The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

"...Fine. I suppose it's also bad manners on my part if I selfishly.. push all these things to you. Even though I truly believe in what I say," Reina succumbed, dropping her fierce act.

"Anyway, I was only tasked to stay with you until you wake up. Now that you're up.. well, I will leave you to your own. I believe that you will be able to deal with it..?" 

Aria nodded in agreement.

"And, if you want to ask any more questions, just contact me through this number, or come straight to our building address," Reina added.

"Well. I do have one more question," 

"And what would that be?"

"Why are you participating in the subjugation when you're not part of Athena?"

From the news, it was said that only members of Athena would join. 

"Ah.. that. You must be talking about the news," Reina ruffled her hair lightly, fixing it back up right after. "We are only merging with Athena for this subjugation event. After this whole fiasco ends, we will part ways one more time,"

"Is that so? But.. I thought that only members of Athena are going there,"

"Hmm, so you're the type to believe in the Association's words? I would suggest not to, sweetie," Reina leaned her head towards the side as she spoke.

"..What does that mean?" Aria asked.

"Of course, the Association can be pure, it can be transparent to the public. But ultimately, it is still a large-scaled organization. I am not saying that foul play exists in every large-scaled organization, but it happens frequently,"

Tapping on the table, Reina gave a foxy smile.

"The media coverage. Won't the event be shown publicly all day?" Aria frowned. How was it possible?

Foul play when the Association literally wants to broadcast their every single move.

"We can ask the media to turn their camera around slightly. Of course, they won't know what's going on. Parts of them will, though. The higher ups.. and ones that joins in the shady regions. And that includes those shown in public crowds as well. We will only show what we want them to know. That's the true essence of things,"

"..I see. How.. why are you telling me? Am I supposed to know?"

"Well, you'll participate anyway, is there even a point in trying to conceal it? Before you enter the gate, you will be made to sign an agreement. A contract of sorts," Reina waved her hand as if telling Aria that it wasn't a big deal.

"..And the content of that contract is?"

"I am not allowed to reveal it. You should be prepared to go through extreme lengths as a Hunter if you're not a giant bigshot. We are always constantly wagering our lives, but we of course try to keep this measly life intact. Everyone becomes a Hunter for all sorts of different reasons," Reina gazed into thin air, wondering a lot of things inside her head.

Sighing, Aria clenched the blanket that covered her body as she thought about things seriously.

"...Alright. I will contact you when I'm ready. I will also inform you if I decide to dispose of this offer," Aria replied, subtly bowing at the woman who was currently in the midst of packing up to leave.

Reina got up from her seat, latching onto her black purse and tidying up her outfit. She was a tall woman, and her beautiful visage made her look like a supermodel. The Queen of the Night.

"Once again, my name is Reina Alaster, an A-rank Hunter," Reina extended her arm to offer up a handshake.

Aria took the gesture, looking up into Reina's hazy, yet enamoring eyes.

"My name is Aria Schreiner.. A non-registered Hunter," Aria hasn't received her proper credentials yet, but she was in the process of doing so.

"You will be officially welcomed soon," Reina patted Aria on her shoulders, turning around to head towards the door and leave.

"If there's nothing more, I shall leave right now. It has been a pleasure to meet you. In fact, I think that our personalities match quite well. I believe that we can be great colleagues," Reina flashed a cheeky smirk towards Aria, insinuating that they should be colleagues in the future.

Aria could only awkwardly laugh, but internally, she did agree to Reina's statements. Reina was a calm and collected woman. She might not be the most mature person, but she had her standards. She does provoke others, but she was a frank person and not a dishonest one.

That was the first impression Aria got from her.

Reina ended off their encounter by lightly waving at Aria's way. She exited the room and closed the door behind her. Due to her high heels, Aria was able to hear the effects of her crisp clacking noises against the floor.

The sound, which at first had been loud and clear, slowly started to dissipate as Reina walked further and further away from the room Aria was being hospitalized at.

Once the sound completely disappeared into nothingness, Aria leaned backwards and submerged herself in the pool of comfort that is the soft hospital bed.

