Ivan's reaction was instantaneous and clumsy. His hands shot up and slapped over Lyraena's eyes from behind, blocking her view.
"Jin! What the hell! Put something on!" Ivan yelled, his face turning a shade of red that clashed horribly with his gray hair.
Jin, still floating lazily in the water, just tilted his head, a slow, amused smile spreading across his face. "What are you two doing all the way out here? Looking for water?"
"Yes! We're looking for water! Now can you please put something on?" Ivan insisted, his voice cracking.
"This is a good spot," Jin continued, completely ignoring him as he floated onto his back. "The water is clean. A bit cold, but it's refreshing. You can clean yourself here from this miserable rain. Really, you should try it."
"I don't care how refreshing it is! Wear a fucking something! Please!" Ivan shouted, his voice echoing slightly in the clearing.
Lyraena, meanwhile, was trying to pry Ivan's hands off her face. "Ivan, let go. I'm not a child. It's just a naked body."
"No! His... his..." Not knowing how to explain what he was seeing, he went silent for a moment before settling on, "It's indecent!"
"You're the only one making a big deal out of it," Lyraena grumbled, her voice muffled by his palms.
With a long, theatrical sigh that suggested he was deeply bored by their antics, Jin finally swam to the edge of the river. He casually stepped out of the water, completely unconcerned, and grabbed a pair of pants from a neat pile of clothes on a rock. He pulled them on, taking his sweet time.
"Okay, okay. I'm decent now. You can let go of the lady," Jin said. "Before she decides to kick you for being an overprotective idiot."
Ivan finally dropped his hands. Lyraena shot him an annoyed look before her eyes landed on Jin.
Jin's lazy smile widened as he took in Lyraena. "Oh," he said, his gaze appreciative and direct. "So she's the reason you got separated from Orion. Well, I don't blame you. For her, I'd get separated from Orion, too."
"What? No!" Ivan said immediately, a little too quickly. "We didn't get separated. We're just in different scouting parties."
"Scouting parties?" Jin said, raising an eyebrow. "That's not what Orion said. He said his friend—a gray-haired, moody-looking guy—got into an argument with him and stormed off. Sounds a lot like you."
"We didn't argue," Ivan lied, his face flushing again. "We had a tactical disagreement."
"A 'tactical disagreement' that ended with you leaving your only friend and all your supplies?" Jin chuckled. "Come on, Prince. You can be honest with me. You ditched him for a pretty girl. It's the oldest story in the world. A classic."
"I didn't ditch him!"
"Okay, okay," Jin said, holding his hands up in a mock surrender, though his smile said he didn't believe a word. "Whatever you say."
Ivan, flustered and annoyed, changed the subject. "You said you met him. Is he okay? Did he say anything else?"
"Mhm," Jin confirmed, running a hand through his wet hair. "He's fine. A bit stressed, like I said. He was camping with five other people. A big, loud guy with a club seemed to be in charge."
"Yes, Marcus's camp," Ivan said, his mind already working. "Do you perhaps remember what direction they were?"
Jin pointed vaguely to the south. "Well, I'm not really supposed to help you guys, but since Commander Valerius sent me here against my will... they were that direction. Around... three hours of walking from here. They were camping on that spot we met in."
"I thought so," Ivan muttered. "That spot is a good one in this forest. Probably the best. You have water and food there."
Jin then countered, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "Which is still confusing. How you ran to that exact spot in your first hour of the exam. I'm still not convinced that was just your 'intuition'."
"And I'm not planning to explain anything to you," Ivan huffed.
He walked past Jin to the waterfall itself, upstream from where Jin had been swimming, and started filling their waterskins. He wanted fresh water, untouched by... well, by Jin.
This left Lyraena alone with the senior student. She watched him for a moment, her expression serious and direct.
"You're Senior Jin from the academy, right?" she asked, her tone formal.
"Mhm," Jin hummed, his smile never wavering as he started putting on a shirt. "The one and only."
"I'm interested to know about the incident," she said, her voice steady and clear, cutting straight to the point. "The one from two years ago. The one that made all the other seventeen-year-old students die. Except you, Senior."
Jin paused, his shirt halfway on. He slowly finished pulling it over his head. His smile didn't change. The shape of it was exactly the same, but the feeling behind it shifted entirely. The lazy amusement was gone, replaced by something dark and cold that made her feel unwell.
"You know," he said, his voice soft and pleasant, yet carrying a sudden, dangerous weight. "I believe that information was supposed to be a secret."
"Well, I think I'm more of a detective," Lyraena pressed, unintimidated. "And that incident really intrigues me. Care to share what happened?"
Jin took a slow step toward her. "Listen," he said, his voice dropping even lower. "I'll give you a small piece of advice. Don't you dare talk about that incident ever again in my presence. Stay on my good side, and we're good."
"I'm a curious woman," she replied, holding her ground.
"Careful with your words," Jin warned, his smile becoming a thin, humorless line. "You know what they say... curiosity killed the cat."
"...But satisfaction brought it back," Lyraena finished, her chin held high.
He extended his arm, his fingers reaching to grab her shoulder. But Lyraena was already moving. She shot a high, powerful kick straight at his head.
His arm, the one he had just extended, snapped up with impossible speed, blocking her kick with his forearm. The impact echoed with a dull thud. He hadn't even flinched.