Lyon POV:

“Tch. What took you guys so long?”

Jasmine folded her arms as she leaned against the wall next to Comfort’s entrance. She twirled the lollipop around her mouth before taking it out and winking at me.

‘...’

A slight shiver ran down my spine, but I had no other option but to endure it. Even if the activity on the streets had drastically reduced, this was still the safest place for Marina to stay.

“Well, come on in. Place is closed for today anyway.”

Jasmine held the door open while Len and Marina walked in. I followed after them when she suddenly dropped her hand down, blocking the entrance.

“Just to make this clear, we are partners now. So, you’ll be staying with me.”

She crunched down on the lollipop as her eyes narrowed. Blood quickly rushed to her cheeks, spreading over her nose—it looked like she was enjoying this.

“That’s fine. Lead the way.”

Jasmine smirked while moving her hand out of the way. I ignored her eyes examining every part of my body as I walked inside and saw Ness conversing with Len while Marina carefully studied her new surroundings.

“You’re here, kid.”

Mr Cruiser stepped through the side door near the entrance and leaned his back against the wall. He took out his treasured pipe from his long, brown trench coat before slipping the lip into his mouth.

“You understand what this means, right?”

“You all worry too much. I came here with a goal and I plan to achieve it. Just sit back and watch.”

The room fell silent as Mr Cruiser’s lips spread into a wide grin. He patted me on the shoulder, whispered a few words to Ness and then went back upstairs. Len looked at me with concerned eyes while Marina held her arm tightly.

“It was unnecessary, but Uncle wanted to hear you say it.”

Ness explained the situation in detail, allowing the two of them to feel more at ease. There was no animosity between Mr Cruiser and me; just expectations. Ness took the suitcase from Len and directed them both to where they would be staying.

I watched them walk through another door at the end of the relatively large restaurant area when Len looked back at me. Her eyebrows curved inwards slightly while she bit her lip.

I gave her a smile, reassuring her that it would be fine. Len let out a helpless sigh as her amber eyes softened further. A few seconds later, she reluctantly broke eye contact with me and left the room.

“Eh? She’s not your girlfriend, right?”

Jasmine wrapped her arm around my shoulder and brought her face in close.

“She’s not. Show me where I’ll be staying.”

“Hmm. Let’s go.”

She took down one of the wine bottles from the bar and pressed some sort of button behind it. I heard a clicking sound followed by a new door appearing on the other side of the room.

She opened it, revealing stairs that led down to what I assumed was a basement. We walked in and stopped on a small extended platform that connected to the stairs when the door automatically closed itself behind us.

I observed the high ceiling and the narrow stairway. Much like the staircase leading to Mr Cruiser’s office, there were no overhead lights here as well.

“Lyon, what’s your type of girl?”

“I don’t have one.”

She asked me several pointless questions about my taste in women as we descended. I really wondered if she was genuinely interested in me, or just liked to talk a lot about these things.

I called to mind the time I grabbed her wrist. Truthfully, I had put more force into that action than intended—I was still on edge due to dealing with Brunaulf. However, she brushed it off like it was nothing.

The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. How strong was Jasmine?

We reached the bottom of the stairs and an open doorway led us into a very large room. It had an area full of different equipment that looked like it was used to strengthen one’s body as well as spaces that seemed to focus on meditation.

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There was a large ring at one end of the room that contained several stacks of books bound together neatly near it.

Jasmine stepped forward and threw her grey hoodie to the floor. She wore a sturdy black sports bra with thick golden outlines that held back her moderately large breasts while revealing her toned body.

She was lean and had an amazing figure. Her curves couldn’t compare to Nia’s, but she definitely had a strong hourglass shape of her own.

“You and I will be living here starting from today.”

Jasmine popped another lollipop in her mouth as she gazed at me with serious eyes. She walked over to the slightly elevated ring and jumped inside.

“Let me see what you can do, newcomer.”

I looked at her for a few seconds before smirking. In the end, she just wanted to test my abilities.

Well, I was curious about her too.

I threw my hoodie to the floor, leaving me with a sleeveless top on. I opened up the ropes and stepped inside.

Her eyes curved upwards as she flushed while examining my body. She looked at the Mark of a Pantheon on my arm and her smile widened even further.

“Did you know there was only one other person who completely stole my heart?”

“...Who?”

It was a pretty random question, so there was a short delay in my response.

“Zane Pantheon.”

‘!’