Sighing, she found herself scrutinizing the room. The color white dominated everything. The place wasn't a specialized hospital, but it was made to have features like one.

"...Mm," Aria stretched her body, drawing out comfortable moans.

Aria got out of her bed. Her condition was actually not that bad. White Fox went rough with her at the very end, but she was able to withstand it albeit having to faint.

If she just managed to salvage her consciousness right then and there, she would've had another chance.

Aria stopped her path in front of the sizeable mirror stuck to the wall. She gazed at it.

White Fox. The little devil.

"Even so, I don't think I can overtake her. Even with my tricks," Aria laughed at her reflection in the mirror. "Grow stronger,"

Saying that to herself, she then proceeded to tour the room, careful as to not touch anything to prevent unnecessary damages.

After she finished touring, Aria returned to her bed.

The competition was finally over. The event she has been plotting for months. It was finally over. She could rest now.

"Should I... or should I not," Aria contemplated.

The tempting offer to join another group. And yet, her instincts told her to stay with the current one for the time being.

She was going to end up alone at some point. Because if anything, she wanted to take on the position of a Leader once she got stronger.

Of course, the most profitable situation would be that of a solo Hunter, but that was a little hard to manage considering the rules.

If the future changes, and more dungeons appear, resulting in an imbalance of supply and demand, she would have her chance there.

To completely devote herself into getting stronger. That was her primary goal. The resources and what not, she could deal without it. Of course, gaining more resources was much more convenient.

For that, she sincerely wanted to try out the group Reina mentioned. But she didn't know how to convey it.

"Lichte.." Aria mumbled the name of the group Reina mentioned.

What sort of group was it? How suited will she be inside that group?

As she was rambling on and on inside her head, time passed.

After a short while, the first interruption came to her.

"Aria?" A familiar voice called out from the outside.

"...Lein?" Aria responded, her ears perking up as she got up from the bed and walked up to the door in slippers in a hurried manner.

"En, it's me. Would you mind opening the door?" Lein asked.

Aria immediately opened the door, realizing that there was an auto lock function and that was why Lein couldn't do it by himself.

"How.. are you doing?" Lein asked.

"..Reina told me that I have to stay here for the time being if I want to qualify for the subjugation," Aria answered rapidly.

A lie. It was a voluntary lie.

Somehow, Aria's heartbeat got faster. She gulped a mouthful of her saliva. Her muscles tensed as she got nervous.

Perhaps it was because of Lein's eyes. Lein had keen eyes on everything, one that made it seem like he had the power to know everything.

"..Is that so? Are you participating? Really?" Lein was the one who suggested it in the first place, but now that he had seen the figures of just who Aria was going to work with, he hesitated.

"Of.. course. I've worked hard to win this competition. Although something happened towards the end, I still do want to try it out. It won't hurt," Aria gave a gentle smile, trying to act like everything was okay.

"Ah.. alright then. Arin and I can't stay here for long. We will return for today. Are you alright? Staying alone, I mean," Lein questioned.

"I will be alright. Reina said that I can obtain help for the staffs around here,"

The conversation was awkward. It seemed forced.

With every new sentence spoken between the two of them, guilt ate up into Aria's heart bit by bit.

The guilt of being uncertain and having to overthink her decisions.

The guilt of knowing that there was a possibility of her doing the exact same thing that she hated the most.

The hypocrisy.

Lein left after some small talks, in which he explained that Arin was out trying to fix some things up. Soon after, the boy left.

Aria was once again alone in the room.

She slowly walked towards the bed once more and sat down.

She looked up to the ceiling, worried.

_____

"...Excuse me," Aria's voice was small as she called out.

"Yes? This voice is.." The speaker on the other line seemed doubtful, but then her tone suddenly changed to a confident one. "Well, well, well. I said to contact me, but to think that it'll happen this soon.. You're a quick decision maker, aren't you?"

"I need some help.." Aria took a deep breath of cold air. "Reina," she called the speaker's name.

Her heart was shaky, but she wanted to take this chance.