"I can sense that you've grown stronger," Quinn remarked.
"Huh? You can tell?" I responded with a hint of surprise in my voice.
Quinn looked at me for a few seconds, as if gauging me before replying, "I've told you before. Shadows don't lie."
...Yeah, whatever that means, weirdo.
Currently, Quinn and I stood on the terrace of our academy tower.
It was my first time visiting this place, and I must say, the terrace was huge.
Since we were at so much height, we could see a breathtaking view of the sprawling Global City from here.
Since the class was about to start, not many people were here right now.
-"Muaah~ God, you're so sexy~ Call me daddy!"
-"Eww, no! I'm not into that, you fatty!"
-"But you still want me to buy you that designer purse, right?"
-"...Yes, daddy!"
Of course, the emphasis is on "many."
I could still clearly see, and unfortunately hear, a few individuals who were here right now.
Most of them seemed to be couples who had a free first period and had chosen to spend their time by coming here and doing the cringy stuff that couples do.
"So, why are we here?" I asked, looking around. "I highly doubt you've brought me to this terrace to propose."
"Urgh," curling up his upper lip, Quinn groaned and shot me a disgusted glare in response to my OBVIOUS joke.
He took a few steps away from me to the boundary and turned to face the city view.
"....."
Oh, come on! It was just OBVIOUSLY a joke! I don't swing that way! And even if I did, you're too ugly to be my type! - is what I wanted to say.
But in the end, I decided to hold my tongue and not throw my life away today.
"He's become suspicious of you, you know?" Quinn spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence following my failed attempt at humor.
"Kai?" I raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
"Yes," Quinn nodded, his gaze still fixed on the bustling city below us. "Ever since the rumor about Leo taking you as his disciple started spreading, Kai has become increasingly wary of you."
"Alright then, do something to stall him," I suggested casually.
"It's not that simple!" Quinn snapped, turning to face me. "He's on guard now. And Grace, with her habit of blabbering about you at every opportunity, isn't helping matters either."
"Alright, then I'll redirect his attention towards someone else," I responded. "I'll frame someone and expose them as the mastermind of our class to Kai."
"No, that won't help," Quinn shook his head. "During the four weeks you were absent, Kai personally investigated every cadet in our class. He even instigated conflicts to gather information. If the mastermind were to reveal themselves now that you've returned, Kai's suspicions of you would only grow. He would ignore the decoy and come directly after you. He's not as foolish as you may think."
I let out a sigh. Yeah, I had thought that would be the case.
"Well, it seems we're out of options," I shrugged.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Quinn furrowed his brow, confused.
"I've done everything I could," I replied. "Some unexpected variables emerged and ruined my plans of staying under Kai's radar. There's nothing more we can do about it."
"So what will you do now?" Quinn inquired.
"What else can I do? In four days, our semester exams will begin. After that, it will be the King's Tournament – that's when I will crush him. Basically, I just need to hide from him for four days."
"But still," Quinn raised his voice. "That means you've lost the element of surprise! Your plan of attack failed!"
I turned to face Quinn. "As I said, there's nothing more we can do about it. I'll face him head-on."
"....?!"
Quinn looked at me as if I were a madman planning to fight a pack of lions with bare hands.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Quinn snapped once again. "You're speaking so confidently because you have no idea how strong and merciless Kai can be! I can see that you've grown stronger, and maybe the rumors about you being Leo's disciple are true. But you can still not defeat Kai!"
Suppressing a scoff, I replied, "Why don't you sit back and enjoy the show instead of making predictions about who will win, yeah?"
Quinn studied up and down me for a moment before stating, "You know, if I were to call Kai right now and inform him about you, he might forgive me for my previous betrayal."
Meeting his gaze, I asked, "Alright, so will you do it?"
"I will do whatever I must to protect Shiya," Quinn declared. "Kai is aware of her existence. If I go against him, he will expose her existence to the academy. The only reason I chose to associate myself with you was because-"
"Because I gave you my word," I finished his sentence. "I will keep your secret safe and make sure that no harm ever comes to Shiya. I will also bring an end to the war."
We locked eyes for a brief moment, and I assured him, "And I will honor my word. I will do as I said."
A troubled expression spread across Quinn's face as I pressed on, "However, if you truly believe that betraying me and siding yourself with Kai—a person who couldn't care less about your goals—is a better choice, then go ahead."
Having said what I wanted to say, I turned on my heels and started making my way towards the terrace door, leaving Quinn to sort out his thoughts and ponder over my words.
But just as I was about to reach the door, I halted my steps and glanced back over my shoulder.
Meeting Quinn's gaze with icy coldness, I spoke in a callous tone, "Oh, and one more thing. It's not only Kai you should fear. As I've mentioned before, I possess concrete evidence of Shiya's existence. If you dare to ever betray me, I will not hesitate to send it to the authorities myself."
At that moment, Quinn's eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at me as realization hit him.
Now he understood the position he was in— caught between a rock and a hard place.
It's his fault for not expecting something like this from the start in the first place.
He can't lose Shiya. If the academy authorities were to know about her, they would make Quinn erase her.
The only two people who know about her existence are at war with each other. If he were to make one wrong move, they would alert the authorities and Quinn would lose Shiya again for the final time.
Basically, he'll have to keep on playing from both sides, serving both Kai and me until we both clash.
Before we both clash, he'll have to predict who'll win and bet on the winning horse.
If he sides with the wrong person and they lose, the winner will call him out for his betrayal and punish him by unraveling his secret for the world.
Not only that but if he's found out by Kai that he's betraying him, his secret would be revealed.
And if he triggers me like he almost did today or tries to double-cross me, I will also reveal his secret.
"Understood what I'm saying?" I asked, my tone growing colder.
"....." Quinn responded with a silent nod.
Yes, no matter how he may try to look at it, he's fucked. It all comes down to him predicting the winner, and siding with him.
And if he's as smart as I give him the credit for, he'll pick me.
