Chapter 183: Conversation

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Conversation

Though he couldn’t be entirely certain, that speculation had taken root in Jeremy’s mind.

If Griffin had truly cleared out even the higher-tier Wasteland sea regions in the brief time they were trapped in the illusion, what on earth was his real cultivation realm?

He stopped his train of thought. The more he thought about it, the more absurd that instructor position seemed.

Having just dealt with a pile of important matters, before Jeremy could even rest, a knock echoed from outside the door.

"Young Master, you have a visitor."

Jeremy frowned. He had just returned to the capital today and hadn’t informed anyone.

"Who is it?"

"It’s Lady Lomita. She is waiting in the drawing room."

"...Got it. I’ll be right down."

Jeremy changed into casual clothes and went downstairs.

Upon stepping into the drawing room, he saw Lomita sitting on the sofa, resting her chin on her hand and tapping her fingers rhythmically on the armrest, clearly having waited for a while. On the table sat an untouched plate of pastries.

Seeing him, she immediately sat up straight: "Why didn’t you say a word when you returned to the capital?"

"I’ve been back for less than two hours. I haven’t even had time to send a message." Jeremy sat down opposite her. "But how did you know?"

Lomita scoffed. "The gatekeeper at my estate saw your family’s carriage pass by."

The reason was so simple that Jeremy didn’t know what to say.

"You disappeared for two whole months." Lomita tilted her chin up. "You didn’t reply to my messages. I thought you died in some ditch."

"The instructor canceled our summer break. We were in the Wasteland."

"The Wasteland?"

Lomita froze. The irritation on her face faded, replaced by a different kind of emotion. "What tier area did that pervert throw you guys into?"

"C-rank."

"..."

Lomita remained silent for three seconds.

Then she abruptly stood up, walked around the table to stand in front of him, and looked Jeremy up and down. Her gaze lingered for a long time on his abdomen - the spot where, beneath his clothes, the wound left by the Ice Prism Sword still bore a faint, unhealed scar.

"Where were you hurt?"

Jeremy paused slightly. "How did you know?"

"Your center of gravity leans to the left when you walk." Lomita stated it as an obvious fact. "If it hurts on the right, you favor the right."

"..."

Jeremy didn’t deny it. "It’s healed. Only the scar is left."

Lomita looked at him for another two seconds before finally sitting down on the sofa right next to him, instead of returning to her original seat.

She pulled a wooden box from her storage ring and dropped it heavily onto the table.

"Take it."

Jeremy opened it to look.

Inside were neatly arranged bottles of high-tier healing magic potions, along with several soul recovery scrolls. This type wasn’t cheap, nor was it easy to buy in the market.

"When did you gather all this?"

"Since the beginning of the break." Lomita propped up her chin, looking in another direction. "I figured you’d drag yourself back in a miserable state anyway. As expected, I wasn’t wrong."

Jeremy looked at the box, then looked at her.

He didn’t push it back. "Thank you."

"No need," Lomita replied quickly, then changed the subject. "By the way, I heard your parents just urgently sent something to the royal family and the Divine Temple. Is it related to your trip this time?"

Rumors in the capital really did spread fast.

It had only been about an hour since he disconnected his communication.

Jeremy considered it for a moment.

This matter would sooner or later be announced to the entire continent. Furthermore, Lomita’s family was one of the four Ducal houses; they would definitely be among the first group to be notified.

He didn’t hide it, recounting a portion of it - the part about the origin of the magical beasts, and the part about the milestone a dozen or so years from now.

But he omitted the entire story of the illusionary realm, possessing the body of the Mermaid prince, and the Demon Emperor.

Not because he didn’t trust her. But because those parts involved the marks on the five of their hands, and he had no right to make decisions on behalf of the other four.

After listening, Lomita remained silent for a very long time.

Then she finally spoke, her voice rarely this serious: "...If it’s exactly as you say, then in a dozen or so years, the front line will be the empire."

"Yeah."

"My family’s territory is in the South. Bordering the region with the most rifts after the North."

Jeremy looked at her. "So?"

Lomita stretched her arms back, leaned against the backrest, and looked at the ceiling.

"So I have to get stronger," she said. "Up until now, I trained because I found it fun. Because winning felt good. Now it’s different."

Then she turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "You too, right?"

Jeremy didn’t answer immediately.

He thought of Sylas lying in that gray-white room in the West. Thought of Leon’s blood pact. Thought of the twenty years.

"Yeah," he replied.

Lomita’s lips curled up. "That’s good then. Next summer break, don’t disappear again. Spar with me."

"Alright."

"You’ve given your word. If you break it, I’ll really beat you up."

Jeremy let out a very soft chuckle. "I’ll remember."

The two sat for a while longer, talking about miscellaneous things - her vacation, the young nobles in the capital, some baseless rumors in social circles.

It wasn’t until the sky grew dark that Lomita stood up.

Before leaving, she looked back. "Ah, one more thing."

"What is it?"

"That silver-haired guy in the Zenith department. Raphael." Lomita frowned. "It seems his illness has gotten worse. He spent half of the recent break lying in the Divine Temple."

Jeremy froze.

"He didn’t send me a message."

"Of course he didn’t." Lomita glanced at him. "That kind of person would never speak up. I just heard it from elsewhere."

Finished speaking, she waved her hand and left, not lingering any longer.

Jeremy remained sitting in the drawing room for a while.

On the table, the plate of pastries remained completely untouched.