Chapter 41: Hands
Charles leaned back on the medical area’s bed, the taste of chocolate ice cream lingering in his mouth, crumbs from the crisp roll dusting his fingers.
He’d just explained to Lira, as vaguely as possible, how he’d passed his lightning off as fire, and she looked at him with a mix of disbelief and admiration.
"I’ll give you points for creativity, Rian," Lira said, crossing her arms. "You got everyone to buy it was fire. That’s... impressive, for someone just starting out. But don’t let it go to your head just because you won all those fights."
Her tone turned serious.
"A Master or Grand Master could notice it’s not fire. You’ve gotta be more careful."
Charles laughed, making an exaggerated gesture with his bandaged hands, like a cheap play’s villain.
"Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got it covered," he said, with a wicked grin. "I’ll convince everyone my power’s some ultra-rare fire variant. Explosive fire! No one’ll doubt me!"
Lira raised an eyebrow, swallowing hard.
’This idiot’s way too cocky,’ she thought.
But lacking a solid counterargument, she let it slide for now.
"If you say you can handle it..." she muttered, shaking her head.