Rebirth of the Ruined Noble

Startled, I froze, my eyes widening in both surprise and fear. I recognized the voice immediately. It was Zephyr, his tone betraying his irritation at my persistence. I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest, and slowly turned around to face him.

In the dim moonlight that managed to seep through the dense canopy, I saw Zephyr's face, illuminated by a mischievous smirk. His eyes, usually warm and welcoming, now held a glint of danger. The sword he held against my neck was not meant to cause harm, but it served as a stern warning.

"I... I..." I stammered, struggling to find the right words. Afterall Zephyr is a nutjob who wouldn't hesitate to kill me if I seemed like a threat to him.

"I... I was just... curious," I managed to utter, my voice trembling.

Zephyr went silent for a brief movement, before he released his grip on the sword and took a step back, his expression softening slightly. "Curious?" he repeated, his tone more curious than confrontational now.

"Yes," I nodded, regaining some composure.

There was one thing that Zephyr liked more than anything. Curiosity! If he was curious about something, then he wouldn't leave the matter until he satisfied his curiosity.

As I said, I was curious about him. It seemed to have created a curiosity about me inside of him too.

"I saw you sleeping at the top of the academy, and then you headed towards the black forest. I couldn't help but wonder what you were up to."

He studied me for a moment, as if weighing my words. "Well, you certainly have some courage to follow me into the forbidden forest," he remarked, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

I swallowed hard, realizing the risk I had taken. "I apologize for intruding," I said, my voice filled with sincerity. "I didn't mean any harm. I was just... curious about you and what you were doing."

He seemed to mull over my words, his gaze thoughtful. "Curiosity can lead to trouble, you know," he said finally. "Especially in a place like this."

His voice was filled with a hint of doubt and anger.

"I understand," I replied, my voice steady despite the lingering fear as I tried to think of something to say to him.

And after thinking for some time, I said....

"But there's something about you... something intriguing. I couldn't resist following."

"....."

There was a deep silence for a moment before Zephyr spoke.

"...Are you gay?"

Startled by the unexpected question, I stumbled over my words. "What! No, no no! I didn't mean it in that way. I was just curious about you, not in any other way. I only have an interest in busty women," I blurted out, desperately trying to convince him.

Although his eyes still looked at me with suspicion, a flicker of surprise flashed across his face at the mention of my preference before he chuckled softly.

"Hmm... busty women! Not a bad choice! Although I prefer younger girls, I can understand your choice," he said, nodding in a knowing manner.

"Well, you've certainly piqued my curiosity now," he admitted, sheathing his training sword. "I heard you use multiple weapons, including a gun. Did you bring them with you?"

He seemed like he knew about me, so I didn't hesitate to give him a replay.

I displayed the magic gun in my pocket and the sword hanging around my waist. I had left the spear at my dorm as I thought it would hinder me while stalking him.

""Hmm, now that you're already here, if you're willing to take the risk, I could use a companion on this adventure," he said.

"Companion?" I said, trying to hide the fact that I knew anything about the exile. My acting skills were good enough to fool a fourteen-year-old, and he seemed to believe me easily.

"You see, I discovered an exile in the black forest a week ago by coincidence," Zephyr explained.

"An exile!" I exclaimed, feigning surprise.

"Yes, an exile."

"Then shouldn't we report it to the academy?"

"Of course not! why would I do that? The last time I saw the exile, it was still in the process of forming, judging by the mana concentration around it. It's only a low-ranked exile."

Exiles were classified into five types.

Low-rank.

Intermediate-rank.

Transition-rank.

high-rank. and finally,

The Territorial-rank.

The low rank exiles are usually, the barren lands of hell, that were inhabited by some low ranking demons.

As most low-ranking exiles would have weak demons, it wasn't hard to clear it as long as one knew a little about combat techniques.

And generally, the Exiles that appear would take about three days to a week to stabilize in their surrounding.

While it was possible to enter as soon as an exile appeared, it was safer to wait until it had fully stabilized. Zephyr seemed to share the same understanding.

In the creation process of an exile, it remains unresponsive to mana detection, which is likely why the academy hasn't discovered it yet.

"I had originally planned to enter alone today, but now that you've followed me, I could use some support, I guess," Zephyr said, glancing at the gun in my hand.

"So will you come with me?"

Of course, I would! I had been following him for the same purpose all along. However, I couldn't simply admit it. I acted as if I needed time to think and eventually replied.

"If you can promise me my safety, I will accompany you..."

Zephyr's eyes met mine, and for a moment, the intensity of his gaze made me wonder if he was contemplating my request. Then, a confident smile tugged at his lips.

"Of course, don't worry. As long as you're with me, no harm will come to you," he assured me.

Those were some fancy words, but I couldn't help but agree with him. Among the freshmen in our batch, Zephyr was undeniably the strongest after all.

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