VOL 2 Chapter 34: Definitely worth every mana crystal.
"Some?"
"Yes, some strange people with very odd ideas." Erik replied calmly, wearing a slightly playful smile. He then added in a more relaxed tone, as if he were a teacher presenting a fact.
"But the important point is that you left without saying anything at that moment. Therefore, some conclusions can be drawn. Number one, you can't afford to offend my masters, or number two, you didn't care much about what I said—although it could also be a combination of both.
"The point is that regardless of which it is, it's unlikely you'll do anything to me. But there are other factors. For example, I have pending business with the director, so I have some protection there, as you might wait until I'm done to do something to me.
"Moreover, some of my academic papers will be published in the next edition of the university journal that's about to come out—information that's already spread. So killing me now would only make you look bad and could cause the reputation of the Arcane Order as a paradise for talents to plummet, which, as the director's granddaughter, you can't afford."
"A very good reasoning, but haven't you considered that I might be crazy as you said and kill you anyway?" Thalia asked with a mischievous smile, awaiting the cheeky boy's response. He replied calmly after taking a sip of tea.
"The truth is, no. If you were like that, my masters would have warned me about you, and since they didn't, it means it's not that serious. And as final proof, Seraphina told me about the invitation to attend the cocktail party at your house; if you were that kind of crazy, she would never have done it."
"You trust your masters and your 'maid' a lot..." Thalia commented while glancing at the huge smile on Seraphina's face. Erik nodded firmly, then remarked in a serious tone.
"Well, if I didn't trust them, who in this world would be worthy of my trust? I might as well bid farewell to this life if I couldn't even trust them."
Upon hearing those words, Seraphina looked at Erik with eyes full of love and affection, a lump forming in her throat due to the immense happiness those words brought her. Thalia, for her part, watched the star-haired boy a bit surprised because although what he had said was what any normal disciple would say, the way he expressed it was quite moving. This demonstrated that he was indeed a good "conversationalist", just as he had claimed, which led her to comment in a playful tone.
"Hehe, you really are a good 'conversationalist'."
"I told you." Erik said with a smile as he slightly raised his cup of tea. At that moment, Thalia asked curiously.
"But what would you do if I were much crazier than your masters think and wanted to kill you?"
"Nothing. With Seraphina here, it's not like you could do it." Erik replied casually as he brought his cup back to his lips, to which Thalia asked with a forced smile.
"And if she weren't here?"
"Well, I'd still act as if there were no possibility of you killing me. After all, I'd be a dead man anyway, so I might as well go out acting well. Besides, there's the possibility that it might make you laugh, and you let me live. And if not, I'll still go out in style, hehe."
As he placed the cup back on the table, Erik responded cheerfully, wearing a smile that was both proud and amused. This made Thalia laugh heartily, and she added with evident interest in her tone; after all, she found the insolent boy who always seemed to have an answer for everything very intriguing.
"Hahaha, you really are an interesting boy."
"If you say so, Master Sunforge, but in reality, I'm just someone who spends his time locked up at home reading and trying things—nothing out of the ordinary."
Erik replied casually as he took two cookies from the tray on the table. He tossed them to the pair of wolves that seemed bored in his shadow. They emerged, measuring a little over 50 cm, then lazily lay down beside him, happily wagging their tails.
"Hahaha, now you've become humble?" Thalia couldn't help but ask, somewhat amused. Erik commented in a calm tone while stroking the wolves' heads with his hands.
"I wouldn't call it humility; it's more like sincerity. It's the truth, after all."
"Very well, then tell me, Mr. Sincere, do you really think I'm crazy?" Thalia asked with a malicious smile, looking directly into Erik's green eyes. He couldn't help but laugh, somewhat amused by her fixation on the topic.
"Haha, a little bit, to be honest."
"You're really brave to dare say it to my face."
Thalia replied with a threatening tone, looking 'dangerously' at Erik, who only smiled mockingly while responding in a relaxed and cocky tone, never stopping his stroking of the wolves, who quickly rested their heads on his legs for more attention.
"I think we already agreed that it's simply because you won't do anything to me. Besides, it's not like it's the first time, hehe."
"I really don't understand how you have the nerve to call a woman as beautiful as me crazy." Thalia adjusted her exuberant red hair while commenting with a tone both proud and accusatory. Erik responded with an ironic smile.
"We don't practice humility much, do we?"
"As you yourself said, it's sincerity. Or don't you find me beautiful?" Thalia retorted with a coquettish smile, looking at the boy in front of her and ignoring the piercing gaze of the maid behind him.
"Hehe, to be honest, you are a beautiful woman—just a bit crazy." Erik said amusedly while returning Thalia's gaze. She couldn't help but sigh and commented in an evidently feigned tone of disappointment.
