Chapter 244 - 112: I Have a Space Gate

Chapter 244: Chapter 112: I Have a Space Gate

At this, her gaze swept meaningfully over the other women present—a blushing Avril, Sea Song pretending to stir her fish soup, a slightly embarrassed Ophelia and Lilith—before finally returning to Amadis.

"Amadis, thinking you can secure an exceptional man’s affection by chasing off every potential rival is both pathetic and unrealistic."

"Any truly exceptional man is like the sun; he will naturally attract many admiring gazes. You can drive me away today, but what about tomorrow? And the day after?"

"Life is long, and Lynch is bound to meet many more wonderful girls in the future. Are you really going to chase off every single one that appears? Can you even keep up?"

"Even if you could, would that version of you still be the kind of woman Lynch admires?"

These words left Amadis stunned.

She opened her mouth to retort, but found that while Catherine’s words were harsh, they weren’t entirely without reason.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly straightened her back, a confident light igniting in her purple eyes. "You’re right. I, Amadis Hayes, have no need for such underhanded tactics. If I’m going to win, I’ll do it openly and honorably, leaving no room for anyone to dispute it."

She glanced around, as if declaring her sovereignty. "I was always meant to be the best. I’ll take on any challenger."

As she spoke, she turned to ask, "By the way, Lynch, you agree, don’t you...? Huh? Where’d he go?"

"Yeah, where is Lynch?" Avril also looked from side to side.

"He was right here a moment ago..."

Ophelia and Lilith exchanged bewildered glances.

"Looks like... he slipped away?" Sea Song said with a suppressed smile.

Meanwhile, in a secluded grove of trees about a hundred meters from the garrison courtyard, tiny ripples appeared in the space, and Lynch’s figure materialized.

’That was close... so close. Good thing I ran fast.’ He let out a long breath, his heart still pounding.

Evidently, he had taken advantage of the women’s distraction to use the teleportation spell that came with [Raven’s Whisper] and beat a hasty retreat.

Recalling what had just happened, he sighed and shook his head. ’Women... such a hassle. Nowhere near as interesting as summoning skeletons and creating zombies...’

"Eee~ Eee~"

Just then, a petite figure dropped like a phantom from the shadows of the treetops, landing lightly right on Lynch’s back. It was the little Vampire, Esther, who let out a contented little cry.

Lynch sighed helplessly and reached back to pat her little head. "Alright, alright, I wasn’t saying *you* were a hassle. You don’t even count as a ’woman’ yet. At most, you’re a troublesome little girl."

"Eee hee hee~" Esther wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. She just nuzzled her cool little face against the back of Lynch’s neck and let out a string of happy giggles.

＊＊＊＊

「The next day.」

Lakefront Town Garrison, Administrative Office.

Aus sat upright in the main seat, piles of documents, reports, and maps stacked high before him.

However, his current appearance was rather comical—his face was bruised and swollen, and there were several faint scratch marks on his neck.

The clerks beside him kept their heads down, desperately trying to suppress their laughter and pretending to focus on their work. But the furtive glances they kept stealing his way betrayed the gossip burning in their hearts.

"My lord, your... your face?" one of the older clerks couldn’t help but ask with concern.

Aus’s expression didn’t change; he even offered a nonchalant smile. "It’s nothing. I took a tumble last night while inspecting the new militia training grounds. Just a few scrapes, nothing serious."

’A tumble?’

’Could a tumble really do *that*!?’

The clerks all scoffed internally, but their faces feigned expressions of dawning realization and respect. Only the slight twitching at the corners of their mouths gave them away.

Aus clearly didn’t want to dwell on the topic. His gaze swept across the room, finally landing on a new, middle-aged clerk who still looked somewhat reserved.

"Arthur," Aus said gently.

The middle-aged man named Arthur immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Lord Aus."

"Please, sit," Aus said with concern. "Are you adjusting well? How has your family settled in?"

This Arthur was the patriarch of the family of three who had recently fled from Sardinia. Because he was proficient with letters and numbers, Aus had assigned him to a clerical position.

Overwhelmed by the personal attention, Arthur quickly replied, "We’ve settled in, my lord."

"The town assigned us a temporary shack, and we’re just waiting in line to be assigned permanent housing. My wife, Martha, also got a job at the Sweet Bakery on West Street. She’s pretty good at baking and can make some homemade pastries. And my daughter, Belinda... thanks to your grace, my lord, she’s been admitted to the Mongolian Department at Mirror Lake Academy."

Arthur’s voice trembled with excitement as he spoke of his daughter being able to attend school.

In an era where knowledge was monopolized and education was exorbitantly expensive, it was an impossible dream for a poor child to learn how to read and write.

Although the Church did operate some academies, the curriculum consisted mostly of theology with the primary goal of cultivating new followers. Aside from orphans, the students were mostly the children of congregants who had made generous donations.

Yet, Mirror Lake Academy in Lakefront Town was open to the children of all its citizens. It taught not only the common script and basic arithmetic, but also elementary geography and humanities. And on top of all that... there was no tuition, and it even provided lunch!