Chapter 175: The Fruits of my Actions

*** Days Pass

As the academy was being rebuilt, Evelina had me stay at her estate the entire time. I couldn’t really refuse—nor did I want to. Still, it felt a little odd.

The servants watched me more like a pet than a person. They weren’t entirely wrong, but being seen like that around Evelina definitely felt off. And that’s saying something, considering I’d had to play some very degrading roles in previous jobs.

I guess the weeks of normalcy had finally gotten to me.

I didn’t really mind.

Our routine was simple. We slept together, woke up together, ate together, and, when her schedule allowed, spent the afternoons and evenings together—at least when Evelina wasn’t occupied with other preparations.

And… I couldn’t really just leave.

She had ordered me not to.

So… I did the only thing I could: train my black flames and figure out how they even worked.

[Fiery Malediction]

I slid my feet across the ground, a wall of flame erupting from the tips of my boots and tracing the path of my movements.

They seemed to give off a faint demonic energy—not quite chaos level, but unmistakably infernal.

Had it somehow absorbed Evelina’s magic when she struck me with that mental spell?

I had no way to confirm it, so over the past few days, whenever Evelina was away, I asked some of the magically skilled servants to attack me.

First was a light mage.

And… the same thing happened.

[Special Condition Achieved…]

[Black Flames Evolution]

[Evolution Information Transplanted]

[The Flames Have Absorbed A Foreign Element]

[Fusing]

[Holy Flame (Black Flame Subtype)]

Then I found another servant, this one with wind magic, and had them attack me—but nothing happened. I tried again with someone who used earth magic, and just like before, there was no reaction at all.

It seemed to work only with demonic and light magic.

But why?

Could it have to do with my body getting used to the previous attunements I had lost?

That was the most likely explanation for why wind or other elements wouldn’t work. But if I really wanted to confirm it, I’d need someone with divine magic to intentionally attack me.

And the only way to make that happen would be to deliberately anger Nyx through my dad. But… I’d rather not risk it. I’d probably die from the first strike.

So that option was off the table for now.

For now, it was better to focus on honing the new abilities I’d just gained.

*** More Days Pass

I was slowly getting used to the new elements I’d obtained. Well, “slowly” wasn’t exactly right. It was more like… I mastered them the moment I started training.

They weren’t that different from chaos or light; in fact, they were far easier to control and handle than those two elements, even without the eye.

It felt more like I was just casting normal dark spells than anything else.

[Holy Flame Manipulation]

[Black Flame Manipulation]

[Malignant Flame Manipulation]

I controlled the flames around me in the yard, a few servants stealing glances and trying to pretend it didn’t bother them. They had no idea what in the world was happening…

To them, it must have looked like I had three attunements—something so ridiculous that even most legends couldn’t achieve it.

But… considering I was Evelina’s favorite “toy,” they didn’t try to stop me, even though what I was doing was an affront to everything they stood for. That didn’t mean they ignored it completely, though. Not at all.

I could hear them whispering behind my back as I continued my training.

“That should do it.”

Panting, I collapsed on the floor and stared up at the blazing afternoon sun. The heat prickled my skin, made worse by the fact that I’d just been playing with fire.

“Holy Flame, huh… too bad it doesn’t have healing spells.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. It was a step forward, I guess… but still not as good as profaned magic.

Compared to that, it was so lacking that I couldn’t even see it as a big deal. It felt like I’d just received a new sword and started swinging it around without hesitation.

But that wasn’t my biggest problem right now.

Evelina had been gone for two days now, apparently doing something important back in the Black Iron District—or so one of her servants claimed.

I still had no idea why she wanted me to stay put in her estate. I couldn’t disobey her as well, not with the tracker inside me.

The last thing I wanted was an earful from her.

My heart probably couldn’t take being scolded by her…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The transceiver I’d left on a bench suddenly rang. I didn’t waste any time; I stood up and picked up the call.

There was only one person who had its number, after all.

[Hey, Cael…]

“Is everything okay!?” I asked, my voice more excited than usual.

[Oh…?]

Evelina gasped at my enthusiasm, and from her tone, I could tell she’d… expected this reaction?

But she quickly cleared her throat, not wanting to reveal her full intentions just yet. She knew all too well how observant I could be at the weirdest times.

[I’m doing fine, but… I do want to ask…]

Her voice carried a hint of confusion, and behind her I could clearly hear a ruckus—chants, maybe.

I could’ve sworn they were chanting… my name.

“Anything wrong?”

[Well… care to tell me why there’s an entire group of freed slaves that worships you?]

The moment Evelina said those words—

[Photographic Memory]

R-Right… the [Endless Fangs] I handed out a few days ago…

[And… why do three of them have the same sword you use?]

Evelina added.

Yeah… this was definitely my doing. I guess it finally bore fruit. I just didn’t expect Evelina to be the first one to see it, though.

“Um… well, I was investing in a future army, I guess?”

[S-Seriously?]

“You can keep them if you want.”

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