Chapter 113 - banter between luna and me
We finally arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Luna and I got out of the carriage and headed inside together.
I looked at her.
"Hey, I’m going to my room, take a shower, and come back."
She nodded.
"Hmm. Me too."
We went our separate ways and returned to our rooms.
After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, I left my room.
Luna still hadn’t come out yet, so I decided to find a quiet place and wait.
I eventually found a comfortable spot and sat down.
Then I closed my eyes.
Today, I had realized something.
My Perception could do much more than I was currently using it for.
I wanted to test its limits.
With my eyes closed, I focused on the darkness surrounding me.
At first, I could only perceive vague traces of my surroundings.
So I focused harder.
I directed my mana throughout my body and connected my senses to my Perception.
Slowly...
The world around me became clearer.
I could sense the chair beneath me.
The floor.
The walls.
The objects around me.
Even though my eyes were closed, I could almost see everything through my perception.
However...
The mana consumption was enormous.
I immediately stopped.
"This is still too expensive."
"I’m nowhere near ready to use this continuously."
Still, it was interesting.
If I could improve this ability...
My Perception could become far more powerful than I had originally imagined.
Just as I continued thinking about it...
I sensed someone approaching.
Light footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
I immediately recognized the person.
Luna.
She was definitely trying to sneak up on me.
I could easily avoid whatever she was planning.
But...
That wouldn’t be fun.
So I kept my eyes closed.
Her footsteps slowly became closer.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Finally...
She stopped directly in front of me.
I remained still.
A huge question mark appeared in my mind.
What is she doing?
After standing there for a few seconds, Luna finally sat down beside me.
I sighed and opened my eyes.
Then I stood up.
Luna immediately looked at me.
"Were you pretending to be asleep?"
Her tone was suspicious.
I raised my hands.
"No."
"It’s not what you think."
"I was practicing my Perception."
"Then you came over, so I stayed still."
"When you sat down, I opened my eyes."
Luna stared at me deeply.
I could practically see her thinking.
Then I sighed.
"Fine."
"I was hoping you were going to try something so I could react to it."
The realization suddenly appeared in her eyes.
"Oh..."
She slowly moved one hand behind her back.
Then she waited.
I watched her carefully.
She took another step closer.
Then—
She placed her hand against the back of my neck.
A sudden chill ran through my entire body.
Her hand was covered in ice.
I immediately jumped to my feet.
Luna burst into laughter.
"Ahahaha!"
"You should have seen your reaction!"
I stared at her.
I wanted to get revenge immediately.
But before I could do anything, she noticed the anger building inside me.
Her laughter became even louder.
"Oh?"
"It seems I win."
She put on a smug little expression.
I grunted.
"Next time..."
"You won’t get away so easily."
She simply laughed.
"I’m looking forward to it."
We eventually walked toward the dining hall together.
Amy and Elena were already there, and we took our usual seats.
The Empress and Mother were there as well.
Mother looked toward all of us before speaking.
"Gray, Luna, Amy, Elena..."
"You all did very well today."
"I watched all of your matches."
"You handled your opponents carefully and didn’t give them opportunities to take advantage of your mistakes."
I smiled and nodded.
Amy nodded as well.
Luna and Elena also thanked her politely.
Mother then looked toward the Empress.
The Empress nodded before continuing.
"You will all have tomorrow free."
"After that, the special training program will begin."
"All twenty winners have already been informed."
"You will train together until the main tournament."
"So prepare yourselves."
Her expression became slightly more serious.
"This will not be an ordinary training program."
"You will be expected to improve considerably before the main tournament begins."
Then she looked toward Isabella.
"Isabella will be taking her academy entrance examination soon."
"She will also be attending the academy shortly afterward."
"So unfortunately, she won’t be able to stay and train with you."
We all looked toward Isabella.
She nodded.
"I’ll have to leave soon."
"But I’ll be cheering for all of you."
We nodded in understanding.
I couldn’t help smiling.
Honestly...
I was already loving this.
