"What do you take me for? A call girl at your beck and call?"
The Sword Maiden crossed her arms, lifted her chest, and raised her chin, "Do I need to report to you wherever I go? Do I have to file an application to use the bathroom?"
"I don't mind, but do you need to use the bathroom? Do you prefer squat toilets or sit-down ones?"
"I wasn't talking about toilets!"
The Sword Maiden suddenly stood up and approached Ash, who backed away until his back hit the wall under her sharp gaze. She stared intensely at him, pressing her finger against his collarbone.
"Even though you promised to respect me before, it seems like you don't actually think that way. You still see me as just an illusion made of data streams, a paper-thin figure born for your convenience... Even though we've communicated for so long, even though we've had Void Realm adventures together, you still can't change your... condescension towards me."
Ash didn't refute, nor could he refute.
The Sword Maiden wasn't asking; she was stating facts.
Under the premise that she could hear his inner voice, any lies were meaningless.
"I can't change how you think, but remember one thing—I am also a person."
The Sword Maiden said word by word, "I have my own life, my own hobbies, my own pursuits, and I have my own world to live in... You are not my whole life, just an unexpected part of it. Even without you, I can live perfectly fine in a place you don't know about. Understand?"
"If I help you, you should be grateful. If I don't help you, you can't blame me. Understand?"
"Understood, thank you, Sword Maiden Mom, for your help all along!"
"Don't call me that!" The Sword Maiden poked Ash's forehead hard, "Who wants to be called Mom at such a young age!"
"Who said, I wouldn't mind if you called me Dad..."
Ash sensed she was about to poke him again and quickly changed the subject, "So, Sword Maiden, can you tell me something interesting that happened to you today?"
The Sword Maiden sat back on the bed, looked at the water cup on the table beside her, and fell into a long silence.
Just as Ash thought she didn't want to reveal her whereabouts to a nosy man, she spoke again.
"This morning, I showed off the Rapid Stream Technique Spirit at the Meditation Building entrance; by the afternoon, the whole school knew I'd gotten one from the Void Realm. Ha, even my high-and-mighty roommate came sucking up to me, asking if I'd sell it..."
"So you had a good time today?"
"Boring!" The Sword Maiden gave him a look, "What's there to be happy about with this bit of superficial vanity? Why should I care about those strangers' praise and jealousy? Only teenage girls would be smug about it."
But I remember you are a teenage girl... Ash just had this thought when she shot him a fierce glare.
Seriously, can't even mention your youth? The Sword Maiden is so strict.
"The air in a single man's dorm is so stuffy and reeky, I'm leaving."
"Apologize to the air purifier hanging on the ceiling! Right now, immediately!" Ash almost roared, "And I haven't done anything these two days, I've been in the Void Realm with you at night, where's the stuffy stink coming from!"
"Maybe it's because you're breathing, or perhaps your heartbeat is too strong."
Ash decided not to argue with her, "Then continue exploring the Void Realm tonight?"
"Of course." The Sword Maiden paused, "Unless there's a special situation, otherwise, I won't usually appear. If you have something to discuss with me, wait until the Void Realm to do so. The Void Night is our mutual leisure time."
Ash naturally had no objections, or rather, when she reaffirmed her right to freedom earlier, he vaguely expected that she wouldn't continue offering 24-hour personal service.
"But if something happens to me, will you be available?"
"I already said, you are not my whole life."
Ash nodded at these words to show he understood, then turned his head to look elsewhere.
"But you are my unexpected event," the Sword Maiden glanced at him, "If you really encounter an accident, I'll appear as soon as possible—then rush to the scene and mock you."
"So don't expect me to show up to chat when you're lonely to the point of collapse, I don't provide that service."
"I'm a mature social person, I won't be lonely."
Ash patted his chest in retort, but the joy in his eyes was almost impossible to hide.
Ha, how ridiculous...
At this moment, the Final Observer was still afraid of loneliness, afraid of the strange prison, even seeing me as a lifeline, feeling panic if he didn't see me for a day, just like a child...
So, he wasn't born so...
But, fortunately, his mind isn't working well now, I thought it'd be hard to hide it from him...
A thousand thoughts flashed through the Sword Maiden's mind, then she disappeared from the dormitory, returning to where she ought to be.
Kingdom of Stars, Training Hall.
"Sonia, can you still walk?"
Ingrid looked at Sonia, who was almost melting into the ground, and couldn't pull her up despite her best efforts—she was also exhausted from increased training intensity.
"No, my legs have no strength at all, need to rest, rest..."
The two girls sat right in the grass by the road, leaning on their sword bags, gasping for air.
