Caimon Comprehensive University, Tiered Classroom 108.
“If you could have ten times the arcane energy, but the price was to be pursued by an Immortal Snail forever, would you agree? Raise your hand if you would.”
This strange question instantly turned the entire classroom into a sea of joy. An Elven Student in the front row could not help but laugh. Raising his hand, he said, “Professor, you should ask who wouldn’t!”
Standing on the podium was an outstanding Elven Professor, with shoulder-length black hair, sapphire-like blue eyes, fair skin, crystal-clear thin lips, a thin face, and a tall figure. He wore a dark gray coat and white gloves on both hands.
In response to the student’s answer, he showed a light smile at the corner of his mouth, “What if it’s eight times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a Red Wolf? Hmm, it seems you are not that afraid of the most common predator in the natural forest.”
“What if it’s five times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a juvenile Slashing Fish Dragon?”
Now everyone was a bit hesitant the juvenile Slashing Fish Dragon could be considered a Silver Slayer. There was a joke: ‘The first time a Sorcerer faces the Sea of Knowledge, he surrenders; the second time, even with experience, facing a fast, fierce, and passionate Slashing Fish Dragon, he still surrenders.’
Of course, since this joke was considered discriminatory against both men and women, you would hardly hear it in reality. Only in the Canopy could you see such a joke with hidden meaning.
But basically, everyone raised their hands, and the Elven Professor nodded, “What if it’s three times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a standard Blood Mad Hunter?”
Half of the people who raised their hands put them down. Blood Mad Hunters were divided into apprentice hunters, official hunters, and hunter captains, corresponding to one-wing, two-wing, and three-wing respectively. Standard Blood Mad Hunters were almost all two-wing level combat Sorcerers. Moreover, two-wing Sorcerers who want to become Blood Mad Hunters need to undergo strict assessment and training. A regular two-wing Sorcerer would almost certainly not be a match for a Blood Mad Hunter.
“What if it’s only an increase of one times the arcane energy, but you are forever pursued by a Titan Executioner-level creature from the Virtual Realm?”
Everyone put down their hands, and a displeased student couldn’t help but say, “Professor, if I’m willing, can you give it to me?”
“I’m certainly not that generous.” The Elven Professor laughed, “But the Virtual Realm can.”
“The reward is an additional one times the arcane energy, and the price is to be forever pursued by an immortal and powerful creature from the Virtual Realm. This kind of ‘blessing’ is very common for the Virtual Realm. As long as you’re willing to pray to the Virtual Realm, it will genuinely fulfill your wish.”
“You’ve all signed the student loan contract, right? Both parties of the contract pray to the Virtual Realm as a notary, allowing the Virtual Realm to supervise the implementation of the contract. Whoever violates the contract will be sanctioned by the Virtual Realm… this is the most common kind of ‘blessing’!”
A student raised his hand and asked, “But almost everyone can sign a contract for any reason. Is the Virtual Realm really that easy to negotiate with?”
The Elven Professor laughed, “Of course it is, because the ones who need to abide by the contract are you, and the ones who pay the price for breach of contract are also you. In this process, you don’t get any extra benefits, but rather need to keep paying. The Virtual Realm is always generous with this kind of ‘blessing’ that harms others without benefiting itself of course, this is because of the long-term development of the insurance industry. It is said that a long time ago, signing a contract was a very troublesome thing.”
“But if you dare to ask the Virtual Realm for a ‘blessing’ that benefits yourself, the Virtual Realm will show a face more ferocious than a bank and teeth greedier than a loan shark. For any Sorcerer who tries to take a shortcut, the Virtual Realm will give the strictest test.”
“But the ‘reward’ and ‘test’ are not fixed mechanisms. If a Sorcerer knows the correct use of the power of the Virtual Realm, he can greatly increase the reward amount and greatly reduce the difficulty of the test.”
“Praying for, and adjusting blessings, this is the power of the Ritual Faction.”
The elven professor surveyed the classroom, “To amplify the arcane energy from a reward by ten-fold, to reduce a pursuer from a Titan Executioner to a snail, these are not the ravings of a fool, but real existing Miracles.”
