Once they were seated in the infirmary, Camille explained the whole situation to him.
“Marden Graves! That lunatic! He tried to kill me because he thought I’d get in the way of his imaginary relationship with you?! This reason is even worse than I’d anticipated!” Leo exclaimed after learning the truth.
“Is there anything we can do to him? He will definitely try to harm me again if he’s left alone!”
Camille shook her head and said, “Unfortunately, he is from the Graves Family, one of the more influential families in the world, so they have a lot of people supporting them. If we want to get rid of him, we will need the help of multiple families that are as influential if not even more influential than them.”
“Or… you can assassinate him.”
“Assassinate him?” Leo raised an eyebrow.
“I’m just saying that it’s a possibility.”
“Anyways, it would be for the best if we avoid the Graves Family for now. They’re probably going to cause trouble for me later, too.”
“Why?”
“I did get their son locked up, even if it was just for a bit. The Graves Family is infamous for returning favors, especially when they feel offended, which happens more than they breathe.”
“D-Don’t worry, Miss Camille! If they try to do anything funny, I will deal with them for you! I also have a favor to return to them for trying to kill me!” Leo quickly said.
Camille smiled and said, “Then you should hurry up and grow stronger, because you’ll need to be stronger than me if you want to deal with them.”
Leo swallowed nervously, “I will try my best.”
Sometime later, Leo asked her, “By the way, what about my bounty? Is Marden also responsible for it?”
She shook her head, “No, that doesn’t seem to be the case— at least he refuted it. Marden is someone who would admit to something even if it could get him in trouble. He admitted to assigning you to the special mission without hesitation, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to refute the other claim.”
“I see… So there is another person out there who wishes to harm ‘Leon’, but why…?” Leo mumbled with a pondering face.
“We’ll figure it out as we go,” she said.
“Alright.” He nodded.
“Anyways, I am going to speak with the Headmistress to let her know that I have returned. I will meet you in the Training Center in an hour.”
“Actually…” Leo stopped her, and he continued, “If you want to meet with the Headmistress, you should come with me to the Training Center. She’s going to be there in half an hour.”
“Why would she be there? And how do you know that?” Camille raised an eyebrow.
“She’s been training me since you left…” He sighed.
“Really? So she wasn’t joking when she said that…” Camille muttered in a surprised voice.
“Yes, and she’s like a devil during training. I thought I had it bad when I trained with you or Khrome, but the Headmistress is many times worse. I am always on the verge of death after our training. She doesn’t know how to hold back!”
“While that may be true, the Headmistress knows what she is doing. She’s trained three S-Rank Adventurers, and they’re all monsters. Most people would consider it an honor to be trained by her, even if it’s just for a single day.” Camille said.
“Come with me to the Training Center now. I want to see how much you’ve improved.”
Leo nodded.
Sometime later, Leo and Camille stood before each other with several meters of distance between him.
Leo was wielding his sword while Camille wielded her light spear.
“Here I come, Miss Camille!” Leo warned her before he rushed at her.
Whoosh!
Leo quickly closed their distance and started swinging his sword at her.
Camille’s eyes widened with surprise after blocking the first strike, but she would only become more surprised as Leo continued to swing his sword.
It only took a few strikes, but Camille could tell that Leo had improved significantly since the last time they had sparred with each other.
‘It’s not just his strength and speed! Even his swordsmanship and general movement is countless times better than before! How did he improve so much in such a short time?!’
Camille didn’t think it was caused by the Magic System at first since Leo wasn’t using any magic, and she didn’t know about his passive skills or invisible artifacts.
It has only been a little over three weeks since Camille sparred with Leo. Although that is plenty of time for one to improve, Leo’s improvements were something that could only be achieved after years of training, especially with his swordsmanship with Formless Sword Dance that seemed to have surpassed even Khrome.
‘Is this the result of the Headmistress’ training? No… that’s not possible… Then could it be his Magic System? I thought it only improved his magic talents…’
Due to her pondering, Camille wasn’t completely focused on the fight, so Leo had almost managed to land a strike on her for the first time.
However, Camille became serious at the last second and summoned a second light spear to block his attack before kicking him away from her.
Boom!
Leo flew and slammed his back on the wall after the kick.
‘Oh shit!’ Camille cried inwardly after realizing that she’d gone a little too hard on him.
“Are you okay?” She quickly went to check on him.
“I am fine.” Leo stood back up as if nothing had happened.
