Olivia was in direction to the school wall. The previous night she had fought against that intruder whose name she didn't know, who had left two wounds in parallel on her flank. She wanted to talk to Nighishad, the deputy director, to see how the intruder was.

Being so big and clumsy, she could not avoid colliding with a few things on the way to the cave that was the home of the so-called master of fear. She knocked down a cart, a pile of hay, and finally she decided to take a slower and safer step when she almost almost crushed a kitten. And no, it was not a kindfolk.

When he finally arrived at his destination, she did not expect to be received the way she was.

—Who dares to disturb my lunch !? — Nighishad asked, about to get angry. — Oh, it's you, Olivia.

The truth was that despite the years serving as deputy director, Nighishad was not yet fully accustomed to life in company. In fact, he was known for his random attacks of aggressiveness, though luckily reduced to a minimum, enough so that weaker students, usually kindfolk, were not in imminent danger just because he was there.

And of course, it is not that he had the best manners. This became clear evidence, like in this case, when interrupted when eating.

—Your prisoner is fine, for now. I have not eaten it yet, if that is what you want to know.

— Actually, I came to talk to him. I want to find out where he got his weapons. — Olivia said.

— The daggers? From what he told me, he did them himself, with the scales of a dragon he killed on his own.

— I did not mean those weapons. I mean the crossbow and everything else.

— The ones you told me that he basically created out of nothing? I'm afraid that's impossible. Surely it was an optical illusion or something like that. — Said Nighishad downplaying the matter.

— I know what I saw. He was below me without weapons and suddenly a blood red sword pierced my right fin entirely. That was not an optical illusion, it was a real sword, appearing out of nowhere.

— However, come in, I'm not going to stop you.

And when Olivia approached the lizard, which was still trapped in that purple containment bubble, with his arm still aching and his armor unrepaired, he, in turn, shouted angrily in the direction of the deputy director.

— So why did not you eat me, you old man? What am I just a candy for the girl !?

— I'm not going to eat you.— Olivia said. — I would never think of eating someone with whom I can talk.

— What if he were mute? — Nighishad asked, receiving a look that told him not to interrupt.

— What I'm going for is, I do not want to hurt you. I have come to try to reason with you.

— And why would you do it? — The kindfolk asked.

— Because you forgave my life. You could have killed me out there, but you did not. Why?

The lizard, on the other hand, was not going to let himself get information out, but that conversation distracted him from the pain in his broken arm.

— There is no glory in catching an easy prey.

— And what about your daggers? How did you kill the other?

— I had an unfair advantage, and I abused her, that's all. —Noctis didn't give easy to direct pressure.

— I see. One thing, I still do not know your name. — Olivia said, trying to approach by personal way.

— My name is Noctis, Noctis Grief, from Triskelion City.

— A pleasure to know your name. My name is Olivia, from the Rivierae region. — She presented herself in a similar way to how he had done it, but without including her surname or his town of origin, as a precaution.

The lizard was intrigued by the name of that creature. It was not the name he expected from a dragon, in fact, it was clear that it was a kindfolk origin name. But that was not the time to talk about that.

And then, there was an awkward silence. Until finally, it was Noctis himself who took the initiative.

— It had been years since i tasted the defeat. Who taught you to fight?

Olivia had never fought in her life. But she was not going to say it like that, as she had seen an opportunity at last.

— I'll tell you, but I hope you give me information in return.

Noctis did not know anything about what Olivia was up to, but s

he wasn't going to let himself be interrogated so easily.

— And what good would it be for me to know the name of your master, if I can't get out of this bubble?

Of course, Olivia didn't want to let him get away, but it was almost all she could give him to talk about.

—  I'll get you out of there, but first I want to hear how you got those weapons.

— And yet, here I am that any dragon who sees me if I am liberated will certainly kill me.

Noctis wanted to see how much Olivia would raise her offer before accepting.

— Well, no. Personally, as long as you remain close to me, and as far as it depends on me, I'll see that you don't get hurt. - Olivia looked completely sure of what he was asking. In spite of how ridiculous it might sound.

— Only one thing I ask, besides this, and then I will tell you what you want and I will do as you ask. I want to have a rematch against you. If I win, I will be free, and I will have to watch over myself, but I will not tell you anything about my power or its origin.

— I think it's an acceptable offer. It will be a friendly rematch, with no one trying to kill anyone, and if I win, you will have to teach me to fight better. Those are my only conditions. - Olivia looked into his eyes.

— Deal.

— Well, I'll start with my part of the deal. —And while he covered with his fin the artifact that gave origin to the bubble — I have never fought with anyone in my life before.

— Good. That was unnecessary. I mean, you could not have told me. We still need to have our rematch.

— I said it as an act of good faith. After all, I do not lose anything with telling you.

Nighishad came up behind Olivia and whispered. —Are you sure about this?

— Of course i'm sure.

—Well, now that he said it, I think I see a problem. — Noctis said, listening to them. — I still have my arm broken.

— Oh, do not worry about that. — Affirmed Nighishad. — In the infirmary of the school there is a remedator. With that it will be enough to have you back in condition in a couple of minutes. 

— And why didn't you say it before? — Both Noctis and Olivia reacted in chorus. 

—Well, my sinister side wanted to have fun for a while.