Chapter 66: We’re Just Friends

"Yet?"

Eris’s mother continued studying the two of us without even trying to hide the satisfied smile on her face.

"Mom!"

Eris’s face had become almost as red as her hair.

Her mother placed a hand against her cheek and pretended to think.

"Hmm... I must have gotten the wrong impression. I suppose things like this are normal for young people these days."

"Stop doing that!" Eris placed both hands on the table and leaned toward her mother. "Noctis and I don’t have that kind of relationship. Besides, things like this are normal for us!"

"I know," her mother said with a smile. "You grew up right before my eyes, after all."

Instead of calming Eris down, the answer seemed to embarrass her even more. She must have realized that continuing to argue with her mother would only make things worse, because she clenched her teeth and sat back down.

I took a sip from my glass to ease the tension around the table.

"Yes, we’re just friends."

Eris slowly turned her head toward me.

"Yes," she repeated coldly. "We’re just friends."

At the same moment, a hard kick struck my foot beneath the table.

"Ugh!"

I barely stopped myself from choking on the water in my mouth as I stared at her in surprise. Eris was calmly cutting a small piece from the dessert in front of her as though she hadn’t done anything.

I didn’t understand why she had kicked me. What I had said was exactly the same thing she had explained to her mother only seconds ago.

As I moved my foot away from her beneath the table, I noticed that her father was beginning to grow uncomfortable with the conversation. He placed his fork at the edge of his plate and turned toward his daughter.

"How is your training going?"

The sudden change of subject briefly surprised all of us.

Eris looked away from her mother and turned toward her father.

"It’s going well. I work on my endurance in the mornings, then practice Nexus control and combat in the afternoons."

"Don’t neglect your control exercises. You have no problem with raw power, but if you try to solve everything with larger flames, you’ll pay for it at the Academy."

Eris frowned with displeasure.

"I’m not trying to burn everything."

Her father silently stared at her for several seconds.

"I heard that the target range from last week is still being repaired."

"That wasn’t my fault. The barrier was weaker than it should have been."

"The barrier was designed to withstand high-level attacks."

Instead of answering, Eris focused on the dessert in front of her. She must have known that her father had more examples ready if she continued arguing.

His voice softened slightly.

"You’ll be joining the Nexus Academy soon. Most of the students there will be the most talented young people from their respective regions. Being stronger than those around you until now doesn’t mean you’ll stand out in the same way at the Academy."

"I know."

"Talent is important, but it won’t take you far without discipline. Keep working hard."

This time, Eris nodded without objecting.

"All right."

I had begun to relax, thinking the subject had changed completely, when her father glanced at the phone screen on the table once again.

"You two look quite cute in that picture."

Eris and I turned toward him at the same time.

"What?"

Her father looked at the photograph and then at us. His serious expression hadn’t changed, but the earlier sternness was gone from his voice.

"It genuinely makes me happy that you’ve remained this close since childhood."

After a brief pause, he placed particular emphasis on his next word.

"I hope your friendship continues for many years."

Eris’s mother hid her smile behind the napkin she had raised to her lips. Her husband’s protectiveness toward their daughter clearly amused her.

Her father turned his attention toward me.

"Seeing that Noctis has grown into a young man makes me proud as well. To be honest, I’m glad to see that you’ve been changing recently."

I hadn’t expected to hear those words from him.

"You think I’ve changed?"

"You’ve started standing on your own feet, putting your life in order, and working toward your future. Eris told us that you’ve been exercising, preparing for university, and even learned how to cook."

I hadn’t known Eris had told her family so much about me.

"I can’t exactly say that I have everything in order yet."

"What matters is that you’re trying. You seem far more determined than you did a few months ago."

The sincerity behind his words left me unsure how to respond. The real reason for this change was that the Noctis sitting across from him was no longer the person they had known.

Even so, his words left a warm feeling inside me.

"Thank you."

He nodded slightly. Just as I thought the emotional part of the conversation had ended, the softness in his eyes disappeared.

"But that doesn’t mean I’m giving you my daughter."

The glass in my hand froze in midair once again.

"No one asked for anything like that," I muttered.

"Anyone who cannot stand against my flames does not deserve my daughter."

The temperature in the room rose by several degrees as the flames of every candle leaned toward him at once. I felt no pressure weighing down on me, but it was clear that this wasn’t merely a casual display.

Even so, cold sweat began running down my back.

Noctis’s memories contained few details about the power this man possessed. All I knew was that he was one of the Arclight family’s strongest Nexus users and that Eris had largely inherited her flames from him.

I wasn’t even sure anyone capable of standing against his fire existed.

Even if someone did, he certainly couldn’t be sane.

"Um..." I cleared my throat and smiled nervously. "I hope someone is that capable."

Eris’s father continued staring into my eyes.

"Strength alone isn’t enough. He must also value Eris and never intentionally hurt her."

This time, I didn’t respond with a joke.

After briefly glancing at Eris, I turned back toward her father.

"I would never intentionally hurt her."

A short silence followed my words.

Eris held her fork above her plate and stared at me, her face slightly red. She had finally moved her foot away from my leg beneath the table as well.

Her father studied me for several seconds before nodding.

"I know. That’s why I trust you."

Eris interrupted in irritation.

"Dad, could you stop making me sound like a prize someone has to win? I can decide for myself who I want to be with."

"Of course."

"And I never said I wouldn’t want someone just because he couldn’t stand against your flames."

Her father raised one eyebrow.

"Then your standards are lower than I thought."

"Dad!"

Eris’s mother finally failed to hold back her laughter. Meanwhile, I silently continued eating my dessert to avoid getting caught between the father and daughter.

Even though the subject had changed, I still couldn’t understand why Eris had kicked me for saying we were just friends.