“You’ve really improved since our last spar… Is this due to the Magic System?” Camille couldn’t help but ask him.
He nodded and spoke with a bittersweet smile on his face, “Yes, but the Headmistress’ training also plays a big part in my improvement. When I train with her, it’s like I am fighting a boss that was programmed to never lose. Of course, it’s also like that when I train with you, but you don’t hit me as hard and actually know how to hold back.”
“I see… Anyways—”
“Oh? Camille, when did you come back?” A familiar voice suddenly resounded in the room.
Leo and Camille turned to look at the door simultaneously to see Headmistress Eve walking into the training room.
“I just got back today,” Camille said.
“And the first thing you do after coming back is train with Leo? You’re really dedicated to him. I’m a little envious.” Eve said with a teasing smile on her face.
“I was going to see you first, but he told me that you’d show up here, so I decided to wait.” Camille said.
“I see… Anyways, you really made a mess when you went to the Celestial City. Do you have any idea how many calls I got during the last two days? Especially the Graves Family. They’re really bothersome.”
“They called you? Why?” Camille asked.
“Their son, Marden Graves, was attacked right outside the Adventurers’ Bureau, and they think you’re responsible for it.” Eve shook her head, and she continued, “But that’s impossible since he was attacked with dark magic, unless you used some kind of artifact.”
‘Dark magic?’ Leo raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know anything about the attack, and unless they have proof that I attacked him, they can’t do anything to me.” Camille said in a nonchalant voice.
Eve chuckled, “Even if you did attack him, I won’t let them touch you as long as you’re in this academy.”
“Anyways, you sparred with Leo, right? What do you think? Has he improved in your eyes?” she then asked.
Camille turned to look at Leo and nodded in a stiff manner, “He’s improved a little, I guess.”
“Just a little, huh? Anyways, today will be our last day of training since the Wilderness Training Course is in two days. Do you want to train him instead now that you’re back?”
“No, you can continue training him. I’d like to watch as well.” Camille said.
“Alright then. You heard her, Leo. Let’s not disappoint her with your performance.” Eve said as she approached Leo with a sadistic grin on her face.
‘Looks like I am really going to die today…’ he sighed inwardly.
After wearing all of the artifacts for training, Leo began his training with Eve.
Several hours later, Eve squatted beside Leo, who was groaning in pain on the cold floor, his body soaked in sweat, looking like he’d just come out of the sauna.
“Congratulations, you are the fourth person to have survived my week-long training,” she said to him with a smile on her face.
“The last three to survive my training managed to become S-Rank Adventurers. Though, I’m sure you have the potential to do the same even without my training.”
“Camille, can you check on him? I might have broken a bone or two in his body.” She beckoned for Camille the following moment.
“I wouldn’t be surprised even if every bone in his body is broken after all that…” Camille shook her head and went to cast her strongest healing magic on Leo, quickly reducing the pain he felt.
“Get some rest for the next two days, Leo. I have high expectations for you.” Eve said to him.
“By the way, come to my office tomorrow morning, Camille. I have something to ask you.”
“Okay.”
Eve left the training room shortly after, leaving Leo and Camille alone.
Once Leo was completely healed, they both returned home to rest.
“There is an assembly tomorrow at 3PM in the auditorium. They’re going to talk about the Wilderness Training Course. Make sure you’re there.” Camille said to him before letting him go.
“I understand. Good night, Miss Camille, and thank you for your hard work.”
“Good night.”
The following morning, Camille went to meet up with Eve inside her office.
“Is this about my business in the Celestial City?” Camille spoke after sitting down, and she continued, “I left the city before Marden was attacked if that’s why I am here.”
Eve shook her head and spoke, “No, this has nothing to do with the Graves Family or you. I want to talk to you about Leo.”
“Leo? What about him?”
Eve narrowed her eyes on Camille, and after a moment of silence, she spoke, “Camille, you’re not hiding anything from me, are you?”
Camille raised an eyebrow in a puzzled manner.
“What do you mean?”
Eve sighed, “I was suspicious at first, but I have confirmed it after spending the last few days with him. Leo… He’s not the same Leo that we knew, is he?”
Camille’s eyes widened with shock after hearing Eve’s words, subconsciously clenching her fists.
“Judging by your reaction, I guess I am right. Tell me, Camille. What the hell is going on? Who is he if he’s not Leo?” Eve sat forward and stared at Camille with a serious expression on her face.
