She gazed at him with a serious expression at those words before her dark skin flushed red. "S-So your instinct to save me was so strong that it overcame your self-control… I can live with that, for now…"

Her tone grew a little sheepish while she averted her gaze, sweeping her short golden hair behind her ear in a bashful manner. Cæ tilted his head with a hint of confusion on his face.

He felt as though she was misinterpreting his words a little strangely, but he didn't bother trying to correct her. The truth was that even if he had only known her for ten days, she had proven to be a good and useful friend when he needed it. She had initially only approached him to help him preserve her family's honor by ensuring that he didn't lose.

When he won, they had grown closer. And while that should have been the end of it, it wasn't, since Serulia applied to the Capture The Flag team, giving them more reason to spend more time with each other.

"Do you want to… maybe join me for dinner one of these days?" she asked him in a low voice. "…I feel like saying thank you isn't enough for me to show my gratitude."

"I'm far too busy for that, unfortunately," Cæ remarked with an absentminded tone, much to Serulia's disappointment. "I was busy even before, but with this case also sitting atop my head like a pain in the ass, I have no choice but to focus every ounce of my time on things that require my attention. I don't think I have even a little bit of free time left."

"…You are pushing yourself too hard," she murmured with a worried tone. "I don't think you should spend every second of every day trying to be extremely productive. Rest is highly important, you know?"

"I'm getting the sleep that I need, rest assured," Cæ replied to her with a composed tone. "However, outside of that, every ounce of my time goes into one of the agendas I have to take care of. Whether it is my magicademics, training, Trinity Housings, or the research for my new business project."

"New business project… You mean the one that you want my father to invest in return for testifying in Miranda's criminal case?"

"Yes," Cæ replied. "I didn't think I would find such a good investor so early, but I'm glad that it worked out."

"You speak as if it is a done deal," Serulia huffed lightly. "Surely you are aware that my father is not fond of you? What makes you think that he will acquiesce to your bold demands so easily? I think you do not know what my father is like."

"I know he loves you more than anything in the world," Cæ's tone was one of certainty. "I know that he wants justice more than he wants not to adhere to my demands. He may have acted that way, but I can assure you that he has already made his decision to invest in my business, even if my idea is garbage."

He turned to her with a pointed gaze.

"I'll guarantee that he will accept my deal the next time we speak, which will probably be today, since I imagine a busy man like your father won't stick around in this country for too long."

"Confident, are you not?" she folded her arms. "Still… why are you starting a business in healthcare of all places?"

"Because I got a really good idea for a new model of healthcare, you see," Cæ said with certainty and eagerness. "One that I'm confident can upend the market once I implement it properly. But it has an extremely high barrier to entry in terms of the venture magicapita. That was why I was considering looking for a private investor who could dole out some pretty generous investments. Although I have to admit, I didn't think I would be getting in the manner that I am getting it."

He shrugged. "But hey, objective achieved."

"What is this new model of healthcare you have in mind?" She raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked, you do not have any background in the healthcare industry, so what gives you the confidence that you can come up with something that experts in the field couldn't?"

"Because innovation is not a product of knowledge or even experience, it is a product of creativity," Cæ replied with a confident tone. "I don't have any experience with housing, either. But my idea was creative, and with a solid implementation, it took off. An idea is the most powerful piece of information that the human mind can create."

Cæ truly believed what he said. The ideas that flooded his mind for him were the kind that he had never been able to conceive before he got his Acquired Savant Syndrome.

"…That is truly remarkable."

Serulia's tone was one of great admiration.

She gazed at him with deep respect and even a hint of affection in her light blue eyes.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Her deep gaze bore into his as the air grew silent.

Cæ couldn't help but feel the atmosphere between them had grown strange.

She opened her mouth, about to say something, only to be interrupted by her magiphone ringing.

She glared at the enchanted device as if it had personally offended her, until she read the identity of the caller.

[Father]

She huffed, reaching to reject the call.

"You should talk to him."

Cæ's tone was calm. "It's probably important."

She turned to him with a reluctant gaze before nodding and picking up the call.

She began speaking in her mother tongue, speaking with her father in a reconciliatory tone. Her expression softened as Cæ detected a more composed man speaking on the other end than the man who had accosted Cæ.

In a few minutes, the conversation ended as she cut the call, putting the phone aside, and gazing at Cæ with a serious expression.

"My father wishes to speak with you."

