Chapter 21: Her Name
[Two months went by, and with further mastery over the Blood Scripture, you were finally able to measure your progress in the first stage — Vital Purification. Shockingly, despite how powerful you already were... you had only reached 1%.]
[You wanted to devote even more time to practicing the Blood Scripture. You had the stamina and the ability to achieve more. But knowing that would mean cutting into the time you spent with your sister, and with Selena — who you had already made up with — in the end, you didn’t.]
[But maybe you didn’t need to worry about your training speed after all, because that day, during lunch, Lilith smiled and said: The meal this time is different. Tell me your opinion after finishing it.]
[You finished the meal, which was more delicious than usual easily. But contrary to your expectations, you didn’t feel anything. When you told that to Lilith, she only smiled and reassured you that you’d notice the difference later.]
[And just like she said, when you started training later that day, you felt it in real time. What had once been a turtle’s pace had now become fast like a rabbit’s. Your training speed had leapt forward, and with renewed effort and enthusiasm, you pushed on.]
[22 years old. One time, during one of your dates with Selena, she suddenly apologized to you. She said she still felt bad about her behavior three months ago — that she’d been worried about the condition of your soul, and afraid something would happen to you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have lost her cool or acted so overbearing.]
[You naturally told her that you were already fine. But sensing an opportunity, you still tried to ask for more information — about her, and about the world.]
["You’ll come to know everything at the appropriate time," was her reply. But instead of stopping there, she suddenly smiled and added, "But I’ll tell you this — I’m the heir of the Everen noble family. So if you ever find yourself in trouble related to the Hidden Society, try using my name. Most problems should be solved then."]
[Against Selena’s proud tone, as if saying, you should be honored to have me as your girlfriend, you chuckled, thanked her in an exaggerated manner, and didn’t ask anything more.]
Tapping the desk in front of him, Noel, with narrowed eyes, thought back to what he had uncovered before, about how, if his soul were to heal, his life might fall into danger... according to Selena.
Then there was this simulation, and how both Lilith and Selena had reacted to the Blood Refinement Path.
At the end of the day, both of them probably wanted to know about his soul’s condition. But each had taken a different approach.