Chapter 314: Borrowed Time

’...’ Soren fell silent as he analyzed her status. He was both relieved and worried to see her so close to breaking through. Once it hit the limit, she would break through, and with it would come both opportunity and risk.

But this time, things were different. They had already arrived at their destination, and if something really went wrong, they had Etenia Academy to turn to for help. That eased some of his concern.

Besides, they still had Malakor with them. He might not be as strong as Sir Hector to easily handle a 7th circle Gate, but when it came to escaping or hiding, Malakor’s abilities made their chances of survival almost certain.

And after the last incident, Soren doubted their enemies would try the same trick again so soon.

’We’ll be fine,’ he told himself. ’We just need to be prepared.’

Nodding inwardly, he continued, and his eyes lit up.

’Nice!’ He exclaimed inwardly. Her core condition had recovered by 3%, and her mana pathways had improved by 4%. Her chronic pain was also as low as 3, thanks to Soul-Binding Symbiosis.

Unfortunately, he still wasn’t able to uncover anything else related to the curse. He guessed it would take another Authority Advancement to be able to see more details about it or meet some kind of requirements/conditions. Perhaps he would have to become an Emperor or a Sovereign.

’...Let’s not overthink it.’ He chuckled but paused as he saw the estimated survival time.

It was a good thing he managed to improve and keep it as high as possible. Back when he first appraised her, the range had been eight to fourteen months. About three months had passed since then, and now it stood at nine to ten. As for the one month that was lost, it had likely been because of the incident where she almost died due to the curse’s activation. Even so, the lower estimate had still gone up instead of falling.

That alone was proof that his efforts weren’t wasted. But he also knew it still wasn’t enough. Nine months sounded like a long time, but in reality, it would pass in the blink of an eye. He needed more than borrowed time. He needed a cure. And he wouldn’t stop until he found one.

With a determined expression, he dismissed her status and gently moved to stand up, careful not to wake her. Ethea stirred slightly but didn’t open her eyes, and Soren let out a sigh of relief.

After casting a sound-blocking barrier around her, he made his way to the bathroom. He washed up and changed into fresh clothes. Once he was done, he headed to the small kitchen area of their room and started preparing breakfast, thinking about what to do on their date.

By the time he finished setting up the table, Ethea woke up on her own. She blinked sleepily at the empty space beside her before her gaze drifted toward the source of the noise.

"Good morning," she called out, her voice still laced with sleep.

"Morning." Soren turned and smiled. "Wait a moment. I’ll be done soon."

Ethea smiled back and replied. "Mm..."

Soren sped up, finished in a few minutes, and helped Ethea with her morning routine. Half an hour later, the two of them were sitting side by side in front of the table.

"Lord Asad told me the news would be announced today; let’s see how they reported it." Soren reached for the remote and turned on the TV, switching to a news channel.

Sure enough, the screen was already showing a special report on the Harvest Festival incident. Or more like the Golden Ladle Championship.

"Tragedy at Bagdad’s Harvest Festival: An Evil Plot to Kidnap the Princess!"

"The Harvest Festival Crisis: How a Group of Terrorists Almost Destroyed a City!"

"Bagdad’s Darkest Hour: The Attack That Nearly Sparked a War!"

"..."

The headlines flashed across the screen one after another, each more dramatic than the last. Soren and Ethea exchanged a glance as the reporter began explaining the details of what had happened.

"...The media really likes to blow things up." Soren shook his head with a dry smile.

Still, he was relieved. Lord Asad had kept his promise. The reports mentioned the rescue, the villains, and the city’s response, but there was almost no information about him or Ethea. A few vague mentions of "unnamed heroes" and "brave citizens" were all that appeared.

Soren turned back to Ethea and continued eating while listening to the broadcast. So far, everything was going as planned.

"...Is that you?"

Ethea’s voice made him pause. He looked up at the screen and saw the footage playing. It showed the final moments of the live broadcast before it had been cut off. The camera had caught Soren walking toward Lucent with a friendly smile, the handshake, and then the sudden move that brought Lucent to his knees with Soren’s hand around his throat.

The footage ended right there, just as the two hooded figures charged toward him.

The reporter’s voice grew more animated. "...And here we have the moment that changed everything! This is the contestant known as Soren, a chef who stood up and initiated the operation that saved the princess, the elf guest, and the city. Witnesses say he moved so fast that no one even saw it coming. His actions are being credited as the starting point of the entire crisis..."

Soren watched for a moment longer, then let out a small sigh. "Yeah... that’s me."

He knew he couldn’t be entirely erased from the story, especially with concrete proof like this. But seeing that moment replayed on TV felt strange. If the reporter hadn’t explained the context, many people would have mistaken him for the villain. Grabbing someone on stage like that, in front of millions of viewers... it didn’t exactly look heroic.

Ethea glanced at him, noticing his slightly awkward expression, and smiled. "You looked cool, though."

Soren blinked, then let out a short laugh. "Thanks."

Then they continued watching. The reporter covered the entire incident as detailed and as interesting as possible. They highlighted Commander Ervin, City Lord Asad, elf Loriel, and a few more people as the key figures who led the defense and rescue efforts. However, they didn’t explicitly mention who exactly defeated the villains.

Soren guessed the City Lord didn’t want anyone specific to take the credit. Even if he wanted to stay hidden, letting someone else claim the credit wouldn’t have sat right with Lord Asad.

’Yeah, that is probably it.’ Soren mused. ’Or... The others must have refused to take credit for something they didn’t do...’