"I already know your answer, but…" Nate twisted his face in an ugly grimace, "are you really going to do it?"
He knew better than to challenge Tesh on something she made up her mind about. And yet, even though he knew, he still felt like he absolutely had to try.
What she was planning was going beyond the limits of just raiding people's rooms in order to establish her dominant position within the academy and use the stolen resources, found blackmail materials, and all sorts of other stuff sourced from the raided rooms to become an elite herself.
'I knew it. I knew it all the way back then, but to think it would come to bite me back in the ass so much later!'
Nate was never a fan of Tesh's idea of how to live her life through the academy years. He used to question her methods a whole damn lot, especially with how much they clashed with his own ideal path, which was abusing their innate talents to naturally climb up to their deserved spot in the academy's hierarchy.
Tesh, however, never had the patience to follow this kind of boring path, nor did she have the patience to listen to Nate's repeated warnings.
Up until today, she managed to get away from her shenanigans scot-free, always limiting her actions to just below the level where other powerhouses would feel compelled to take action. She always knew how to judge her opponents, allowing her to churn out a near-perfect track of never going against people she couldn't afford to deal with.
This, however, resulted in the near-boundless confidence she displayed right now, when, rather than just jumping on the idea of raiding a teacher's room on a spur of the moment, she went ahead and pulled out all the stops.
If anyone were to see her right now, gone was the elite student Tesh, known for her mild, polite manners, calm demeanor, and forever perfect yet modest attire.
Right now, Tesh stripped down to her bare skin before dressing up in the pitch-black, gray-striped suit that would make her blend nigh perfectly with the shadows, obscuring her frame to avoid the instinctive detection of a human eye drawn to the shape of its kin.
As if that wasn't enough, she sported most of her ridiculously expensive gear, ranging from the rare amulets sewn into the cloth of her suit, through mystical bracelets imbued with powerful escape and obscuring spells, all the way to her greatest treasure—a thieving queen's crown, a gift from the academy headmaster, perfectly aware of all of her shenanigans, who gifted her on the day she finally stopped with her raids.
In the place of the silent elite now stood the menace that once robbed all of the students of their sense of security while simultaneously giving a rise to the lock-building industry!
"Yes, I am," Tesh finally acknowledged Nate's question as she turned her mask-covered face and looked at her cousin. "And you are going to help me do it."
//\\ //\\ //\\ //\\ //\\
"How is this supposed to make any damn sense?" Lukas muttered, staring down at the front page of the stack of papers he held up in his hands as he moved down the corridor. "Did you forget about all the rules of solid proof?" he asked, as he turned to look at Ludwig, a fellow student and one of his close aides.
Right now, however, if anyone were to look at them, they wouldn't see two fellow students but rather a teacher and his disciple, with the former chastising the latter on the matter of failed homework.
"You can use examples to test the theorem, but not to prove it, man!" Lukas muttered as he turned his eyes back to the page. "If you submit it as it is, there's no way Celeste will accept it!"
"But how else am I to prove it if not by practical examples?" Ludwig tried to argue. "What would even be the point of a theorem that only applies to some imaginary cases? Having something that works on a practical plane should be that much better!"
Hearing this, Lukas heaved a sigh.
"It's not about practicality or theory. It's all about how a single example can be merely coincidental. It's like claiming that you can buy a pony with a coin and using a gold coin as an example of proof," Lukas lowered the papers in his hand, looking directly at his aide instead. "Sure, you could buy a pony with a gold coin, but with a silver one? Or better, with a bronze coin?" he explained before shaking his head. "A single example, heck, even a hundred of them prove nothing. What you need to do is showcase that no matter what is used for an example, it will still…"
"Look!" Ludwig called out before Lukas could even finish.
"What?" Lukas looked up, first taking stock of where his friend was already looking before turning his eyes in that direction himself. Then, after staring into an empty corridor for a moment, he turned his eyes back to his friend before asking again. "What?"
"I…" Ludwig hesitated for a moment, his eyes squinted as he judged whether he saw it true or if he simply had a brain fart. "I think I saw a shadow pass through…"
"A shadow?" Lukas looked up the corridor again, straining his eyes, but to no effect.
The corridor, as expected at the time when most of the teachers conducted their classes, was pretty much empty except for the two of them.
Most of the students were at their respective classes. Those who had no lessons right now, just like Lukas and Ludwig, were either out on missions, locked in their personal studies, or trying to crack various topics out in the library.
It was merely a chance that led those two to this particular place at that particular time, a chance… or Ludwig's clumsiness that made him leave his papers back in one of Celeste's classrooms!
"Just a brain fart, I guess," Ludwig muttered, quick to dismiss his own sense of awareness.
"Is it, though?" Contrary to his aide, Lukas wasn't all that quick to dismiss what Ludwig thought he noticed.
What his friend lacked in the smarts or confidence departments, he more than earned back when it came to several other fields, his brilliant perception being one of them.
'A shadow, huh?' Lukas thought, squinting his eyes a bit as his brain went into overdrive, trying to figure out the possible meaning of spotting such a thing, right in the middle of the day, right in the empty corridor connecting the teaching hall with the teacher's dorm.
'Could it be her?'
For a moment, Lukas entertained the possibility.
Even though it's been over a year since his precious crystal outright vanished from his room, even though he could never find a single shred of proof of who was behind its disappearance… The identity of the academy's phantom thief wasn't all that hard to uncover, especially by someone of Lukas' status.
Knowing the one responsible and being able to prove her guilt or even force her to give the stolen item back, though? That was an entirely different topic!
For close to six months, Lukas gave up on the whole deal and even forgot about it, unable to pursue the topic when the phantom thief ceased her activities, perfectly satisfied with the position in the academy she earned.
But her signature movement technique, a technique allegedly only reinforced by the whole array of tools and boosting items…
'Weren't the rumors talking all about an imperceptible shadow?' Lukas thought, trying to reach deep down into his memories, only to fail to retrieve any information of value.
In the end, just a potential brain fart of his aide wasn't a good enough reason for someone as busy as him to pursue an old vendetta. It made no logical sense for him to waste his time chasing an old legend. And even if he gave chase to that shadow, what were the chances today would be any different than all the times when he tried to catch that phantom thief in the past?
'Shit…'
Lukas cursed under his breath, feeling his heartbeat quicken, his body seeing through the facade of logic and reason that his mind tried to obscure his true feelings with.
'Even if it's a long shot, could I even look at myself in the mirror if I just dismissed it?'
Lukas took a deep breath before slowly sighing it out.
"Ludwig, I'm sorry, but we will have to put your homework off for later," he said, only to reach into his pocket before pulling out a small vial with thick, green liquid sloshing around its insides. "For now," Lukas popped the vial's cap away before bringing the now open container over his friend's nose, "I want you to find exactly what you think you saw."