Chapter 200 - The Mental e of Husband and Wife

  Nathan Evenhart:

  It rain, and our outdoor csses were celed. I’ll admit, I may have gone overboard when I created the storm, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now—the clouds would follow their natural course until they cleared on their own.

  With few optio, my cssmates and I headed to the library to finish our assigs. Unlike many other students who preferred to do their homework over the weekend, we, who spent our weekends at our homes iy, used our free hours during the week to get everything done when we didn’t have csses.

  Thyra, however, doesn’t do her assigs, even though she stays at the academy every weekend...

  Chloe and I discovered that the library was the best pce to gather, all thanks to Kinue. She showed us some quieter spots on the upper floors with tables that were perfect for studying together and w on group assigs.

  "Thyra already thinks assigs are b, and you still brio the library?" the wolf girl’s voice sounded from a distance, approag with the other students.

  As soon as they reached our table, Syvis was the first to speak.

  “What happeo you?”

  “Are you okay?” Melina asked.

  They both looked at my bandaged arms, and even my hand was ed. My skin hadn’t fully healed yet, so I’d requested to keep it covered. Martha had expihat the healing potion rioritizing internal damage, so it would take a few more days for my skin to be pletely restored.

  “Just a spell act,” I answered.

  Thyra stared at me for a sed before bursting into ughter, pointing at me with her finger.

  “Hahaha!”

  What could be so funny?

  Chloe didn’t seem to uaher.

  “Why are you ughing?” I asked, genuinely fused.

  “You boys…” Thyra said, wiping away a tear from ughing so hard. “Bet you’re having trouble moving your arms, huh?”

  “Of course… that’s why they’re ed,” I replied, still puzzled.

  Thyra nudged me pyfully, showing a mischievous grin.

  “I don’t get it…”

  “Let’s just say it’s going to be tough for you... to ‘relieve’ yourself at night,” she ughed again, spping my back as she ughed untrolbly.

  This girl is insane… my back is still sore, and she’s spping me.

  Syvis sighed in exasperation.

  “Enough, wolf girl…” Syvis said, grabbing Thyra by the colr and draggio sit at the table.

  Chloe and I exged ghen looked at the wolf girl, already familiar with her quirky humor. We pulled our books from our ste bracelets and started w on our assigs together. ing from different races and kingdoms, we often exged knowledge. Whatever questions I had about elves, Syvis could crify, and if she didn’t uand something about humans, I helped her. I learhat architecture in the elven kingdom was vastly different from the standard human style, which was why Syvis struggled with stru theory csses where teachers used human models. As for our wolf girl friend, we had to coax information out of her about the demi-human realm, but most of what she knew was reted to battles.

  I really ’t believe she’s only been ied in training since she was little... she barely knows what the world outside is like.

  A little while ter, we saw Edmund approag.

  “You look awful,” he ented as he took a seat.

  “You should see the uy,” I joked back.

  Each of us filled in the knowledge gaps for one another. Edmund was an expert in military matters and the history of wars the kingdom had fought against other realms on the ti and along the border—unsurprising, sidering his father was a renowned military leader. Princess Melina added her knowledge of the royal family’s history, and Chloe and I shared what we knew about agriculture, nd ma, river behavior, climate, and other topics reted to Builder Mages, especially focused on farming.

  “My cousin Alice won’t be joining us; I fot to mention it,” Melina said.

  “her she nor that Viktor, it seems,” Syvis ented.

  “Viktor expressed an i in joining the kingdom’s military, so Sebastian recruited him to the Knights’ team. My cousin Alice is using her free time to try to unicate with her soul golem,” the princess expined.

  The term “soul golem” brought some ret memories to mind as I looked down at my bandaged arms.

  “That skinny girl has a soul golem? Iing... when she awakens it, I’ll ask her to spar with it,” the wolf girl chimed in.

  Sometimes she talks normally; other times, not so much.

  Chloe, who didn’t openly share that she had an awakened soul golem, chose to stay silent.

  We tiudying and w on our assigs. After a while, a familiar cat appeared.

  “Meow,” she greeted everyohough to me, it sounded like, “I’m well-rested.” Cyl stretched and jumped into my p.

  “Your kitty is so cute,” Melina ented.

  The priried to pet her, but Cyl showed her cws and growled.

  “Sorry… she doesn’t like straoug her,” I expirying to ease the situation.

  Edmund observed Cyl.

  “I’ve seen a cat like that somewhere before… is she a magical creature?” he asked.

  “She’s a moon panth—” Before Thyra could finish, Chloe nudged her lightly uhe table.

  “She’s a magical cat,” I said to Edmund while stroking Cyl.

  “I wish I had a familiar. My father has a wolfdog.”

  “Is your dad’s pet just like Thyra?” I asked, teasing.

  The wolf girl shot me a look.

  “Hey!” she protested, annoyed, and we all burst into ughter.

  ***

  After we fiudying, we went to attend our csses for the day. I felt a bit relieved that it was raining, and that some of our outdoor csses had been celed; at least I’d get a bit of rest.

  “Nate, let me know if you pn to go out. Don’t fet,” Chloe reminded me.

  I was urict orders not to leave the academy alone. With a third assassin still out there who wanted me dead, we had to take extra security measures. My mother, in fact, was cultivating golems—a special spell she had ied, something I’d seen her do since I was a baby. Golems are mohat drain mana from the user who summons them, but my mother ented ivorous pnt seeds and modified them using her pnt element. This made the pnts gre and monstrous. She basically ied a way to create golems artificially. They weren’t as intelligent as summoned golems, but they served their purpose.

  These artificial golems stayed fixed in the ground, and my mother had to water them daily with mana-infused water to keep them alive, in addition to feeding them weekly with rats or slightly rger animals. After all, these golems were modified ivorous pnts. She surrouhe area around the castle with these golems to act as guards, which was essentially her job as a gardener. She had brought a few of them to our mansion in Apsalon, positioning them as ara line of defense alongside the maids who patrolled as guards.

  I agreed with what Chloe had said auro my room. I still had one more css before I was free for the day. Cyl was on the bed, either pying with my bedsheet or maybe sniffing it—I wasly sure what she was doing.

  Is she spreading her st on the bed? Or smelling where I sleep?

  ‘One of these days, I’m definitely ving o cuddle with me.’

  “What!?” I asked, startled.

  “What?” she responded.

  “Nothing…”

  The cat happily tinued rolling around on the bed.

  Did she just say that in my thoughts? Or… did I somehow read her thoughts?