“Of course, praying for a blessing is not as simple as shouting in the Virtual Realm and immediately receiving a response. Even the Heresy Court’s operator system may not provide such a level of service. In fact, the ritual of praying for blessings is very complex. It not only requires various spirits as materials but also tests the sorcerer’s proficiency in various spell factions. Therefore, it’s a faction with a lot of prerequisites…”
Sitting in the back row, Adela was holding her face, her eyes glued to the elf on the podium.
“Professor Sylin is really handsome…”
“Huh?” Freya looked at Adela in surprise. “I thought you would exclaim something like ‘Is there a reward that can increase my luck, and the test is just loss of fertility’.”
“No way, I always listen carefully to Professor Sylin’s classes!” Adela said indignantly. “Of course, if there is such a blessing, I wouldn’t mind!”
At this time, the lecture hall was full of people, not only in the aisles, but even many people were leaning on the windows. Everyone came to listen to Professor Sylin’s class. Professor Sylin can be said to be one of the most popular professors at Caimon Comprehensive University. His academic achievements, appearance, and teaching skills are all top-notch. Unfortunately, due to his external duties as a councilman, he stopped being a resident professor a few years ago, and only occasionally comes to school to give one or two lectures.
Moreover, the most popular point about Professor Sylin is – his class is free! No tuition is required, anyone can audit, and only a fool would miss a free lecture by a two-wing sorcerer like this.
If it weren’t for Adela helping Freya to secure a spot, she would have to lean on the window to listen to the lecture.
“…However, sorcerers who can significantly leverage the power of the Virtual Realm are ultimately few. For example, even a legendary four-wing sorcerer would have to do their best to achieve the ten-fold amplification I just mentioned. Therefore, ordinary Ritual Faction sorcerers prefer to pair blessings through ‘conflict’.”
“Suppose I have two blessings now, the first one’s price is ‘I can never taste the flavor of food’, and the second one’s price is ‘I can taste the flavor of everything in my sight’, what do you think will happen?”
The students looked at each other, Adela stood up and answered, “The prices of the two blessings take effect at the same time, but the sorcerer can taste the food by looking at it when eating, which means the second price to some extent weakens or even suppresses the first price.”
“That’s right, this is the mystery of ‘conflict’, using different prices to conflict with each other to reduce the negative impact of the price.” Professor Sylin nodded approvingly, “Of course, not all blessings can achieve such clever cooperation, a more common pairing is to gather multiple prices that will act on the same place.”
“Suppose I have two blessings, the first price is to make me lose my vision, and the second price is to Turning the world in my vision into a quagmire of flesh and blood, then after I pray for these two blessings, although I will still lose my vision, I don’t have to bear the second price, it’s like taking advantage of the Virtual Realm.”
A student asked, “If I have ten blessings, and all the prices are related to the eyes, then do I only need to give up my eyes to gain the benefits of ten blessings?”
“That’s the idea,” Sylin laughed. “Through clever pairing, praying, adjusting, and conflict, Ritual Faction sorcerers can get the most out of the Virtual Realm at the least cost.”
Another student was puzzled, “If the Ritual Faction is so powerful, why is it gradually declining now?”
Professor Sylin said, “There are two reasons. The first one is as I mentioned, the entry barrier for the Ritual Faction is too high. One must master multiple silver factions to perform rituals, so the minimum threshold for a ritual sorcerer is Two-Winged Gold.”
“Such high-threshold factions of magic are often difficult to pass on and may vanish into history once an unexpected break occurs. Only when a sorcerer receives a legacy from the Virtual Realm and improves it can these treasures of the past shine again.”
“The second reason is that the Ritual Faction is too dangerous.”
A student laughed, “Is there a non-dangerous magic faction? The Water Art Faction, which excels in healing, can also kill people subtly.”
Professor Sylin shook his head, “As I just said, the Virtual Realm is stingy in granting benefits, but it is quite lenient towards ‘harming others without benefiting oneself’. In some taboo rituals, a Two-Winged Gold sorcerer can offer himself as a sacrifice to summon a destructive storm comparable to the full strike of a Four-Winged sorcerer!”
