Silence spread in the hall as Vestia and Zain looked at Alnea with wide eyes. Even Cecilia and Yuri looked surprised for a few moments. After all, the Blood Crystal Martial Styles were far too different from the Martial Styles that they normally used, with a high demand for both, talent and accumulation. Mastering all of them…

“…I know you must be under pressure, but that does not mean that you should lie, Alnea,” Zain said, shaking his head. “You still need to temper your Heart a little more.”

“I am not lying,” Alnea said, glaring at Zain, before turning back towards Vestia. “I have mastered all nine Blood Crysal Martial Styles.”

“…By mastering, you do not mean just learning them, right?”

“Of course not,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I have truly mastered them. Just not completely. I encountered some bottlenecks which I will not be able to break through in a short period of time. And when we were making the bet, none of us made it clear whether I needed to completely master the Martial Styles, or just partial mastery would do.”

“…The degree of mastery you need to win the bet… Is that what you want to ask about?”

“That’s right.”

“…How many Blood Crystals have you condensed?”

“Do you really believe him?” Zain said, only to be scolded by Cecilia in the next moment.

“No one will not treat you as dumb if you keep quiet.”

“Thirty,” Alnea said, ignoring the stinky mouth beside him.

“…Thirty?” Vestia said in a hesitant, and probing voice.

“I know that it is not much, but this is the maximum number of Blood Crystals that my body can bear for now.”

“…Is that so,” Vestia said, swallowing back the words she had planned to say earlier. However, it did not take long for a frown to make its way to her face. “Thirty Blood Crystals is the limit? But that does not make sense. Although you are only at the Fifth Level of—

“Sixth Level. My Spirit Power finally broke through to the Sixth Level last night.”

“…Although you are only at the Sixth Level of the Intermediate Stage, the Blood Crystals are also only of the Initial Stage. You should not have any problems with condensing at least a hundred Blood Crystals. Unless… What is the Grade of your Blood Crystals?”

“They are all stuck at the Perfect Grade.”

“…Perfect Grade Blood Crystals,” Zain mumbled, ready to give in his own input once again. That was until he saw Cecilia’s glare, and Yuri’s calm, but terrifying gaze.

“Speaking of their Grades, upgrading Blood Crystals is really too difficult,” Alnea said, sighing in disappointment. “I have been trying my best for the past three days, but I have not made any progress. Be it the number of Blood Crystals, or their Grades, all of them are stuck. And I can feel that I will not be able to break through this bottleneck any time soon. If not, I would not have taken the initiative to end our bet two days in advance.”

“…If I did not know you better, I would have thought that you were trying to brag in front of me.”

“…Is this still called not bragging?” Zain complained, but did not dare to say too much.

“I am not bragging… If you don’t believe me, I can let you verify it yourself.”

“No need,” Vestia said, shaking her head. “I believe you.”

“…So, is the extent to which I have mastered the Martial Styles enough? Or was the bet for me to completely master all the Martial Styles?”

“Even a vixen like you should not be shameless enough to do something like that,” Cecilia said, as if stating a fact rather than asking a question. But she still could not help staring warily at Vestia.

“Do not worry, Cecilia,” Yuri said, still appearing to be as calm as ever. The light shining in her eyes though was telling another story altogether. “Women from the Erwein forests may be annoying, but they know when to admit defeat, do they not, Vestia?”

“…I am sad to see that there is so little trust between us,” Vestia said in an aggrieved tone.

“It was you yourself who said that trust is earned, and not given.”

“…Did I say something like that?”

“…Probably,” Alnea said, not daring to contradict Yuri. “At least you did say something about earning our trust.”

“…So, have I not earned your trust yet, Alnea?”

This woman… It took her only one sentence for her to direct Cecilia and Yuri’s attention away from herself. The problem was, she never hid her intentions. And yet, everything went according to her expectations… She was too good. It was just that… she always used him as the breaking point. Her manipulations never hurt him, but the two pairs of eyes glaring at him, waiting for his answer, did make him feel awkward.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“…You have,” Alnea said, unable to fight against his own conscience. As for Cecilia and Yuri turning their dissatisfied faces away from him, he would just have to find a way to coax them later.

“I knew you would understand me,” Vestia said, flashing her dimples at him, before winking at him… Coaxing the girls was not going to be easy.

“Well, if it is about trust, then I can say that I am the most trustworthy person,” Zain said, interrupting their conversation once again. “I have been guiding all four of you over the past five days, sparing no effort to pass on all my experiences with you… I think I should have earned enough trust to become an official Star Seeker, right?”

Sparing no efforts indeed… Chattering endlessly next to their ears, constantly adding in hints of his greatness and talent in between the experiences he shared with them… For a moment, Alnea might accept that Zain had gained their trust, but he would never admit that the crazy man had helped him, except maybe for sometimes digressing the topic away from himself, saving him from Cecilia’s and Yuri’s glares, or Vestia’s harassment. Crazy as Zain was though, Alnea would also not deny that the man did not have a bad Heart. He was just too self centred and ignorant of everyone else around him. Still, the man did have a sense of loyalty.

