"It seems that our young master needs to train even harder. I'm afraid that her talent is much more terrifying than what you can imagine. Not only her control, but also her calm judgment." Alisha smiled.
"Indeed. I can't lose." Nathan smiled wryly.
Alisha then handed over the briefcase she had been holding on to this whole time. "In that case, please take this."
"En? What is this?" Nathan asked while grabbing the briefcase.
"The item you requested."
"Ah!" Nathan couldn't help but smile. This was what he needed to get stronger in his current phase. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome." Alisha smiled before looking at his clothes. He hadn't changed, so the blood was still fresh on his clothes. "Young master. I won't be angry at whatever happened during your mission, but Mistress has seen your clothes. You might probably need to explain it to her."
"Aren't you going to accompany me, Alisha?"
"I won't this time. I don't know what has happened, but I'm sure you must have done something reckless. A reckless person like you deserves to be scolded." Alisha harrumphed. It seemed she was angry that he was being reckless and probably thought he almost died, which wasn't wrong either.
"I will get your spare clothes. Please visit her office after you're done talking with Selena. Remember that... I believe that Mistress will be angry if you don't come right away... No, I might also get angry, you know."
"Ugh! I understand." Nathan had expected this, but he thought Alisha would help him. He probably deserved it this time.
"Then, please enjoy." Alisha smiled and walked away.
Nathan also did the same until he saw Selena coming toward him. Her eyebrows twitched when she saw the blood on his clothes.
"Congratulations on your victory." Nathan waved his hand as if nothing had happened.
"The third inspiration came from your unique way of fighting. I thought I could do it on my own too, and last but not least, it was your encouragement." Selena looked away as if she were a bit embarrassed. "Maybe your compliment got the better of me... You told me I was a genius, so maybe you saw something in me I never saw in myself. I tried it and it actually worked. So thank you very much, Nathan."
Nathan was taken aback. Selena accomplished it within days. Not just anybody could accomplish such a feat.
"You're welcome, I guess. Even though I feel like I haven't done anything." Nathan smiled. "By the way, why did you challenge August?"
"That's..." Selena lifted up her wand. "Do you remember I exchanged my points for cores to make up for you?"
"Oh!" Nathan nodded.
"I sold a few of them to buy a cheap rod. I challenged him to get a better staff, which would definitely boost my power even more. This way, I could finally see us as equal."
"But isn't that too reckless? What if you lose?"
"I don't want to hear that from you. I bet this blood comes from your recklessness." Selena complained, but she still explained her thoughts. "August was currently in a desperate position. I heard he was betrayed by someone because he didn't realize that the person was Rudeus' minion.
"If I challenged him with myself on the line, he would accept it. As the successor of the Blacksmith Guild, he would definitely have a good staff.
"So I bought this wooden staff so that I could challenge August to get a better one. I had my confidence after learning this new technique."
"But won't this make him even more desperate?" Nathan asked.
"Yes. In fact, Rudeus and August might even form an alliance after this. However, that just means our reputation will go higher because they need to join hands along with their minions to take us down."
"Ours?"
"If your reputation increases even further, it'll be good for you, especially for making a connection. People will no longer see you as a farmer, but as a formidable summoner. The same applies to mine, but you're the one who inspires me... so I don't want to take the entire credit for myself."
Nathan's body trembled as he couldn't help but scream inwardly, 'What is wrong with this girl? If not for your face lacking emotion, I would have fallen for you right away. This is not how the script was supposed to go...'