“We sorcerers can be greedy, can take risks, and can be ruthless, but we must survive and cherish life no matter what. The Ritual Faction goes against this principle. Coupled with the fact that many gifts can cause physical and mental disabilities, making sorcerers radical, violent, and disdainful of life, it naturally won’t spread.”
“Even if you learn about the Ritual Faction in the Virtual Realm, there’s no way around it, but in reality, any wise sorcerer would ban the spread of the Ritual Faction. This is not only for social stability, but also because the Ritual Faction tends to produce mad sorcerers. Apart from chaotic evil organizations, the Ritual Faction has no benefit to any stable organization.”
“I am holding this lecture to clarify the harm of the Ritual Faction. If you encounter the legacy of the Ritual Faction in the Virtual Realm in the future, remember not to let greed cloud your judgment. Handle this dangerous knowledge cautiously.”
At this point, a masked student raised his hand and said, “Would there be people in the Four Pillars God Cult who master the Ritual Faction? Could the natural disasters that happened before possibly be the evil deeds of the Four Pillars God Cult members?”
“…The Four Pillars God Cult has been completely sealed off by the Heresy Court, and all members, including the cult leader, have been apprehended. You should pay more attention to the news.” Professor Sylin said coldly, “Your premise is invalid.”
“Also, why are you wearing a mask in class? Can you take it off, please?”
Everyone turned to look, finding that the student who asked the question was wearing a crow mask, a medic model, as though role-playing. Freya also noticed this and suddenly recalled that the cult leader seemed to have a similar mask.
Could it be…
At this moment, the student took off the crow mask, revealing an apologetic face. “I’m sorry, Professor, I really like this mask, so…”
Professor Sylin stared at the student, then covered his eyes with his gloved right hand. After a moment, he put it down, “Don’t wear masks in class. It distracts me.”
In the midst of laughter, Freya keenly noticed that someone was leaving the room. He was wearing a backpack, a hoodie, and a mask as he walked through the classroom. No one seemed to notice him except for Freya. No one else was looking at him.
Although she couldn’t see his face, based on his body shape and clothing, Freya was sure it was Ashe.
What was he doing here?
After class, when she returned to the apartment, Freya opened the door and was greeted by a delicious aroma.
“Welcome back, dinner is ready.”
“…I’m back.”
Once Ashe had set the table, Freya couldn’t wait to ask, “Did you go to Professor Sylin’s class this afternoon?”
“Yeah, did you see me?”
“Why did you suddenly come to class?”
“Yes, there are two reasons…”
Ashe picked up Xiao Xian, who was eating cat food: “The first reason is to go to the university clinic to get Xiao Xian treated.”
Freya paused: “Is Xiao Xian sick?”
“Yes, it has congenital chondrodysplasia. I noticed it sitting listlessly on the ground this afternoon, so I figured it wasn’t feeling well and took it to the Medic. The Medic said if we wanted to alleviate its pain, we essentially would have to get it treated every month.”
Freya held the Fold-ear Cat in her arms with a distressed look: “I’m sorry, Xiao Xian, I didn’t know… Thank you.”
“That’s good, I was afraid you might be upset with me.”
“Why would I be upset with you?”
“If Xiao Xian hadn’t received treatment, it wouldn’t know that pain could be dispelled and that being healthy feels so good. It might have a hard time dealing with pain in the future, so you’ll need to take it for treatment every month.”
As Ashe was browsing videos to watch while eating, he said: “I was afraid you might think I’m causing you trouble.”
“What trouble?”
“Isn’t it troublesome to take Xiao Xian to the vet every month?”
“No way!” Freya shook her head: “How could I find that troublesome? Xiao Xian shouldn’t have to suffer like this in the first place. You saved it from its illness, I can’t thank you enough.”
Ashe glanced at her: “That’s good… I was actually quite surprised. You don’t accept any intimate relationships, but you can devote yourself wholeheartedly and unselfishly to a cat.”
