Chapter 176: The Camp

The lift carried them to the upper floor, where the duo stepped into a small but surprisingly spacious hall.

A simple wooden table and several chairs occupied the center of the hall, while two doors stood on opposite sides, leading to separate rooms. At the far end was another door that led to a common bathroom.

The curved ceiling was painted in a pale white glow that bathed the hall in faint moonlight.

Vlad looked around in surprise. Despite its small exterior, the building had everything they needed for a comfortable stay in the forest.

’This is basically a house,’ he thought.

"This is basically a house," Seraphina said, looking at him playfully. "Is that what you are thinking?"

"H-how do you know?" Vlad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It’s written all over your face," Seraphina chuckled, reaching the table at the center. "Care for a meal?"

"Sure," Vlad nodded. He was about to step forward but stopped midway. "Wait, let me call the others as well."

"There is no need. They must have also settled into their Capsule Bombs," Seraphina revealed, taking out the packed food from her storage ring.

"They have their own Capsule Bombs?" Vlad asked, exasperated. He reached the table and settled beside Seraphina. "I thought all of us would be staying here."

"Definitely not," Seraphina scoffed as if Vlad had just said something foolish. "Do you think ’I’ will share my personal space with men?"

It was then that Vlad remembered that all the members of his party were noble children from the upper class. It was natural for all of them to have their own house-sized camps that might have cost as much as all of his land back in the village.

’Oh right, what does she mean by her last sentence?’ Vlad muttered inwardly, only now realising what she had said. ’Did she just tell me to get lost indirectly?’

"Start already," Seraphina’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Or the food will get cold."

His eyes shifted to the table, where warm vapors rose from the canned food. It was a nutritious meal unique to the Arcane Academy. Pour some hot water in, and the warm food was ready. The only drawback was that the food tasted merely meh at best, a small price to pay for a warm, nutritious meal in the middle of nowhere.

"Thanks for the meal," Vlad said, picking up his spoon.

As the warm food went down his throat, he felt his muscles relaxing and his whole body melting. The cold they had endured for several hours was no joke. If not for the the natural insulation provided by the skin-fitted black gambeson below his armour, he might have been forced to use mana to keep himself from freezing.

Once he had finished the meal, he rose from the chair, thanked Seraphina for having him, and moved towards the lift leading to the ground floor.

"Where are you going?" Seraphina demanded, her pink eyes narrowing at him.

"Well, I cannot just impose myself here," he replied in a casual tone, trying not to make himself sound awkward.

"If that was your attempt to annoy me, then you certainly passed with flying colors," Seraphina declared, slamming her spoon down on the table.

She rose from the table and moved towards Vlad in quick steps. For a moment, Vlad felt that she was coming straight to smack him in the eye.

She definitely was.

She barely controlled herself as his annoyingly handsome face seemed even more annoyingly handsome from up close.

"You are saying that after all that happened between us?" she demanded, crossing her arms. This time, she seemed genuinely angry, and beneath it, Vlad could feel the disappointment in her voice.

"I thought you wanted me to go when you said you wouldn’t share your personal space with men," Vlad murmured, looking sideways.

Seraphina pressed her temple between her thumb and fingers and took a deep breath.

This situation felt awfully familiar to Vlad. Every time Chloe caused trouble, she would stand silently with lowered eyes before Vlad while he tried to calm his anger by pressing his temples. He never expected to witness this from the opposite POV. It made him realise how scary he must have seemed to Chloe whenever he calmed himself like this. Now that he was on the receiving end, Vlad could finally understand how she had felt.

"Those words were meant for Hugo and Raphael," Seraphina explained, releasing a defeated sigh. Her lips pressed into a thin line of sadness as she continued, "How could you even think I meant it for you?"

"Hey, don’t get all sad like this," Vlad blurted, flustered by the unusual expression on Seraphina’s face. "I apologise for being an idiot. But that wasn’t the only reason. I thought it might cause misunderstandings for others if I stayed at your place."

"I already had a discussion about this with them," Seraphina revealed, keeping her tone low. "Their capsules only have one room. Only I brought the one with two rooms. So I told them that you could stay in the other room in my capsule."

’So she had this all prepared beforehand,’ Vlad thought inwardly, realising how much she was looking after him. Now he really felt like a jerk for misunderstanding her words.

"Sera," Vlad called, slightly bending his knees to reach her level.

"What is it?" she muttered, her cheeks slightly puffed.

"Thank you for looking out for me," Vlad said, a soft smile covering his face as he looked at her with warm eyes.

For a moment, Seraphina found herself completely frozen, her heart beating stupidly loud from just the mere glance at his face.

"I-if you understand that, j-just clean the table. I’m going to take a shower," she blurted, pivoting on her feet.

"As you say," Vlad agreed with a chuckle.

---

While Seraphina was still in the bathroom, Vlad explored the rest of the house after clearing the table.

The two bedrooms were modest but comfortable, each containing a bed, a small wardrobe, and a desk. A fixed pane was set into the curved wall, revealing the forest outside.

It was only six in the evening, yet darkness had completely blanketed the forest. That was the exact reason Seraphina had pushed them to reach the checkpoint before evening and decided to call it a day the moment they arrived. The days were short here, and the tall, pillar-like trees seemed even more ominous at night.

The mushroom camps of Raphael, Alisha, and Hugo were also visible through the window, although Vlad wondered if he should really call them camps. Their beasts rested comfortably in the snow around Qilin, whose blazing fur radiated enough warmth to keep them comfortable in the freezing cold.

"What are you looking at?" Seraphina’s low voice came from behind, drawing his attention.