Chapter 38: Easier Than I Thought

Nora studied the two of them for a moment after Ethan finished speaking.

The east grounds were quiet except for a few students moving along.

"You want me as the third member?" Nora asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ethan nodded. "Yes."

Lila’s arms were crossed tightly. She had not looked away from Nora since they arrived. "For the record, this was his idea."

"I thought so" Nora glanced at her, then back at Ethan. "And y"Before I agree, I want to clarify a few things..."

Ethan nodded once. In truth, he had expected that. "Go ahead."

"Roles," Nora said. "Who has what rolea in the dungeon? And who makes the final call when things go south?"

"I will, " Ethan answered calmly. "You two can talk about strategy before we enter. Once we’re inside, I’ll handle the rest. The golem and Bef can act as scout and defense, and I can use Death Link to know how far we’re supposed to go."

Lila’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t interrupt.

Nora accepted the answer with a slight nod of her head. "Alright. That’s fine. Second, How much of your undead capability are you planning to show under evaluation conditions?"

"As much as necessary to clear the objective and not enough to make the instructors write additional reports that’ll come back to bite me." Ethan replied calmly. "Ranked undead will be used. I’m not walking into a dungeon evaluation test with one hand tied behind my back just to look less threatening."

"That visibility will land on all three of us," Nora said.

"I know"

"And you’re still asking me to stand in it."

"I’m asking you because you’re the only person who won’t gag the moment I step in the room."

There was a brief moment of silence before Nora’s gaze flicked to Lila again.

"Third question: Can she work with me without turning a fight into a second problem."

Lila answered before Ethan could. "I’m not comfortable with where this is going. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sabotage a dungeon run."

"Reassuring," Nora said sarcastically.

"I’m serious." Lila replied with an edge in her voice. "I think you’re dangerous, I think you’re too interested in him, and I think this whole arrangement is a bad idea. But I’m not stupid enough to pick a fight with a teammate while something with claws and teeth is trying to kill us. You do your job. I’ll do mine."

Nora looked her for a longer moment, as if weighing how much honesty was present in the statement, then she looked back at Ethan.

"I have conditions."

He deadpanned. "What is this? Some kind of business arrangement?"

Nora completely ignored him and began talking: "One. Information during the run is shared. If either of you notices something about the environment, enemy behavior, or observation patterns, it gets said out loud. No last minute adjustments that leave the rest of the group scrambling to keep up, and no playing hero."

Ethan’s brows furrowed. "The fuck do you take me for?".

"Two: If the evaluation starts drawing specific attention to me, we adjust where possible. I am not interested in becoming a case study because you decided to make a point."

Lila scoffed, and Ethan replied. "Understandable. Alright then. Agreed."

"Three." Nora’s tone as serious as possible. "After the dungeon, we compare notes. What worked, what didn’t and which of the instructors watched most closely. That information is more valuable than the score."

Ethan considered it, thinking about it in the most logical way possible...

"Deal."

Nora’s eyes moved between them once more, and a smirk spread across her face. "Then I’ll take the third slot."

Lila exhaled but she didn’t argue further. She knew that the decision had already been made in the moment Ethan refused to look for anyone else.

"We’ll submit the names today," Ethan said. "Professor Crane wants them before the deadline. No reason to wait."

"Alright," Nora replied with a nod and Ethan pulled out his phone.

Before he could open it, Nora said something that made him look up. "We’ll need at least one joint session before the entry date. I need to know how well we can hold under serious conditions."

Lila’s eyes narrowed. ’What is she? The leader?’

"Tomorrow," Ethan said. "I’ll be here so we can have a short session."

Lila looked between them, then muttered, "I’ll be there."

Nora gave a nod, seemingly satisfied. "Then that’s settled."

She turned and began walking toward the far end of the path. No handshake, nothing. Just left like this was some business agreement.

Lila watched her leave and scoffed...

"I hate this."

"Sure you don’t."

"She’s going to use the dungeon to study you."

"I know that too." Ethan adjusted the sleeve of the zip-up hoodie. "She’s also the only Rank A who will stand in a group with me without needing to be convinced for an hour first that I’m useless."

Lila was quiet for a few seconds. Then she stepped closer and knocked her shoulder lightly against his.

"If she tries anything stupid inside, I’m burning her."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Can you even do that?"

"I’m serious, Ethan."

"Alright fine. I got it."

Ethan exhaled and tilted his head upwards. Their group had a Necromancer, a Blood Craft user, and a flame affinity user who openly disliked one of her teammates.

It was not an ideal formation, but ut was the one he could make since Lila messed up several minutes of planning with a few words.

Ethan glanced down at his phone and opened the email they had received about the academy submission form for the groups.

He scrolled through the page and at the end of it, there was a slot for three names. He entered them, reviewed the list the way he had reviewed memos and office letters in his old life and sent it.

The confirmation reply arrived almost immediately.

[Group registered.]

Lila leaned over to see the screen, then looked away with a tight expression.

"Done?"

"Done."

They began walking, and as they did, a single thought surfaced in Ethan’s mind.

He pressed his lips together.

"That was easier that I thought..."