Chapter 126- Companions

Chapter 126: Chapter 126- Companions

Chapter 126- Companions

"Thank you all for attending this first test, and for those who passed, you have three days to recover and be ready for the next test," Ereze said in a calm tone. His words gave everyone a sense of relief as they all exhaled a long, tired breath.

These were the craziest three hours in their lives, and the ones when they felt the most pressured. It felt like every second, they were getting crushed by the weight of fear and the anxiety of losing and risking their entire future because of one single mistake.

However, that relief didn’t last long, as Ereze continued speaking calmly.

"I must warn you all. If you think that this test is the hardest, then you are wrong. The next two tests will be tougher, so you must be ready for them. Take these three days to relax and recover, and when the time comes, you must all give 120% of what you can to have a chance."

Those words felt like a cold bucket of water being poured on everyone there, bringing them back to reality. They weren’t done; if anything, what they just passed was the easiest part of a three-part test. What they’re going to face in the future was bound to be even harder.

In the end, of all the millions of people left, only a few thousand will have the opportunity to join the academy, and that meant that the next two tests will take out 99% of the candidates. 99% of everyone there won’t be able to see their dream manifest.

That realization made the atmosphere far more somber and realistic. Nobody really wanted to celebrate too early and then live to regret that decision. With that, Ereze snapped his fingers again, and the dome disappeared from existence.

Then, everyone was allowed to leave. They left the badges behind, as they were of no use except for the ones that belonged to them.

"Hnng..." Rize stretched his limbs as he looked at Venera and Rose. "I’m really tired and hungry."

"Same for me," Rose said. "I will be excusing myself now. I have some things I need to do. It was great working with both of you. Especially you, Rize. I’m sure we will need each other’s help in the future, so I hope we continue our partnership."

Rose smiled charmingly at Rize, taking him aback for a second before he nodded. "Yeah, of course. Thanks for your help."

"No problem. Your Highness, Rize, enjoy your evening." She said as she walked away.

Venera watched her back coldly as she whispered. "Partnership, huh?"

"Hm? Did you say something, Venera?"

"No." She shook her head. "Nothing. Let’s go."

She turned around and started walking away silently. Rize was confused by her reaction but shrugged. ’She is probably feeling exhausted too. These three hours were hectic.’

With that, the two walked back to their home. As they grew farther and farther away from the main streets, the number of candidates grew scarcer and scarcer as the majority headed back to their assigned dorm rooms and houses to rest. A few rare ones wanted to celebrate this success and went for dinner.

When they finally made it home, Rize threw himself on the couch.

"Geez, that was something, alright?" He said as he put his arm against his face. "I feel like I grew several years in three hours."

Venera didn’t say a single thing as she walked to the kitchen, drank some water, and then looked at Rize. The boy wasn’t looking at her, so he didn’t notice her as she walked toward him.

Eventually, she reached the sofa and sat near his head.

"Hm?" Rize opened his eyes and looked up, only to see Venera’s beautiful eyes staring back at him. "What is it?"

"..."

Venera didn’t say a thing.

"Venera? What’s wrong? You’ve been acting really off today."

Venera blinked slowly before she exhaled. "Hey, Rize. Can I ask you something? And I want you to reply honestly."

"Hm?" Rize frowned as he was about to lift himself up. However, Venera pressed her hand against his chest, pushing him down to the sofa. "What is it?"

"Do you need other partners in the future?" She asked as she looked away.

"Huh? Other partners?"

"I meant... In the future, would you need other people?"

"..." Rize pursed his lips. ’Where did that question even come from?’

Even though he didn’t understand why Venera was behaving so weirdly and asking such questions, he still decided to answer it. After all, the answer was very easy.

"No." He said. "Well, let me rephrase. I believe we both could achieve everything we want to achieve. We both work so well together, and we know each other well."

"..." Venera looked at him slowly. Her eyes were filled with emotions.

"But, hm, remember when I said that I’m experiencing nightmares every single night? And how I’m feeling like things won’t go well forever?" Rize asked.

"Yeah..."

"It made me realize that we both can’t just do everything on our own. We are bound to need help, and that is fine... However, the only true companion I believe I will ever need is you." Rize smiled warmly at Venera. His pure smile took her by surprise and made her completely speechless.

After seeing him working with Rose, she oddly felt afraid... Afraid that Rize might find someone he gets along with and decide to leave and pursue something else. After all, Rize was an extremely talented and smart individual. He had all the qualities to become one of the greatest individuals in the world, and so why would such a person with that much potential accept to be her mere escort?

She knew it was fair for him to dream and want other things. But, for some reason, every time she thought about it, her heart would squeeze. She didn’t want Rize to leave her side, even if that was a selfish thing to think.

She wanted them to remain the same. For them to be together, doing everything together, and she could only see Rize as the person to help her achieve her goal. He was the only person who could pull her out of the darkness.

"Yeah... You have a point." She said with an exhale. "I hope when the bad times come, that we will find a way out of it... Together."

"I have no doubt," Rize said with a smile. "So, don’t worry, I won’t replace you or anything."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she yanked her head to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Hm? Aren’t you worried I might stop working with you?"

"Of course... Of course not! I don’t know where that came from. It was just a curious question." She said as she tried to calm her panicking mind quickly.

"I see... Well, either way, yeah, things are great right now." He said as he stood up. "So, are you going to cook dinner, chef? As we agreed."

"..."

"What? You don’t want to?"

"I will. Don’t underestimate my cooking skills."

"So, what would you make for us, chef?"

"Stop calling me chef." She said. "And let me check what we have. I will make you a dish so good, you would get addicted to it."