When Roman arrived back at the outpost, Rena was already waiting for him in his room. She was dressed in her usual combat wear with her belts on.

The most significant thing however was that she was not wearing a good look on her face at all. It was clear that she had been waiting for him for a while, and that alone justified why her expression was anything but welcoming.

Roman swallowed and approached her, and the moment Rena noticed him, she went ahead and made the whole thing more tense.

She folded her arms and frowned.

Roman on the other hand tried smiling as he approached her, already bracing himself for the questions she was about to throw at him.

"Where are you coming from?" She asked, her eyes dark and piercing.

"Where have you been?"

Roman was about to try responding when she fired another question, and he had to pause.

"Who have you been with?"

Yet again, another one came just as he was about to speak, and at that point Roman was already feeling the heat.

"Err... Umm..."

"Are you cheating on me?" Rena interrupted again, and Roman’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Do you have someone else?"

*Ahhhhh!!! Why is she saying all of this?!* Roman screamed helplessly in his thoughts, because at that point it had stopped being funny entirely.

She must have been waiting long enough for all of that to build up in her head.

Roman knew he would need more than a simple excuse to get himself out of this, because even though he had not done any of what she was accusing him of, he still could not tell her he had gone hunting alone.

He figured that would be another crime entirely.

"It’s not like that, Rena... Umm, sorry. Babe..." Roman rolled his eyes briefly.

"I was in the valley. I went to scout the eastern edge, to map out where we could hunt tonight. Unfortunately, I got pulled into a monster territory that I had to deal with. Nothing more than that, babe."

Rena stared at him blankly as he explained himself, and it was clear that she was not entirely buying it.

Even after he stopped talking, Rena stayed silent for a moment and searched his eyes, like she was trying to find the real truth somewhere in them.

Roman kept his composure and held her gaze, offering an apologetic look for keeping her waiting and nothing more.

"I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting. That was never my intention, but things happen sometimes. I’ll make it up to you, alright?" Roman said.

After staring at him in silence for a considerable while, Rena finally decided to let it go. She sighed and nodded.

"Don’t ever keep me waiting this long again," she said. Her voice and expression had shifted by then, softening into the look of someone who was choosing to move past it.

"I promise. I really do."

Roman apologised, taking both her arms and making sure she was completely settled.

"I already went to get our meal from the restaurant. The chef wouldn’t give me yours since you weren’t there, so I paid for it myself," Rena said.

"Oh? You brought money here?" Roman asked, genuinely surprised.

No rookie was supposed to have any money at this point. The Head and Master Norman had both planned to take the rookies to the market the day before Privilege Day, and that was tomorrow. So the fact that Rena had money on her was already a question on its own, and the only way he could think to explain it was not exactly legal.

"Nah, I stole it."

’Oh no. Did I just say that out loud?’ Rena mused.

"You stole? Isn’t that against the rules?" Roman’s eyes went wide.

"Would you care to ask me how and where I got it?"

Roman gave her a confused stare before nodding slowly.

"Okay. How and where..."

"Nevermind, I was about to..." Rena started to redirect the conversation when they were both suddenly interrupted.

"Excuse me, both of you."

Two young men who appeared to be seniors had approached them, and even though they did not come across as threatening, Roman already sensed that this was not a small matter.

"You are Roman Rings, right?" One of the seniors asked.

"Yes," Roman nodded.

"And you are Rena Ironcrown?" The other asked her.

"Yeah," Rena replied, clearly curious why their names were being confirmed.

"Good then. The Head would like to speak with both of you immediately. He has asked that you come with us to his quarters right away," one of the seniors said.

Roman and Rena exchanged a quick look, and in that silence several thoughts started colliding in both of their heads.

Roman’s went somewhere dark immediately.

’Did they find out about my Talent?’

’Do they know about the system?’

’Or have they figured out that I have multiple Professions?’

Rena’s thoughts went in a completely different direction.

’Did they find out about my Talent? No, I haven’t even used it yet.’

’Or maybe... Did someone find out about what happened between me and Roman in the valley? No. There is no way.’

Then a thought crossed her mind that made her eyes go wide.

’Or did my father come looking for me?’

None of those questions had answers yet as they made their way to Sylvester Trench’s quarters.

Getting there was the only way to find out, and they both knew it.

When they arrived, they waited for the Head to finish a conversation with Master Norman before Norman stepped out and turned directly to Rena.

"You are going in first," he said, and then walked away.

But before he had gone too far, he paused and gave Roman a short, heavy look.

Roman did not know what to make of it.

But he held the look and said nothing.

...

When Rena stepped into the room, Sylvester had already offered a seat. She sat down with that same curious expression still on her face.

Then after a long sigh, the Head began the conversation with the last thing she had expected to hear.

"Don’t lie to me."

"Who really are you?"