'If they ever heard me say that, they'd find a way to have me hanged,' Varida added after a moment.
'Before the day's end,' the white-haired man agreed.
The conversation stalled for a moment, as the two of them paused to take a sip from their respective cups. When had those been refilled, anyway? More importantly…
Arin frowned lightly as he mulled over the words he'd just heard.
Someone – Ralen, whoever that was – had been trying to kill Rin. Was Ralen that pale-haired, prickly guy from the clearing where he'd first appeared? The first person he'd met in this world?
His frown deepened as he thought back to that boy. He had seemed to have been younger than Rin – and definitely himself – by at least a few years. The hatred dripping from his gaze, however, had been far more potent than anything Arin remembered having experienced in his whole life up until that point.
But enough that he actually wanted to kill Rin? And not just in a moment's anger, but premeditated?!
He exhaled a little unevenly. Varida had mentioned something about goons being hired as well. Had that boy left to go get them? Were they the ones who'd shown up at the clearing, right as he'd gotten away?
If he hadn't listened to Tarra… If he'd been just a minute too late…
Arin shut his eyes, running a hand down his face.
'But Varida, I trust you grasp the issue with this?' the white-haired man spoke up again, voice light and airy, like he was asking what she thought of the weather.
'I do.' The tall woman frowned. 'While he's always been a fool, I never thought Ralen would be emboldened to this extent. Not now. Not yet. Once it's clear no repercussions are forthcoming, he might escalate things further. If he does…' She left the sentence hanging.
Leaning forward in her chair, she changed the topic. 'How is Rin?
The man shook his head gently. 'Off by himself again, brooding somewhere in the woods. Uncaring. Unmoved. I believe nothing has changed beyond him holding an even greater disdain for his brother now.'
Whoa, brother? So this whole thing was family drama.
He'd ask for popcorn if he wasn't the one stuck playing one of the lead roles for the foreseeable future.
'He does not care one bit, huh? It's no wonder he's your favorite disciple. Cut from the same cloth,' Varida remarked. She then stood up and stretched, looking even taller with her arms held aloft. The cup she'd been holding seemed to have disappeared somewhere.
'There's no such thing,' the man tilted his head, smiling lightly at his other student.
'Well, if you insist,' the woman smirked, her cat-like eyes sparkling playfully. She strode over to the door. 'I shall keep an eye out for any developments at the capital. I'll do my best to not destroy any more property in the meantime.'
'Only if it's not too much trouble,' the man nodded. 'Oh, and Varida, before you leave –?'
'Yes?'
'Make certain to put the archway right again. Unlike the last time you destroyed it; when it lay shattered into pieces for weeks afterwards.'
Varida had already left the room. Before pulling the door shut after her, she stuck her head in briefly to say, 'I can ensure that it will be… upright. Goodbye, Master.'
The doors were closed with a loud thud.
Arin swiveled his head to look at the white-haired man again.
The man raised an elegant eyebrow. 'Your senior sister has brought us some wonderful news for you,' he said.
Arin blinked. 'Rin's brother trying to kill him is… good news? For me?'
The man sighed. 'No, Arin. The good news is that Rin's brother succeeded in killing him.'
Arin stilled. For a heartbeat, silence hung in the room like a heavy curtain. Then, it was broken by a sharp hiss from somewhere by his feet. He felt the silver snake's cool, dry body scrape his ankle as she shifted around it.
The white-haired man ignored her. He simply continued looking at Arin with a pleasant smile on his beautiful face.
Uh… Did this guy secretly hate Rin? Was he in that Ralen dude's faction?
…
Or maybe… was he actually just crazy?
Try as he might, Arin couldn't make any sense of what the man had meant. Finally, he decided to ignore the 'good news' bit, and asked, 'Why do you believe that Ralen was successful in, well… killing Rin?'
Maybe this way, the man would forget what he'd just said and start acting normal again?
'That is not what's important.' The man dismissed Arin's good intentions with a casual wave of his hand. 'The root of it is that you might have been pulled into Rin's body at the very moment he died – the very moment his own soul was thrown out. Therefore, the possibility of that very thing having happened to your own body should also be entertained. Your body might, even now, be alive. And if so, your chances of returning to it also increase.'
Arin could hear the man's words ring in his head, repeating over and over again. It took him a second to actually understand what had been said. Once he did, however, he felt like his heart was soaring, weightless and free.
Then,
'Does that mean there's a chance that Rin is currently occupying my body?' he asked.