As Dante was occupied with his own discussions and meetings alongside his subordinates, Elric and Amber had already returned to their residence. Dinner had long since finished, but the dishes remained on the table, and neither of them seemed particularly eager to clean them.
Elric glanced toward his cousin. She had been unusually quiet ever since Lexa had left.
"...Something bothering you?"
Amber blinked before giving a faint smile.
"I was caught, wasn't I?"
"You've barely spoken for ten minutes."
She leaned back in her chair.
"I'm thinking about Lexa."
More specifically, about what she had said. Elric nodded.
"I figured."
Silence settled between them. Eventually Amber looked toward him.
"...Elric. What do you actually think of my skill?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he carefully considered his words. Amber noticed.
"Don't soften it. I asked because I want your honest opinion."
Elric sighed.
"Then honestly... I think it's disappointing."
Amber simply listened.
"There are Legendary Skills that can dominate battlefields. Legendary Skills capable of changing kingdoms. Legendary Skills that people spend entire lifetimes fearing."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Yours isn't one of them. It doesn't provide overwhelming combat strength. It doesn't dramatically increase your level. It doesn't make people afraid. If I judged it purely by what it contributes during a fight... I'd honestly place it somewhere around the higher end of the Epic Tier."
Amber laughed quietly.
"You're still being nice. It's worse than that."
She lowered her gaze.
"It's a Legendary Skill that loses to plenty of Epic Skills. What a joke. A higher tier... with lower value."
Elric lightly tapped the table.
"I said the skill disappointed me. I never said you did."
She smiled.
"You don't have to comfort me. My own family already gave their verdict years ago."
That sentence alone was enough. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. They both knew what she meant. When a family no longer viewed someone's greatest talent as valuable, there wasn't much left to discuss.
Eventually Elric broke the silence.
"It isn't only your skill."
Amber looked up.
"You've always had another strength."
She smiled knowingly.
"My face?"
"And your mind."
He pointed his spoon toward her.
"Most people only notice the first. I know the second is far more dangerous."
She chuckled.
"I appreciate the compliment. Unfortunately... beauty loses its value the moment someone stronger decides they don't care. And intelligence... only matters while the stronger party allows you to keep talking."
Elric couldn't argue with that, because it was true. Within Midvest Academy, strength determined who had the luxury of being reasonable.
Amber quietly folded her hands together.
"I've been observing everyone these past few days. I haven't seen many people fight seriously. No one wants to reveal too much before the Special Entrance Examination. But one thing is obvious — they're all competent. They're all dangerous."
She smiled bitterly.
"If we're talking purely about combat... I'm probably near the bottom."
Elric shook his head.
"Then stop competing where you can't win."
She looked at him.
"Become indispensable somewhere else."
Amber smiled.
"That's exactly what I've been trying to do. But there's a limit. You can only manipulate people so much. You can only negotiate so much. You can only smile so many times. Eventually... someone simply decides to use force."
Elric quietly nodded. He understood that better than anyone, especially considering the situation surrounding his cousin.
Among the Mythical Tier students attempting to recruit him, one stood above the rest — a monster, a genius, someone powerful enough that even Elric had no intention of provoking him.
And someone who happened to be Amber's unwanted fiancé.
The mere thought of that man caused both of them to frown. Neither wished to discuss him further.
After a long silence, Amber finally spoke again.
"So... what do we do?"
Elric leaned back.
"I've always left the planning to you."
She sighed.
"That's unfortunate. My plans only work against reasonable people. If someone stronger decides to ignore reason... then every scheme eventually reaches its limit."
Another silence followed, this one lasting longer. Finally, Amber remembered something Lexa had said.
Master called you... an excellent find.
Not beautiful. Not useful as a political marriage. Not useful because of her appearance. No — Lexa had specifically repeated Dante's words. "A good find". She still couldn't understand it. She slowly looked toward Elric.
"...Let's meet him."
Elric wasn't surprised.
"You've already decided."
She nodded.
"We've spent the entire evening discussing every possible outcome. If we refuse... we'll simply become another target for people trying to recruit you. If we accept another Mythical student... we're gambling on someone we know nothing about. If we keep delaying... we'll eventually run out of room to maneuver."
She exhaled softly.
"But Dante... is the only one who has done something none of the others have."
Elric raised an eyebrow.
"He looked at me... and saw value."
She smiled faintly.
"Not because I'm beautiful. Not because of politics. Not because I'm your cousin. He looked at my skill. And somehow... he called it an excellent find."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened together.
"My entire life... people have looked at that skill with disappointment. My instructors. My relatives. The elders. They all came to the same conclusion. Unfortunate. What a waste of a Legendary Skill."
Some pitied her. Others mocked her. Most simply stopped expecting anything. Eventually, even Amber herself had begun believing them.
So hearing someone speak differently — someone who possessed an Appraisal Skill capable of seeing through abilities — shook something inside her.
'If he had merely complimented her beauty... she would have laughed. If he had tried flattering her intelligence... she would have ignored him.'
But he hadn't praised either. He had praised the one thing everyone else believed possessed no real value.
Her skill.
That was why she couldn't walk away. Not because she trusted Dante. She didn't at least Not yet. But because she desperately wanted to know what exactly he saw that nobody else had.
Elric quietly watched his cousin. Then nodded.
"...We'll meet him. If nothing else... I'm curious now too."
Amber smiled.
"Good. Because I don't think I'd be able to sleep if we didn't."
They cleaned the table before quietly retiring to their separate rooms. Elric fell asleep without much difficulty.
Amber didn't.
She lay awake staring at the ceiling, her thoughts repeatedly drifting back to the same words.
An excellent find.
She wanted to believe they were true. She wanted to believe someone had finally seen something worthwhile inside her.
But experience had taught her to distrust hope. After all, hope was usually followed by disappointment. She slowly closed her eyes.
"...Please... I hope he wasn't simply telling me what I wanted to hear."