"Just what the hell were you thinking about, challenging this fucker like that?!"
To be disciplined by Chihiro was one thing, a thing I already, to a degree, expected.
But to have Leila wash my head over it?
That, I couldn't really take.
"Weren't you the one trying to sell your daughter to him?" I clapped back, caring not for my tone when talking to Claire's mother.
This wasn't a topic I could just lower my head and accept an unjustified lecture on—not when it concerned Claire and her well-being.
And especially not when I saw the enchanted, lustful stare he gave her before putting on the kind mask of a mature, responsible, and law-abiding person!
"Sell her? Just who do you think I am to ever think about doing sothing like this?!" Despite how solid my point was, Leila had no plans of just letting it fly. "All I wanted was for her to get the benefits of living on the spiritual side of the world! And I never planned to let this engagent go through!"
"And because of that, we now have the clan's heir to worry about!" I countered without even a mont of thinking.
Sure, from the interaction at the steps leading up to the cultivation garden, that man appeared to be sowhat reasonable, even if quick to act on his own guesses and assumptions. But, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't shake off this unpleasant feeling he gave .
And after everything that I went through ever since joining Claire's side, I grew smarter than to ignore my intuition.
"That…" Leila hesitated, having no real retort to the point I'd just made. Because, good intentions or not, the fact that the clan's heir was now on our case was undeniable. And even if it wouldn't lead to any imdiate trouble, judging from her expression...
'Wait, are things actually worse than I thought?' I squinted my eyes, locking my hands over my chest as I stared at the woman.
"Is there sothing that I should know about that bastard? Because from how you look, him becoming a problem later on seems like sothing quite likely rather than rely a possibility."
"Tim…" Standing to the side and not sure whether to take part in this discussion or not, Claire finally made up her mind and stepped in, trying to calm down.
On one side, if such was her wish, I was perfectly willing to drop this topic here and now, only returning to it once our emotions would drop down to normal levels so that we could plan for whatever his involvent would an, as opposed to trying to just assign bla and find out new stuff in the process, as was the case for the current situation.
"Actually, he's right, Claire," Leila said, giving her daughter an apologetic look. "I knew of the risk when I first floated the idea to the elder's council. And while I never planned for it to go beyond just theoretical talk, hoping to drag this topic on for long enough for everyone to just accept your presence in the clan as a matter of fact before I could safely dismiss it altogether... There is a side to Jero that, at tis, makes worried. The very sa side that allowed him to outmaneuver both his older and younger brothers to beco the patriarch's heir."
"And that ans?"
Seeing how the sense of intrigue now replaced Claire's awkwardness at watching her man argue with her mother, I decided to push on, despite her earlier protests and hopes to put an end to the whole commotion.
"He knows how to play the ga," Leila threw as she retreated a few steps before taking a seat in one of the many chairs in the guest hall of her private quarters. She then reached out to the nearby stand, grabbed one of the many bottles stocked on it, removed the cap with her mouth, and spat it away before taking a big, inelegant sip.
"That doesn't really make things any more clear," I rolled my eyes before grabbing Claire's hand and moving to so other chair, only to then drag her down onto my lap.
Ever since my encounter with that bastard of an heir, I just couldn't help but feel protective—no, possessive—of her. A fit of my soul that now prompted to keep her close at all tis, regardless of circumstances.
Regardless of how I would normally feel about dragging a girl down onto my lap right in front of her parents' eyes.
"Either way," Leila dismissively shook her head, "you don't need to really worry about him. While he does have a degree of power, authority, and various ans, it's nothing I can't deal with myself. In the anti..." she rested her head on her hand perched atop her chair's armrest, only to throw a tired glance, "you should try to work on your cultivation. Not like it will help much given the gap between the two of us, but it might give you a few seconds more to call for help if he were to try sothing."
"And now we've moved from 'I will make sure he won't be able to do anything' to 'you better get ready, just in case he still manages to do sothing,'" I rolled my eyes again, only to wrap my hands around Claire's waist, holding her as close to my chest as I could without making it seem as if we were making out right in front of her mother and father.
