The Irritable Green-haired Noble

Early in the morning, the faint light of dawn pierced through the gap in the heavy curtains of the Golden Rose Inn, casting a straight beam of light into the dim room.

Lynch woke up.

To be precise, he was awakened by an irresistible physiological instinct belonging to a healthy adult male.

The moment his consciousness returned, the first thing that drilled into his nose was a faint, delicate fragrance mixed with a milky scent and the cool touch of silk.

Immediately after, the sense of touch followed—the soft, warm body in his arms was gently rising and falling with long, steady breaths.

The "spooning" sleep posture they had adopted last night to avoid awkwardness seemed to have become even more intimate after a night of settling.

Felsy was like a kitten seeking a heat source in winter. Her entire back was pressed unreservedly against his chest, and she even unconsciously rubbed against him in her sleep.

Hiss...

Lynch drew a sharp breath, feeling the blood in his body crazily converging toward a specific point.

Is this the so-called "morning flag"?

Don't just raise flags willy-nilly, you bastard!

Although he had lived two lives, this was Lynch's first time facing such an awkward situation in a practical combat environment.

Especially when the "flagpole" behind her was pressing right against a highly dangerous position.

No way, this is too stimulating.

A fine layer of sweat seeped out on Lynch's forehead as he frantically recited the periodic table of elements in his mind.

Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon...

Although reason told him to stay calm, his body's memory was very honest.

He recalled last night again.

The moment he mustered his courage and hugged Felsy from behind. That waist so slender it felt like it would snap with a little force, the body temperature transmitted through the thin pajamas, and her soft, sweet whisper of "I don't hate it" in his ear...

That sense of spiritual satisfaction intertwined with physical restlessness made him suffer terribly last night, yet he also felt an unprecedented peace and happiness.

That was the feeling of "home."

And the feeling of "belonging."

Phew... No, I need to get up right now.

Lynch glanced at the sky outside the window, then looked at Felsy, who was sleeping soundly in his arms.

If she woke up later and found something poking her from behind, even though he had fooled her last night with the excuse of a "cultivation lump," having it swell up again early in the morning would make that excuse way too lame.

As a gentleman who still had to survive in this world for a long time, he had to maintain his pure and upright image in his wife's heart!

Thus, Lynch held his breath, his movements as gentle as if he were defusing a high-explosive landmine.

First, he carefully pulled his arm out from under Felsy's head, and then he inched his body backward, stopping to observe Felsy's reaction with every inch he moved.

Fortunately, perhaps because she felt so secure, Her Excellency the Witch seemed to have slept very deeply last night. She merely mumbled, rolled over, and continued sleeping.

Phew...

Lynch, having successfully extracted himself, let out a long breath. Stepping barefoot on the carpet, he quickly grabbed his clothes and rushed into the washroom.

He washed his face with freezing cold water, finally managing to suppress that restless urge.

It seems that this kind of bed-sharing cultivation is still a bit too advanced for a Rank Two novice like me.

Lynch looked at his reflection in the mirror—dark circles under his eyes, yet unusually energized—and shook his head with a bitter smile.

...

Half an hour later, at the market in Broken Gold Town.

The sky had just brightened, but the market was already bustling with extraordinary liveliness.

Merchants from the surrounding villages were shouting vigorously to sell their goods, and the steaming breakfast stalls emitted an enticing aroma, dispelling the chill of the winter morning.

Lynch strolled alone on the cobblestone path.

He was in no rush to go back and wake Felsy and Kuma.

There was nothing urgent today anyway, so he might as well let them sleep a little longer.

Boss, give me two meat buns and a cup of hot soy milk.

Lynch sat down at a stall, eating his breakfast while calculating his next plans.

Coming to town this time was originally just to watch the commotion and incidentally gather some intelligence about the magic academy.

Although that female professor named Scarlett yesterday was a bit... well, overly enthusiastic, through Asik's performance, I've roughly figured out this world's magic system.

Lynch took a bite of the bun, pondering inwardly.

The so-called magic is actually just a way of manipulating energy. As long as you understand the principles, a physics cheat like a "parallel circuit" is completely viable.

However, forget about going to the royal capital for school. I have a system now, so it's safer to just lay low and develop in the village.

Just as Lynch was immersed in his beautiful plans for a farming-style progression...

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

A flurry of rapid and crisp hoofbeats, accompanied by the rumbling of wheels rolling over the cobblestone road, tyrannically shattered the order of the market.

Get out of the way! Everyone, make way!

An extremely flamboyantly decorated carriage, painted in bright green, rampaged to a halt right in the middle of the road, perfectly blocking Lynch's view of the sun.

