The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 209: A Decision To Make

"Let them be served first," Drake gave a short nod to the people in front of him.

The students in front of them stiffened instantly as they heard his words, then quickly stepped aside, forming a clear path as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

No one complained or even dared to.

’...Does he have a high authority in the academy? Everyone seems to respect him, and from the murmurs I have heard... even the Student Council shouldn’t dare to provoke him since he’s known for being arrogant.’

Gray acknowledged it with a brief nod and moved forward, calmly selecting a few servings before carrying his tray toward an empty table near the side.

The others followed behind him without a word, their steps being oddly hesitant.

They sat down, and for a few seconds, only the faint clink of cutlery and the low murmurs of the cafeteria filled the air.

Until finally, Ronan couldn’t take it anymore and spoke:

"Well... it’s not like Gray would actually join this academy," he said, forcing a laugh that didn’t quite land.

"...."

The table remained silent as Ronan turned to Gray, and seeing him not replying, he nervously added:

"...R-right?"

Finally, Gray looked up from his food, and noticing everyone’s gaze entirely on him, he rolled his eyes, sighing.

"There’s a chance that I will."

That did absolutely nothing to calm their hearts at all!

"Bro, you can’t do this to us!" Ronan groaned, clutching his chest dramatically. "After everything we went through!"

Gray ignored him completely.

"And you wouldn’t just leave your cute girlfriend behind, would you?!" Ronan pointed at Lyra.

Lyra looked up at Gray with puppy eyes, almost pleading.

"There are teleportation gates in both cities," Gray stated flatly, taking a bite of his food. "If I want to see her, I’ll use the one here."

"Wouldn’t that be insanely expensive?!" Ronan complained

"For the benefits they are giving me, even if I used it every day, I wouldn’t exactly spend too much money. Besides, I’m pretty sure that the organization behind the teleportation gate has a yearly card that lets you use it any time you want during the chosen year."

The table went quiet once again.

Rustle...

’...Huh?’

Fwoom!

Without thinking twice, Gray conjured a casual hiding spell under the table that would hide whatever was happening.

After all... a foot was now massaging his crotch.

His eyes instantly turned to the culprit, who was none other than Selene, who had previously tasted the forbidden fruit with him.

It had been more than three months since their encounter, and now, she had probably gathered quite a hefty amount of lust.

’...Is this her way of convincing me not to enter this academy?’

Rustle, rustle...

Selene’s toes curled around his rapidly hardening length through his trousers, her heel pressing rhythmically against his base.

To be honest, Gray didn’t feel much from that, but because it had been a long time since he last had sex, he easily got hard.

So, without thinking, Gray simply grabbed her foot and pushed it away. He also gave her a look that said that whatever she was trying to do, it wouldn’t work.

She pouted at that, to the point of even averting her gaze.

"Ahem...!" Adrian suddenly coughed, getting everyone’s attention.

He was one of the only two people who were happy if Gray went to the other academy. Of course, the only two being himself and Leon.

After all... Gray was simply too damn charming, and if he were gone, more girls would pay attention to him!

As for Leon, well... his history with Gray simply explained it.

"Did you guys even notice?" Adrian said, gesturing vaguely around the cafeteria. "Almost every student in here is above the Peak Advanced Stage."

"Huh?" Ronan blinked in surprise.

"I’m serious," Adrian nodded firmly.

"I sensed it properly. There are, what, maybe a dozen people still stuck there? The rest have already stepped into the Master Realm."

"That many...?" Claire frowned.

"At the very least." Leon nodded quietly.

Adrian let out a short, incredulous laugh. "I know they’re supposed to be the strongest students of each year, but this is still insane, isn’t it?"

He looked around the table, then added bluntly,

"The strongest people in our class barely reached the Intermediate Advanced Stage."

The words hung in the air.

"When you say it like that..." Ronan slowly scratched his cheek.

"...That’s a ridiculous gap," Lyra glanced around uneasily, then back at Gray.