“I lost just because I was a little careless,” Zain had said after losing a fight against a Peak Stage False Wanderer of the Lotus clan. He was careless for two more days in a row, before finally defeating his challenger by luck, and regaining some of his losses.

“See? I told you. A mere Peak Stage False Wanderer is not enough to stop me.”

Of course, Zain also knew why he was being targeted by the Lotus clan. Especially since the Lotus clan had explicitly told him to leave the Star Seekers. They even offered to let him join one of their teams. But Zain refused all their offers and accepted all of their challenges. Most importantly, he never blamed Alnea for his losses. No matter how annoying he was, he did gain their trust, if only a little. The only problem was…

“…Let us talk about it after we reach the Blood Hall,” Alnea said, dismissing Zain’s question, lest he be smug all the time, and begin talking about his greatness once again, before turning back towards Vestia. “About the Martial Styles…”

“Let us talk about the other seven Martial Styles first,” Vestia said, flashing her dimples at him once again. “How is your progress in those Martial Styles?”

“…Of the remaining seven Martial Styles, the Blood Forging, Blood Muscle Forging, Blood Bone Forging, and the Blood Organ Forging Styles were a bit easier to progress in. I reached the Completion phase in all four of those Martial Styles just this morning. Probably because of the breakthrough in my Spirit Power. As for the rest, I am currently stuck at the bottleneck between Adaptation and Completion phase, but it should not take long for me to break through. As long as I use these Martial Styles in battle…”

“No need,” Vestia said with a sigh. “Although I knew that you were talented, I still underestimated you.”

“…I am not that talented,” Alnea said, using his Aspect to hide his embarrassment. At least he tried to. In front of Vestia, his disguise was meaningless. And recently, even Yuri had begun to see through his Aspects… He needed a better Martial Style to hide his emotions.

“Too much humbleness is just another kind of arrogance,” Vestia said. “But you do deserve your arrogance. Of all the Wanderers I know, even including those in Supreme clans, you are the most talented Warrior I have ever seen.”

“…Well, he does half of my talent, after all…”

“Of course. He is my Alnea, after all.”

“Your friend, not your Alnea.”

“…It’s the same thing.”

“It is not. You should not speak of people as objects.”

“Stop changing the topic, Vestia,” Yuri said, relieving Cecilia from her embarrassment. “Just tell us, do you accept your loss?”

“…Thirty Blood Crystals, all of Perfect Grade, Completion phase in the four Blood Forging Martial Styles, and the end of the Adaptation phase in the rest,” Vestia said, turning back towards Alnea with a relieved smile. “When I made that bet, I was doing it for the consideration of your future. All I wanted was for you to show me that you will not be wasting your time with those Martial Styles. And what you have shown is far more than what I expected… Congratulations, Alnea. You have won our bet.”

“Who told you to doubt our Alnea?” Cecilia said, snorting at Vestia, before putting on a smile filled with pride. “There may be other Wanderers who have stronger foundations, have better Arcanas and Glyphs, and even better comprehension, but when it comes to Martial Styles, no one can compare with Alnea.”

“First of all, I never doubted him. I was just thinking about what was best for him. More importantly, you are talking as if I lost to you.”

“So what? You lost anyway.”

“So?”

“So, you have to be ready to accept the terms of the bet,” Yuri said, grinning for the first time in a while. “Are you ready, Vestia?”

“…If it is an order from Alnea, I am ready to accept anything. Even including…” Vestia trailed off as her blood rushed to her cheeks, forcing her to turn her face away from him. Such an obvious performance… anyone could tell that she was just acting. But that did not stop Cecilia and Yuri from turning stiff. Withdrawing their smile for a frown, the two turned back towards him, and began whispering.

“…He should not…”

“…I do not think so…”

“…But his eyes… I have caught him looking at… you know…”

When did Cecilia catch him? And what was he looking at that time? Why did he not know anything?

“…After all, he is of that age…”

What age?

“…Should we…”

Should you what?

“…Poros’ fangs! If I knew something like this could happen, I would never have allowed to let him make that bet!”

“…Who knew that a daughter of the Erwein Forest could be so shameless?”

“But the Weina women have always been shameless!”

“…Anyways, we have to make sure that we never let the two of them be alone.”

“That’s right. We must…”

“…I think we should get going,” Alnea said before Cecilia and Yuri could think of some ridiculous plans to keep him away from Vestia. It was not as if he wished to be with the blue robed woman, flashing her dimples, and winking at him from time to time… No, for him, no one was more important than Yuri and Cecilia. Except maybe his master.

In any case, if it could keep the girls happy, he would have no problem in keeping his distance from Vestia. If only she had not been a Star Seeker, that is. Or if his master had not instructed them to interact more with other Wanderers. Like Vestia had said, of all the Wanderers they had met in the city, she was the most trustworthy. Something she had already proven.

From the very beginning, she had been nothing but helpful to the team. She had even stood against the Lotus clan for them. All just so that she could get to know him better. And to enter the inner city, of course. Regardless, driving her away was not possible at the moment, and would only alienate her more from Cecilia and Yuri. Something that he could not let happen. In the end, he had no choice but to step in himself, and keep the girls from making more troubles by diverting their attention.

“We do not want to keep our new teammates waiting, right?”