The carriage door was violently pushed open.

A young girl wearing an exquisite pale green puffy dress and holding a short riding crop jumped down.

She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old and was quite cute, but that extremely conspicuous emerald-green curly hair, along with the arrogant expression on her face that made it seem like the whole world owed her five million, made her look somewhat... not very smart.

The girl looked around, her gaze sweeping through the crowd before accurately locking onto Lynch, who was holding his soy milk and drinking.

Hmph! You are here as expected!

The girl snorted coldly, stepping in the kind of small leather boots only nobles would wear, and marched aggressively over to Lynch.

Smack!

The riding crop in her hand struck the table in front of Lynch viciously, making the bowl holding the soy milk jump.

Hey! Commoner!

The girl raised her chin, looking down her nose at Lynch, her voice sharp and full of provocation:

Are you that Lynch?

Lynch: ???

He put down the bun in his hand, looking with utter bewilderment at the girl in front of him who resembled an angry green bell pepper.

I am Lynch. But I'm not a commoner, I'm a pharmacist.

Lynch calmly corrected her. Also, you made my soy milk spill.

Cut the glib talk!

The girl clearly hadn't expected that the other party would not only not fear her, but also dare to care about the soy milk. She was so angry that her green curly hair was trembling:

Don't think that just because you showed off in the plaza yesterday, you can reach the sky in a single bound!

Even though that blind Professor Scarlett actually bypassed this young lady and set her sights on you first... you unorthodox amateur who only knows how to play petty tricks! But you listen to me carefully!

The girl took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips, struck an extremely standard "villainess" pose, and loudly announced:

We of the Norland family are absolutely not trash!

Although in this recruitment I... I just made a slight mistake! But my talent is absolutely above yours!

Moreover, my true profession is a warrior, and learning magic is just driven by interest, but... uh, anyway!

"Lynch, mark my words! Next year! Next spring in the Royal Capital! I, Aria Norland, will definitely show you what true power is. We'll meet again in the Royal Capital!"

After delivering this baffling declaration of war, the young girl seemed to feel her aura had reached its absolute peak.

She glared fiercely at Lynch, dropped a "Hmph, look out for yourself," and then turned to board her carriage.

"Let's go! Back to the castle! I am going into secluded training!"

With the crack of the driver's whip, the green carriage rumbled away, kicking up a cloud of dust just as it had when it arrived.

It left behind a chaotic scene and a completely bewildered Lynch, who was still holding his cup of soy milk.

"...Who was that?"

Lynch stared in the direction the carriage had disappeared, feeling as if he had just watched a baffling street play.

"Is she crazy?"

"Coming right up to me talking about seeing me in the Royal Capital and the Norland family... Do I even know her?"

Lynch shook his head helplessly and turned to look at the middle-aged man frying dough sticks at the stall next to him.

"Sir, who was that fiery girl just now? Is the town's mental health infrastructure lacking or something?"

The stall owner, who was looking at Lynch with a face full of awe, hurriedly lowered his voice upon hearing the question.

"Oh my! Sir, you actually don't know her?"

"She's from our Goldshatter Town... no, wait, she is the only daughter of the Lord of the entire Norland territory—Lady Aria Norland!"

"The Lord's daughter?" Lynch was taken aback.

"That's right!" the man gossiped while frying the dough sticks. "I heard this young lady has been spoiled rotten by the Lord since she was a child. Her temper is... quite explosive. However, she does have some talent in magic and has always been known as the 'genius girl' of our town."

At this point, the stall owner gave Lynch a knowing look.

"It's probably because Professor Scarlett from the Royal Capital showed you such great favor yesterday, even inviting you to dinner in public. The news must have reached the young lady's ears and infuriated her."

"After all, before you showed up, she always thought that the one and only special enrollment quota was definitely hers. But then you stole all the spotlight. She's just a young girl, so it's normal for her to feel unbalanced, come vent her anger on you, and issue a challenge while she's at it."

After hearing the man's explanation, Lynch finally understood.

So she was just a spoiled, jealous brat.

No wonder she came right up to him spouting overly dramatic lines about "family honor" and "not being trash."

"But..." Lynch frowned. "I wasn't even admitted."

"Eh? Not admitted?"

The stall owner looked completely unconvinced. "Mr. Lynch, please don't be modest. The whole town is talking about it! They say Professor Scarlett was... extremely satisfied with you! Not only did she exempt you from the exam, but she also wants to take you back to the Royal Capital as her personal disciple! Didn't the young lady's words just now also imply that you've already secured the quota?"

"..."

Lynch looked at the man's certain expression, then glanced at the passersby around him who were pointing at him with eyes full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

This is bad.