“It’s not the same,” Freya grumbled: “People aren’t as cute as cats, and Xiao Xian won’t leave me. It’s a friend with no expiration date.”
Ashe laughed: “Do you consider the ‘expiration date’ when making friends?”
“Of course!” Freya declared confidently: “If the ‘expiration date’ is only a few hours, like a Mud Worker, then you can be polite and act cute like a Bewitcher for a few hours. If the ‘expiration date’ is a week to a few months, then you can hang out during the holidays to bond, and chat about hobbies at other times. If the ‘expiration date’ is a few years, then you need to discuss political views as soon as possible to quickly judge whether they are the type for a deep friendship. If there’s a fundamental conflict in views, then you need to immediately draw a clear line and only interact for work purposes.”
“What conditions must be met for you to feel that someone’s ‘expiration date’ is a lifetime?”
Freya paused, lowered her head, thought for a while, and hesitantly lifted the Fold-ear Cat’s paw: “At least they should be as cute as Xiao Xian, right?”
Xiao Xian was gasping for breath in Freya’s embrace, and it pushed away the Bewitcher’s attack with its paw. Freya let it go and asked: “Taking Xiao Xian to the vet was the first reason, what’s the second?”
“I was passing by the school, so I just stopped by to see how you teach.” Ashe casually commented: “Huh? The first episode of ‘It’s Weird That I Said I Like Married Women’ is out? Let’s watch this.”
“I actually wanted to continue watching ‘Tea and Coffee Shop Exploration’…” Freya poked at the Red Flame Fatty Fish Roe Rice Bowl: “What’s so interesting about my class?”
“There’s nothing interesting.” Ashe twirled his noodles with a fork: “So I left after a glance.”
“What nonsense.” Freya muttered, watching the Screen of Knowledge and eating the Red Flame Fatty Fish Roe Rice Bowl.
But her mind wasn’t on the food, nor the video.
For some reason, the strange emotion in her heart was getting stronger, and she even felt… a bit happy.
Speaking of which, what’s the ‘expiration date’ of this Cult Leader…
She forced herself not to think about it.
Caimon Comprehensive University, Tiered Classroom 108.
“If you could have ten times the arcane energy, but the price was to be pursued by an Immortal Snail forever, would you agree? Raise your hand if you would.”
This strange question instantly turned the entire classroom into a sea of joy. An Elven Student in the front row could not help but laugh. Raising his hand, he said, “Professor, you should ask who wouldn’t!”
Standing on the podium was an outstanding Elven Professor, with shoulder-length black hair, sapphire-like blue eyes, fair skin, crystal-clear thin lips, a thin face, and a tall figure. He wore a dark gray coat and white gloves on both hands.
In response to the student’s answer, he showed a light smile at the corner of his mouth, “What if it’s eight times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a Red Wolf? Hmm, it seems you are not that afraid of the most common predator in the natural forest.”
“What if it’s five times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a juvenile Slashing Fish Dragon?”
Now everyone was a bit hesitant the juvenile Slashing Fish Dragon could be considered a Silver Slayer. There was a joke: ‘The first time a Sorcerer faces the Sea of Knowledge, he surrenders; the second time, even with experience, facing a fast, fierce, and passionate Slashing Fish Dragon, he still surrenders.’
Of course, since this joke was considered discriminatory against both men and women, you would hardly hear it in reality. Only in the Canopy could you see such a joke with hidden meaning.
But basically, everyone raised their hands, and the Elven Professor nodded, “What if it’s three times the arcane energy, and the pursuer is a standard Blood Mad Hunter?”
Half of the people who raised their hands put them down. Blood Mad Hunters were divided into apprentice hunters, official hunters, and hunter captains, corresponding to one-wing, two-wing, and three-wing respectively. Standard Blood Mad Hunters were almost all two-wing level combat Sorcerers. Moreover, two-wing Sorcerers who want to become Blood Mad Hunters need to undergo strict assessment and training. A regular two-wing Sorcerer would almost certainly not be a match for a Blood Mad Hunter.
“What if it’s only an increase of one times the arcane energy, but you are forever pursued by a Titan Executioner-level creature from the Virtual Realm?”
