Chapter 51: Two Friends

The answer came quickly, as the two women hugged each other tightly. “It’s been too long, really, why didn’t you invite me earlier?”

Openly, Valeria changed her tone to one of discontent, uncharacteristic of her. “Well, I sent a messenger to nearly thirty places looking for you, but it took too long to find you.”

She sighed. “Valeria, the people above hand down too much work, and you know them – they won’t stand for any delay on that insane workload.”

“Do they really need you that much Yume? With how hard it is to contact you, you’re better off known as the elusive beauty of the country headquarters.”

Yume?

Hearing this name, Fang recognized who she was.

Several years ago, Minuet City did have a pair of extremely talented females, unmatched in ability at their age. It was Valeria and Yume who took the spotlight, he recalled. They were once classmates and close friends, but he never thought that Yume was the judge presiding over his examination.

Yume returned the reply with a pout. “Don’t be so mad, I headed here as soon as I reached the city. Plus, I’ve got a wonderful gift for you, you’ll certainly love it!”

Valeria’s face relaxed and her eyes lit up. “Welcome back, Yume.”

After exchanging greetings, Yume’s attention strayed towards Fang. “Well, it seems that we meet again Fang!”

The recommendation for Fang over that decisive victory at the examination was what had got him to where he was now, and he was extremely grateful for it. “Thank you very much for that recommendation at the examination back then.”

A bright smile distinctly appeared on her face. “Anyone would’ve done the same, and that position was temporary so might as well have made something out of it.”

Although that was what she said, Fang stayed tense, as she was definitely an important official from the country, and even the mayor of the city would’ve been respectful to her.

Casual chatter died down, and seeing the awkward position Fang was in, Valeria whispered, “Fang, is the talk between two sisters bothering you?”

Hastily, Fang replied, “Um, take your time, I actually was going to head towards the practice room.”

After spitting out those words, he speedily ran away.

Looking at his back as it vanished over the stairs, Yume murmured, “So, how was the candidate that I said was quite special?”

Valeria nodded in approval. “He’s truly outstanding, it’s only been half a year and he promoted into the intermediate stage. Even in this level, he’s gained four stages, and has quite a large amount of energy.”

“Four!” Yume was fairly stunned, as when she initially saw Fang, she never expected him to become this strong. “Valeria, you must have given him an energy bath, but even so, this is dreadfully fast!”

“I can’t emphasize my thanks,” Valeria said genuinely, “Yume, if not for you, I don’t think I would’ve been able to find someone as outstanding.”

She spluttered. “Oh, really, there’s no need for that formality. We’re not strangers after all, unless you think so… that’d make me really sad!”

“Please, other than this matter, I wouldn’t go out to be so polite.” Valeria rolled her eyes. “Even if I met your future boyfriend, I’m sure that he’d have to watch out especially.”

Instead of taking offense, Yume again just smiled back at her. “More importantly, I’d wish for the beautiful head of the chamber of commerce to find a boyfriend herself. After all these years without a single interest worries me, you’re the perfect woman with your looks and status. How could I get a boyfriend before you could? That’d wouldn’t be right at all.”

“It wouldn’t be wrong if you had one though,” Valeria teased in return, “Who doesn’t know the youngest official in the country’s headquarters? With your attractiveness, it’s no surprise hearing about the countless aristocrats proposing to you, but the shocking thing would be the heartless, cruel rejections that beauty hands out!”

Yume turned away contemptuously. “All that trash? They’re incredibly useless.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that they’re useless, but you can’t simply compare with them. With your ability, you’ve entered the country headquarters, and to find someone at the same level of talent would be incredibly difficult. I’d say that I was more worried for you than you were for me.”

“Really!” Yume spun around and stared at her. “There’s no need to worry about that, as if I can’t find an appropriate boyfriend, then I’ll just find a girlfriend instead, no, I already have an ideal girlfriend. Don’t you think that you and I make a perfect fit?”

“…”

The relationship between the two friends were pretty close, and there was no doubt that they were intimate, but they were more like sisters than anything else. Valeria switched the topic back to Fang. “Yume, can you guess what happened in the recent competition that the chamber of commerce hosted last week?”

Though Valeria hadn’t told her about the details of her family’s deaths, Yume knew the current struggle for power within the city, and that a fierce rivalry between the two main businesses existed. However, seeing her friend’s cheerful expression coupled with Valeria bringing up the event herself gave Yume a slightly strange feeling. “What happened?”

“Richard’s son, William, participated as a freshman in that competition.”

Hearing this, Yume instantly guessed what took place. “So, Richard knew the relationship between you and Fang, and took advantage of this 'friendly' competition to put his son and Fang in the same group?”

Valeria's smile grew wider. “Right!”

“Shameless! Doesn’t he know when to stop? I’ve heard from a colleague that William’s talent was very high, moreover exhibiting an elemental property this early. Even if Fang had progressed this rapidly, he’s only a 4th grade intermediate, and judging by their energy alone, he couldn’t be William’s match at all…” Seeing Valeria’s face however, Yume paused and cautiously asked, “Is it possible that Fang…?”

“Yes, he won!”

Startled, Yume stared at her. “How’s that possible?”

“Initially, I didn’t think it was feasible; in fact, I encouraged him to give up on this fight. He unpredictably refused, and said that he had to take this challenge, and won! I underestimated him…” Valeria’s voice trailed off as she looked upwards in pride.

“So… how did he win?”

“Well that…” Valeria smirked. “You’ll find the answer in the practice room.”

“You’re really making me sad today with all these secrets. But, as you want, I’ll go and see for myself.” Abruptly, Yume headed towards the stairs then looked back. “Before that, do you have a spare set of clothes to change into?”

“Choose whatever you’d like!”