Flay absent mindedly let his pipe rest on his desk as he sat back and let a long, suffering sigh out. He stood up after a few brief moments and walked around his desk and moved to the rug that dominated the center of his office, right next to the wall that hid the portal that he'd discovered lead to the mana world.

On that wall were very few things, truly. Only one of the things resting against it held any importance to Flay whatsoever.

On that wall was a perfectly standard Pyre Blade. Or so it seemed. It had hardly any customization made upon it to suggest it was anything but the most basic mechsword, issued to every bounty hunter and the favorite of people new to their use.

The vice-principal let a smile dominate his face as he crossed his arms and merely contemplated the weapon. So lost was he in his musings that he barely even noticed his current pet project's entrance into his office. He briefly wondered what the boy would want in his office. He hadn't issued any assignments for today (as today's class had been on pain tolerance and he'd spent the entire class beating his students senseless) so the boy's visit was weird. "Yo." He offered, looking at the boy from the corner of his eye.

Ennarcia, his name was. Friends called him Enna. Real name Etward. Flay knew his apprentices well, and the boy's name was a sore spot that he could exploit at any point. Flay saw the blue haired boy's eyes be drawn to the wall where his Pyre Blade rested briefly, before he turned back to Flay and launched a rant about something or other.

In his mind, the vice-principal was already devising a test. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, completely ignoring the fact that the boy had been speaking. Probably something unimportant, else he'd probably make a fuzz about it.

"Huh?" Enna seemed caught completely off guard by the statement. "It's the most basic kind of mechsword." The boy informed.

"Why don't you take a closer look?" Flay asked, laughed and grabbed the weapon off its stand, offering it to Enna. "Careful, it's sharp." He warned.

Enna did as asked, though he sported a less than pleased look on his face. His expression went through several changes, going from bemusement to cautious curiosity, and then to open curiosity as he triggered the mechanism that split the weapon and opened it up, revealing the myriad internal weapons it held. "The craftsmanship on this is…" He spoke. "It's as if every single part was custom made from the best materials available… This isn't a simple mechsword." Enna stated, as he went about carefully analyzing every part he could without taking the blade apart.

Doing so would be an insult to mechanics everywhere, as the weapon was as close to perfection as it came. He observed the weapon in its entirety, as much as he could. "This… The mechanic who made this should be famous. His skills are incomparable… Do you know who-"

"Of course I know who made it. I was there when he made it for me, after all." Flay said, grinning. "Though it wasn't a mechanic by any stretch of the word. The man who made this was an alchemist… a damn good one, at that." The redheaded man said, moving towards his desk and grabbing his pipe, quickly putting it back in its proper place. "And an even better friend. Tell you what… you can keep it. Study his work… who knows, maybe you'll be the first person in the planet skilled enough to recreate it."

Enna didn't have to be told twice to take the blade and depart, rushing to his workshop. Absent mindedly, Flay noted that the boy had never finished explaining whatever had motivated him to visit his office.

After that, Flay went to stare out the window. The distant setting sun saw him offering the flying island that was the Academy Of Al-Revis a sad grin. "The world goes on, hero…" Flay stated, crossing his arms. "I guess this is what I saw in you, huh? I knew you'd be a better hero than I could ever hope to be… "

They thought they could hide their presences from him. How cute.

He turned to look at the obvious followers and gave the blue haired boy bordering on manhood who wasn't even bothering to hide himself a wink. The teenager nodded, grimly, and turned around to walk away.

Today was not a day in which Flay found himself in the mood for his usual antics.

Still, it was one day a year that this happened. The Flay Cave gathered only at this time, and so, Flay was not precisely willing to perform his usual antics. Not even he felt the need to break the somber mood. Yet… Even despite the somber mood that permeated the Wind's Corridor, Flay sported a grin as he watched one of the few people he could call friends lay a thick bouquet of flowers upon the ancient temple dedicated to the sacrifice of a mana.

He'd probably have to explain this to the kids who'd seen him.

It'd do them some good to know whose sacrifice it was that enabled their ability to study in Al-Revis.