Chapter 657 - 63: Inner Alchemy Golden Core [Slightly Accomplished]

Chapter 657: Chapter 63: Inner Alchemy Golden Core [Slightly Accomplished]

The Society of Truth headquarters, fifty-eighth floor, at night.

This was a room with walls covered in pink roses.

The bed was large. On the nightstand sat a row of stuffed animals, large and small. From a faded old rabbit to a new teddy bear with its fur still fluffy, they were squeezed tightly together, like a troop of guards watching over a sleeping Princess.

Cheris lay on her side, tightly clutching the small, three-inch-long sword to her chest.

She had changed into a pure white silk slip. Thin spaghetti straps rested on her shoulders, revealing her delicate collarbones and a small patch of pale skin.

The hem of the dress only reached mid-thigh, and her two long legs were curled up slightly.

Her flaxen hair was splayed across the pillow, making her face seem even paler, to the point that even her lips had lost their color.

Her breathing was steady, her chest rising and falling gently. Her eyelashes were perfectly still; she was sound asleep.

The small sword rested quietly in her arms, the cracks on its blade mending at a visible rate.

A warm light seeped from the blade, passing through the thin, white silk of her nightgown to warm the skin of her chest.

In her sleep, Cheris’s brow furrowed, and she subconsciously hugged the sword tighter.

When her fingertips touched the warmth emanating from the blade, her brow relaxed, and even her breathing grew deeper and more even.

An unknown amount of time passed.

All the cracks on the sword’s blade healed completely.

Then, the light began to spread outward from the small sword’s blade, sketching a blurry human silhouette in the air.

The silhouette grew clearer and clearer.

First came black hair, spilling like ink across the pillow.

Then came his features—refined and peaceful, eyes closed, breathing even.

Finally, a simple, old-fashioned black tunic materialized, draping silently onto the sheets.

Cheris remained completely unaware, merely sensing that the object in her arms had suddenly grown larger, softer, and warmer—something she could now wrap her arms around.

So, she tightened her arms slightly and nuzzled her cheek against Murphy’s shoulder, like a sleepy cat finding a more comfortable spot.

Her smooth calves shifted, and her toes, painted with glossy black polish, hooked onto something, pulling it closer.

It was Murphy’s waist.

However, Murphy didn’t react at all, still fast asleep.

...

「The next day.」

As the first ray of morning light squeezed through a gap in the curtains, Cheris’s eyelashes fluttered.

She opened her eyes, and her gaze fell upon a black collar and a small patch of a fair-skinned neck.

She blinked, then blinked again. Her brain felt like a machine that hadn’t booted up yet, slowly whirring to life.

Then she smelled the scent of a person and felt their warmth.

Cheris’s gaze traveled up from the neck to a face that was only inches away.

Ink-black hair, refined features, steady breathing—he was sound asleep.

Her pupils contracted sharply. She jerked her arms back as if she’d been burned, and the movement caused one of her straps to slide down her shoulder.

Her leg was already tensed, ready to kick. With one push, this person would fly across the room and slam into the wall, just like last time.

But then Cheris saw his pale face, and her tensed leg slowly relaxed. Her toes curled slightly, resting on his waist. In the end, she didn’t kick him.

She didn’t know why she had been holding him in her sleep.

’It’s probably because this is my first time recruiting a student. I was too worried.’

’Yes, that’s it. I was just too worried.’

’I’m a Fourth-Level Wizard, the head of the Society of Truth, and the Vice Speaker of the Senate. How could I act like some clueless little girl, holding a man in my arms all night?’

Cheris looked away from his face, but couldn’t stop herself from glancing back for a quick look.

’He’s actually quite easy on the eyes.’

’Much better looking than all those old geezers.’

’No!’

’What does that have to do with anything?’

’So what if he’s easy on the eyes? Am I the kind of person who sleeps with someone just because they’re good-looking?’

Cheris’s cheeks grew hotter and hotter, and the tips of her ears felt like they were burning.

The fallen strap was still dangling on her arm. She freed a hand to pull it back into place, but she moved too quickly. Her knuckles accidentally brushed against his chest, and she froze as if zapped by electricity, not daring to move.

Murphy, of course, was still asleep, seemingly oblivious to her panic.

Cheris stared at him for a long moment before suddenly speaking softly, "You’re my student, but I still don’t know your name."

After she spoke, she paused, stunned at her own words, then quickly added in a whisper, "I asked you before, but we were interrupted by those bandits. We didn’t get the chance."

As she finished speaking, Cheris’s hand emerged from under the covers. She opened her palm, revealing a badge imprinted with a Snowball Flower.

She tossed the badge into the air and caught it. As it flipped, she flicked it lightly with a fingertip. A faint silver light flashed across the badge’s surface, like a fleeting ripple on water.

Cheris’s eyes followed the direction in which the light vanished. Something glinted deep within her pupils before sinking back into the darkness.

"I will ensure those bandits who tried to steal my property die."

As she spoke, she looked down at the person still sleeping in her arms and suddenly broke into a sly smile.

"Next time. After I get back from killing the bandits, I’ll ask for your name then."

Her figure began to fade.

First the tips of her hair, then her shoulders, and finally the arms holding him and the legs wrapped around his waist.

Like a patch of mist scattered by the morning sun, she vanished silently into the light.

...

An unknown amount of time passed. In any case, when the morning light filled the room, Murphy opened his eyes.

He glanced at the indentation on the bed beside him and smelled the faint, sweet fragrance lingering in the air.

He closed his eyes again.

The perceptive abilities he had gained from [Breathing and Guiding ’Entering the Hall’] began operating at full speed.