CHAPTER 197: IN ELENA’S OFFICE

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Riven and Noel made it to the office. They knocked twice and waited. After a few seconds, Elena’s voice came from inside, telling them to come in.

Noel twisted the knob of the door and walked in. Elena sat down, buried in a mountain of paperwork.

She looked up and saw the both of them. "The Graves, what’s brought the two of you here? Shouldn’t you be resting after what happened?" she asked.

"We should, but an emergency came up, and we want to go there," Noel spoke.

"I see, you discovered what’s happening at your hometown, I guess. Well, I wouldn’t recommend you going, but I’m sure you’ll not hear any of that, so be careful," she said, her voice oozed with tiredness.

"We have to go, and we didn’t come for permission," Riven said.

"Hmmm? What’s it then?" she asked.

"Miss Ariel said it’s impossible for us to get to our hometown now due to restrictions," Noel said.

"Uhm, yes, that’s true. Security is really tight. The only way you would leave the capital is through teleportation," she said casually. Then she paused. A look of realization formed on her face. She looked up at them.

"You want a letter that will allow you to get into the teleportation drive at the Mage Council," she said, hitting the hammer right on the head.

Both of them nodded. "We need it as quickly as possible," Riven spoke.

"I see, well then, let’s talk," she said and leaned back into her chair, her arms folded, her expression turning into a cold poker face.

"Such favors are not within what you can get as students, even as the ones that saved the academy and the students twice.

"So you’ll have to do something for me. If you are up for it, I’ll be glad to write you a letter," she said.

The way she spoke was a little bit off-putting, but Riven had no choice. He knew the type of lady the headmistress was, she was cold, conniving, and very hard to understand.

He took a deep breath and spoke, "We agree to it, so what would you have us do?" he asked.

"Not now. I’d rather keep my little favor until I need your help," she said, pulling out a piece of paper and a quill. She wrote on it very quickly and very cleanly.

When she was done, she used her stamp on it and then folded it, handing it to Noel. Noel grabbed the letter, but she refused to let go. She looked him in the eyes and spoke, "Both of you better not die. If you do, I’ll kill you," she said.

Noel nodded, and she let go of the letter. They bowed to show appreciation and then left the office not too long after they arrived.

Elena watched as they left. She placed her hands together, fingers pressed, and then she leaned her head on her hand.

"Riven Von Grave, somehow you still manage to be a mystery," she muttered. She pulled out her drawer and took out a file. She flipped to the first page, and it was Riven’s information there.

It was the information she had asked her friend to gather in the past. It highlighted a lot of things that he had done, but nothing really showed any information about how he might have gotten his powers.

She closed the file after a few seconds and tossed the paper onto the table. "Could it be that he is really just a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy?" she asked herself.

[.....]

Riven walked through the hallway, his destination: Ariel’s place to get her letter. When he arrived, he saw her standing outside the infirmary. She stared at Riven and Noel, and then she spoke, "Riven, can I have a word with you?" she asked.

Riven was a bit confused about what was happening, but he followed her into the infirmary. She pulled a seat and sat down facing him.

"You should get a seat for this," she said. Riven felt that something was wrong there, so he refused to sit down. He shook his head, "I’m fine this way," he said.

She looked at him and let out a tired breath. "You can’t go back to your home," she went straight to the point.

"Why? What’s wrong again?" he asked.

"Nothing is wrong, but I’m telling you that you can’t go back. Trust me, there is a reason for this," she said.

Riven paused for a bit as if he was thinking about it, then he shook his head. "I’m sorry. I’m sure whatever reason you have is really important, but I doubt anything will be more important to me than my family," Riven said.

She frowned when she heard this, pinching her nose. She tried to think of a way to convince him.

"Miss Ariel, I don’t know what reason makes you want to stop me, but regardless of what happens, I’m going home to help my family," Riven said.

"You can’t. Listen to me, Riven, it is for your own good. Just stay in the academy," she spoke, genuine kindness in her eyes. He could tell that she had a reason for stopping him.

"Miss Ariel, what is the reason?" he spoke, clear and crisp, waiting for her response. She took a deep breath.

"I can’t tell you, Riven, but you have to listen to me. Going back to your home will be the end of you," she said, and finally, her words made it click in Riven’s mind.

She was scared of what would happen if he went, which meant she knew something about it.

Yet Riven wasn’t going to budge. "I don’t care if I’m going to die, or if something terrible will happen to me, Miss Ariel.

My family, all of them, are the greatest people in my life. No matter what it is that I have to be scared of, I’ll still fight for my family. I’ll lay down my life for them if I have to."