He simply kept eating, but even though he looked indecisive, he already had an answer in his heart about whether to join this academy or not.

"...Well," Leon spoke up, breaking the brief silence, "the only reason our academy is even called the strongest is because of Cecilia."

He let out a tired sigh.

"Our Student Council President basically crushed most of this academy by herself."

"By herself?" Ronan blinked.

"Her realm was terrifyingly high compared to her opponents. Not just higher... but extremely overwhelming," Leon nodded.

Adrian crossed his arms and continued, "There were rumors she could fight through the ranks without stopping."

"Yeah," Leon added.

"So, of course, she won. Single-handedly. And once she brought back that victory, everyone voted for her without hesitation."

He paused, then added dryly, "That’s probably the real reason she’s the Student Council President."

"...Cecilia," Selina repeated thoughtfully. "That’s the girl who asked about Gray in the cafeteria, right?"

"I think so," Ronan replied, nodding.

"I never forget a beautiful face like hers..." his tone turned almost dreamy, causing the girls to give him a disgusted look.

Seeing this, Ronan clicked his tongue.

"You girls and your double standards...tsk. If it were Gray saying that, you all would simply get jealous!" he muttered under his breath, and of course, everyone heard that.

At this, Lyra also scanned the girls around her... the only person she probably could trust to be alone with Gray was Cassandra and Maelis...

One was his step-sister, and the other one acted coldly to everyone.

As for Katia... she didn’t know her yet, but because of how introverted she seemed, Lyra probably didn’t need to worry about her.

"I’m done eating," Gray suddenly stood up.

And that’s when they looked at his plate, which only had a few crumbs of food. They were so busy talking that they almost forgot the food on their plate.

"Gray, wai—!" Lyra’s lips parted slighly, just to be interrupted.

"—I have something to do, so I won’t accompany any of you," he stated before anyone could stop him.

"What, now?" Ronan exclaimed in surprise.

"Bro, you can’t just—"

Unfortunately for him, Gray was already heading towards the exit of the cafeteria, completely ignoring his existence.

He then stopped near one of the academy walls, where a large, detailed map had been engraved directly into polished stone.

"Mhm..."

He took a single look at it and then directly headed towards the gardens, the place where he thought that almost no students would be present.

And just like he had expected, it was truly quiet, but it was still very beautiful with wide paths, trimmed hedges, fountains murmuring softly, the air carrying a faint floral scent.

A few students lingered at the edges; most of them were couples.

He walked past the common paths, past the decorative arches, deeper, until the sound of voices faded and even the wind seemed reluctant to follow.

Only then did he stop and sharply turn around.

"Get out."

Gray suddenly spoke, looking at an empty space. He continued staring at it for a few seconds, and then, his eyes moved slighly as if following someone moving.

"...You got me."

An oddly enticing female voice pried into his ears, as he directly took a step back.

In that instant, a few blue wisps appeared in the ground and slowly formed a blue female figure.

"Your mana detection is still absurdly sharp, Gray," she said, smiling. "As expected from the only child I ever wanted as a disciple."

"Clarintine... or should I call you Aurora?"

"Aurora is fine, darling," she smiled playfully.

Swish...

The blue wisps dissipated, showing her appearance clearly.

She was tall, unnervingly so, standing straight even in black heels.

Long auburn hair spilled down her back in loose waves, catching the light as if it belonged there. Her pupils were red, deep, and vivid, carrying a weight of age and experience that no youthful face could hide.

A small black beauty mark rested just above her full, reddish-pink lips, drawing the eye no matter how much one tried not to stare.

Her white shirt strained unapologetically against her chest, the buttons pulled to their limit, the fabric threatening betrayal with every small movement.

Below it, a tight pencil skirt hugged her waist and hips before falling neatly, emphasizing her long legs wrapped in black stockings.

Even without the heels, she would’ve been tall.

Possibly taller than him.

And she looked at Gray like she always had... like he was something precious.

"Did you miss me, Darling?"