The Broken Halo

A few minutes later, Instructor Valdin left his little ducklings to wander the world on their own.

Some of Simon’s classmates took glances at him before they dispersed and went their different ways.

Simon briefly glanced at them before he turned in the direction of the cafeteria.

Since he had only a single hour of rest before the match, he’d use it to rest and save up his energy.

However, after taking five steps, a hand suddenly grabbed his.

He frowned, then he turned and looked behind him.

“Sunless?”

His frown behind his mask became even deeper.

What was going on?

Why was she bothering him?

’Don’t tell me she wants me to pay for the meal I’m owing her since I might not live to see the end of today.’

Simon’s expression could not help but turn ugly when he had this thought, but her next words and the tone of her words made him to frown in confusion.

“Follow me.”

She gave no room for him to reject as she pulled him to a nearby place that was empty and where none could hear them speak.

Simon looked at her with raised brows, then he looked around so as to ensure that this was not a trap.

“What do you think you’re doing? How can you be so foolish?”

“Hmm?” Simon looked at her with a baffled expression.

He certainly did not expect her to insult him.

What was going on?

“What is the problem?”

Sunless clenched her fists in anger when she heard the utter indifference in his tone.

“What’s the problem? What’s the problem? The problem is that you’re a fool.”

She had the urge to shout, but that would defeat the purpose of her dragging Simon into an empty spot.

“Why the fuck did you agree to a life and death duel with three factions? Do you know how stupid that is?”

Simon tilted his head and raised a brow.

“So… you’re worried about me?”

Sunless’ lips twitched in annoyance.

“You fool. Do you even know the opponent you’re facing?”

Simon rolled his eyes, then he walked away.

“And why wouldn’t I?”

He didn’t have time for this nonsense.

If this was a thing of concern, love, or just mere sexual attraction from Sunless, then it was an utter waste of his time and energy.

What was he supposed to do?

Tell her that he’d win and everything would be fine?

Just so that she’d have peace of mind and not be fearful of losing him?

Not like she ever had him before him though.

’I should try and eat as much as possible. In case things become far more dangerous than I expect, then I should stock up on my energy.’

’But… sigh… I’m going to go broke at this rate.’

Just as he had this thought, Sunless spoke.

“And do you know that your opponent is the disciple of a Supreme Greater Demon?”

Simon’s feet could not help but come to a stop at those words.

He looked at Sunless with an extremely serious gaze.

“A disciple of a Supreme Greater Demon?”

Sunless scoffed while folding her arms and tapping her foot.

“Oh. So you didn’t know? I thought you knew everything?”

Simon did not care about her words of mockery. His mind was on the information she just gave him about Blackblade.

“Answer me. Is Blackblade truly the disciple of a Supreme Greater Demon?”

Sunless rolled her eyes behind her mask, then she nodded.

“Yes. He is.”

Simon frowned behind his mask.

“Who is his master? And how did you get this information?”

Sunless released a disappointed sigh, then she shook her head.

“Have you forgotten that I’m rich? I bought the information from the intelligence office.”

’Akaza told me that buying all the information on Blackblade cost over ten thousand merits. I only budgeted a thousand, so he could only buy information on the known skills of Blackblade and some of his hidden skills.’

’But even with that…’

He looked at Sunless with a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

’I never thought of telling Akaza to buy the information on Blackblade’s relationships. Since he’s affiliated with one of the factions, I believed that there was no reason for me to search for his relationships.’

’But she did.’

Simon’s eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Sunless, then he asked the question that was on his mind.

“Why? Why did you buy information on Blackblade? It serves you no benefit.”

Sunless instantly scoffed and looked to the side while folding her arms the more.

“Figure it out yourself.”

Simon’s lips twitched, and he decided to let that question go and not think too much about it.

“What is the name of his master?”

“First Blade.” She replied. “They call him the First Blade because many of his enemies have died at the first swing of his blade.”

“Oh, and this information cost me over ten thousand merits. You owe me a lot for this.”

Simon’s right eye could not help but twitch when he heard this.

’How rich is this girl that she’s able to spend ten thousand merits on an information that’s not useful to her?’ Simon thought.

“Although I’m grateful for this information, I never asked you to pay ten thousand merits for an information that does not benefit you. So, I can’t pay you back the ten thousand merits.”

There was no way Simon would choose to be in a debt of ten thousand merits all because Sunless decided to spend a lot of money on him.

Who knew when he’d be able to pay it all back with the little money he makes.

Meanwhile, Sunless shook her head.

“You don’t have to pay me back in money. You can pay me back in another way. I’ll tell you when I need you.”

Simon narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t refuse. However, he had already decided that he would refuse to help her if it was something he was not comfortable with.