Chapter 64: — The Next Day.

Kael woke up the next day to severe, radiating pain throughout his entire body.

He was well-acquainted with soreness—it was a daily affair for him—and since he had intensified his training schedule, the physical strain had increased proportionally.

But today was entirely different; he had been awake for ten minutes, yet he still couldn’t move so much as a finger.

His body simply refused to obey him. He could feel his limbs, but he had no control over them.

Kael already knew the reason: the Demoness was releasing vast amounts of sinister mana from his body while simultaneously refilling it from the surrounding environment.

Kael was skeptical about how the Demoness had accessed such massive reserves of mana within his body to perform “that” act, especially since he didn’t even have a mana reserve of his own yet.

Well, that’s another question for the dragoness, he thought.

Kael finally regained control over his body after an hour or so.

His mother had checked on him twice in the interim, growing concerned that it was already midday and he still hadn’t woken up.

She had come to check on him with food, and Kael explained that he had pushed his body too hard during his training, leaving him completely drained.

He was relieved that, at the very least, he still had control of his mouth. Since she had chores to finish, she left him to rest after showering him with a few kisses.

Kael got up, refreshed himself, and ate his breakfast-turned-lunch.

He practiced a few more exercises in the garden and bathed with his mother.

Today he had to leave for Ruby’s house, as his mother had arranged a sex session for him with her own daughter.

Amber looked a little concerned when he informed her that he was leaving.

“Be very careful, Kael. There is a buzz around town that a prison escapee is hiding here, and the kingdom courts have sent a very powerful mage of royal background to hunt him down. So, try to be careful. If you see any fights in the streets, just run back home, okay?”

Kael nodded, though he felt skeptical about these rumors. This must be the theory the townsfolk came up with after seeing what happened, he thought.

With that in mind, he left his house. As he walked toward the middle of town, he heard all sorts of wild speculation.

Some people claimed a fairy had descended yesterday, while others insisted it must have been a group of druids on a mission. A few even subscribed to his mother’s theory about a prison escapee.

These rumors were the talk of the town. Mother must have heard it from the neighbors, he realized.

Although everyone believed in their own hypothesis, there was one common thread connecting all of them: they were all talking about him.

More accurately, they were related to the Demoness rather than him.

Kael vividly remembered how he had sabotaged the Demoness’s flight path, forcing her to crash into the earth.

When he had wrested control back from her, all the mana she had gathered during her brief existence was suddenly released.

Since Kael had no internal reserves to speak of, the excess mana had nowhere to go but out, providing an explosive burst of stimulation to every plant in the vicinity.

The result was impossible to ignore: a literal forest had germinated instantly, centered directly on him.

It had erupted across a three-kilometer radius, a feat so staggering it made Kael’s mouth go dry.

Many houses on the outskirts of town had been utterly crushed by the sudden, violent surge of overgrowth.

Taking advantage of the chaos while people fled the scene, Kael had snuck back into town.

In reality, that dense, instant growth of flora was the source of all the village rumors. Kael kept his head down as he walked, wanting nothing to do with the unnatural phenomenon.

Although he was fairly certain no one had seen him slipping back into the village, he knew a little extra caution wouldn’t hurt.

He moved through the marketplace at the fastest pace he could manage, only letting out a long sigh of relief when Ruby’s house finally came into view.

Kael knocked on the door, the rhythmic thud echoing against the quiet afternoon air.

When the latch clicked and swung open,

Mira was standing there, her eyes widening with an intensity that took him by surprise.

Before he could even greet her, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face into his chest.

“Looks like my little sister missed me, hehe,” Kael teased, his voice dropping into a light, playful register.

Now that he had found the relative sanctuary of Ruby’s home, he felt the heavy mantle of his anxiety slip just enough to allow for his natural, mocking charm.

The reaction was instantaneous. Mira stiffened, a violent flush of crimson climbing up her neck to her ears.

Realizing she had exposed far more of her hidden affections than she intended, she shoved him back, her expression shifting from relief to flustered indignation.

“Hmph! Stupid brother! Stupid as always!” She spun on her heel and hurried deeper into the house, her retreating footsteps hurried and uneven.

Kael chuckled, shaking his head at the display before he stepped inside and nudged the door shut behind him.

The air in the hallway felt heavy with the scent of dried fruits—he pushed the thought into the back of his mind. He navigated the familiar corridors with a casual gait until he reached Ruby’s chambers.

The room was bathed in the warm, waning light of the afternoon. Ruby was sitting upright against the headboard, her back pressed firmly against the wall, her posture stiff yet expectant.

She looked fragile in the dim light, her gaze fixed on the floor until he entered.

In the corner of the room, Mira was perched on a stool, her movements sharp and jerky as she peeled a cluster of sweet fruits for her older sister.

She didn’t look up, though the way her knife sliced through the skin of the fruit betrayed her lingering agitation.