Sakuramoria

The mysterious disappearance of the equally mysterious Sisnemis made Leila somewhat wary, considering Ixora's recent proposal. Could it be that she hadn't abandoned her plan, and Sisnemis had become her opponent? Theoretically, the timing seemed to match. And yet, Sisnemis was not a warrior, not even close. Would an ingredient willingly tarnish her warrior's honor with a duel against someone so inexperienced? Still, she wasn't the type to seek out a presumptuous and unskilled opponent; she wasn't driven by a thirst for profit. Her motivation could have been a desire to hone her skills. Besides, Ixora would hardly share such ideas with someone not only lacking combat experience but also a complete stranger. Unless he somehow found out about it and persuaded the girl to duel, but that in itself was a big assumption on many levels. He could easily have decided, after such ideas, that staying at the academy was too dangerous, especially if someone had let slip about the incident with Carvia. Of course, the Taimanian knew very little about Sisnemis; everything was limited to rumors of the Aeolian's conflicts with Gideon. And, knowing Gideon's reaction to Aliduum, even before he showed his inability to keep his genius to himself, the elder could have been the instigator of the conflict. So, speculating about Sisnemis's behavior was like grasping at straws. Of course, even if all these questions were set aside, there was also the possibility that even if the duel did take place, General Mandragora decided to cover for Ixora. Given the old warrior's morals, he could well have considered such duels to be quite normal, despite the changing public opinion about them. Or he might simply not have wanted to ruin the girl's life, deciding that a good talking-to would be enough for now. The deed is done, and you can't turn back the clock. No matter how you look at it, Leila's attempt to say something about Ixora's idea, regardless of whether it was related to Sisnemis's disappearance, would put her friend in a very awkward position. It could ruin another life, and a person to whom the Taimanian had become attached in these months. Who may not even have had anything to do with the events that happened to Sisnemis.