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She took a few more moments to regain her composure. “...What is with that look on your face, huh? Am I amusing you, hmm?”

“I won’t deny it. In fact, I might just have to thank Hector for letting me see a new side of the ever-calm Lady of the Red Lake.”

“Zeff... are you telling me the truth? This is not some twisted joke to get a rise out of me? Because if it is, then I will be relieved but still quite unhappy. I’ve never known you to lie for fun.”

“It’s no lie,” said Zeff. “I’ve been training him extensively. In retrospect, his prowess was already impressive from the start, but there were still obvious gaps in his knowledge. Now, though...?”

“Now, what? He’s changed that much in so short a time?”

“Yes and no. He’s reached a point where it is difficult for me to gauge his true strength. Primarily because he has an annoying habit of holding back during training.”

“That’s not proof, then,” said Octavia. “He could’ve been playing ignorant in the beginning. And the reason he holds back now is because he is still trying to conceal his true strength from you. Which would be wise of him.”

Zeff chortled. “If he was pretending from the start, then he is an incredible actor. He even managed to fake having pathetically weak soul power.”

“Ah...”

“Yes.”

“I’ve... heard that’s possible, too,” said Octavia, though she sounded like even she didn’t believe it.

“Well, regardless, you can come to your own conclusions when you meet him yourself.”

She paused to exhale. “An astero to such an extreme degree...”

Her tone was making him curious. “I said he’s the most powerful one I’ve ever seen, but what about you? How many asteros have you encountered in your life, Octavia?”

She took her time answering that one. “A fair few, I suppose. I’d guess maybe... two or three per decade. But what you’re describing is... it’s almost unheard of.”

He stuck on that. “Almost?”

She shook her head. “I’m sure the reapers would know more. You must have discussed this matter with Axiolis by now, surely, no?”

“Of course.”

“And what did he have to say?”

“Now that I’m thinking about it... surprisingly little. But it has also been a while since we talked about it, so perhaps I should bring it up again.”

“Ugh.”

“We have been quite busy, you know.”

“You bring him over here, right now, young man. I want to talk to him.”

Zeff snickered. “Okay.” That was one order he was happy to follow. Listening to Octavia Redwater chew out one of the oldest reapers on the planet sounded like quite a good time to him.