"You want something out of that graduation event. Don't you?"
Layla quickly concluded. She was sure that only the prospect of obtaining significant profits would make Eren entertain the idea of being part of the rat race.
Eren smiled mirthlessly when he heard Layla's remark. He wasn't sure how much advantage he had at this point in knowing what had happened in the last timeline. But he wanted to give it a shot nonetheless.
In the last timeline, only the rankers from LA were involved in the graduation event. But after getting all the other academies onboard with the event, the stakes of the event had reached their peak.
'I don't care about the rankers participating in the event. But I can only hope that the setup of the event remains the same. I'll have one more trump card I can use if I get my hands on that reward from the event.'
Eren was willing to butcher all the participants that came his way to get his hands on the reward, irrespective of the covert and overt consequences. With or without Ivor getting on board with his plans, the things he wanted to achieve from the event were going to be the same.
Eren, Layla, and Ivor talked extensively about a few things to solidify their plans. Layla was supposed to head to the city of Lancelot after her exit from the Dark Daniera forest. Because the location was near the Dark Daniera forest, she didn't need to travel far. Ivor was supposed to head to Edinburgh's capital using routes available for rogue rankers and cultists.
Eren had decided to visit the city of White Raven to finalize a few things. He wouldn't return to the city for some time after he set out this time. So he needed to prepare a few things in advance. He also had to pick up Levine and Nina as they both were planning to come with him to the capital.
Layla decided to call it a night after the talk was over. Although the homunculus didn't really sleep, she liked to mentally think that she was resting. This way, she could subconsciously feel that she was no different from her previous self.
Layla looked at Eren's pendant and decided to visit her place after a long time. She couldn't keep tabs on the place for some reason when she was separated from Eren. But now that Eren was in the vicinity, she could use her control rights to get into her pendant abode.
Layla yawned lightly and said good night to Eren and Ivor while they were talking about something. Both were sitting in front of each other on their respective wooden logs around the partially doused campfire. She then disappeared from her place only to reappear in Eren's lap.
At first, nobody understood what had happened. A moment before Eren and Ivor were discussing the graduation event when suddenly Layla appeared on Eren's lap like she was interested in hearing stories and lullabies from him.
It took a while for Layla to understand what had happened. Her stunned face depicted the shock she felt in her heart.
Someone had kicked her out of her pendent abode.
"What… what is the meaning of this?"
Layla looked at Eren and asked him in an accusing tone. She thought a lot about it and found it unbelievable that Eren had interfered with an artifact that could only be altered by a Sage.
Eren was confused as well after hearing Alephee's question. He threw her words back at her.
"What is the meaning of THIS?"
Eren picked up Layla and made her stand. When she tried to get into the pendent abode, she ended up in the same position as before. The homunculus was kicked out of the pendent abode and forced to sit on Eren's lap once again.
Layla looked at Eren as if he was cheating on her. After pointing at him accusingly, she said in a threatening tone.
"Who is in there? And how can she kick me out of my own house?"
Eren looked confused at first. But then Alephee spoke inside his head and made him understand what had happened. Chuckling, he wrapped his arms around Layla this time before speaking up.
"Well… I kept a few of my Orcinas in there to…"
"Stop. Don't lie to me, Eren. Even if someone has managed to override my authority, only a homunculus can get inside the pendant abode. The artifact is made that way. Tell me, who is the person that is currently in my home for real?"
Eren pursed his lips when he heard Layla's words. Frankly, he wanted to keep Alephee's existence a secret from Layla.
But he also understood the need to speak the truth in these sensitive times. Especially after he was busted for lying. The three were supposed to work together to achieve a singular goal. So they needed to be as honest with each other as they could to lower the trust deficit.
"Alephee… come out."
Eren suggested Alephee come out and the latter obliged. It was only a moment before the two homunculi were seen staring at each other in silence.
Alephee was wearing a loose-fitting white top and brown pants. And her presence was as serene as the calm water of an unexplored lake. Still, Layla couldn't be fooled by Alephee's deceptive looks. She immediately considered Alephee a serious threat. Sinking into Eren's embrace, Layla commented.
"You… are not normal."
Layla sensed an unexplainable sense of danger coming from Alephee. She didn't want to admit it. But Alephee's presence overshadowed Eliza briefly in Layla's mind before returning to normal.
Alephee was supposed to have powers similar to an Adept-ranked entity, which made her technically weaker than Layla. However, Layla was not as childish as she looked. She understood that the young woman in front of him was more than she looked.
Alephee looked at Layla with a keen gaze and smiled mysteriously before responding cryptically.
"Well… define normal."
