That was what it meant to leave some room for others, so you could meet again in the future.
Faced with the tacit understanding on display, Fu Qian, who had worn an expressionless face the entire time, gave a silent thumbs-up for the brief, efficient exchange.
At that moment, the atmosphere was undeniably rather delicate.
After what she had said, it was impossible for the two young people not to have second thoughts.
In fact, whether they were affected or not hardly mattered, because Ess was sure they would be.
They had waited expectantly for so long, followed the instructions to the letter, and ended up with nothing. They looked like clowns.
And the explanation Ess gave in the end not only vaguely matched the style of someone as hopelessly chuunibyou as him, but even contradicted itself.
First, she had said the Vacuum Flower wouldn't care about an unreasonable offense. Then she said it had failed because someone had offended it before.
It was hardly convincing.
Was everything they had done really just a farce? Had what he'd assumed was a smokescreen to protect a secret actually been the truth?
In this situation, even though the two of them hadn't voiced any such questions, anyone in Ess's position would have to consider the possibility.
Letting them go home without restricting their freedom, while leaving them a sliver of hope to encourage them to keep things as secret as possible, was a choice that worked out well for everyone.
On the way back, their spirits were nothing like before, but they made even better time than they had on the way there.
Ess and Fu Qian escorted the two apprentices back upstairs. A stern-looking stranger was already waiting there.
Having already secured their promise of secrecy on the way, Ess