n

n

n

"Aaah, that was tiring!

" Now that the problematic matter with the welcoming party of the inner academy was over, Layn had no qualms against slamming his body against the bed and stretching all his limbs at once.

n

"Tiring? I believe there are other words to describe what you did out there…

" SHaking her head in disbelief, Irea gently sat on a nearby chair. With her legs closing together, her back perfectly straight and her hands cupped above her abdomen, even her sitting pose was oozing feminity.

n

"Huh? What kind of word would be more fitting to describe my actions back then?

" Turning his head to the side, Layn looked at the girl. From the wrinkles around her eyes, the archmage could tell how tired she was despite not doing anything much at all.

n

"Frivolous? Arrogant? Reckless? Insane? You went against the top brass of the inner academy. I wouldn't be surprised if even the core academy echelons will now learn about you!

" Suddenly erupting, all the wrinkles on Irea's face disappeared all at once, when her face twisted in fury she was bottling for a while already.

n

"What do you mean? Is it something we should care about?

" Squinting his eyes in surprise, Layn even went as far as to push his hands to the back and probe his body up a bit.

n

"Are you for real?!

" Hearing Layn's response, Irea's muscles lost their power making her fall back on the chair. As heated as she was before, now she appeared not to have any willpower to discuss with the archmage at all.

n

"Listen here, you little **.

" Even after taking several long and deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, Irea didn't become any more peaceful than she was before. Rather than that, it appeared as if every Layn's word only brought her closer to another limit of what her mentality could withstand.

n

"You went around, flexing your strength, means, and lethality. Any of those points alone would easily doom you if you were to be any weaker. But if you think that limit to how strong one can be is at what you saw already…

" Shaking her head once again, Irea spat out her next words as if each of them contained a fair bit of poison.

n

"What I saw already? I fought with several grade two cultivators at once and managed to kill them all without any effort.

" Retorting Irea's words, Layn riled up a bit. 'I know that I'm constantly pushing both my limits and my luck, but there is hardly anything better I could do…' With the conflict inside his thought between just ignoring the entire scheme against him or scorching the entire city to make sure no enemy of his would remain, Layn remained silent rather than building upon his arguments.

n

"Like I said, you are like a frog in the well. I know that being two stars expert is an insane achievement already. But keep in mind, there are three-star cultivators in this world. Some of which…

" Looking up, Irea suddenly turned silent as if just mentioning what she had on mind was enough to bring a disaster forth.

"Some of which may or may not reside in the core academy.

"

nAfter this outburst, Irea suddenly turned silent. Hanging her head low, she sat back down on the chair she jumped up from several times in just the last few moments. After yet another moment, her shoulders started to shake.

n

"Listen, I know that after advancing through so many ranks at once, you might feel invincible. Heck, with all your skills, tricks, and knowledge, you might fall not that far away from that mark.

" This time, Irea's voice was light, as if just the slightest noise could easily make it unrecognizable. She brought her knees to her chest before wrapping her arms around her long legs.

n

"I know that you are strong. I know that even the strongest of the cultivators could find themselves in a pinch when pitted against you.

" Shaking her head violently, Irea suddenly raised her teary eyes before openly staring right into Layn's eyes.

"But I don't want to learn whether this guess is correct or not. I don't want to see you defeat those monsters if there is even the smallest chance that you could stand to lose against them!

"

nThe change from her previously silent voice to the scream she used to convey the last part of her troubled soul was monumental. Even if her words failed to make a huge impression on the archmage, the desperation hidden behind this change to her tone succeeded in doing so.

n

"Okay, I understand.

" Knowing that there was no point in trying to speak his way out of the situation, Layn raised both of his hands before nodding his head.

"I won't act as cocky again. I mean, not unless it will be necessary.

" Given how a huge part of Layn's attitude was just his preference rather than a strict method to achieve something, Layn stood to lose nothing by altering his behavior a bit. And as long as it would put Irea's mind at peace…

"That's… great!…?

" This time, her voice started at a loud and furious shout, only to devolve in a slight whisper on her second world before her question could only be conveyed by the look in her eyes. 'You didn't expect me to be so agreeable, huh?' Taking note of the girl's surprise, Layn smiled a bit before turning his head to the window. Staring at the relatively empty street below, the archmage seemed to separate himself from the real world, entering the abyss of his own thoughts.

n

"Well…

" After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Irea couldn't hold it in any longer. Given how raging her emotions were before when she was suddenly awakened from her stupor by Layn's unexpectedly mild response, all those bottled emotions of hers failed to find an outlet. As such, it was even harder for her to keep calm when this awkward silence appeared between the two of them.

n

"I'm sorry, I don't really know what to say right now…

" Lowering her head as if embarrassed by her intention to speak so soon after an argument, Irea couldn't handle the pressure and turned her eyes away.

"What are your plans for the future?

"

nNow that the topic changed, Layn's eyes gently moved away from the emptiness of the street back on Irea's face, only to linger on her lowered eyes for a moment before returning to the monotone sight on the other side of the glass panel.

n

"For now, we wait. They need to bring us up to date with all the schedules, rules, and customs, don't they?

" Keeping his head still, Layn spoke with an indifferent expression on his face.

"And we need to wait to see what they will decide themselves. Whether to pay us what they offered or not… But honestly speaking, they have no correct choice right now.

"

nShaking his head, Layn finally escaped from the embrace of his thoughts. In order not to fall into the traps of overthinking stuff again, he stood up from the bed, moving away from the window that drew him into this internal state before.

n

"What do you mean by that? Can't they just pay up?

" With the surprise hidden behind Layn's words washing away her other emotions, Irea quickly joined the discussion again.

"I know that they offered pretty little for the worth of that treasure, but it's still a substantial sum. Taking your craftiness into account…

" Suddenly turned silent when she realized what she was about to blurp out, Irea quickly raised her hands and shielded her mouth with them.

n

"Listen, right now, they have two options. If they attempt to pay up as advised, they will prove they didn't pay it before, or in other words, that they actually stole the shrine in the first place.

" Drawn by some strange impulse, Layn returned to the window before staring at the dark street on its other side again.

"On the other hand, if they won't come with money, they will stand in open defiance to my wishes and words, incurring my wrath for the entirety of the inner academy.

" Shaking his shoulders, Layn once again moved his eyes away from the window before resting them on the anxious face of his lover.

n

"Didn't you just claim you won't act over the top like that?

" Shaking her head, at this point, Irea didn't even have the energy to move away from her chair. Averting her eyes, she refused to listen to any more of Layn's explanations.

"You will do what you will do. It's not like I have the power to stop you.

"

nHearing those words, Layn suddenly stopped. Frozen in place, he just looked at the girl with a certain, deep shock hidden deep underneath his pupils. Then, as if a sudden idea suddenly entered his brain, he opened up his mouth.

n

"Tell me, what do you want to do then? If you want, we can just take the stones they offered and ditch this place. With those stones, I could craft a new treasure that would bring us to the peak in just a few years!

"

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