Cæ wasn't surprised. His read on the master mage had been rather accurate, indeed. His aggression against Cæ in their conversation had been out of protectiveness for his daughter and some prejudice based on Cæ's background.

But Cæ had dealt with much worse of the latter in his life. Whether it was because his honor stopped him from insulting the savior of his daughter or whether he had some notion of a meritocratic approach to respect, he hadn't gone hard on Cæ's background.

All of his aggression, in particular, came out of a desire to protect his daughter from a strange man who might not have given the best first impression from the way Cæ looked.

There was a reason Seliphaz had accused Cæ of being a thug and then fainted on him when she first saw him. His appearance didn't do him any favors when it came to earning the trust of those at first glance.

"My father is no longer in the magicademy. My family has temporarily taken refuge in the luxury suites of the finest hotels in Colohen City. My father wishes to speak with you there. He has arranged secure transit from and to the magicademy, he wishes to speak with you more in greater depth regarding the offer you made him," she explained. "We will need to depart right away."

Cæ heaved a deep breath before nodding.

Within minutes, he had already donned more fitting, but formal clothes, wearing a simple black business suit, spritzing with a bit of perfume, and grooming his hair in a hurry before heading out with Serulia.

By the time they got to the front gates, they found a limousine waiting for them at the very front with several suited men donning blazers checkered with runes and magic circles inscribed across the entire surface.

Cæ's instincts told him that these men were far stronger than he was.

They were senior mages.

That wasn't all. There were protective escort magicars in front and behind the limousine and even motorcycles with equally powerful mages on either side.

The limousine was nothing short of an artifact of immense power. He got the feeling he could launch his most powerful spell: the Penta-Elemental Lance, and they wouldn't suffer even a scratch.

Then, he saw the logo of the manufacturer of the limousine and the armored magicars that escorted them.

A curving seven-tipped star within a circle.

[Elenel Motors.]

A faint glint of bloodlust lingered in the depths of his eyes for just the briefest of moments, disappearing as quickly as it came. Too quick for even the security members to notice.

And yet, Serulia did.

She turned to him, only to find the usual composure on his face.

Cæ, on the other hand, clenched his fists ever so lightly.

It had happened many times, and yet it was just as hard to control his reactions. His desire to run over to the man responsible for Lilia's death, among others, and kill him right then and there spiked every time he saw the company that killed Lilia and then covered it up.

"Are you ok, Cæ?" Serulia gazed at him with a hint of concern.

"I'm good," he lied. "Let's go."

As much as he hated the company, it was hard to deny that they were good at what they did. He had never experienced such luxury in a magicar, which wasn't saying much because he had ridden very few of them his entire life.

The seats were of a luxury leather while the air within the magicar was perfectly regulated to be cool, but not chill. Yet, despite the physical comfort, the air was serious, making it difficult to relax at all as they took off from the Elendir Institute of Magic.

While Cæ was certain of his success, he wanted to make sure that he left a good impression on the Vritra head with his plan, specifically so that he would be actually enthused in investing in his business. The more enthused he was about the prospects of Cæ succeeding, the more he would invest.

He gazed out the window at the darkening evening sky as they drove through the central district of Colohen City, passing through great mansions and estates that spread over an enormous area owned by some of the most powerful, affluent families in the entire city and even the entire country.

He wondered how good it would feel to set fire to all of them and watch them burn and crumble.

Surely it would be a euphoric, comfortable warmth.

The kind in which he would be able to rest with utmost comfort.

"You are making a scary face…" Serulia murmured with a half-curious, half-uncertain tone.

Cæ raised an eyebrow as he turned toward her with a raised eyebrow.

He wondered if the blunt force trauma that she had sustained had caused something to change in her brain that made her act differently. He didn't recall her being someone who showed such unnecessary interest in him. She had been more reserved before, but now he felt like she had become a lot more attentive to him.

"You're acting differently from before," he remarked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I-I am doing just fine." She averted her gaze.

"…" Cæ didn't believe her.

Her face had grown a little red.

His palm reached out for her face, his fingers touching her supple, dark skin. She froze, feeling an almost electric sensation tingling in her nerves with just a single touch. She felt her heart pounding within her chest as a sense of euphoria washed over her with the physical touch.

He pressed his hand against her forehead, frowning. "You look like you have a fever, but you don't. How strange."

He withdrew his hand, much to Serulia's disappointment, before his gaze returned to the window.

The car stopped before a giant estate with luxurious buildings with classy modern architecture, with a welcoming aesthetic.

"We've arrived, Madam Serulia."

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.