Everyone put down their hands, and a displeased student couldn’t help but say, “Professor, if I’m willing, can you give it to me?”
“I’m certainly not that generous.” The Elven Professor laughed, “But the Virtual Realm can.”
“The reward is an additional one times the arcane energy, and the price is to be forever pursued by an immortal and powerful creature from the Virtual Realm. This kind of ‘blessing’ is very common for the Virtual Realm. As long as you’re willing to pray to the Virtual Realm, it will genuinely fulfill your wish.”
“You’ve all signed the student loan contract, right? Both parties of the contract pray to the Virtual Realm as a notary, allowing the Virtual Realm to supervise the implementation of the contract. Whoever violates the contract will be sanctioned by the Virtual Realm… this is the most common kind of ‘blessing’!”
A student raised his hand and asked, “But almost everyone can sign a contract for any reason. Is the Virtual Realm really that easy to negotiate with?”
The Elven Professor laughed, “Of course it is, because the ones who need to abide by the contract are you, and the ones who pay the price for breach of contract are also you. In this process, you don’t get any extra benefits, but rather need to keep paying. The Virtual Realm is always generous with this kind of ‘blessing’ that harms others without benefiting itself of course, this is because of the long-term development of the insurance industry. It is said that a long time ago, signing a contract was a very troublesome thing.”
“But if you dare to ask the Virtual Realm for a ‘blessing’ that benefits yourself, the Virtual Realm will show a face more ferocious than a bank and teeth greedier than a loan shark. For any Sorcerer who tries to take a shortcut, the Virtual Realm will give the strictest test.”
“But the ‘reward’ and ‘test’ are not fixed mechanisms. If a Sorcerer knows the correct use of the power of the Virtual Realm, he can greatly increase the reward amount and greatly reduce the difficulty of the test.”
“Praying for, and adjusting blessings, this is the power of the Ritual Faction.”
The elven professor surveyed the classroom, “To amplify the arcane energy from a reward by ten-fold, to reduce a pursuer from a Titan Executioner to a snail, these are not the ravings of a fool, but real existing Miracles.”
“Of course, praying for a blessing is not as simple as shouting in the Virtual Realm and immediately receiving a response. Even the Heresy Court’s operator system may not provide such a level of service. In fact, the ritual of praying for blessings is very complex. It not only requires various spirits as materials but also tests the sorcerer’s proficiency in various spell factions. Therefore, it’s a faction with a lot of prerequisites…”
Sitting in the back row, Adela was holding her face, her eyes glued to the elf on the podium.
“Professor Sylin is really handsome…”
“Huh?” Freya looked at Adela in surprise. “I thought you would exclaim something like ‘Is there a reward that can increase my luck, and the test is just loss of fertility’.”
“No way, I always listen carefully to Professor Sylin’s classes!” Adela said indignantly. “Of course, if there is such a blessing, I wouldn’t mind!”
At this time, the lecture hall was full of people, not only in the aisles, but even many people were leaning on the windows. Everyone came to listen to Professor Sylin’s class. Professor Sylin can be said to be one of the most popular professors at Caimon Comprehensive University. His academic achievements, appearance, and teaching skills are all top-notch. Unfortunately, due to his external duties as a councilman, he stopped being a resident professor a few years ago, and only occasionally comes to school to give one or two lectures.
Moreover, the most popular point about Professor Sylin is – his class is free! No tuition is required, anyone can audit, and only a fool would miss a free lecture by a two-wing sorcerer like this.
If it weren’t for Adela helping Freya to secure a spot, she would have to lean on the window to listen to the lecture.
“…However, sorcerers who can significantly leverage the power of the Virtual Realm are ultimately few. For example, even a legendary four-wing sorcerer would have to do their best to achieve the ten-fold amplification I just mentioned. Therefore, ordinary Ritual Faction sorcerers prefer to pair blessings through ‘conflict’.”
“Suppose I have two blessings now, the first one’s price is ‘I can never taste the flavor of food’, and the second one’s price is ‘I can taste the flavor of everything in my sight’, what do you think will happen?”
