I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

See? This is what it means to stand up for someone! This is standing up for her!

Just when someone thinks they're special, she deliberately delivers a heavy blow to them—truly befitting her Saria!

"However, even so, your strength far exceeds the standards of Rhine Lab, as does your knowledge reserves."

Saria nodded and took a sip of water from her glass: "If you really have this intention, I would be happy to work with you—after everything has settled down."

Clang.

The elf girl's head slammed onto the table, and she couldn't get up for a long time.

Muirsey is eliminated.

"...What suddenly happened to her?"

Saria's eyes showed a hint of worry as she looked at Gerald, her silent aura carrying an unusual air of pressure.

Although Seria had no idea what the two were up to behind the scenes, she had witnessed their verbal exchange. However, she couldn't understand how what she had said could possibly be connected to the fact that Muirsey had fainted as a result.

Gerald, who had just thought that Saria had finally figured things out and was ready to cooperate with her in the act, could only sigh in resignation.

The road is long and difficult.

……

Muirsey's bad mood came and went quickly.

Once she swallowed the last bite of bread, her frustration was digested along with the food.

She hummed a cheerful tune, a pleasant smile curving her lips. With a gentle flick of her finger, the water flowed like obedient threads, wrapping around the tableware on the table.

The knives, forks, bowls, and plates floated up lightly, stacked neatly in order, and were gently guided towards the kitchen before landing steadily in the sink.

The water flowed by with a rushing sound, washing away all the stains in an instant.

With a gentle wave of her hand, the water droplets fell silent, and the tabletop returned to its original tidy state.

"Whew—" She sighed contentedly, stretched, and said with a grin to the remaining two, "Then I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll come back tomorrow morning, Saria."

“Just let me know next time you come,” Saria replied calmly. “Also, thank you for taking care of these plants.”

She was standing by the window, her fingertips gently brushing against the green plants that Muirsey had cared for. The leaves trembled slightly at her fingertips, and their emerald green color shone with vibrant life under the night light.

“Of course!” Muirsey raised her eyebrows, giving a proud V-sign, then sighed, her tone somewhat helpless: “After all, plants have their own thoughts, and I certainly can’t rest easy about them. Besides, wouldn’t it be really stupid of me to believe you have time to take care of them?”

Her voice paused slightly, as if she were casually mentioning it, "After all, you haven't had time to think about these things since what happened with Eve, have you?"

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Saria could only respond to the silence with words.

She certainly didn't do a good job in this matter.

"Oh well, they're doing just fine now, aren't they?" She laughed lightly, then changed the subject, reverting to her usual quirky self. She didn't press the matter further, simply flicking her wrist, causing the water droplet to swirl in the air before disappearing without a trace.

“Hoo-hoo—” Muirseth turned his gaze back to the two of them. “Then I won’t disturb your rest any longer. I’ll come back tomorrow morning, Saria.”

"of course."

She blinked, then smiled knowingly at Pegasus, who had been at odds with her all day. "As for this Mr. Gerald—"

On the other side, Gerald was tapping the table lightly with his fingertips, his head slightly lowered, his long white hair falling over his shoulders, looking thoughtful. Only when he heard Muirses' voice did he raise his head slightly, his gaze falling on the elf standing in the doorway.

Muirsey's gaze swept over him almost imperceptibly, and seeing his serious expression, she blinked, a mischievous smile flashing in her eyes.

Then, she took two light steps forward, like a ripple on flowing water, gliding silently to Gerald's side. She tiptoed slightly, quietly approaching Pegasus's shoulder, her warm breath brushing against his ear.

The voice was as soft as a murmur in the night, mixed with a deliberately gentle languor, far removed from the clarity that Gerald had once seen.

At this moment, Pegasus's intuition and sense of danger were suddenly brought to their peak.

But he was still a step slow.

"—Next time, if there's a chance, I hope you can ask me out when Saria isn't around~"

Muirses didn't linger, nor did she wait for the other's reaction. A triumphant smile remained on her lips—to truly consider her a naive elf oblivious to everything would be a gross underestimation.

In this way, all the frustrations she had suffered today were successfully released in that instant.

The moment she finished speaking, Muirsey's body began to blur, like mist merging into the night. A faint light flickered on her outline for a moment before slowly fading away. Her figure dissolved into the air without a sound, without a trace of footsteps or lingering scent. Only a single drop of water fell silently onto the floor, then vanished like a dream.

The room temperature remained normal, and it was so quiet that it was as if nothing had happened.

