Chapter 375: The Guild Master Pays Her Debt

Sophia spoke those words with immense surprise in the silence of the room.

She blinked several times in a row and let her trembling hand fall onto the wood as she assimilated what had just happened. That hidden skill was probably her best means of defending herself in critical situations, an ace up her sleeve that, according to her own calculations, could not fail against anyone.

But that surefire weapon had crumbled in a matter of seconds right before her eyes without achieving its goal.

Ryan maintained his relaxed posture a couple of steps away from the table, watching how Sophia’s face lost all of its previous confidence.

Although for Ryan, the entire exchange that had just occurred between them had also been a massive surprise.

He looked down at the palm of his hand for a moment, remembering the heavy paralysis that had almost made him lose control a few moments ago.

It was a true shock for him to witness a power capable of resisting and reflecting his own debt ability.

It was a unique ability that, since the beginning of his journey, had given him great advantages against his most dangerous enemies.

Until now, no one had been able to avoid the effect of the debts, or even find a way to break free from it once the process began.

Ryan looked up again and offered a faint smile as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "You surprised me too. I didn’t think you had such an interesting skill, Guild Master."

The very second he finished his sentence, the system emitted its usual audible alert inside Ryan’s mind.

A floating window appeared before his eyes, delivering the corresponding point reward for Ryan after concluding the debt collection.

Sophia, still caught in constant panting, squeezed her eyes shut as the forced heat slowly left her body.

She rested her elbows on the table and, gradually controlling her breathing, tried to sit up to recover her usual posture. However, her arms trembled from the lack of energy as she tried to lift the weight of her own torso.

Now that the system had finally freed her from its influence, she seemed to have lost even more physical strength after reaching her orgasm in front of Ryan.

Her muscles gave out helplessly, and she simply lay on her back on the wooden table, surrendering to the exhaustion coursing through her limbs.

Sophia remained lying on the table, her legs still spread and hanging slightly over its edge. Because of the intensity of the recent collection, her red panties were soaked and clinging to her skin.

Ryan took a short step forward and looked at her body lying on the wood without saying anything for a few seconds.

Sophia’s chest rose and fell slowly as she breathed with her mouth half-open, trying to fill her lungs with fresh air.

Ryan tilted his head slightly upon noticing that she made no attempt to move or cover herself. "Are you alright?"

Sophia slowly turned her face toward him and frowned, barely lifting a hand with heaviness. "Are you seriously asking me that? Give me... give me a second..."

Ryan nodded in silence and took a half-step back to give her some space while she finished recovering.

He averted his gaze to the rest of the room, waiting patiently for Sophia’s legs to stop trembling.

After two minutes of silence inside the room, Sophia finally rested her palms on the table and sat up on the edge.

She brought her knees together immediately, pulled down the wrinkled fabric to adjust her dress, and then ran her fingers through her loose hair to fix it.

Once she regained her usual tidy appearance, she planted her feet on the floor and stood up from the table with firm movements.

Sophia smoothed the folds of her dress with both hands and looked up at Ryan. "Are you finally done with this madness?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow as he observed how quickly she had erased any trace of weakness from her expression. "You look calmer than I thought you’d be."

Sophia lifted her chin and straightened her back, once again assuming her usual authoritative demeanor. "Naturally, I am the Guild Master. A little torture isn’t enough to break me. I won’t let something like this cloud my good judgment now."

Ryan blinked a couple of times upon hearing the word she had chosen to describe what had just happened.

’Although, this wasn’t torture. Wait. Maybe it is. Whatever, it’s better this way,’ Ryan thought, shrugging slightly, thankful he didn’t have to deal with any drawn-out complaints.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and looked around the empty room before locking his eyes on her again. "Are you going to tell me what the Guild Master of Lunar Veil is doing in a house that doesn’t belong to her?"

Sophia exhaled through her nose and let her shoulders drop in a gesture of resignation as she looked at the walls of the place. "...I also wanted to ask what you are doing here, Ryan. I really didn’t think I would find you in this place. The superstitions that I made sure to suppress turned out to come true."

Ryan frowned, not understanding exactly what the locals were talking about. "What do you mean?"

Sophia rested a hand on her hip and tilted her head to observe him closely. "I suppose you know they were auctioning this place off, right?"

Ryan nodded with a short dip of his head, remembering the situation with his old property in the city very well.

Sophia took a slow step along the side of the table, running a finger over the wooden surface. "Well, no one wanted to buy this house. They said that whoever bought it would receive a visit from the new demon king and die. And they were certainly right, even though I personally insisted that such a thing couldn’t happen."

Ryan let out a soft snort and shook his head at the kind of exaggerated rumors running through the streets. "They talk a lot of nonsense in this city," Ryan replied in a carefree tone.

Sophia stopped touching the table and approached him, stopping just a few inches away to stand very close to him.

Due to the height difference between them, she looked up at his face, and their eyes met in the silence.

Ryan held his ground without stepping back, feeling Sophia’s steady breathing from that short distance.

’She’s very close,’ Ryan thought, looking down to hold her gaze without showing any discomfort.

Sophia narrowed her eyes slightly, evaluating his altered facial features from such a close position. "But, no one considers you human anymore. You know that, right?"

Ryan frowned at such a direct statement and spoke without looking away from her. "But I am still human. That’s nonsense; I only agreed to lead various races."

Sophia maintained eye contact for a few more seconds before replying in a serious and thoughtful tone. "Yes, you might be right. Even I can’t tell whether you’re truly human or perhaps something else. For the human nations, for a support to have this kind of power is something unthinkable. Or even for any other adventurer. S-rank was already something difficult. Few exceptions reach SS-rank, and you... You are now recognized as the only SSS-rank adventurer apart from the leaders of the Church."

Ryan listened to all that explanation calmly, noticing how his recent actions had altered the way the world saw him. "And what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Sophia hesitated for a moment, looking to the side as she organized her thoughts. "Honestly, I didn’t know what to think about all this, but when I found out you faced Demon King Rigal, I thought you were just another victim of the church and were only being used. But..."

Sophia stopped mid-sentence and gently turned around.

Turning her back to Ryan, she took two slow steps toward the center of the room while crossing her arms.

"After your alliance with Ophelia, it became clear to me that there was no way you were under the church’s control," Sophia continued, speaking over her shoulder.

Ryan tilted his head curiously, seeing the certainty with which she dismissed that possibility. "Why do you say that? Didn’t you think I could be deceiving Ophelia?"

"Not at all." Sophia turned back around to face Ryan again and leaned her body forward. "That demon is very astute; she wouldn’t let herself be manipulated by someone from the church."

Ryan narrowed his eyes as he noticed the familiarity with which she described his ally’s character. "How strange. You speak as if you know her well."

Sophia raised an eyebrow and formed a small smile on her lips upon noticing the surprise on his face. "Huh, didn’t Ophelia tell you? I thought you were here because of that, Ryan."