"I concede, Mr. Ansel."
The silver-haired girl, clad in a resplendent black dress, humbly admitted, her head slightly bowed. "I am still leagues away from your level of skill in chess gas."
Ansel, with a smile, collected the chess pieces and affectionately patted Marlina's head. "Chess is, after all, rely a form of entertainnt. Besides, your talent is already quite exceptional. There is plenty of ti, Marlina. Patience is key."
"Words to live by," Marlina responded, her eyes half-closed, her deanor utterly docile.
The tender green grass of the lawn swayed gently in the breeze. The warmth from above and the comforting heat of the sun lded together, filling Marlina with a sense of bliss so profound it threatened to dissolve her.
How she wished ti could freeze in this mont, a mont free of fatigue and worries, especially this tranquility and comfort, it was simply...
"A—N—S—E—L!"
The excited shout from above shattered the dreamlike atmosphere between the young boy and girl. They both looked up, one with a face of resignation, the other with a grin.
"C—A—T—C—H M—E!"
The voice echoed from a gradually enlarging black dot in the sky. Ansel, looking up, could already see the radiant smile of pure joy on the wolf girl's face.
He chuckled and shook his head, shifting his chair and extending his arms. Seeing Ansel's actions, Seraphina imdiately flipped over, her long legs curled up, her entire body compacted into a ball, and landed perfectly precisely in Ansel's embrace.
Despite falling from an unknown height, she was as light as cotton upon contact with Ansel's arms, without any impact.
"Did you enjoy it?"
Ansel asked, looking at Seraphina, whose eyes were bright and clear. His already cheerful mood relaxed even more.
"It was fun!" Seraphina exclaid, wrapping her arms around Ansel's neck. "It's so cool! So this is what it feels like to fall from the sky... Hmm, I shouldn't have let Mr. Toradon cast that spell on . As long as I don't die, it's fine.
The lack of impact upon landing... it feels like sothing is missing."
She had just jumped from the Nostrom, floating ten thousand ters above the empire, experiencing a high-altitude bungee jump. Toradon, Flalle's head of magic, had cast a spell on Seraphina. As soon as she touched any object, the spell would activate, instantly erasing all kinetic energy from Seraphina, ensuring she could enjoy herself safely.
Ansel couldn't help but laugh. "Who wants to get injured on their birthday? Don't tell you've developed so strange fetish for getting hurt, Seraphina."
"I... I don't have such a hobby!"
Seraphina's face inexplicably turned red, her eyes darting around as she subconsciously touched the collar around her neck.
Right, that level of...ahem, it,it doesn't count as getting hurt. I don't have such a strange hobby!
The young girl cleared her throat, dispelling the chaotic thoughts in her mind, jumped off Ansel's lap, and declared with an air of confidence:
"Ansel!"
"Hmm?"
"I am now a pact head who can stand on my own, right?"
Looking at Seraphina, hands on her hips and chin slightly raised in pride, Ansel couldn't help but smile. "Barely."
"Huh?"
Seraphina's eyes widened slightly. "So I can only... barely?"
"Because the only ones who can threaten Mr. Ansel are the fifth stages," Marlina gently explained. "So, Seri, you need to have the power to confront the fifth stage to be considered able to stand on your own."
"Fifth stage... Hmm, the gap is still too big."
Seraphina scratched her head. "The gap in extraordinary transcending is too big, it gets more exaggerated the further you go."
"After all, it's a transformation and sublimation of life levels."
Ansel picked up the wine glass by the chessboard, took a sip of the crystal-clear wine, and smiled. "The stronger and more advanced you beco, the harder it is to break through. But once you succeed, the changes are earth-shattering."
These words imdiately reminded Seraphina of the secret of the divine species. The girl, who was just smiling, suddenly looked worried.
She squatted next to Ansel, gently tugged at his sleeve, and looked up at him.
"Ansel, what are you going to do… in the future?"
"Hmm?"
"I an, the problem with the divine species."
The loyal she-wolf, thinking about the scene described by Flalle, the white paper soaked in water, casually pulled and self-destructed, shattered, and thinking about the future that Ansel is destined to face, her heart involuntarily aches.
"If they ascend, maybe they can solve the problem... The royal family has always thought so."
Seraphina murmured to herself, her eyes and expression suddenly becoming fierce.
"I can kill all the other divine species and eat them! Maybe I can find —ugh!?"
"What kind of nonsense are you thinking about?"
Ansel helplessly withdrew his hand that had been hitting Seraphina's head hard. "If this problem was so easy to solve, there wouldn't be so many creatures in the world, just four divine species fighting endlessly."
"I... I was just thinking about it." Seraphina covered her head innocently. "Why can the empress get further possibilities by burning Hydral's 'madness', and you can only be burned, without any choice."
She was quite upset about this, obviously thinking that Hydral, as theoretically the strongest existence among the divine species, should not be in such a passive situation.
Ansel gently tousled Seraphina's soft, cropped hair, "On your birthday, let's cast aside such concerns."
"... Alright," Seraphina whispered in acquiescence, her voice then swelling with irrepressible excitent and anticipation, "Ansel, what gift have you prepared for ?"
Her inherently impatient nature had been sorely tested these days; she pestered Ansel incessantly, almost a dozen tis daily, curious about her gift. Alas, no stratagem could pry the secret from Ansel's lips.
"Well..."
Ansel's smile deepened, "Patience, you will find out soon enough."
"Why can't you just tell now, when it's so close!"
The more she was urged to patience, the more impatient Seraphina beca, her ballooning expectations tickling her heart. She spent recent nights tossing and turning, sweetly pondering what Ansel might present her.
"It won't be long now, why can't you wait?"
"AHHHHHHH—Ansel!"
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