Common Cold

"Next, I plan to accompany Aina back to her home. It might not be suitable for the rest of you to tag along," Xia Lun said to Liyana and the others.

"Eh?" Liyana immediately stood at attention. "Are we being abandoned? Abandoned out here on the snowy plains?"

Mo Lini's eyes instantly went round like a startled squirrel. Her small mouth parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but the words caught in her throat.

Luo Lun simply stood quietly to the side like an ice sculpture blending into the snowy landscape. She indeed possessed the strength to cross this perilous land alone. Her face showed no emotion, but her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the hem of her clothes.

"It wouldn't be right to leave you here indefinitely..." Aina said to the three of them. "How about this: Mida will escort you back to Olifendo. Once we finish our business, we will return to the academy to meet up."

Mo Lini breathed a sigh of relief and nodded her small head.

"Hmm... Are we going back to school? What are we going back to school for?" Liyana scratched her head.

"We are still officially enrolled at Olifendo. We should be able to graduate once we return."

Xia Lun rolled his eyes at Liyana. Had this girl completely forgotten that she still had a girlfriend back at school?

"Is that so! It turns out we've been away for so long!" Liyana suddenly realized.

It had already been a few years since they left the academy.

Xia Lun was resurrected in the Year 1136 of the Order Era. He met Liyana that same year, then went to the academy. Now, it was already 1138.

At the academy, as long as one studied for two full years, accumulated enough credits, and reached a certain level of strength, they could successfully graduate.

The time it took for an ordinary mage to graduate from Olifendo was about five years... In truth, anyone capable of studying at Olifendo generally had decent talent. Some exceptionally outstanding graduates would even be directly recruited by the Truth Magic Academy.

As for Xia Lun... their current official status was being out on a magical research expedition, led by Teacher Mo Lini.

That's right, Mo Lini hadn't actually been expelled by the headmaster. Xia Lun had tricked her earlier... although that dismissal letter was indeed handwritten by Wolund at Aina's request.

Because if they hadn't done that, it would have been quite difficult to get Mo Lini to make up her mind and leave with them.

"We can go back?... Ah, the little lion hasn't completely forgotten about me, has she?" Liyana smacked her forehead, finally remembering she had a partner back at school.

Over these years, she hadn't been fooling around outside.

Liyana looked at Mo Lini beside her.

Back then, Delyan had even hoped that after she won over Mo Lini, they could all be together... Thinking about it now, that seemed highly unlikely.

She no longer had that kind of interest in Mo Lini.

"Liyana... why are you looking at me?" Mo Lini noticed Liyana's weird gaze. "You don't still have ideas about me, do you? I should have made it very clear to you that it's impossible between us. Even if you changed your gender to a man, I still wouldn't like a person like you. I'm very sorry!"

"Shoo, shoo, who's going to change their gender?" Liyana waved her hand and started playfully fighting with Mo Lini.

Luo Lun didn't say much off to the side, acting like a cold-blooded assassin... though she was an assassin to begin with.

However, the expression on Luo Lun's face right now was very relaxed, and she had grown accustomed to the group's atmosphere.

"Do you want to come with us? Luo Lun, if you are willing to become my familiar, I could bring you along," Aina suddenly asked Luo Lun.

"Me... me?" Luo Lun seemingly didn't expect to be singled out. Her body tensed imperceptibly for a moment, and her voice carried a hint of nervousness. "I think... I'll pass. Thank you for your kindness."

"Is that so?" Aina's face showed no expression, and she didn't press the matter further.

Next, they were naturally heading back to the ancestral land of the vampires. If Luo Lun could become her familiar, she could go back and show her face, which would help with future work.

It didn't matter if she was unwilling... In that case, the upcoming journey would just be a trip for two: her and Xia Lun.

She wondered what kind of sparks would fly between them on the road.

"Wait!" Liyana suddenly stopped playing around and pointed at Olides and Helug, who were still unconscious on their thrones. "What about these two guys? Are we just leaving them here?"

"They'll probably just leave on their own once they wake up," Aina said, not minding it.

Liyana: "Will they catch a cold if left outside?"

Mo Lini shook her head, looking at Liyana as if she were an idiot. "Liyana, they are Demon Kings."

"So what if they're Demon Kings? Even Aina gets cramps in her toes!" Liyana said, a bit unconvinced.

Aina's face remained calm, but her body trembled slightly, and the tips of her ears seemed to dye with a very faint blush.

Xia Lun quietly held Aina's hand.

"But... but they shouldn't catch a cold! They are so strong, this little bit of temperature is nothing to them..." Mo Lini argued.

"We are leaving. Mida, remember to escort them back."

"Okay."

Aina and Xia Lun held hands and leaped directly off the edge of the holy peak's cliff.

"Father, Mother, have a safe trip." Mida waved her small hand expressionlessly and stuck her head out to glance down the cliff.

A spatial rift appeared, and the figures of the two fell straight into it before the space closed.

...

"Hey, wake up."

Olides kicked Helug, who was still fast asleep on the throne next to him.

"Tsk... what is it?" Helug clutched his somewhat throbbing head, regaining consciousness from the haze. "Where is this? Hiss—"

Helug abruptly stood up. "Where is that guy?"

"I don't know. There was no one here after I woke up," Olides shook his head.

Helug looked around. Aside from the five thrones they had sat on during the meeting, there was only the wooden cabin not far away.

Besides them, there were indeed no other auras around.

"Achoo!" Helug suddenly covered his mouth and sneezed.

Olides looked at him with an odd expression. "Did you catch a cold?"

"Seems like I got a bit chilled," Helug nodded.

"With your physique, you can actually catch this kind of sickness?" Olides found it somewhat amusing.

"So what?" Helug tilted his head up. "I'm not like you, with that pair of bird wings on your back covered in so many feathers. It looks warm just staring at it."

"Heh. This great one won't lower himself to your level," Olides snorted coldly.

Helug had come shirtless, but his body was engraved with many complex dark patterns evenly spread across his muscle lines. It possessed a great sense of power and beauty, making it look as though he were actually wearing an article of clothing.

Helug waved his hand. "You know how it is, the Savage Wilderness is always hot over there. I'm used to baking in the sun every day... Coming to this world of ice and snow all of a sudden, and freezing for so long... Alright, enough talk, let's get out of here quickly."

Two streaks of light shot up into the sky.