"And you're still on about the same thing."
"Hehehe, well, we agreed that I'm an honest man." Erik replied mischievously as he left the wolves' heads to take his cup of tea again. Thalia responded in a serious and 'threatening' tone.
"That honesty will get you into trouble one of these days."
"Well, so far all it's brought me is talking with a beautiful and distinguished lady, so I don't think it's going too badly for me." Erik replied with a mysterious and slightly flirtatious smile, then cheerfully bit into a cookie. Thalia commented amusedly.
"Hehe, you're really good at talking."
"It's not a big deal, just a minor skill." Equally amused, Erik replied cheerfully before sipping his tea.
As Thalia and Erik continued chatting about random things, the place suddenly began to shake erratically, almost as if space itself were moving. This took Erik completely by surprise, as he had never seen or felt anything like it before. Curious, he quickly concentrated as much as he could on the Myst in the room, trying to sense through it the strange phenomenon occurring.
Over the years, with his constant practice and increase in power, Erik's connection with the Myst had deepened more and more. Now, if he concentrated enough and with the help of his mystical awareness, he could use the surrounding Myst as a kind of sensory organ. It functioned similarly to touch for things he could not see or physically touch, which was quite useful for certain things.
The moment the space began to tremble, Thalia knew her conversation with Erik had come to an end, as it was most likely that those two wildcats were trying to forcibly break through the spatial protections of her private room. She couldn't help but glance at Seraphina with slight annoyance, as she was absolutely certain that she had informed them of everything without her noticing.
Knowing what was about to happen, Thalia wanted to quickly remove the room's spatial protections to prevent that pair of troublemakers from breaking them. As she would have to recreate them and didn't want to spend so many resources and time on that. But just then, she felt something that left her surprised.
The Myst in the room suddenly went out of her control, leaving the beautiful red-haired woman astonished. Her surprise turned into stupefaction when it, as if it were a living organism, organized itself throughout the room in a uniform pattern, almost like highly trained soldiers following their general's orders.
In shock, Thalia followed with her eyes the beautiful pattern the Myst had formed, quickly reaching Erik. This allowed her to see that the star-haired boy had a large amount of Myst around him, which seemed to communicate with the rest, giving and receiving orders, almost like a highly efficient command center.
Thalia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Something like that was absurd—a mere ascended-level had wrested control of the surrounding Myst from a full-fledged Master, one who was also well-known for her great connection with the Myst, a connection she had worked on for millennia with the help of her grandparents. But that little boy, who hadn't even reached half a century of age, was absurdly better than her, to the point that she was sure if she told someone, no one would believe her.
Time seemed to slow as Thalia watched with fascination the incredible spectacle the boy, who had closed his eyes, was offering. She observed every ghostly point of Myst light attentively, noting every feature of the insolent boy, detailing his silky and well-groomed hair decorated with countless stars and galaxies. In which her gaze seemed to lose itself in the immensity of the cosmos.
But the idyllic scene Thalia was enjoying shattered when the room's space emitted a sound similar to breaking glass. In the center of the room appeared two women of ethereal and unattainable beauty: one with golden hair and deep blue eyes, and the other with brown hair and golden eyes that seemed to pierce the soul of anyone who looked at them.
"Masters!" Feeling the presence of his masters, Erik opened his eyes, surprised, and exclaimed happily.
With serious and aggressive expressions on their faces, Sigrún and Eleonora remained silent and approached Erik. Each took one of his arms and made him stand up, leaving the star-haired boy with absolute confusion written on his face. The pair of precious Masters hugged his arms tightly, pressing them between their generous bosoms, while sending a venomous glance at Thalia as a magic circle formed beneath them.
Meanwhile, Seraphina approached Erik's back with a professional smile on her face, not forgetting to give Thalia a deep look. Without saying a single word from beginning to end, the group of four people disappeared from the room in a flash, leaving only Erik's voice echoing in the room.
"Goodbye, Master Sunforge..."
"Now, who knows what kind of trouble that pack of fierce women is going to create for me… And how much will it cost to fix the repairs to the spatial restrictions?" After a small sigh, Thalia muttered softly to herself as she got up from the floor, then added with an amused smile on her face.
"But who would have thought the day would come when I could see that pair of wildcats so jealous? Definitely worth every mana crystal, hahahaha!"
Thalia laughed happily as an intricate magic circle appeared beneath her, then instantly disappeared from the room, leaving the place in a peaceful, almost eerie silence. At which point the teacups, teapots, and even the cushions magically rose into the air, then softly glowed and returned to their original positions, leaving the place clean and perfectly tidy once again.