Mage Manual-Chapter 1325 - 968: Three Sharing a Bed

The Sword Maiden isn’t as clumsy as you...

Not as clumsy as you...

Clumsy...

Clang, clang, clang, Nia could practically hear the strings in her mind snapping one by one. She looked down, gripping her sword hilt tightly, her shoulders trembling with anger. When she took a step forward, she unleashed the most ferocious sword strike of her life.

If she had held back a little earlier, she was now truly unleashing her full power, vowing to cut the man who crawled out of a trash can into pieces, slicing him into six with just three cuts, and then dismember him!

But her wide-open attacks only exposed more flaws. Ash easily dodged and blocked them, and even in the midst of the fierce battle, he said, "Still won’t admit it? You’re worse at lying than I am. After all, when I lie, the Sword Maiden can see through it, and I can see through your lies easily too. So not only are you clumsier than the Sword Maiden, you’re even clumsier than I am."

"Shut up!"

"Not only are you clumsier than the Sword Maiden, you’re also more shy. On this journey, when you have a question, you just mess around by yourself without asking, and I have to pay attention to you. But the Sword Maiden asks questions when she has them, wishing she could uncover all my secrets. What about you? Do you even know what my favorite dish is?"

"Who doesn’t know you love LL Fat!?"

"You actually know, huh." Ash smirked, "But you never ask me personal questions. You ask the Sword Maiden more than you ask me. Sometimes I wonder if you have a crush on her."

"I don’t... Shut up!"

"And this is another thing. You never correct yourself when you’re pointed out on something. Although the Sword Maiden doesn’t change either, she proudly says, ’That’s just how I am, so deal with it,’ while you just avoid it, pretending not to hear when faced with a problem. You’re more sensitive than the Sword Maiden."

"Aaahh!"

Faced with a flailing Nia, Ash was unfazed, but the poor wall ended up with dozens of sword traces, nearly collapsing.

"This is also what’s different between you and the Sword Maiden. You lose your temper without considering time or place when you’re upset. It’s me who offended you, so why are you taking it out on the wall?" Ash said, "But the Sword Maiden is different. She at least waits until it’s safe to lose her temper at me, although this often comes with a heavy interest later on..."

"I’m just not good at anything, is that it!?" Nia’s eyes reddened, she sobbed, "I already know I’m no match for the Sword Maiden, can you just shut up!?"

"Insecure," Ash wasn’t ready to let her off the hook: "Though you’re as insecure as the Sword Maiden, she overcame her inner weakness after gaining power. But you, even with power, can’t break free, sinking deeper into the swamp of insecurity, indulging in self-pity."

"I’m going to... kill you. I’m going to kill you!"

At the peak of her anger, Nia instead regained her rationality, fully deploying all her true skills. Various sword techniques unfolded in her hands one by one.

Her months of special training had not been in vain. The intense practice with Vishi and Ash had made her swordsmanship more refined, and her movements as she wielded the sword were as gentle as a breeze, her petite frame seemingly weightless. She blended almost seamlessly with the wind and rain, not limiting herself to swordsmanship. Ash’s boxing and Vishi’s leg techniques were all incorporated into her combat style.

Compared to herself from a few months ago, Nia had improved tremendously.

But Ash had improved even more!

Ash stomped heavily, causing the puddle on the ground to splash, momentarily obscuring Nia’s vision. Taking advantage of this fleeting opportunity, Ash’s twin swords struck the weak point in Nia’s sword path, pinning her against the wall, successfully suppressing her!

"The Sword Maiden wouldn’t lose to me either." Ash met her gaze at close range, his soft lips delivering the most piercing words, "It’s not about talent or effort. If the Sword Maiden can win honorably, she will fight, but if she thinks her chances are slim, she wouldn’t fight, or she’d prepare schemes to make me slip up. But you, even knowing you can’t win, would fight, persisting to the very last moment, refusing to give up."

Nia was at a loss for words, her eyes shimmering with tears. She bit her lip gently, staring at Ash, not allowing a tear to fall. She realized that while her feet were pinned, her calves could still move, and so she kept stepping on Ash’s feet, softly whining with each step.

The sound of rain gradually weakened, as if it was about to stop.

She noticed Ash neither spoke nor moved, allowing her to vent, yet for some reason, she didn’t dare meet his gaze. She only managed to squeeze out a few weak notes from the corner of her mouth: "Let me go."

"I didn’t chase you down just to let you run." Ash sighed, "I want to take you back."

"After saying all those bad things about me, why would you want me back?" Nia lowered her head, sniffing back tears, "I’ll turn myself in, alright?"

"I never said you were bad."

Nia looked up at him, saying nothing, her aggrieved expression alone a powerful accusation of Ash’s shamelessness.

"I was only pointing out how you’re different from the Sword Maiden." Ash smiled, "I just wanted to prove that I haven’t transferred my feelings for the Sword Maiden to you. I see you both as completely independent individuals."

"You’re not the Sword Maiden’s shadow. You are the unique Miss Sevi."

"Your clumsiness, shyness, sensitivity, temper, insecurity, and your persistence in fighting even when you know you can’t win... combine to form the delightful and adorable Miss Sevi." Ash added, "Perhaps not all are fine qualities, but together they make a beautiful existence."

"You’re lying," Nia said in a trembling voice, "I framed you, surely you’re mad at me now?"

"I am a bit angry, but not at you for framing me, rather for killing because of me." Ash sighed, "I don’t know what you’ve been through before, but I always hope you won’t soil your hands again."

