Ella said calmly, "Try to feel your attribute—like it's one with your body."
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll try... but what's the catch?"
"Catch?" she echoed innocently.
"You're definitely not teaching me for free. So, what do you want?"
Ella smirked. "How about this: don't die."
Rin blinked. "Don't die?"
"Yes. If you die, I die too."
Rin sighed. "Fine. I'll try controlling my electricity. But if I blow up, you're taking the blame."
"Deal. Now quit whining and just use it already."
Rin closed his eyes. Feel it like it's part of me... he thought. Alright then—
Suddenly, he felt a surge of electricity coursing through his limbs. The air around him grew thick with static, and his fingertips buzzed with a tingling heat. "Shit," he muttered, tensing. "I'm seriously about to blow something up. I knew I shouldn't have listened to—"
Before he could finish, Ella leaned forward and gently kissed his forehead. A warm pulse spread through him, and in a flash, the electricity vanished—calm, still, gone.
Rin stared. "What the hell?! Did you just kiss me on the forehead?!"
Ella shrugged. "It's how I can control someone's mana. I can suppress it for ten seconds… but then I have to kiss them again."
Rin recoiled. "That's your ability?! What kind of messed-up trait is that?"
"It's not a trait," she said smugly. "It's an attribute I created from scratch. It links physical contact to mana suppression. And forehead kisses? Let's just say I made a personal choice."
"You created an attribute? How the hell do you even do that?"
She tilted her head, then frowned. "...To be honest with you... I kind of forgot."
Rin gaped at her. "Wow. You really are dumb. And why forehead kisses, of all things? Why not a tap on the shoulder or an ear flick or literally anything else?"
"Because," she said proudly, "a pretty girl like me deserves to kiss anyone on the forehead."
Rin rolled his eyes. "Pretty girl, my ass."
"What was that?" she said, narrowing her eyes.
"Nothing, nothing," Rin muttered. "Anyway, how long are we keeping this training up? A week won't be enough for me to fully control my electricity."
Ella crossed her arms. "You're closer than you think. If you can feel the attribute, that means you're almost there. One or two more days, tops."
Rin nodded. "Alright, let's get to it then… Oh, and can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"You mentioned Kaela could fuse elements, right? Do you think she even knows that?"
Ella looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Rin said, "in the entrance exam? She didn't use any kind of fusion. Just her trait. And in the dungeon too—there was something off. The way she reported everything felt… incomplete."
"Hmm…" Ella leaned back. "Maybe she's hiding her strength. Doesn't want to get moved to a higher class?"
"I doubt it," Rin said. "She told me she wants to become someone like the Headmaster. Why would she hold back?"
"Then why not just ask her?"
Rin exhaled. "Yeah, right. 'Hey Kaela, I figured out your secret.' She'd kill me on the spot."
Ella grinned. "Maybe. Maybe not. She'll talk eventually."
Before Rin could reply, the door creaked open. It was Kobe.
"Hey, all of you—wait, where are Taro and Kaela?" he asked.
"They left earlier," Rin replied.
Kobe nodded, then casually took a seat. "Mind telling me what happened in the dungeon? Or… why those demons were after you?"
Rin tensed. Should I say anything?
Ella whispered in his head, Give him just the headlines. I wasn't awake back then—I want to know too.
Rin nodded. "Alright. The leader said something like, 'We finally found you. The master wants to see you.' And they had a symbol on their left arm… an hourglass."
"An hourglass, huh…" Kobe muttered, rubbing his chin. "Any idea why they're looking for you?"
"Nope. No clue," Rin said quickly.
"Well," Kobe stood up, brushing off his coat. "I'm just glad you're okay. Get some rest. I'll see you in class."
After the door shut behind him, Rin glanced at Ella—and froze.
Her face had gone pale, like she'd seen a ghost.
"Hey. You good?" he asked.
She whispered, "D-Did you say… an hourglass on their left arm?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Tell me everything he said. Word for word."
"He also said… that I had a seal in my mind."
"A seal?" she echoed, eyes narrowing. "I can't sense anything... Are you sure?"
"Positive. He said that if the seal ever broke—"
"You'd speak broken words," she finished.
Rin blinked. "How did you—?"
"That seal," Ella said, voice low, "is my father's doing."
"Your… father?" Rin asked. "Why would he seal my mind? And if he's still alive, how—?"
"That's the problem," she said darkly. "I don't know. Only demons live that long. But my father… was never a demon."
Her eyes locked onto Rin's.
"So what the hell do you have to do with all of this?"
---
To be continued...