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"Aiya, you’re injured. Let me take a look at it quickly."
"Brother, you’ve suffered."
Rosyth and Benson blocked his path, subtly cornering him against the wall.
Ivan watched them with a cold eye, making no careless moves. Injured as he was, a wise man doesn’t court danger.
After uttering those somewhat exaggerated words of concern, Rosyth leaned in feigning affection and whispered, "Listen, Ivan, things were urgent that day, and we were both panicked and scared, not sparing any thought to consider the consequences. It was an unintentional mistake."
Benson chimed in, "That’s right, just an unintentional mistake. We were more worried about your safety than anyone else, even considering you a good friend."
Ivan sneered dismissively, "Spare me, I don’t deserve friends like you. Just be each other’s good friends; hopefully, next time you face danger, your ’good friend’ will pull you to safety."
Upon hearing his response, the two exchanged glances.
Rosyth’s voice took on a harsh tone, "Listen, you’ve only suffered a minor injury. Let’s pretend that incident never happened. Hopefully, you won’t publicize it and just let it go."
Benson added, "There are two of us and only one of you. No one will believe what you say. Don’t force us to resort to other measures."
They had not come to make amends but to warn Ivan not to speak carelessly, lest it affect their reputations in Flying Fish Port. In a place neither large nor small, a tarnished reputation could bode poorly for their futures.
Such shameless words even tested Ivan’s good temperament, angering him immensely.
The victim hadn’t taken any measures, yet the wrongdoers had come to threaten him. It was utterly intolerable.
Ivan stared at them with a steely face, his gaze ice-cold.
Rosyth and Benson met his look unflinchingly.
"What are you doing?"
A crisp voice rang out, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Not far off stood a female knight clad in leather armor skirt, frowning, her long legs accentuating her elegance.
Ivan called out, "Sister Mellie."
This girl was a disciple of the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, with considerable strength having reached the squire level, just one step away from breaking through to Knight Class. She was also the hall’s senior disciple and the daughter of the hall’s master.
Seeing someone bullying a disciple near the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, she naturally couldn’t ignore it.
"Ivan, don’t forget our appointment. We will seek you out again."
Rosyth and his companion were students from another local swordsmanship hall and, knowing Mellie’s formidable strength, did not dare linger. They left with a parting reminder before striding away.
He knew this so clearly because he was just the same.
Aunt Kasey nodded in agreement.
Sean spread his hands.
Peggy glanced at the two and muttered, "Perhaps, you’re both wrong. Brother Ivan just wants to become a Pharmacist and it’s his passion that’s inspiring him to change. Yes, that must be it."
Hearing this, Sean nearly rolled his eyes back to his forehead, thinking it was another thing to get someone to believe.
Engrossed in their discussion, the three didn’t notice Ivan had already come out of the room, just in time to see his brother’s exaggerated eye roll.
"Peggy gets me, Sean, what’s with that expression?"
He unceremoniously slapped the back of Sean’s head, knocking his rolled eyes back into place.
Sean took the slap without much fuss, but was more interested in Ivan’s words, "Mr. Ivan, are you serious about this?"
Ivan replied, "Serious or not, just watch my actions and you’ll know."
Sean scrutinized him, seeing the word ’serious’ written all over his face; it didn’t seem like a joke at all.
"Oh dear, that means you won’t be able to cover for me anymore. Won’t I be scolded more often?" he lamented, unwittingly speaking his inner thoughts aloud.
Peggy darkly commanded, "Sean, I’m giving you a chance to rethink your words."
Sean gave a sheepish laugh, "I was just joking, haha." Saying this, he took off running, skillfully eluding his sister’s reach—a clear sign of experience.
"Brother Ivan, I believe in you."
Peggy earnestly said to Ivan before chasing after her good-for-nothing brother to teach him a lesson.
Aunt Kasey had already gone off to busy herself with other things, clearly finding it hard to believe Ivan’s words in her heart.
’Academic Prodigy’
Ivan muttered to himself.
[Apothecary Skill: lv0 (6/10)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0 (1/10)]
Just a short while ago, his Apothecary Skill Experience Points had increased by one, bringing him even closer to the next level.
He had a strong premonition that upon reaching Level 1 in Apothecary Skill, a surprise surely awaited him.
Next time, he had to find a way to linger in Old Orio’s clinic; that place was certainly a big bundle of Experience Points.
And the Breathing Method—once he recovered from his injuries, it wouldn’t take long to master it. He wondered if it would translate into a subject on his panel. He hoped it would.