Aria crossed her arms and huffed.
"Whatever. It’s not like I was planning to stay here forever anyway."
Lucas shook his head with an amused smirk.
"Alright, well, good luck to both of you. I’ll handle the paperwork. No need for a notice—let’s be real, you two were gonna leave sooner or later."
Aria grinned.
"Thanks, boss!"
With that, Liam and Aria left the shop together. As soon as they stepped outside, Aria turned to him.
"So, what’s next for you?"
She asked, tilting her head.
Liam shrugged.
"I have sothing planned."
Aria eyed him suspiciously.
"Are you sure you don’t want a job? I have connections, you know. If you’re interested, I could—"
"No thanks. I’m not looking for another normal job."
Liam assured the female before heading back ho. This was likely the last ti he was in this shop, but Liam felt no lingering attachnts.
______
Liam arrived ho to find the familiar presence of Elder Erin already back, along with Bianca, who sat cross-legged on the couch with an exhausted expression.
As soon as he stepped in, Bianca let out a groan.
"Finally! Do you know how horrible that trip was? Ugh, I swear, if I have to sit through another eting with those greedy officials, I’m going to lose my mind."
Liam raised an eyebrow as he took off his jacket.
That bad, huh?"
Bianca scoffed. "
Bad? Bad doesn’t even begin to describe it! They want us to double our supply of rare resources, even though it’s literally impossible without ruining our own operations! Then they have the audacity to demand access to restricted areas like it’s their birthright. I an, do they think we just pull rare materials out of thin air?"
Liam nodded along, though, in truth, he only understood about half of what she was ranting about. Still, he found it amusing how fired up she was over the matter.
Curious, he asked.
"So what exactly do they want from you?"
That was a mistake.
Bianca’s eyes lit up, and before he knew it, she was going off on a long-winded explanation filled with technical jargon that went completely over Liam’s head.
Sothing about trade restrictions, resource scarcity, and magical regulations—none of which he could follow.
After about three minutes, Asger, who had been sitting off to the side, clicked his tongue.
"Give up, Liam. It’s all useless nonsense and babble. I don’t think what she is speaking is even human language."
The half-dragon muttered. He sounded irritated but tried to keep his tone in check.
Liam sighed in relief.
"Yeah, I was starting to think I was the only one lost here."
Bianca glared at Asger.
"Excuse you! This ’useless nonsense’ determines the stability of our entire supply chain! You might not care, but so of us actually work to keep things running."
Asger just shrugged.
"And yet, here you are complaining about it. Besides, aren’t you barely of age? Who can anyone expect you to handle anything?"
"You—!"
Bianca gritted her teeth before inhaling sharply.
"You know what? Never mind. I’m too tired to argue with you."
Elder Erin, who had been silent up until now, took the opportunity to speak.
\Enough bickering. Liam, how was your day? I assu you went back to work?"
Liam leaned against the counter and exhaled.
"Yeah, about that... I quit."
Elder Erin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And why is that?"
Liam shrugged.
"It just didn’t feel right anymore. I have a new job lined up, though, so I’ll be fine."
Elder Erin humd thoughtfully, watching Liam closely.
"A new job, you say?"
Before Liam could react, he felt a strange sensation creeping into his mind—like invisible fingers trying to sift through his thoughts.
[Warning! Unauthorized ntal intrusion detected.]
Liam’s eyes narrowed as the system’s ssage popped up. He recognized this trick—it was Elder Erin trying to probe his thoughts with magic.
With an irritated huff, Liam shut his mind off completely, locking the elder out with a firm ntal barrier.
Elder Erin flinched ever so slightly, though his face remained unreadable. However, the flicker of surprise in his eyes did not go unnoticed.
Asger, who had been watching the exchange, instantly tensed.
"Oi. What the hell was that just now? You trying sothing on my contractor, old man?"
His eyes glead dangerously as he stepped forward, his aura flaring ever so slightly.
Elder Erin held up a hand in a pacifying manner.
"Calm yourself, young dragon. It was rely a test. I didn’t an to cause any harm, so you don’t need to get all defensive like this."
"Test my ass. You don’t test people by poking around their minds without permission. Should I poke around your mind with my claws? You should know how it feels as well."
Asger growled as he transford his hands into claws. They shined in the artificial light of the room and the atmosphere tended up.
Liam crossed his arms and decided to interfere before the situation could get any worse.
"He’s right. What was that about?"
Elder Erin studied Liam for a mont before finally letting out a small chuckle.
"Impressive. Your ntal defenses are stronger than I anticipated. Is it a result of the familiar bond you both have? Does it allow you to borrow so of Asger’s powers?"
Liam didn’t answer. He simply held the elder’s gaze, unamused. He had no intention of telling anyone his secrets and his gaze said that much.
Seeing that he wouldn’t get a response, Elder Erin relented.
"Very well. I won’t pry further—for now."
Still wary, Asger remained in a defensive posture, but when it beca clear that the elder wasn’t going to push further, he backed down.
The tense atmosphere eventually faded, and the conversation shifted to other mundane topics. However, Liam couldn’t shake the feeling that Elder Erin knew sothing. But what that sothing was, Liam did not want to know.
"I will head to my room now. I had a tiring day at work and now I want to rest. Please, do not disturb in the anti."
Liam was not running away, he was making a tactical retreat.
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