"Does it hurt to be prepared?" Leila countered, judging from how her face continued to degrade deeper and deeper into just an empty exhaustion.
"Leaving aside how you conveniently ignored the explanation of just where that guy's strength cos from," I shook my head, already too tired with this conversation to bother pursuing every tiny topic included in it, in fear of it branching out into an entirely new conversation to be had. "What level of strength would you find satisfactory? Because, if I were to be completely honest," at this point, a small bit of amused confidence made the corner of my lips tremble slightly, "I don't think my current level of strength subscribes to the grading model you guys implent."
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"Tim…" Although silent up until this point, Chihiro finally picked his mont to step in, giving a warning call while making it clear through his expression that I was now stepping into the realm of things that Leila's mansion wasn't suited to witness.
'Right, if this place has any degree of political rot, it's likely to be bugged to hell and back,' I thought, resisting the natural desire to look around in the primitive hope of sohow just spotting all the potential ans through which third parties could try to listen to or otherwise spy on what was happening here.
"That's actually a good point to make," Leila sighed, closing her eyes as she rested her head deeply within her palm, taking but a mont to rest before pulling her eyes open and then standing up. "And it's a question I can't really give you an answer to. Since you don't subscribe to our grading system, how could my eyes be able to peer through what you are capable of?" Firing back at using the very sa point I'd just brought, Leila then moved to a decorative ball of azure-colored glass, placing her hand on it as she muttered sothing under her nose.
The glassy orb flashed a bit, only to then return to its idle state, making it seem as if nothing ever happened to begin with.
A conclusion anyone would reach if they were too late to spot this montary play of light, yet a conclusion Leila then thoroughly denied by turning around and crossing her hands over her chest as she faced again.
"I've arranged for a training session for you, Claire, and Chihiro at my faction's private dojo," Leila stated as she moved away from the glassy orb and back to her seat, where she once again took hold of her bottle and took another, feisty swig from it.
"While I appreciate the gesture, isn't this a bit too… risky?" I squinted my eyes, as happy with the suggestion as I was confused by it. "Or is it sohow part of your plan to leak our abilities and limits to the rest of the clan?"
Hearing this, Leila's calming face now regained its color as sparks of wrath burned up in her eyes.
"Ah, it seems I've worded it poorly," I quickly apologized, not too keen on fully antagonizing Claire's family for what appeared to be no reason at all. "What I an is that maybe there's so practical reason for doing so, even if I'm not too comfortable doing it. Regardless, I don't think anything that has to do with us revealing our limits would be a good idea," I sumd up, trying to keep my words as ambiguous as I could, just in case soone unwanted was listening in on this conversation.
"What makes you so worried, even?" Leila asked, now turning from angry to just annoyed by my insistence. "You are just… what, seventh rank of the mortal realm?" she judged after just a quick look at . "I'm sorry for being direct, but even if you are twice, five tis… No, ten tis stronger than your average seventh rank, you are still nothing but an ant in the eyes of pretty much everyone in the clan. Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, you are still below the level that most of the people here are literally born with!"
At this point, Leila's frustration with likely reached its maximum.
"And seeing how you actually regressed while in the garden, even when accounting for that guide's sabotage…" Leila shook her head, "it makes wonder just what the hell were the two of you doing there!"
On one hand, I could ignore the risks and just argue it out… Yet, as I wasn't too keen on escalating the situation any further, I simply stood up, approached Claire's mother's seat before leaning in over her ear.
"That's because we've decided to redo our entire cultivation from scratch. And while I will spare you the details of how it went," I smiled as I pulled back and raised my head, looking down on Leila's mom as I held back a chuckle. "As for what power I wield, let say just this one thing."
I took a step back before crossing my arms over my chest and pretending not to see Chihiro raising his brows in concern.
"Before I could even step foot in the cultivation realm for the very first ti, I've already headed the project that got your inquisition swarming all over the place. We found it best to just remove ourselves from their view. And if the fledgling understanding of what I actually did is anywhere near remotely correct," I leaned my head over my shoulder, "then the mont I fully release my strength, the status quo of this rotten-still world will co tumbling to an end!"
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