Chapter 81: I understand

Lathel was beginning to feel that Rhea’s words, "I understand," were far more terrifying than he had first imagined.

She was still holding his hand, and after declaring that she would "give him a chance to pursue her," Lathel had tried to explain himself two more times, only to fail both times. His right hand was being held by Rhea, while his left alone was not enough to fully express what he wanted to say. The harder he tried to explain, the more the woman in front of him seemed to understand things in an entirely different direction.

In the end, Lathel could only give up and stand there looking at her helplessly.

Rhea did not seem to notice that anything was wrong. She even unconsciously loosened her grip slightly before turning toward the group of Judicators cleaning up the scene.

"Take all remaining evidence back to the judgment division. Do not damage the Magic Array any further. Pay particular attention to the teleportation route Kiyome used."

"Yes."

One subordinate answered, but his gaze still unconsciously drifted toward their joined hands.

Rhea noticed immediately and turned toward him.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Judicator."

"Then work."

The man immediately lowered his head and began moving faster than before.

Elias was still standing nearby.

He looked at Rhea, then at Lathel, then down at their joined hands.

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he asked:

"How long are you planning to hold his hand?"

Rhea turned toward him.

"Is there a problem?"

"No." Elias thought seriously for a moment before honestly saying, "I just thought you two were already done talking."

Rhea looked at Lathel once.

"Not yet."

Lathel: "..."

Pandora immediately burst into laughter inside his head.

"Exactly. The matter of pursuing her hasn’t been settled yet."

’Shut up.’

"You should be touched. A Judicator personally gave you a chance. Other people might beg for one and still never get it."

Lathel genuinely began missing his writing board.

He tried pulling his hand away, causing Rhea to immediately look back at him.

Lathel used his free hand to point at their joined hands, but she only followed his gesture with her eyes before calmly nodding.

"I know. You don’t need to be nervous."

Lathel: "..."

He pointed again, almost directly poking the back of her hand this time.

Rhea stared for several seconds before finally understanding and slowly letting go.

Lathel had not even had time to sigh in relief when she said:

"Follow me. This place still isn’t safe. Until the Church finishes investigating Aldric and Kiyome’s teleportation route, you’ll stay in my area."

Lathel immediately used sign language.

I can stay in the dormitory.

Rhea watched carefully.

After a while, she nodded.

"I understand."

Lathel immediately became wary.

Sure enough, Rhea continued in a perfectly natural tone:

"You want to stay close to me so it’ll be easier to pursue me."

Lathel: "..."

Elias immediately turned away.

Rhea looked at him.

"Are you cold again?"

Elias coughed twice.

"Suddenly a little chilly."

A nearby Judicator also lowered his head to cover his mouth, while Pandora had already laughed so hard that she completely lost all composure.

"I’m starting to think she really does understand."

’Impossible.’

"Or maybe she just chooses the interpretation she likes."

Lathel fell silent.

For some reason, that possibility was even more terrifying.

...

The area reserved for the Judicator squad was located in the northern part of the Academy, quite far from the old chapel.

Ordinary students were not allowed to enter casually. Even the path leading there had two security checkpoints and a mana-recognition Magic Array engraved beneath the gate.

Elias did not go with them because he still needed to finish the examination registration process, so one of the Judicators was assigned to escort him back to the registration area.

Before leaving, Elias even patted his chest and told Lathel that if anything happened, he could come find him.

Only after saying it did he remember that Lathel had absolutely no idea where he would be staying.

Elias thought for a moment and changed his words.

"I’ll come find you tomorrow."

Lathel nodded.

Rhea, standing beside him, immediately said:

"No need to come too early."

Elias turned toward her.

"Why?"

"Lathel needs rest."

"I’m only coming to see my friend."

"Afternoon."

Elias seriously thought for several seconds before nodding.

"All right."

Lathel stood between the two of them, watching them decide his meeting time without consulting him.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly because the feeling was far too familiar.

Pandora immediately commented:

"You seem to have quite the affinity with women who like deciding things for other people."

’That was Elias.’

"I’m talking about the one beside you."

Lathel turned his head just as Rhea looked at him.

"Something wrong?"

He immediately shook his head.

Better not use sign language right now.

...

The room Rhea arranged for Lathel was located right beside her working area.

Just from the layout, it was obvious that this was not a dormitory meant for ordinary students.

