Chapter 25: The Vanished God

After Lyr left, Yilu stared blankly at the window through which he had departed.

A long time later, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Such a… nonsensical fool.”

She didn’t know what words to use to describe Lyr just now. However, remembering how he had looked after her these past few days, she felt a subtle, indescribable emotion.

She pursed her lips, unsure how to characterize the feeling.

This was the first time someone had cared for her like this.

Since she was a child, she had done everything herself, neither wishing for nor relying on the help of others. She used to believe that being self-reliant was enough—that as long as she tried every possible method, even if it meant using underhanded means, she could get what she wanted.

Later, she gradually discovered that some things could not be achieved through mere effort or ruthlessness.

Her current situation was the best proof of that. Some things simply could not be compensated for with hard work. In the face of those set-in-stone rankings, all effort seemed insignificant.

Moreover, Yilu knew her own personality: she was unapproachable and difficult to get along with.

Someone who would still help her after she had spoken so harshly to them several times could only be a fool, and Lyr was the only one.

She was like a flower growing in the crack of a rock, surviving on only the meager dew and the setting sun each day.

It also felt that this existence was enough, thinking that once it grew strong enough, it could leave that place. Then, one day, some strange fellow noticed its existence, widened the crack, and allowed it to be treated like any other flower.

Except that fellow might not even know the significance of what he had done.

Taking her clothes out of the wardrobe and placing them on the bed, Yilu began to strip off her muddy garments while thinking about how Lyr had looked the night before.

The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. The more she thought about him, the stranger that guy seemed.

“He isn’t entirely wrong.”

Ordinarily, Yilu despised people who spoke in flowery, pretentious language or those in high positions who lectured others from above.

However, she had actually taken some of what Lyr said to heart.

Just as she was about to pick up the clothes on the bed, her gaze inadvertently landed on the pillow as if pulled by some strange force.

Mysteriously drawn to it, Yilu subconsciously reached out her hand.

“…”

After picking up the pillow, she carefully looked around to ensure no one else was in the room.

A sense of guilt, as if she were doing something wrong, and a panicked feeling of touching something forbidden slowly welled up in her heart.

Yilu cautiously brought the pillow closer to her nose, lightly sniffing the lingering scent on it.

She never liked others touching her belongings, yet now the fabric was tainted with a scent that did not belong to her.

Because the owner had left, the scent had faded significantly, but it was still faint. This caused Yilu to hug the pillow tighter against her skin, trying to catch the smell more clearly.

At that moment, she realized she did not find the scent repulsive; in fact, she felt somewhat accustomed to it.

‘So this is what he smells like.’

The thrill of doing something wrong made her heart race, her cheeks flush a slight crimson, and the smile remain on her lips.

After Lyr jumped down onto the lawn, the dizziness in his head still had not dissipated much.

He looked at the bag in his hand. “Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something?”

He had taken the Magic Core to prevent Yilu from doing anything like that again, but he still felt like he had forgotten to do something else, and he could not recall what it was.

As he scratched his head, a voice came from nearby. “Tif’s brother?”

Looking toward the sound, Lyr saw Teanya, the girl who had been with Tif earlier, staring at him with wide, surprised eyes.

Her surprise was not just at Lyr’s sudden appearance, but also because she had just witnessed him jumping out of a girl’s window.

In her daze, the watering can she was using to water the flowers fell to the ground. The clattering sound snapped her back to reality.

“You’re… Tif’s friend.”

Just as Lyr remembered her, he noticed Teanya’s expression and turned to look at the window she was staring at—Yilu’s room. Belatedly, a bad feeling washed over him.

Before Lyr could explain, Teanya turned and bolted like a lamb encountering a wolf.

“It’s not what you think! Wait!”

Lyr did not care about anything else and took off after her. One ran, and the other chased. It was a wolf after a lamb, and no one knew what the consequences would be if she were caught. Fortunately, it was still early morning and there were not many students in the Academy, so no one noticed this strange scene.

However, with Teanya’s stamina, there was no way she could outrun someone like Lyr, who had spent so much time in the Frontier.

Within a short while, Teanya was panting heavily and had to lean against a stone pillar to rest.

After a night of turmoil followed by a morning chase, Lyr was also feeling the strain. He ran over, gasping for air, his pace unsteady.

Teanya hurriedly pressed her back against the pillar and begged for mercy. “I didn’t see anything, and I don’t know anything!”

Based on the plots of novels she had read, witnesses who knew a secret were often silenced by the culprit.

“Wait a second… let me catch my breath,” Lyr said, leaning on his knees, also pushed to his limit. “It’s really… not what you think.”

“No, no, it’s not like you just came out of a girl’s dormitory, and it’s not like something indescribable might have happened.”

“…”

Lyr closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed with a face full of helplessness. This girl had already filled in the blanks with her imagination, but somehow, it did not feel entirely wrong.

“How should I explain this to you?” Lyr felt his headache worsening. After thinking for a moment, he said, “You know Berspin, right?”

Teanya thought for a moment and nodded. How could she not know of the person rumored to have committed treason?

“That makes things easier.”

Seeing that she had calmed down, Lyr told her about his connection to Berspin and how he had come to get information from Yilu. He believed he had a clear conscience, so he told her everything.

Teanya finally understood a little, but knowing he had come out of Yilu’s room, she still found it hard to believe.

“So, you stayed there all night?”

Teanya could not fathom why Lyr would stay there the entire night for something that could be explained in just a few sentences.

“Some things happened, and I can’t really go into detail with you.”

“Oh… I see.” Teanya put on a look of sudden realization.

“Don’t go spreading rumors,” Lyr warned.

This time, he did not get an answer. Instead, he saw a sly, mischievous smile gradually appear on Teanya’s face, as if she intended to hold this secret over his head for a lifetime.