My eyes widened in shock as I watched her lips say my Master’s name. I suddenly remembered that Mr Cruiser also knew Master, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for Jasmine to know him too.

“It was love at first sight~ Unfortunately, he rejected me because he had someone in his heart already... Ah... I was so sad~”

This was news to me. Master had never mentioned it and I had never thought to ask.

‘What kind of girl would he be into?’

I couldn’t really picture anybody. He seemed to have that aura of liking his own space, yet at the same time, I could tell he had many special people in his life.

I observed Jasmine who looked genuinely upset as she reminisced about the past.

“I noticed it back when you took your clothes off, but I chose not to say anything. Unc told me your Zane’s disciple too. Isn’t this fate?”

“Maybe so.”

Life had a funny way of working things out. People were often connected in more ways than they thought.

Jasmine’s lips spread into a content smile at my response as she stepped forward. She released her Ki and the air around me vibrated lightly.

She was at the Uso stage, just like Len, but the aura she gave off was completely different. I activated the Mark of a Pantheon and got into position.

The space between us slowly vanished as we inched closer together. Her hands blurred and the battle began.

***

Jasmine was fast. Her strikes were accurate and she didn’t overcommit on attacks that didn’t have a high chance of landing.

I twisted my neck to the side as her fist flew past while I continued to observe her movements.

‘...’

This wasn’t it.

We had exchanged blows for around a minute now, but it didn’t feel right. I wondered if she was waiting for me to make the first move, or if she was still trying to feel me out.

“!”

Jasmine seemed to read my mind as her tempo suddenly increased. Her hands blurred while I parried away the incoming strikes when she abruptly stepped deeper into my range.

I took advantage of this opening, shifting my balance to the balls of my foot as I carried over all of my momentum and aimed high. My shin smashed directly into her temple, sending out a slight ripple of air in the process.

‘?’

My strike cut through its intended target, but her body was no longer there. She had moved fast enough for my attack to barely land on her guard, and now I sensed her behind me.

I spun around and threw my fist forward, but again, I hit nothing. She reappeared in front of me while her leg shot forward like a cannon.

My body flickered through her attack as I spun inside and placed my palm against her chest, but she was already gone again.

‘That speed...’

We disappeared and reappeared around the ring constantly as I felt the corners of my lips rise slightly.

“Don’t fall me yet!~”

Jasmine’s face flushed wildly as her eyes curved into half-crescent moons. She splayed her hand, manipulating the wind to pull me in close.

I responded by using the Defensive Stance to resist. I planned on parrying the follow-up punch heading my way when the air around her hand suddenly distorted.

“!”

A torrent of wind exploded out of her fist, smashing me directly into the wall behind. I quickly rolled to the side to avoid another blast of wind as her body flickered forward.

‘Ghost.’

The dark red optimal lines of attack rushed into my vision while I jumped back as her fist struck the base of the ring; the wind violently ripping away its surface.

‘She’s manipulating the air on a much higher level than Len.’

“Foo.”

I let out a deep breath as I focused on the possible paths to take. Jasmine suddenly stopped moving and a deep shade of red spread across her nose.

“Yess!~ That’s it! Show me more!!”

Her eyes popped as the saliva from her mouth coated her tongue that ran over her lips multiple times before she charged in again.

‘Nose. Chest. Right leg. Left ribs.’

I projected my intent along the paths before me and the air blurred. Jasmine twisted her body to the extreme as she dodged the first two attacks with the aid of the wind. However, the last two attacks smashed into her body but seemed to have little effect.

‘Smart.’

She had created small barriers of wind over potential areas of attack in order to reduce the damage. On the other hand, her face was euphoric as she panted heavily.

A cold shiver ran down my spine while I watched her eyes spiral. I knew she wasn’t tired, so I had no idea why she was panting like that.

“More!!~”

Jasmine screamed while clenching her fists. Her Ki exploded causing a mini shockwave to occur as she dashed forward at a speed incomparable to before. I wanted to stop here, but it didn’t look like my words would get through to her at this point.

“Pantheon Style:...”

The Ki around me roared out as its intensity increased. I wasn’t planning to use any of the Pantheon Style techniques here, but maybe it was better to show Jasmine just what level I was on.

“O—”

Her feet skidded to a halt a metre away from me while her Ki abruptly subsided. She walked up to me quickly and smashed her hand against the wall behind me. Her eyes seemed out of focus and her face was so hot I could feel the heat rising off of it.

“I love you!~”

“...”

And that was how my first day of living with Jasmine went.