[Calyra’s POV]

Meanwhile, that same night in Velthia Academy, in the aftermath of the Ashway Bazaar....

The library dimmed as night came. And there, at one of the smaller tables in the lower-ranked scholar’s wing, sat the porcelein doll beauty, Calyra.

She was a presence usually too rare for that part of the building to recognize. Her sitting posture was immaculate, carefully cradling a thin book volume.

Though, she wasn’t truly reading it.

Her eyes were on the page, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Even so, the idle chatter in the background had already been noticed by her.

"Isn’t that Lady Calyra?"

"Damn... she is really a damn beauty."

"Yeah, I know, but, what is she doing down here?"

"Erm... I don’t know, maybe she got lost and forgot where the upper section was?"

"Don’t be stupid, are you trying to say that Lady Calyra is a fool?"

"Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean it that way."

They spoke in hushed tones as if the name alone might summon trouble. And perhaps it would have, on any other day.

Still, Calyra didn’t correct them.

There was no need for her to bother with useless nonsense.

Instead, she turned another page, slower than necessary. Eventually, the thought finally resurfaced in her mind.

’Where is he?’

The seat by the window was always the same one. Ruvian would usually arrive just after sundown.

But today... he wasn’t.

’Could it be that he had forgotten about it?’

Her hands shifted, subtly. One elbow slipped to the table, her chin lowering until it met her forearm. The book remained open, unread. Her placid and calm eyes drifted sideways, toward the vacant chair.

Calyra didn’t understand why it bothered her.

She’d simply come to read.

Talking to him was just a side quest. But maybe because they had already made an arrangement, and the fact that he had forgotten about it... irked her a bit.

’I had already prepared to teach him some of my spells today....’

Calyra melted further into the desk, forehead resting gently against the back of her wrist.

’Haa... oh well, maybe another time.’

With that, Calyra yawned, closing the book and decided to leave the library.

*****

[Silvena’s POV]

The next morning came.

After the Ashway Bazaar event, Silvena brought them to her guild.

"So, how are the two of them?"

Silvena asked after running into the healer responsible for treating Ruvian and Irene on her way to the recovery wing of the guild fortress.

The healer adjusted her glasses before bowing her head slightly toward Silvena, speaking with the respectful tone reserved for the daughter of the Merchant Guild’s ruling family.

"They are both recovering steadily, Lady Silvena. Irene has nearly returned to her usual condition and strength already."

"But as for the man..."

Her expression turned slightly more serious.

"He pushed his body far beyond its limits. His Spellcore circuits and muscles suffered severe exhaustion, so he remains unconscious for now. From our estimation, he will likely awaken within two or three days."

The healer then added in a calmer tone, "Fortunately, all of his physical injuries have been completely healed."

’Two or three days, huh... well, that was about what I expected. Seraphine also said the same thing last night.’

Silvena slightly recalled what Seraphine had said to her while they both were having their discussions about their secret organisation that somehow the demon already discovered about.

Silvena let out a soft sigh.

’Looks like we won’t be able to return to the academy by the date we promised after all. I guess I’ll have to send them a letter explaining the delay.’

After thanking the healer, she gently pushed open the door and stepped into the infirmary room.

Two massive beds stood at the opposite sides of the room, separated by expensive silk curtains with the Merchant Guild’s crest sewn onto them.

Beside the beds were several magic artifacts quietly glowing with mana, tools used to stabilize the body and reduce pain; just one of those artifacts alone was probably worth more money than what normal adventurers could earn in their entire lives.

And the windows were even more ridiculous.

Giant glass walls stretched from floor to ceiling, showing the entire city below like a painting while warm sunlight flooded into the room.

Silvena glanced around the luxurious recovery suite without much reaction. To her, this level of extravagance was normal.

Her gaze soon shifted toward the two beds.

Irene was already awake, quietly reading a book while leaning against her pillow, looking far healthier than before. As for the person next to her bed, Ruvian remained motionless on the other side of the room, his chest rising and falling slowly beneath the blankets.

The moment Irene noticed who had entered the room, her eyes widened slightly. She quickly closed the book resting on her lap.

"Lady Silvena—"

Just as Irene was about to push herself out of bed and lower her head in greeting, Silvena immediately raised a hand to stop her.

"Don’t. Just stay there."

She lightly sighed.

"You’re still recovering. If you tear open your wounds, I’ll be very annoyed."

Irene froze for a moment before letting out a small awkward laugh.

"...Understood."

Silvena walked closer to the bed before glancing at the book in Irene’s hands.

"You seem lively enough already."

"Yeah, I feel much better now," Irene replied softly.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Soon, Irene made a slightly annoyed face, though it looked far more amused than genuinely irritated.

"I can’t really tell whether I’ve been sleeping well or not," she said before pointing toward the unconscious Ruvian on the opposite bed. "But this guy definitely talks in his sleep a lot."

Silvena blinked before letting out a small chuckle.

"Oh?" She glanced toward Ruvian’s sleeping figure.

"What kind of things was he saying?"

"Hm..." Irene carefully placed her book aside on the nearby desk and leaned back against her pillow in thought.

"I honestly couldn’t understand most of it. It was all strange gibberish — almost like some sort of language I’ve never heard before."

"I see..."

Silvena murmured quietly.

After a few moments, Irene suddenly spoke without looking away from Silvena.

"Are we returning to the academy this evening?"

Silvena lightly shook her head.

"Probably not."

Her gaze drifted toward the unconscious man resting across the room before returning to Irene once more.

"We’ll head back after this guy wakes up."

Silvena said while casually pointing her thumb toward Ruvian.

"The healer estimated it would take another two or three days before he regains consciousness, so we will have to wait until—"

"No, we can’t wait." (+20PP)

A rough and casual voice suddenly echoed through the room.

Both Irene and Silvena froze.

"Huh!?" Silvena exclaimed in shock.

Their heads immediately snapped toward the opposite bed.

The man who was supposedly meant to remain unconscious for another two or three days had somehow already opened his eyes.

And he looked absolutely miserable!

...Well, sort of.

Ruvian was lying across the massive bed like a half-dead nobleman who had just survived ten different diseases at the same time.

One hand was pressed tightly against his forehead, as if he was wincing in pain. He was wearing a loose white recovery robe made from absurdly expensive cloth.

For several long seconds, he simply stared blankly at the ceiling. Then, very slowly, he turned his head toward the two girls.

"...Ugh. Feels like someone smashed my head with a hammer," he muttered in a rough, exhausted voice.

"Anyway... how long was I knocked out for?"

Silvena did not answer immediately. To be more precise, she was still too busy staring at him in complete disbelief.

After all, why the hell was this person already awake?

Both the healer and Seraphine had confidently stated that he would remain unconscious for at least another two or three days.

Yet here he was, casually talking like someone who had merely taken a long nap instead of nearly destroying his entire body.

"Hey, Ruvian..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you...

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 178: A Monster?]

Plot Points= 12,270