Except for the shadow cast by the lamplight that suddenly appeared next to Gerald.

Chapter 71 Look at what you've done! (5K)

Are you going to accept her invitation?

When Tianma turned around, Vayvan, who had been standing at a distance, had unknowingly moved closer.

She casually hung her coat on the hanger beside her, turned her head and casually asked Gerald about future plans, her body unconsciously leaning against the edge of the sofa—this allowed her to look down at Pegasus, who was also sitting next to her, and gradually calmed her somewhat chaotic thoughts, as if she had regained a sense of control.

“If there’s a chance,” Gerald replied, his eyes lowered, “maybe.”

"...I do not recommend that you show your face on the busiest streets of Tremont."

Saria tried her best to speak calmly—and she did, at least her tone remained completely even.

She slowly turned around, paused for a moment as if considering what she should do, and after hesitating, she opened the refrigerator next to her, felt the temperature difference between the inside and outside, and checked again to see if there was anything expired that needed to be thrown away.

As she flipped through the pages, she glanced at Gerald, who was still standing there motionless, and said, "...But if you want to develop a relationship with Muirsay that goes beyond friendship, I can give you some advice."

But Tianma's expression didn't change. Only one hand rested on the edge of the table, his fingertips slowly stroking the wood grain.

A moment later, he slowly stretched his hand out into the air in front of him.

"Well!"

Silence fell over the air, and the sound of Saria rummaging through things drowned out Pegasus's painful groan.

Gerald had just raised his hand, his fingertips not yet actually touching that invisible space, when a sudden, intense pain exploded from the depths of his mind without warning.

His pupils contracted slightly, and the next second, bright red blood slowly seeped from the corner of his eye, followed by his nose, ears, and even the corner of his mouth, where crimson liquid slid down, winding into an ominous trail.

Saria paused, her hand, which had been rummaging through the refrigerator, slightly halting, and her brow furrowed slightly. She turned her head, her gaze falling on Gerald, searching for the sound that had been masked earlier: "What did you just say?"

"It's nothing." Gerald exhaled a breath of air that smelled of blood, and the wind quickly sucked away the blood flowing down his face—he still remembered the last time he used the Dream Essence, and if he were discovered, he would probably incur her wrath.

To be honest, it was quite dangerous just now.

He was indeed slightly shocked by Muirsay's statement at first, but the key was what happened afterward.

Muirsey's manifold, the process of her watery self-dissipation.

Gerald witnessed all of this from the moment the manifold condensed. He saw the water droplets gather in the air, bear weight, take steps, and eventually transform into a girl indistinguishable from her original form. She could walk, talk, eat, and even dissipate into the air at will, switching back to her original body.

This was completely beyond his understanding.

But if——

What if he could do that too?

If he could condense the wind into shape in the same way as water shapes fluids, and even transform his own body into wind—would that mean he could bring his fighting style into a completely new dimension?

He saw Muirsey's expression at the time; the overflowing surprise and delight were unmistakable. But mere surprise was not enough to explain this phenomenon; it was as if she had seen something very similar to herself.

Assuming that the two of them have similar abilities, what reason would he have not to try to create his own manifold?

It's impossible for him to be exactly like Muirse, and he has no need to create a clone with the same attributes as him. But if he could have a phantom with the same combat experience and swordsmanship as him... then next time he faces Lamaren, he could at least fight to a draw, and it's not impossible for him to seriously injure her with a surprise attack.

Moreover, ideas can emerge during the research process, even if the final result differs from expectations. He just tested it, and the research potential is indeed quite high.

The result wasn't very good.

If given the opportunity, I would definitely like to ask him personally for his experience in using it.

"Ahem... How long have you known Muirsey?"

After quickly regaining his senses, he immediately diverted Saria's attention with a question.

"It goes back to when I graduated from university, a long time ago."

Seria's seemingly busy actions finally came to an end. She closed the refrigerator door, picked up a bottle of water and gently placed it in front of Gerald, her gaze falling on him: "Müllerse is not simple, and the way she does things is not as simple as one-sided 'friendship'."

“But you’ll still let her stay in your house, and even promised her she’d come over for dinner tomorrow.” Gerald leaned back, sinking into the sofa without a care in the world, lazily adjusting to a comfortable position to conceal his earlier actions.

“…Our relationship is rather complicated.” Saria shook her head slightly and sat down on the sofa as well, but deliberately left a space between herself and Gerald. “If you want to befriend her because of your shared interests, I can tell you about her preferences. If not, it’s best not to accept her invitations.”