The bed was very large, the window overlooked the northern garden, there was a private bathroom, and even the floor had a protective Magic Array designed for high-ranking guests.

But what caught Lathel’s attention most was not any of that.

It was how abnormally clean everything was.

There was not a single unnecessary object on the table.

The books on the shelf were aligned into perfectly straight rows.

Even the rug beside the bed was not misaligned with the stone edge by so much as a finger’s width.

Lathel was just about to step inside when Rhea suddenly said:

"Stop."

He froze and followed her gaze down toward his shoes.

The soles were still covered with dust from the chapel.

A female Judicator standing behind them, apparently already very familiar with this situation, immediately took out a clean pair of slippers and offered them over.

"Lord Lathel."

Lathel: "..."

He obediently changed his shoes.

The moment his old shoes left his feet, another person immediately placed them into a special bag and carried them away, causing Pandora to ask:

"Are they going to destroy those?"

Lathel did not know either.

Rhea had already stepped inside.

"Sit."

A Church Healer was already waiting in the room.

After Lathel sat down, the man quickly examined his mana condition, the injuries around his neck, and the marks around his ankle.

The results were much better than expected.

Aldric’s ritual had not truly been completed, so the amount of Fate extracted from Lathel was not enough to cause any obvious damage.

His mana flow was only slightly unstable.

His right shoulder and wrist had been strained when he tried to destroy the Magic Array earlier.

The most noticeable injuries were still the old bruises around his neck.

The Healer stared at them for slightly longer but did not ask about the cause.

Perhaps what had happened between Lathel and Catrina had already begun reaching the ears of the Church’s higher-ranking members.

"Nothing dangerous."

The Healer put away his magical instrument and continued:

"But his body has been under continuous stress for several days. He should rest today and avoid putting too much strain on the shoulder. Tonight, soaking in a medicinal solution for around twenty minutes should help stabilize his mana."

Rhea immediately asked a series of questions.

"Food? Anything he needs to avoid? Medicine?"

The Healer appeared accustomed to this kind of questioning and answered calmly:

"He can eat normally. No dietary restrictions. There are two medicines. One ointment for the bruises, and one potion to drink after meals."

Rhea directly took both bottles.

Lathel looked between the two of them and suddenly felt as though he was not the patient here.

The moment the Healer left, Rhea turned toward her subordinate.

"Food."

"It’s already prepared."

A while later, Lathel finally understood what "already prepared" meant.

The dining table was quickly filled with grilled meat, vegetable soup, bread, fish, fruit, and several dishes he did not even recognize.

In the center sat a large plate of shrimp steamed with herbs, its aroma quickly filling the room.

Lathel looked at the amount of food in front of him, then at Rhea.

She calmly explained:

"You skipped lunch."

Lathel remembered the bread Elias had given him and immediately used sign language.

I ate.

Rhea watched carefully, then nodded.

"I know."

Lathel was slightly surprised.

Correct this time?

But she continued:

"You said you can eat a lot."

Lathel: "..."

Pandora immediately said:

"I take it back."

Rhea sat down opposite him, completely unaware that she had misunderstood again.

A female Judicator stepped forward to divide the food, but Rhea merely raised one hand.

"Leave it."

The woman immediately stopped.

Rhea pulled the plate of shrimp toward herself and looked at Lathel.

"Your wrist is strained."

Lathel lowered his gaze toward his hand.

It still moved perfectly well and only hurt slightly when he used force, but Rhea had already removed the glove from her right hand.

The movement was completely natural.

However, the female Judicator standing nearby still unconsciously looked twice.

This was no longer the first time that day Rhea had voluntarily removed her glove because of Lathel, but clearly her subordinates still were not used to it.

Rhea picked up a shrimp.

The moment her fingertips touched the wet shell, her movements paused slightly.

Lathel clearly saw a trace of discomfort flash across her usually expressionless face.

But Rhea continued.

She removed the head, peeled off the entire shell, then carefully pulled out the dark vein along the back.

Only when the white meat was completely clean did she place it into Lathel’s bowl and immediately pick up a second shrimp.

Lathel hurriedly used sign language.

My hand still works. You don’t need to do this yourself.

Rhea watched him carefully, her peeling motions slowing.

After a while, she nodded.

"I understand."

Lathel immediately had a bad feeling.

Rhea looked at her fingers, now slightly wet from the shrimp, and said calmly:

"You’re worried I’ll think it’s dirty."

Lathel: "..."