"My underwear's soaked." Sonia fanned her collar for ventilation, "A breeze makes it a bit chilly..."
"Hehe, I recommend you buy sports bras from the brand Fista, they're quick-dry and breathable."
"Really? Let me see."
After discussing underwear purchases for a bit, Ingrid exhaled hot air, twisted open her water bottle, finding it empty, and turned to Sonia, "Sonia, where's your water bottle?"
"You don't bring a water bottle to training?"
"I... I just brought my sword bag, I forgot I also needed water."
Being reminded by Ingrid, Sonia couldn't help but gulp down, feeling her lips parched, "Do you have any water left?"
"No!... maybe a drop or two?"
Ingrid tilted her head back, and after a few seconds, a droplet fell from her water bottle. She licked her lips, marveling, "Why does this water taste so sweet?"
"Let me have some too!"
Sonia copied Ingrid's action, pouring a drop of water into her mouth, sighing melodiously, "This isn't just water, this is finer than any royal banquet wine!"
"Have you ever had royal banquet wine?"
"No, but saying so makes me sound impressive, doesn't it?"
"I've had it!" Ingrid laughed, "My father has a bottle in the basement he never opens, says it's wine the Empress awarded him during a royal banquet... I was very curious as a child and sneaked to the basement to take a sip, then added water to the bottle to avoid getting caught, but got found out anyway—it was the worst beating my father ever gave me."
"How did he find out?"
"My footprints were too small; the moment he entered the basement, he saw them leading straight to the bottle."
"I forgot, but it must've been terrible. If it tasted good, I would've turned the whole bottle to water instead of just adding some."
"Haha, you were so mischievous as a kid."
"Of course, I once beat all the boys in town when I was younger." Ingrid raised her chin proudly, patting her sword bag, "And I still can."
Above them was the glowing starry sky, beneath them lush green grass, and in front, students coming and going from the training ground; yet the two girls just sat there, hugging their knees, chatting and laughing aloud, letting post-training sweat drip down their faces onto the soil.
Not far away came the rumble of an engine, and a silver luxury car slowly drove along the campus road, stopping in front of them.
"Need a ride?" Felix poked his head out, calmly asking, "It's no trouble for me."
Ingrid shook her head, "No need, walking back is a good way to relieve leg fatigue, and we're all sweaty, don't want to dirty your car."
"Didn't Celia come to pick you up tonight?" Sonia asked.
"Oh~" The pair didn't know how to react, so they just let out a sound.
Felix said nothing, simply drove away.
Watching the silver car fade into the distance, Ingrid patted her pants and stood up, "Rested enough? Time to head back, the shower's water pressure drops after 10 PM lately, going back late means no water to bathe."
"You go ahead, I'm heading directly to the Meditation Building."
Ingrid wasn't too surprised, "Avoiding Lois? Haven't figured out how to handle the Rapid Stream Technique Spirit?"
"Yeah." Sonia sighed as well, "It's not that I haven't figured it out... I just want to trade it for a swordsmanship Technique Spirit more."
When the news of Sonia having the Rapid Stream Technique Spirit spread, her roommate Lois immediately approached her to ask if it was for sale. Lois wasn't looking to get it cheap, even offering 120% of the market price; Sonia wouldn't get that on the school trading platform, selling to her wouldn't be a loss.
Previously, Sonia would've rushed to sell it and then giggle under the covers counting money, dreaming of ways to invest that "windfall."
But under Professor Trozan's guidance, Sonia's perspective broadened, and she realized how crucial Technique Spirits are to a mage's power; money was just a secondary resource, a cherry on top.
Hence she hoped for a 'Technique Spirit exchange,' using the Rapid Stream Technique Spirit to gain a swordsmanship Technique Spirit, boosting her strength for better exploration of the Void Realm.
However, 'Technique Spirit exchange' is rare; common spirits can be easily traded, but a rare spirit like Rapid Stream naturally needs to be traded for a rare swordsmanship spirit. Even though Professor Trozan promised to keep an eye out for her, there weren't any buyers in sight yet.
On one hand, there was Lois, who could pay a hefty sum anytime; on the other hand, an unappearing seller—Sonia was a bit indecisive and planned to hide for a couple of days to think it over thoroughly.
"Actually, you have a third option, use it yourself."
Sonia turned her head and found the Observer sitting right beside her.
She suppressed a slight joy in her heart and nonchalantly asked in her mind, "When did you return?"
"When you were discussing underwear."
"Don't buy the Fista brand, Fista is for smaller-sized women. For your size, I recommend the Dosslyn brand, which has good shaping effects."
"Enough, I don't plan to discuss this topic with you."