"I see. So, should I take some notes? That way, when we're on the date..."

Gerald turned his head to look at the inexplicable expression on Saria's face, and swallowed the words he was about to say: "Just kidding. I think as long as I am still your friend, I will inevitably have contact with her in the future. I might as well tell me some information about her before that."

"……it is good."

Saria nodded silently and continued:

"She loves sweets, and she likes many kinds, like the candy I gave you. She can talk for a long time about plants; she often talks to plants, so you could start with that. On most working days, she buys coffee and bagels from that café on Rue de Montréal, and sometimes she shares them with the staff..."

……

Although she didn't make a special effort to remember them, she still kept some of her old friend's subtle habits and hobbies in her mind, and it would probably take her a whole hour to recount them all.

As she spoke, Saria's gaze fell on the floor.

She tried to wipe away the itching on her neck, but each time her fingertips brushed against her skin, a slight, almost imperceptible dryness would rise. Sweat and fatigue mingled together, leaving a sticky, uncomfortable residue on her not-yet-completely-cleaned skin, as if it could never be removed.

Although she had brushed her teeth many times before eating and wiped herself down with a towel to make up for the helplessness of having to rely on fresh water to stay clean in the wilderness, she still did not want to close the distance at all at this moment.

The closer she got to someone, the more uncomfortable she felt; she didn't have as many concerns when Muirsey was around.

This is very dangerous.

She excels in combat, boxing, or, as most of her employees at Rhine Labs say, in both protection and destruction. She can face most dangers alone without flinching, and even in the most desperate situations, she can escape through her strong execution and rationality.

She was also very good at enduring. The madness that had been ingrained in Vayvan's blood for thousands of years could be suppressed by her deepest marrow. No matter how much it struggled and thrashed, it could never break free from her control.

But she's really not good at getting along with people.

Just like her quirky, elfin friend, she could always find endless topics to talk about with anyone, even those she had just met. A few games of chess were all it took to easily while away the time.

However, she was completely different. Once she was separated from the so-called "teacher-student" relationship in the prison, Seria realized that she actually had nothing to talk about with Gerald. Naturally, he wouldn't deliberately look for topics to talk to her, someone who could never come up with a proper sentence. Forcing a topic would only make her seem more clumsy.

These questions never even crossed Saria's mind, not even when she encountered misunderstandings and setbacks.

Because one should walk the wrong path alone.

But now, when she saw Tangma's expression, he paused slightly and then changed his words.

Saria suddenly felt as if a string in her heart had snapped.

Even she herself couldn't quite explain what emotion it was—for a moment, a long-strained, unnoticed emotion was stretched to its limit, finally producing a slight cracking sound, turning into an indescribable dullness in her chest.

……

In the midst of her wandering thoughts, Saria was still telling Gerald about Muirseth's preferences and information.

"—Also, remember not to leave her alone anywhere. She won't like being left alone when traveling together."

After she finished speaking, Saria added softly at the end, "Therefore, I do not recommend that you accept her invitation."

"...? Is there any causal relationship between these?"

Gerald had originally planned to organize his thoughts, write down some motivations in his notes, and plan how, based on achieving cooperation, he could subtly offer enough benefits to make the other party willing to agree to discuss the development of new techniques with him.

However, the plan had barely taken shape in his mind and hadn't even been put down when his friend Vayvan suddenly began to confuse him logically.

“She’s dangerous,” Saria said after a second of silence.

“Um, is it possible,” Gerald replied after a moment’s thought, “that when she was with me, she was the one who should have felt threatened?”

“…She’s troublesome and her emotions are unpredictable.” Saria remained silent for a longer time before giving her second answer.

“But didn’t your suggestions just solve this problem for me?” Gerald answered more cautiously this time.

Generally speaking, if a rational thinker suddenly starts to have logical inconsistencies, it basically only means one thing—

Her condition is not normal.

At this moment, Saria finally realized, a beat too late, that her emotions were spiraling out of control.

But the more she acted this way, the more patient Gerald became as he waited for her to explain herself.

She looked into his clear, golden eyes, which held no trace of contempt or impatience, only a calm gaze waiting for her to calm down—this made her even more unbearable.

“We should focus on the next operation,” Saria tried to keep her tone calm and steer the conversation back on track. “According to Operator Angelina and the others, Rhodes Island’s ships are about to arrive in Tremont.”