I had originally planned to create a training schedule for myself anyway.
Now...
The training had practically come to me.
After that, we continued eating dinner while the Empress explained more details about the upcoming training program.
We discussed everything together.
Eventually, dinner ended.
We said good night to everyone before returning to our rooms.
I fell asleep peacefully.
Tomorrow was another day.
And, more importantly...
A day with absolutely no training.
Which meant—
A day to mess around.
⸻
The next morning, I woke up and immediately washed up.
After getting dressed, I left my room and headed toward breakfast.
On the way, I met Luna.
We immediately started talking about what we should do with our free day.
After a while, I looked at her.
"So..."
"What are you planning to wear tomorrow?"
She looked at me with a confused expression.
"The usual."
"Why?"
I sighed.
"Tomorrow is the beginning of the training camp."
"There will probably be all kinds of intense training."
My eyes lit up.
"So..."
"You should wear something flexible."
"If not..."
"I can already imagine what’s going to happen."
I laughed.
Luna stared at me.
Then she looked down at herself.
A strange thought seemed to cross her mind.
Her face immediately became red.
"You..."
She suddenly started hitting me.
I quickly raised my hands.
"Why are you blushing?"
"I only said that if you wear something difficult to move in, you’ll end up like a trapped animal during training."
I covered my mouth and laughed.
That explanation somehow made things even worse.
Luna’s face became even redder.
Her punches became faster.
"Gray!"
"Stop laughing!"
I immediately ran toward the dining hall.
"Wait!"
"Why are you running?!"
I reached the dining hall first.
I stopped at the entrance, straightened my clothes, and put on a calm expression.
Then I walked inside as though nothing had happened.
A few moments later, Luna entered.
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward her.
I glanced at her with a small smirk.
She looked around.
Then she realized exactly what I had done.
She immediately put on her usual calm expression and walked toward her seat.
She sat beside me.
But I could practically feel her eyes drilling holes through me.
The Empress had witnessed everything.
She simply smiled, clearly enjoying every moment of it.
Breakfast continued peacefully.
Since there was no training scheduled today, I finished eating as quickly as possible.
Then I quietly slipped away before Luna could notice.
Unfortunately...
The Empress noticed.
She gave Luna a small signal and subtly pointed toward the direction I had fled.
Luna immediately understood.
She didn’t even seem to remember that the person who had helped her was her own mother.
She stood up and followed me.
The Empress watched her leave before looking toward Mother.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Those two certainly enjoy each other’s company."
Mother sighed.
"Gray has always been like that."
"When he becomes close to someone, he becomes extremely attached to them."
"But if he doesn’t like someone..."
"He simply doesn’t bother with them."
She paused.
"When he was younger, I used to worry about how deeply he could become attached to people."
"But that concern turned out to be unnecessary."
"He knows how to protect himself."
"And he doesn’t allow anyone to take advantage of him."
The Empress raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm..."
"He really is interesting."
"Just like you said."
"He seems to have two completely different sides."
"With my daughters and your children, he’s completely relaxed."
"He’s even willing to put himself in danger to protect them."
"But when he’s in an arena..."
"Or facing someone he considers an enemy..."
"His personality changes completely."
Mother nodded.
"That’s Gray."
The two continued talking about various personal matters at the dining table.
⸻
Meanwhile...
I had managed to sneak away.
I quietly made my way toward the garden, hoping to enjoy some peace.
Then—
Someone suddenly appeared in front of me.
My soul nearly left my body.
I instinctively took a step backward.
"Luna?!"
"What are you doing here?"
She crossed her arms.
"You embarrassed me."
"And you think you can just sneak away that easily?"
I looked at her.
Then I glanced behind her.
My eyes widened dramatically.
I pointed toward something in the distance.
"Look!"
Luna immediately turned around.
"What?"
The moment she looked away—
I ran.
"See you later!"
Luna froze.
Then she realized what I had done.
"Gray!"
I laughed as I sprinted away.
"Catch me if you can!"