The students looked at each other, Adela stood up and answered, “The prices of the two blessings take effect at the same time, but the sorcerer can taste the food by looking at it when eating, which means the second price to some extent weakens or even suppresses the first price.”
“That’s right, this is the mystery of ‘conflict’, using different prices to conflict with each other to reduce the negative impact of the price.” Professor Sylin nodded approvingly, “Of course, not all blessings can achieve such clever cooperation, a more common pairing is to gather multiple prices that will act on the same place.”
“Suppose I have two blessings, the first price is to make me lose my vision, and the second price is to Turning the world in my vision into a quagmire of flesh and blood, then after I pray for these two blessings, although I will still lose my vision, I don’t have to bear the second price, it’s like taking advantage of the Virtual Realm.”
A student asked, “If I have ten blessings, and all the prices are related to the eyes, then do I only need to give up my eyes to gain the benefits of ten blessings?”
“That’s the idea,” Sylin laughed. “Through clever pairing, praying, adjusting, and conflict, Ritual Faction sorcerers can get the most out of the Virtual Realm at the least cost.”
Another student was puzzled, “If the Ritual Faction is so powerful, why is it gradually declining now?”
Professor Sylin said, “There are two reasons. The first one is as I mentioned, the entry barrier for the Ritual Faction is too high. One must master multiple silver factions to perform rituals, so the minimum threshold for a ritual sorcerer is Two-Winged Gold.”
“Such high-threshold factions of magic are often difficult to pass on and may vanish into history once an unexpected break occurs. Only when a sorcerer receives a legacy from the Virtual Realm and improves it can these treasures of the past shine again.”
“The second reason is that the Ritual Faction is too dangerous.”
A student laughed, “Is there a non-dangerous magic faction? The Water Art Faction, which excels in healing, can also kill people subtly.”
Professor Sylin shook his head, “As I just said, the Virtual Realm is stingy in granting benefits, but it is quite lenient towards ‘harming others without benefiting oneself’. In some taboo rituals, a Two-Winged Gold sorcerer can offer himself as a sacrifice to summon a destructive storm comparable to the full strike of a Four-Winged sorcerer!”
“We sorcerers can be greedy, can take risks, and can be ruthless, but we must survive and cherish life no matter what. The Ritual Faction goes against this principle. Coupled with the fact that many gifts can cause physical and mental disabilities, making sorcerers radical, violent, and disdainful of life, it naturally won’t spread.”
“Even if you learn about the Ritual Faction in the Virtual Realm, there’s no way around it, but in reality, any wise sorcerer would ban the spread of the Ritual Faction. This is not only for social stability, but also because the Ritual Faction tends to produce mad sorcerers. Apart from chaotic evil organizations, the Ritual Faction has no benefit to any stable organization.”
“I am holding this lecture to clarify the harm of the Ritual Faction. If you encounter the legacy of the Ritual Faction in the Virtual Realm in the future, remember not to let greed cloud your judgment. Handle this dangerous knowledge cautiously.”
At this point, a masked student raised his hand and said, “Would there be people in the Four Pillars God Cult who master the Ritual Faction? Could the natural disasters that happened before possibly be the evil deeds of the Four Pillars God Cult members?”
“…The Four Pillars God Cult has been completely sealed off by the Heresy Court, and all members, including the cult leader, have been apprehended. You should pay more attention to the news.” Professor Sylin said coldly, “Your premise is invalid.”
“Also, why are you wearing a mask in class? Can you take it off, please?”
Everyone turned to look, finding that the student who asked the question was wearing a crow mask, a medic model, as though role-playing. Freya also noticed this and suddenly recalled that the cult leader seemed to have a similar mask.
Could it be…
At this moment, the student took off the crow mask, revealing an apologetic face. “I’m sorry, Professor, I really like this mask, so…”
Professor Sylin stared at the student, then covered his eyes with his gloved right hand. After a moment, he put it down, “Don’t wear masks in class. It distracts me.”
In the midst of laughter, Freya keenly noticed that someone was leaving the room. He was wearing a backpack, a hoodie, and a mask as he walked through the classroom. No one seemed to notice him except for Freya. No one else was looking at him.
