The conversation with Marcella continued for several more minutes as she kept asking about his condition and how he was feeling.
Although Raven did not show it openly, there was a faint smile on his face.
Yes... a very faint smile.
Perhaps so slight that the naked eye would never notice it.
"Yes. Goodbye, Marcella."
Raven finally spoke as he watched her leave the room.
"Hoo..."
He let out a deep breath and lay back down on the bed, his smile widening just a little.
"And I was unconscious for three days...?"
He stared at the ceiling in thought.
That meant there was still one week left before the academy opened.
"I need to rest properly."
Raven slowly closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
After Raven sank into sleep, a figure suddenly appeared from the empty space before him.
She wore a pitch-black dress.
Her pink hair, fading into white, carried a single purple strand.
Her crimson eyes were filled with worry... and a trace of sadness.
"Raven..."
Renee tightened her grip on the umbrella in her hand as she looked at him lying on the bed.
She was angry.
Yet she had been unable to stop Raven from entering the Rift and facing the serpent.
"Fate..."
She thought of it, her eyes flashing with a little anger.
"But..."
She looked at Raven once more.
Seeing his steady breathing, the anger in her eyes vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth overflowing from those crimson irises.
Renee stepped forward slowly and placed a hand on Raven's pale forehead.
"Ray..."
She lightly caressed his face.
Then she leaned closer.
A mischievous smile spread across her lips.
Slowly, she moved nearer still.
Tap.
Renee placed a soft kiss upon his cheek.
"My Raven... we will meet again very soon."
Her smile deepened as she gazed at his closed eyes.
"And when that time comes..."
"Fate, hm?"
After teasing his face for a few more seconds, Renee vanished from the room just as mysteriously as she had appeared.
No one knew what had happened there.
No one except Renee.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"Comfortable..."
That was the first thought that filled Raven's mind as he opened his eyes once more.
He felt refreshed.
But stranger than that was the warm and soothing sensation he had felt while sleeping... and the lingering warmth upon his cheek.
"Strange..."
Raven touched his cheek in confusion.
"Oh, child, you're awake."
A lively and cheerful voice entered the room along with the sound of the door opening, cutting through his thoughts.
"Marcus?"
Raven looked toward the old man with green eyes standing before him.
"How are you feeling? You looked pitiful and half-dead when Mouse brought you here."
Marcus spoke again, though this time his playful expression had been replaced by seriousness.
Raven stared into the old man's eyes for a few silent seconds.
"There was a monster."
At last, he spoke.
But that was not all.
The fingers of his hand slowly began to tremble.
"A monster? What kind?"
Marcus had intended to joke, but when he noticed Raven's shaking hand, he stopped and asked seriously.
"It was a serpent... a C-rank serpent. But that's not all."
Raven's voice shook as he spoke.
"Wait. A C-rank serpent inside a D-rank Rift?"
Marcus interrupted loudly this time.
"Yes."
Raven answered patiently, unconcerned by being interrupted.
"That means..."
Marcus's eyes darkened.
"There was an error in the Rift... or it was a Gate."
He spoke with grave seriousness.
"I don't know. But that monster was strong... stronger than any C-rank creature I've heard of."
Raven met the old wanderer's gaze.
"Child... do you know what that means?"
Marcus returned the same serious stare.
"It means this wasn't a Rift. It was a Gate."
He continued.
"Do you know the difference?"
"No."
Raven shook his head, despite already knowing.
"If it were a Rift, it would be dangerous but ordinary. Rare, perhaps. But a Gate is different... kid" His eyes became slightly darker
"Rifts are hidden spaces suspended within the void. But a Gate is exactly what its name suggests."
Marcus's voice grew heavier.
"It is a doorway leading directly to that world."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Think carefully. What happens if there are A-rank monsters inside? What if the Gate breaks?"
Raven's face gradually turned pale.
A monster wave.
Not one or two creatures.
Perhaps hundreds of thousands...
Or millions.
"This..."
Raven stared at Marcus in shock.
"Yes. What you're thinking is real."
Marcus delivered the final blow.
"And what's worse... this is the outskirts. Neither we nor the government could stop it."
His green eyes darkened as he spoke.
Silence filled the room.
For several minutes, neither man said another word.
Marcus thought about what could be done.
Perhaps nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Raven thought of the scale of the catastrophe that might come.
"Hoo..."
After a while, Marcus exhaled deeply.
"Don't think too much, child. It's only a possibility."
"I'm not—"
Before Raven could finish, the sound of the door opening interrupted him.
"Marcus, get back to the customers."
Marcella entered lazily as she spoke.
"All right."
Marcus said nothing more. He simply nodded and walked toward the door.
"And don't forget to pay for staying here... this is your third day. Though I'll kindly give you a fifty percent discount."
He flashed a grin before closing the door behind him.
Silence filled the room once more as Raven and Marcella stared at the shut door.
"That old man..."
Marcella pressed a hand against her forehead.
"Mm."
Raven nodded, understanding exactly how she felt.
"Anyway, I'm going to examine you now."
She stepped closer and sat beside him.
A few minutes passed.
"You heal unusually fast," she said, studying his arm with interest. "You look like someone with a healing ability."
"Yes."
A strange feeling stirred inside Raven when he heard that, but he ignored it.
"At this rate, you'll be able to leave tomorrow."
She smiled as she stood and lazily stretched her body.
"And now I have to go. Goodbye."
She turned toward the door.
"...Marcella."
Before she could leave, Raven suddenly spoke.
"Yes?"
She stopped and looked back at him in confusion.
"Um... thank you. Thank you."
Raven lowered his head and spoke quietly, ignoring the warmth rising to his ears.
"Cute... you're welcome."
Marcella smiled playfully before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"Cute?"
Raven touched his reddened ears, utterly confused.