Chapter 178 - 176

Chapter 178: Chapter 176

I shook my head in defeat.

"Bah! I’ll just focus on the least complicated problem first!"

Shapeshifting.

That was right. Since the energy stone was now embedded in my body, perhaps I could finally transform between my human and beast forms without needing to hold it.

It was worth a try, at least.

I stood in the middle of the room, shook out my arms and legs, and took a deep breath. Then I relaxed every muscle in my body and waited.

And waited.

A few seconds passed but nothing happened.

I frowned and tried again, this time concentrating so hard that I probably looked like I was trying to move a mountain with my mind.

Still nothing.

"Do I need to say a magic spell or something?"

I closed my eyes and raised one hand dramatically.

"Shift!"

Nothing.

"Transform!"

Still nothing.

"Become a leopard!"

Absolutely nothing.

I opened one eye and glanced at my reflection in the mirror.

Same face. Same body. Same ridiculous shirt.

’Well, this is embarrassing.’

Come to think of it, Gawain and the others never seemed to say anything when they transformed. They simply did it, as naturally as breathing.

So what was I supposed to do? Concentrate harder? Imagine myself as a leopard? Maybe I needed to wiggle my fingers or perform some ridiculous dance?

I tried shaking my shoulders.

Nothing.

I tried jumping.

Nothing.

I even spun around once, just in case the universe required a little enthusiasm.

Still nothing.

I crossed my arms and glared at the energy stone beneath my shirt. "Are you seriously defective?"

The stone, naturally, offered no explanation.

’Wonderful. Now I’m arguing with a rock.’

I needed someone to teach me how to do this, and since Gawain was probably busy terrorizing someone, I decided to ask Kayden.

I opened the door, ready to call for him, but instead, I found him leaning against the wall right outside my room.

He immediately raised his head when he saw me. "Do you need something?"

I stared at him. "Kayden?"

"Yes?"

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the moment you pushed me out."

’He has got to be kidding me.’

"I told you to go find the twins instead of waiting here doing absolutely nothing!"

"I told you I’d wait, didn’t I?"

I stared at him, then slowly narrowed my eyes. "Or is it because you’re afraid you’ll get lost again?"

"..."

For the first time since meeting him, I had successfully managed to leave him speechless.

I placed a hand over my mouth, desperately trying to suppress my laughter.

"Wait. Don’t tell me you really were afraid of getting lost!"

"I’m not afraid."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because I want to be."

He said it so calmly that I couldn’t even tell whether he was offended.

I sighed.

This man is impossible.

Still, I needed his help, and if standing outside my door like a particularly stubborn guard dog was what he wanted to do, then so be it.

I grabbed his sleeve. "Come on. I need you to teach me something."

Kayden immediately straightened. "What is it?"

"How to transform."

He looked at me for a moment before answering.

"Of course."

Then, without another word, he followed me inside.

’Well, at least he’s useful.’

I had barely taken two steps when he spoke again.

"By the way, I wasn’t lost."

I glanced over my shoulder. "Then why didn’t you go find the twins?"

"I didn’t want to."

"..."

’Unbelievable.’

I walked toward the center of the room while Kayden followed me.

"Now what should I do first?"

"Just shift," He stopped right in front of me, looking as calm as ever.

I stared at him. "What?"

"Shift."

’I take it back. He’s not useful. He’s just another problem.’

"How am I supposed to do that when I don’t even know how to shift?!"

Kayden tilted his head slightly, as though I had just asked him a particularly strange question.

"That’s strange. My father told me exactly that, and I transformed into my beast form."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out before I say something I’ll regret later!"

He blinked, apparently unfazed by my sudden outburst. "Then I’ll just ask Gawain or the twins to help you."

"By finding them?"

"Ye—" He stopped when I raised an eyebrow at him.

Kayden calmly closed his mouth as I narrowed my eyes.

"Were you about to say yes?"

"No."

"Then what were you going to say?"

"Nothing."

"Let’s just find them together!"

Without waiting for his answer, I dragged him towards the door.

Kayden followed without resistance, looking almost pleased with the arrangement.

Unfortunately, finding Gawain and the twins turned out to be much harder than I expected.

The mansion was enormous, and with half the place still being repaired, the usual hallways were either blocked by debris or occupied by robot housekeepers. Some were busy rebuilding the walls, while others were cleaning up the mess left behind by our little family reunion.

Naturally, I had no idea where anyone was.

And Kayden, who was supposed to be helping me, was making things considerably worse.

We had been wandering around for nearly two hours, and somehow, every time I thought we were getting closer to our destination, he would casually lead us in the opposite direction.

At first, I thought it was an honest mistake but then I noticed he kept choosing hallways that looked completely unfamiliar.

I stopped walking and stared at him. "Kayden, where are we going?"

"Looking for them."

"Then why are we going in circles?"

"We’re not."

I looked behind us.

’We had passed that same broken statue at least three times.’

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

He gave me his usual innocent smile. "Of course not."

I narrowed my eyes.

’I don’t know if he’s deliberately taking advantage of his terrible sense of direction just to keep me wandering around with him.’

"I’m getting tired and hungry," I complained.

Without saying anything, he carried me.

"Ah! Put me down!"

"You said you were tired, so leave the rest to me."

I stared at him.

’That’s not what I meant!’

"No! I’ll tell you where to go, and you can do the walking!"

He glanced down at me, completely unfazed by my protests. "All right."

I relaxed a little. "Good. Now, turn left."

He turned right.

"NOT THAT WAY!"

He stopped and looked at me. "Then why did you say left?"

"BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE WE’RE SUPPOSED TO GO!"

He nodded solemnly, then turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

I buried my face in my hands.

’I don’t know if I’m going to starve to death or from high blood pressure.’