Claire leaned back on her chair, her eyes empty.

'Don't tell me…'

Somehow, the first thing that came to her mind when Tim spoke, was the moment when he entered her shop for the very first time. With rather limited funds and much greater curiosity than she saw in anyone else over the past few years. And in just so few days, he came out to be someone of importance so vital, it was impossible to overestimate.

His crafts so far were enough to put first her and later her father into a state of shock, both when they saw the improved design of what Claire bought and now when he brought yet another wonder.

'I knew he was sort of special but…'

Her eyes drew to the huge, green seed on the table.

'But to think he knew absolutely nothing…'

Tim's revelation shed some light on the timeline for her.

Because without a doubt, it was mere days ago when this bastard first discovered he was good at crafting! And it was those mere few days ago when he first stepped into Claire's shop, making her by a complete chance, the first person to realize his potential.

And now, thanks to this fated yet completely random advantage, she could be the first to make him an offer.

Claire bit down on her bottom lip, nearly to the point she would start to cut open her delicate skin. And as her eyes drew to her father's face…

'If someone who never as much as touched the basics of cultivation can spout such profound enlightenments, then who do we even pretend to be?'

Claire and Chihiro; both geniuses in their respective weight class.

Claire, an up-and-coming moderate genius who reached the true condensation stage by the ripe age of nineteen and was rumored to creep upon the outer reaches of the sixth step, the core establishment stage.

Chihiro, one of the selected few cultivators of the ninth, two-dimensional core stage within the entirety of not only the city but the entire province. A man capable of freely traversing the spiritual lands of the old eras, just a step away from becoming an active contributor to the fabric those worlds are weaved from.

For their respective ages, they were both well above the average person.

And now, this freaking upstart…

For some reason, Claire suddenly grew extremely annoyed.

'Huh?!'

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The girl… wasn't as dense as to fail to notice her own feelings. But as she squinted her eyes and looked inside her thoughts… She couldn't really find the reason for this ire of her.

Only for this failure to become a completely new source of anger, as she grew sick and tired of her chaotic thoughts.

'Am I really annoyed to the power of two because of this damned…!'

Claire opened her eyes wide and looked up to Tim's face. Yet, as soon as she did… The warmth returned to her chest, from when his adorably nonchalant eyes moved over her bosom and stuck to it for a short instant.

'Wait, no…'

With this single thought, Claire's body all flared up as she started to recall all the other sensations she felt because of Tim.

Her thighs, her waist, her arms, and her lips…

'What's that?'

Right as Claire's thoughts heated up, she suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if something…

As if something grand approached.

And she somehow managed to instantly pinpoint the source of this distant yet grand presence.

It lingered in Tim's mouth as if a byproduct of his earlier words.

And between the presence of this grandeur and her ongoing impression, just one thought formed in Claire's head as it pushed out everything else.

'A genius.'

************

'What the hell was that?!'

I wanted to scream, cry out, and run away.

Was I supposed to cringe? Or maybe keeping a calm face was better? What if I reveal I have no idea where it came from?

I couldn't decide… Just like I had no idea what the fuck I just said!

Or rather…

At some distant level, I could somehow feel the underlying idea of what I said. It was like… a practical common sense that I had yet to fully develop.

But it certainly wasn't a statement I should be giving out right in the face of the only two cultivators I actually knew, both of which were stars of their respective fields!

When this energy first appeared, I got a distant feeling that maybe, just maybe… I've managed to tame my meditative state.

To reach the point where it no longer imposed its will upon my brain and flesh.

I've achieved the first step toward this goal when I managed to stay awake through the process, even if not without Claire's active help.

But yesterday, when I crafted…

Sure, this force was there to push me forward, but it merely improved upon the things I wanted to do rather than doing something entirely out of my own oversight.

And by all means, this was the sign that I've finally managed to overcome my greatest issue since the discovery of my talent!

Sure, the level of improvement to what I could craft was smaller than when I fully gave the reins to my Qi-guided self, but still… It was a power I could actually wield rather than be a mere subject of!

And now, the same force was pushing my mouth to utter some profound-sounding bullshit!

'What do I do now, though?' I thought, zeroing in on the most crucial question of the moment.

What was I to do next, now that I spoke this random crap?

"I see."

Chihiro spoke in a much deeper, more exhausted voice than before. Then, he heaved a deep sigh.

"I've heard of the terms you talked with my daughter about." The moment the man took between the two sentences was abruptly short as if he merely took a breath rather than thinking about what he wanted to say. "She also came up with quite an interesting suggestion…"

Chihiro looked over at his daughter, catching her glare as she gave him a slightly confused look…

That somehow rooted the Claire that I knew, the cheerful, slightly nerdy yet extremely energetic girl as if shedding some of the camouflage of her fancy clothes, exposed skin, and perfect make-up. As if anchoring the fact that this rich, sexy girl in front of me was still the same adorable shopkeeper fairy I knew.

Yet, when her father abruptly turned his head and looked over, I lost the freedom to look at Claire, forced to respond to her father's glare.

"But now I have to make some alternations to our proposition."