Ales made a noise in an attempt to immediately answer her question. He sipped at his coffee a few times, but it would not help in delaying the answer long enough for Akane to give up and go home.

"Yes," came the answer after a good amount of silence. "What you heard my shadow say is true. Everyone knows what I did, and they won't let me do as I please if I returned to the Glade. Really, fighting a god everyone else loved can do that to one's reputation."

He turned away. What delicious coffee, yum. Much more interesting to look at than Akane's face, yup.