"Even if soul-returning poplar seeds can't turn into butterflies, they can still grow into great trees..." Colma waved a hand and gave a listless grunt. "Enough small talk. You know why I asked you here today, right?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't have waited here so long." Ilena's smile faded. She glanced around and lowered her voice slightly. "Besides, your plan goes into action in another month... Didn't we agree to play it safe until then? Why did you ask me out again today?"
"I didn't want to either!" Irritated, Colma kicked the soul-returning poplar beside her, making its branches rustle and sending the "caterpillars" hanging from them tumbling to the ground.
Ilena carefully dodged the seeds falling overhead and gave her partner a speechless look.
Colma let out a long sigh. Finally putting aside her hesitation, she drew out a slip of paper between two fingers and flicked it toward Ilena. "I received this the day before yesterday... It appeared right on the bar counter in Genie's Hut, unsigned. It tells us to postpone the plan and await further instructions, or the moment we begin will be the moment a summons from the Danhaag High Court arrives."
Ilena's expression changed drastically. She snatched the note and read it closely.
Although the black cat hiding in the treetop couldn't make out the words on the note, a slight twitch of his ears had caught most of what Colma had just said. His heart began to pound uneasily.
From what that senior student had said, whatever she and Ilena were doing seemed less than legal. If that was true, should he stop them before they made a mistake, or pretend he knew nothing?
It was a difficult choice. Whichever he chose, no one would thank him. Instead, he would earn a