Although she couldn’t see his face, based on his body shape and clothing, Freya was sure it was Ashe.
What was he doing here?
After class, when she returned to the apartment, Freya opened the door and was greeted by a delicious aroma.
“Welcome back, dinner is ready.”
“…I’m back.”
Once Ashe had set the table, Freya couldn’t wait to ask, “Did you go to Professor Sylin’s class this afternoon?”
“Yeah, did you see me?”
“Why did you suddenly come to class?”
“Yes, there are two reasons…”
Ashe picked up Xiao Xian, who was eating cat food: “The first reason is to go to the university clinic to get Xiao Xian treated.”
Freya paused: “Is Xiao Xian sick?”
“Yes, it has congenital chondrodysplasia. I noticed it sitting listlessly on the ground this afternoon, so I figured it wasn’t feeling well and took it to the Medic. The Medic said if we wanted to alleviate its pain, we essentially would have to get it treated every month.”
Freya held the Fold-ear Cat in her arms with a distressed look: “I’m sorry, Xiao Xian, I didn’t know… Thank you.”
“That’s good, I was afraid you might be upset with me.”
“Why would I be upset with you?”
“If Xiao Xian hadn’t received treatment, it wouldn’t know that pain could be dispelled and that being healthy feels so good. It might have a hard time dealing with pain in the future, so you’ll need to take it for treatment every month.”
As Ashe was browsing videos to watch while eating, he said: “I was afraid you might think I’m causing you trouble.”
“What trouble?”
“Isn’t it troublesome to take Xiao Xian to the vet every month?”
“No way!” Freya shook her head: “How could I find that troublesome? Xiao Xian shouldn’t have to suffer like this in the first place. You saved it from its illness, I can’t thank you enough.”
Ashe glanced at her: “That’s good… I was actually quite surprised. You don’t accept any intimate relationships, but you can devote yourself wholeheartedly and unselfishly to a cat.”
“It’s not the same,” Freya grumbled: “People aren’t as cute as cats, and Xiao Xian won’t leave me. It’s a friend with no expiration date.”
Ashe laughed: “Do you consider the ‘expiration date’ when making friends?”
“Of course!” Freya declared confidently: “If the ‘expiration date’ is only a few hours, like a Mud Worker, then you can be polite and act cute like a Bewitcher for a few hours. If the ‘expiration date’ is a week to a few months, then you can hang out during the holidays to bond, and chat about hobbies at other times. If the ‘expiration date’ is a few years, then you need to discuss political views as soon as possible to quickly judge whether they are the type for a deep friendship. If there’s a fundamental conflict in views, then you need to immediately draw a clear line and only interact for work purposes.”
“What conditions must be met for you to feel that someone’s ‘expiration date’ is a lifetime?”
Freya paused, lowered her head, thought for a while, and hesitantly lifted the Fold-ear Cat’s paw: “At least they should be as cute as Xiao Xian, right?”
Xiao Xian was gasping for breath in Freya’s embrace, and it pushed away the Bewitcher’s attack with its paw. Freya let it go and asked: “Taking Xiao Xian to the vet was the first reason, what’s the second?”
“I was passing by the school, so I just stopped by to see how you teach.” Ashe casually commented: “Huh? The first episode of ‘It’s Weird That I Said I Like Married Women’ is out? Let’s watch this.”
“I actually wanted to continue watching ‘Tea and Coffee Shop Exploration’…” Freya poked at the Red Flame Fatty Fish Roe Rice Bowl: “What’s so interesting about my class?”
“There’s nothing interesting.” Ashe twirled his noodles with a fork: “So I left after a glance.”
“What nonsense.” Freya muttered, watching the Screen of Knowledge and eating the Red Flame Fatty Fish Roe Rice Bowl.
But her mind wasn’t on the food, nor the video.
For some reason, the strange emotion in her heart was getting stronger, and she even felt… a bit happy.
Speaking of which, what’s the ‘expiration date’ of this Cult Leader…
She forced herself not to think about it.
