?"
Lyon shrugged.
Zesher stared at him for a moment before continuing.
"He is the single most elusive figure on the entire continent of Alcatum. A World Kei Master who follows the Assassin Path."
Lyon's expression became more attentive.
"He first became famous after infiltrating five different empires in a single night and killing one member of the royal family from each empire."
Zesher's expression grew serious.
"The strangest part was that no one even knew the attacks had happened until the following morning, when servants discovered the bodies."
Alicia continued from there.
"The part that truly cemented his reputation was that no one could determine how any of them died."
She crossed her arms.
"The only visible trace left on their bodies was the letter 'A' surrounded by swirling marks, written across their foreheads in their own blood."
As expected, Lyon's expression grew several levels more serious.
He turned toward Derrick with a questioning gaze.
"What are you even doing here, then? Wouldn't you be better off following your master and learning directly from him?"
Derrick sighed.
"I wish I could."
His shoulders slumped.
"All this Imperial intrigue and political nonsense isn't for me. Unfortunately, the old bat refused to teach me anything else unless I graduated from Heaven Class."
Derrick looked irritated just thinking about it.
"Apparently, this experience is supposed to be both a test and a way for me to build my own contacts, according to what I was told."
He appeared despondent for a few moments.
Then, almost as quickly, his expression brightened.
"It's not so bad, though. You lot are certainly interesting enough."
He grinned.
"And it gets boring staying by that old coot's side all the time."
Alicia closed her eyes and leaned back into her loveseat.
She felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of insanity she had encountered in a single day.
She was now almost certain the teachers knew all of this.
There was simply no other reasonable explanation for why so many problematic people had somehow ended up in the same group.
Suddenly, Alicia felt three pairs of eyes settle on her.
She didn't need to open her eyes to know what that meant.
It was her turn.
Alicia took a deep breath and remained silent for another moment, carefully considering what she was about to reveal.
Finally, she opened her eyes.
"Well, this was certainly not how I planned for today to go."
Her gaze passed over each of them.
"But at this point, I suppose there isn't a better option."
Alicia straightened in her seat.
"As you all already know, my name is Alicia, and I possess the Innate Spirits of the Nature Queen and Frozen Edge Blade."
Her expression became far more serious.
"Before I reveal my secret, I need all of you to understand something."
The three boys remained silent.
"What I'm about to tell you is considered a national-level secret within Natura."
Alicia's icy gaze hardened.
"So it cannot reach anyone else's ears."
She paused and looked between them.
Only after all three boys solemnly swore that they wouldn't divulge a single word did Alicia finally nod.
She released a quiet sigh.
Even now, part of her questioned whether she had lost her mind.
She barely knew these people.
For crying out loud, I fought one of them this morning.
Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly use that excuse anymore after hearing what they had willingly revealed to her.
She was already too deep.
Now, all she could do was hope that trusting them wouldn't eventually become one of the greatest mistakes of her life.
With lingering doubts and countless worries racing through her mind, Alicia prepared to reveal one of the biggest secrets she had ever carried.