"You’re lying!" Nia shook her head, "Your plan for the Allstars tour was ruined, doesn’t that bother you at all!?"

"Firstly, it might not be ruined," Ash said, "secondly, you stopped the plan to protect me. If I’m to be mad, it should be at the Dazzling Star Master. It is Fate, the Dazzling Star Master, that forced us into a dilemma. As individuals in this era’s great stream, we can only choose what we believe is right."

"You’re lying! You just want to trick me into going back! Don’t think saying all this will make me believe you!"

"I haven’t lied to you. I’ve never told you a lie, now or before."

"That’s the biggest lie of all!"

Nia shouted angrily, taking the opportunity to threaten Ash with the flat of her blade: "The first time we met, you lied to me. Back then, you said—"

"That’s not a lie anymore."

The flat of the blade grazed Ash’s cheek, leaving a shallow cut. Blood mixed with rainwater on his face. Nia stared blankly at Ash, and finally, she saw her own reflection in his pupils.

She moved the blade away, slid down against the wall, biting her lip lightly, and with a hint of a weep in her voice, said: "You’re lying to me..."

Ash squatted down and looked at her: "Let’s go back."

It took a while before Nia reluctantly nodded. Ash stood up, noticing Nia still sitting limply on the ground, "What’s wrong?"

"I..." Nia sniffed hard, "I’m dizzy from blood..."

Ash didn’t seem surprised, helping her up and asking: "How do you treat dizziness from blood again?"

"Ice cream." Nia clutched his shirt corner, following behind him, "Eating ice cream will help." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Then let’s buy a few boxes of ice cream on the way back," Ash said cheerfully, "They’ve been working overtime, too."

"Hey, the rain stopped." Ash stretched out his hand, "Unbelievable, how come the rain stopped just as we’re heading back, is the universe conspiring against us? Better if it just kept raining!"

Nia looked up, seeing the clouds part in the Heavenly Curtain, revealing the light of the stars.

...

...

The next day at the high-speed rail station, the same group of passengers boarded Business Carriage No. 1 of the Kasa.

"We went through all this last night and can still continue the journey," Vishi complained, "I thought today’s plot would be about escaping the City and battling the military."

"The two main key points in this serial murder case are: does the perpetrator have a tendency for violent killings, and does the perpetrator really have strong single-combat abilities," Rose said. "The violent killing tendency was debunked when all the victims turned out to be alive."

Everyone realized something was off when they heard Nia had thrown all the victims into a river, and sure enough, Rose found the supposed dead victims alive in other cities after a little underworld investigation.

Turns out Nia had only beaten them with the back of her sword. The wounds didn’t bleed much, and she threatened them with death if they dared return to the City, then tossed them into the river. No bodies were found by police because no one had died.

"I knew Nia didn’t kill anyone," Ash sighed in relief, "She may seem fierce, but she’s kind at heart."

Nia was flustered: "I’m not!"

Vishi asked: "Then why didn’t you kill them?"

"I just didn’t want to..."

Nia stopped halfway, but Ash immediately guessed the rest: "You didn’t want me to be falsely accused of murder, so you left them alive to clear my name?"

Nia’s lips moved slightly, and she turned her head away without speaking.

"As for single combat power, it’s easily resolved," Rose said, "I intimidated the victims into submitting testimonies saying, ’I knew the opponent was Ash Heath, so I didn’t dare to fight back,’ then it turned from ’vigilante attacks criminal underworld’ to ’poor people playing games with rich ones,’ entirely changing the nature of it. The police department also reframed Ash’s combat power as a combination of influence and monetary capabilities."

"It’s a shame, I thought this might stop the plan after all," Vishi sighed, "Now I just have to watch the Master go off to die..."

"If anyone stops me again, I’ll smack you on the head, Vishi," Ash adjusted the seat into a recliner mode, speaking calmly.

"Why do you hit me when someone else stops you?"

"Because you’re stirring up disorder, now is actually the time your demigod soul should be encouraging everyone."

"Alright, when the Master returns, he might just get lost in the Sword Witch’s gentle embrace and completely forget about the Kingdom of Allstars... Hey, are you serious? You actually hit me?!"

After hitting Vishi three times, Ash went back to lie on the seat, yawning heavily: "Didn’t sleep at all last night, so tired..."

"Switching to sleep mode," Rose pulled down the curtains through the panel, dimming the lights in the room, "Nobody got much rest last night, get a good sleep. Attendant, we need a blanket for everyone here."

No one objected, and one by one, they lay down in the business seats to sleep.

Filly waited silently for ten minutes, got up quietly without putting on her slippers, and tiptoed to Ash’s seat.

But just then, she saw Nia getting up as well.

The two exchanged a glance, after an intense silent communication, they set aside their dispute for joint development. If asked later, they’d use the excuse of going to the restroom and just found any spot to lie down while groggy.

Though the business seats were spacious, three people squeezing together was still too much. Ash’s eyelids twitched from the pressure, but he dared not move his body. Seeing it wouldn’t work, Filly pulled Ash’s hand over to hug herself, allowing her to sleep in his arms.

Nia mimicked the action, so the three of them finally lay comfortably and could sleep peacefully.

While they managed to fall asleep, the others were woken by their actions. Igula, Harvey, Vishi, and Rose set up, exchanged glances silently, and shut off the camera shutter sound and flashlight on their phones, testing each other on whose photography skills were superior.