[OP: ]
As the illusory sun on the island continued falling towards the sharp horizon, the sky island was bathed in a bright golden orange, the trees turning a flashy gold, and the island turning into a fantastical piece of natural beauty.
The examinees on the island were mostly returning back to the sandy outskirts, their mood either cheerful after their victories or gloomy after their miserable losses.
But all of them were at least fine, and there were no great problems.
The outskirts were getting crowded with more people and there was a bloom in the business of those who had worked for the whole day to set up their unique stalls.
The creatures of the island would disappear in the particles of blue light but that wasn't the story of the normal and weak (Red) ranked edible beasts.
They stayed in their normal form and those who were experienced enough could work on their bodies, creating a good meal from their meat and the forest vegetables and herbs.
So the outskirts were cheerful but there were still battles ongoing inside the dense forest.
Some examinees were doing their best to get what they could while some were setting up camping sites inside the forest, in a simple open area that the creatures didn't approach.
Some continued roaming in the search of unique treasures and the student council continued what they were meant to. And though they were student council members, the treasures were also meant for them.
At least the natural ones were meant for anyone who could recognize and find them, so the student council was actually the one that monopolized most of the unique, small but rare treasures.
Eon and Rein had also collected many things, earning more individual points than many of their colleagues. But their main objective of meeting with each other has remained the same.
They were walking in the same direction, their meeting point most probably being inside the area assigned to her. And they could already talk through Celes's connection, so they were having some unique fun of their own.
Eon had a deep smile as he moved through the forest while jumping from one tree branch to another, his blue eyes and dark black hair shining in the light of twilight.
[[ "Ok so, as I was saying, there was this group of four, cute with all their good heart and strong performance, and they actually almost defeated the big monkey. It was so cute when they all cheered up like that~." ]]
He was talking about a while back when he sneakily killed the strong enemy and helped the group of examiners. And at some distance away from him, Rein had a frown on her still pretty face, her long brown hair seeming normal but strangely attractive, and her black eyes carrying a charm of their own.
[[ "You bastard. You stopped for that shitty thing? We could have been together already if you hadn't stopped." ]]
Eon was moving by jumping on trees while Rein just ran on the ground, using her EFMW scythe to cut down the bushes in her path.
The special weapon she obtained from the tomb had grown up a lot with her in these years. It was now her personal primary weapon. But still, she sometimes felt something was missing.
Anyway, the ancient weapon was strong and the two of them were close.
[[ "Need I remind you who stopped to observe the (Red blood wolves)?" ]]
He had a smile on his face as he said that. And even Celes was giggling at this fact.
[[ "They are cute, ok! Their whole family was eating their lunch and the little cubs looked adorable!" ]]
She had an angry expression. A cute angry expression from his point of view.
[[ "Yeah sure. Their nine eyes, those mouths full of rows of teeth, their long furless tails, and those hobgoblins they were feasting on surely looked adorable. Especially how they first chopped them, drained their blood, and only then left their bodies to rot. That was cutest right?" ]]
What he said wasn't traditionally cute in any way, but for this particular girl, the weirdest stuff was the definition of cool.
[[ "Yes~! Those things and their cute eyes that all blink at once~. They are adorable! Let's have a few of them when we finish our first home~." ]]
They were rare (Blue) ranked creatures commonly known as (Vampire wolves). They were only found in rare places with a dense aura of death, mostly in graveyards.
They were a rare kind and some of the very strong ones.
There was no way to tame them normally but theoretically, it wasn't impossible. So he could only shake his head with a helpless smile.
[[ "Sure… we can try that." ]]
[[ "Yeiii~!" ]]
She was an adult, a strong worrier, a bloodthirsty scythesman, a near impossible lady to fathom and at the end of the day, for those who knew her closely, she was also one of the young children of their house. A forever child at the heart.
However unique, this side of her was cute to him… and they were here.
Spectators in the dark attentively watched as Eon stood in an open area, bushes rustling before him.
Rein also cut down the bushes before her and the two of them saw them standing before each other.
Rein walked out of the bushes and Eon was standing before Rein.
The two of them saw them and smiled warmly.
It was a genuine, warm smile. And then, Eon lifted his hand, and waved at the Rein before him.
Rein also nodded at the Eon and took a little breath.
Then, with his palm closing, Eon pointed his smooth-strong index finger at her.
Rein also loosened her grip on her sharp scythe and took a step towards him.
A red-orange magic circle materialized on his fingertip as a red beam shot towards the Rein before him.
Rein had also taken her step but the next moment, she was on the other side, behind the Eon before her.
The red beam of light pierced her forehead as she fell to the ground, her eyes still wide open, the warm smile still on her face, with the big hole in her head.
Rein walked away as Eon's body fell to the ground, his head flying in the air, blood gushing out of the headless body, staining the smooth natural soil.
Eon also jumped on the tree before him and started moving forward while Rein sighed a little, retracted the EFMW scythe inside her, and started running on the plain land, the smile on her pretty face still there.
[[ "Ah, so where was I?" ]] She asked with a little confused look and Eon smiled, shaking his head again.
[[ "We were talking about the puppies" ]]
[[ "Right~! Let's have a lot of different pets~!" ]]
[[ "O' ma'am? Who will take care of those 'many' pets?" ]]
[[ "We have Mave~!" ]]
She giggled and passed through the last bushes, reaching their pre-decided open area.
"Yes, we do have Mave but show mercy to that little furball. She will already have many to take care of and now you want to put the burden of 'a lot of different pets' on that cute round soul?"
Eon jumped down from the tree while saying that and first came to her, hugged her, she hugged him back, they kissed for a few seconds, and looked back at each other.
"She can handle a few hundred more. I know she will love all of them anyway so I believe her~."
He could only look at her with a bitter smile and shake his head at this grown-up witch of his.
The sun was already set and the light was getting dimmer with each passing cloud in the sky.
It was a nice place so they were going to rest there for a while and then continue on their plan.
They were finally together on this island and their official work was already taken care of for their assigned areas.
The two were free now… but their actions from a while ago had made the dark room with spectators silent once again.
And this time, the silence was thick.
…
Nobody uttered a single word, the sounds of the flickering magic screens the only thing dominating the spacious room.
The girl with emerald eyes stared at the screen, her eyes fixated on the girl on the screen, and the smile on her face was the only thing on her mind.
The boy with beastly golden eyes was smiling widely, the ends of his grin touching his ears on both ends of his face, and the tickling sensation from his partner making the smirk deeper and deeper.
The man with a deep voice was stunned at how the two of them killed a perfect imitation of their partners like it was nothing, not even showing any signs of anxiety after the ineffable deed.
The lady with an authoritative voice could only stare at the other screen that was repeatedly playing the moment when the two of them killed the (Perfect doppelgangers), the unique monsters that were infamous for their impeccable disguise as if it was nothing more than cutting a mere worthless creature.
What they did just now wasn't just surprising, it was straight-out absurd.
So… the room continued its deep silence. And on the screen, Rein and Eon were finishing up the preparation for their island night camp.
