Utopian System

"Right," Zara said, her voice growing colder, Flare's scales darking in response. "A city to run. It's funny, you know? A few days ago, you seemed very interested in talking to him privately. What was that about?"

The four girls visibly tsed, their salamanders mirroring their unease. Mei was the first to recover, her amber eyes meeting Zara's gaze steadily. "We just wanted to personally ask him for the opportunity to help. Nothing more."

Zara wasn't convinced, her eyes narrowing. "Nothing more? Because it seemed like you had a lot to tell him. Especially you." She said, pointing at Lila, whose gold salamander curled tighter.

Aria stepped in, her salamander growing slightly, reflecting her irritation. "What exactly are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything," Zara responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm just wondering why four girls who barely know Elio would be so eager to talk to him in private."

Valeria interved, her voice cold as steel, her gray salamander adopting a defsive posture. "I think you're overreacting. We're not the only ones who want to talk to the new leader of the city... Shouldn't you call him Von Elio? Your way is very casual."

The tsion was mounting by the momt. The girls' salamanders reflected their owners' moods: Aria's was sparking, Mei's was observing atttively, Valeria's had adopted a defsive stance, and Lila's seemed to want to disappear.

Kriz, unable to contain himself any longer, approached the group, his rabbit hopping nervously at his feet. "Well, well, what do we have here? A secret meeting of Elio's fan club? I love him too. Where's my invitation?"

Brok, following Kriz, tried to calm the situation. "Come on, everyone. Training's over, it's time to rest."

Zara felt she was losing control of the situation. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Look, I'm just worried about Elio. If you know anything, anything at all, please tell me."

Kriz, noticing the growing tsion, tried to light the mood. "Come on, girls. I'm sure Elio's fine. He probably just fell asleep somewhere. You know how he is, always working until he passes out."

Lila, her eyes filled with guilt, oped her mouth to speak, but Mei silced her with a look.

"We don't know anything," Mei said firmly. "If we did, we'd tell you. We all want what's best for the city, don't we?"

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Zara looked at them one by one, searching for any hint of deception. Flare, ssing her frustration, emitted a small growl.

"Fine," Zara finally said, her voice barely controlled. "I guess I'll have to keep looking. But I'm warning you, if I find out you're hiding something..."

"Hiding something?" Aria interrupted, standing up. Her salamander grew, the flames on its body intsifying. "What exactly do you think we're hiding? Or are you simply jealous?"

Those words hit Zara like a slap. Flare hissed threatingly, its body heating up in response to Zara's anger.

"Jealous? Of you?" Zara almost shouted. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Elio is..."

"Von Elio is what?" Valeria challged, joining Aria. "Your property? Because as far as we know, the leader is free to talk to whoever he wants."

Brok tried to interve, his massive frame stepping betwe the girls. "Come on, everyone, let's calm down. This isn't getting us anywhere."

Zara was about to respond wh Lila suddly stood up. "Enough! This isn't right. If there's a chance it could help... We should tell the truth... We're..."

At that precise momt, a strong wind interrupted the argumt. Everyone turned to see a figure descding rapidly from the sky.

Elio landed softly beside them, Ember clinging tightly to his shoulder. He looked exhilarated, his eyes shining with excitemt and... concern?

"Zara," he said, looking at her in surprise. Th, noticing Kriz and Brok, he added: "What's going on here?"

Kriz, being Kriz, was the first to break the silce. "Boss! Just in time for the show. We were about to organize a death glare contest in your honor."

Elio blinked, confused, but th shook his head as if remembering something important. "List, I need to talk to all of you. I've se something... something that will change everything."

But someone who had lost concern for Elio's well-being couldn't get something out of her head...

Zara, now intrigued by the interruption to Lila, turned to her. "What truth, Lila? What were you going to say?"

Before Lila could answer, Aria interved again to hide the truth. "The truth is that Elio had promised to think about whether or not he would go out with Lila. That's all."

A stunned silce fell over the group. Zara felt as if she had be punched in the stomach. She turned to Elio, her eyes burning with pain and reproach.

"Wha… You tell her what?" Zara asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Elio, clearly uncomfortable, tried to change the subject. "List, I just saw something important about the mana deposits. We have to..."

"Don't change the subject, Elio," Zara interrupted. "Is what she's saying true?"

Kriz, unable to contain his mocking nature, added fuel to the fire. "Wow, boss, I didn't know you were such a ladies' man. Any other secret dates we should know about?"

Elio, visibly frustrated, raised his voice. "Silce! This is ridiculous. We have more important matters to..."

But Zara didn't let him finish. "No, Elio. Explain yourself. Did you promise to go out with her?"

The tsion in the air was palpable. Flare, on Zara's shoulder, emitted intse heat, reflecting its owner's agitation. Ember, for its part, curled closer to Elio's neck, as if wanting to protect him.

Elio took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "Zara, now is not the time for this. Whatever I may or may not have said to Lila is not relevant right now. We need to talk about the deposits..."

"Not relevant?" Zara interrupted, her voice rising. "How can you say that? Don't you see what's happing here? You're behaving like Fathoran, are you going to make your own harem now?"

Elio felt his patice wearing thin. "What I see is that you're making a sce over nothing. This is ridiculous. We're in the middle of a crisis and you're worried about..."

"About what?" Zara interrupted, her voice trembling with emotion. "About the fact that you're appartly making dates left and right?"

Elio clched his fists, struggling to maintain his composure. "I hav't promised anything. I just said I'd think about it. Why do you care so much anyway?"