Rumors can really kill a man.

It seemed that Scarlett's teasing on stage yesterday, combined with that extravagant dinner last night, had led everyone to mistakenly believe that he, Lynch, was a guaranteed "Royal Capital recruit."

Even the Lord's daughter had run over to treat him as an imaginary enemy.

"This won't do."

Lynch set down his soy milk.

He had no intention of going to the Royal Capital right now.

He still had a delicate and soft (currently recovering) witch wife to support at home, and a beast tide glaring covetously from outside the village to defend against.

If this rumor kept spreading and eventually turned into some outrageous version like "Lynch mercilessly abandoned the Royal Capital's summons" or "Lynch is actually Scarlett's long-lost illegitimate younger brother," how was he supposed to live in this town?

Furthermore, he needed to make things clear with that Scarlett.

Since they were both adults, it was better to clear the air face-to-face. He needed to tell her that he had no plans for further studies at the moment, tell her not to write nonsense in his file, and ask her not to bring him trouble like that green-haired brat.

"I need to go talk to her."

Lynch paid for his breakfast and clapped his hands. "She's staying at the church anyway, which is close by."

...

Ten minutes later.

The guest room area in the back hall of the Three Glories Church.

It wasn't as peaceful here as Lynch had imagined. On the contrary, several nuns and priests were bustling in and out, holding brooms and rags, cleaning a certain guest room.

The door to that room was wide open, and the inside was completely empty. The ashes in the fireplace had been cleared out, and even the bedsheets had been removed.

A desolate feeling of an abandoned place washed over him.

"Excuse me..."

Lynch stopped a young nun who was carrying a box. "Does Professor Scarlett stay here? I'm Lynch, and I have something to discuss with her."

Hearing the name "Lynch," the young nun jolted as if she had been electrocuted. She snapped her head up, a flash of bizarre terror in her eyes.

"Y-you are Mr. Lynch?"

The nun took half a step back, as if Lynch were carrying a plague. "Um... Lady Scarlett... she has already left."

"Left?" Lynch was stunned. "Where did she go? To get breakfast?"

"N-no."

The nun shook her head and lowered her voice. "She departed. She returned to the Royal Capital."

"Back to the Royal Capital? When?"

"Just... just early this morning, before the sun even came up."

Recalling the scene at that time, the nun's expression became a bit strange. "At the time, Lady Scarlett... well, she didn't look like she was in a good state. She didn't even take her luxurious carriage. Instead, she requisitioned a fast horse from the church, didn't even pack much of her luggage, and just... just..."

The nun weighed her words for a moment before finally using the most fitting phrase:

"Just ran away like she was fleeing for her life."

"Huh?"

Lynch was completely dumbfounded.

"Fleeing for her life? Why?"

During dinner last night, wasn't this woman in high spirits, constantly saying "I want to mentor you personally"? How did she wake up from a night's sleep and run away overnight like she had seen a ghost?

Could she have encountered some sort of accident?

"Could it be... she was attacked by an infiltrating assassin or a magic beast last night?"

Lynch instantly pictured a dramatic scene of a "Grand Magus brutally ambushed, breaking out while wounded."

"The security in this town is way too poor..."

Lynch stroked his chin, a wave of concern rising in his heart. "If even a Tier-6 mage can be scared away, it seems things really aren't peaceful lately. Should I go home and reinforce the 'Abyssal Gazer' again?"

He completely failed to connect this incident with his own beast-eared girl at home, who seemed harmless but had actually gone out for a "midnight snack" last night.

Even less could he imagine that the arrogant female professor had simply been scared out of her wits by a custom-made nightmare.

"Since she's gone... I'll just leave it at that."

Lynch shrugged.

Although it was a bit of a pity that he couldn't clear things up face-to-face, since she had run off so quickly without even leaving a farewell letter, she probably didn't want anything more to do with him anyway.

Better this way.

It saved him the trouble.

As for that green-haired girl's letter of challenge... let her be. He wasn't planning on going to the royal capital anytime soon anyway, and the Norland family lived in their ancestral castle, so Lynch wouldn't be going anywhere near there.

She could compete with whoever she wanted.

"Alright then, that saves me the effort."

Lynch clapped his hands, his mood lightening up once again.

"Time to head back. Felsy should be waking up soon. What should we have for breakfast today? Maybe I'll buy some steamed buns. The steamed buns in Broken Gold Town are actually quite good..."

Thinking of his wife's adorable expression, her eyes narrowing in delight whenever she ate delicious food, the corners of Lynch's mouth couldn't help but turn up. Humming a little tune, he turned around and walked toward the inn.