Chapter 196: Alice
Isaac’s POV
"Oh, good. Sit here, I’ll bring breakfast for you."
Emily beamed and flew out of the room, clearly more than happy to take a break from her endless studying.
The moment she disappeared around the corner, Isaac let out a chuckle.
"She’s definitely been waiting for an excuse to run off," he said, then turned to Alice and patted the seat next to him. "Come on. Sit. How are you feeling now?"
"Better?" she replied as she lowered herself onto the chair beside him. "My senses are suppressed and so is my strength, but I feel like I’m in more control now. It’s like... trading raw power for clarity."
She glanced down at her arms and slowly clenched both fists.
"The technique helped me place a [Seal] on myself. Thanks to the Seal, my thoughts are clearer, and the dragon instincts have been pushed down. But, like I said, I’m slightly weaker."
"Can you open the seal?"
"I can open it anytime I want," she nodded, "but when it’s open, the dragon instincts will come rushing back, and they will be stronger than before. My strength will also spike far beyond normal levels, but it’ll be harder to stay rational."
Isaac raised a brow. "That’s sounds like a battle technique."
"It is. But I still need to practice it before being able to use it properly. My control isn’t perfect yet, so the seal might open on its own if I’m not careful, or it might not open fast enough when I really need it."
She leaned into his shoulder, resting her head lightly against him.
"Do you want to test your current strength?" he asked.
"I’ll do it later," she said. "Emily and I are heading out into the wilderness this afternoon. I’ll deal with whatever monsters we find there."
Isaac blinked, surprised.
"Who are you? My mad princess will never turn down a spar!" he exclaimed jokingly.
Alice huffed and gave him a light headbutt.
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell about he elemental spirit...."
Isaac brought up what had happened earlier that morning with the elemental spirit.
He explained everything to her.
"It’s a woman?" Alice asked, raising her head to look at him.
"Yeah," Isaac replied, finding it funny how Alice was more focused on the fact that it was a woman, instead of her being an Elemental Spirit.
He turned toward her, expecting another question, but her response came differently.
Her soft lips pressed gently against his, just for a moment. Then Alice stood and headed toward the door.
"I’ll eat in the living room," she said simply.
And then she left.
Isaac blinked a few times, then raised his hand to his lips.
"Oh."
He was.... surprised.
He diverted his thoughts to another topic.
’She’s really calm,’ he thought.
He wondered if it was the good calm, or the calm before the storm.
’I kind of want to know what will happen if it’s the calm before the storm.’
If that kind of storm ever came again, it might be fun in its own chaotic way.
’Wait, what?’
Isaac sat up straighter.
’Why am I looking forward to chaos?’
He groaned softly. That wasn’t like him at all.
’It’s Professor Catherine influence.’
’Yup, it’s her fault.’
He shifted the blame with no shame.
With Alice gone and Emily in the kitchen, he turned back to his notes and focused.
Time slipped by, as it usually did when they were together in that room, studying in quiet harmony.
Eventually, Alice returned with Emily.
The ghost empress had to be dragged back by Alice.
They both sat down and started reviewing the lecture scrolls from last week.
Halfway through a reading exercise, Alice looked over.
"When are we going to buy the shop in Sector 7? I need to come back early since I want to head out into the wilderness with Emily."
"I’ve got a bit of work to finish at home. Once I’m done, we can leave." Isaac answered.
Emily glanced up from her notes.
"If Alice is tight on time, she doesn’t have to come to the wilderness. I can go on my own. It’s not a big deal anymore. I’m stronger now."
Alice looked at her.
For a moment she said nothing, but her hand moved on its own and gently patted Emily’s head.
"That is true," she said softly, "but I don’t want to skip it. It’s important to me. I want to fight those monsters."
"Because you want to train?" Isaac asked, though he already had a guess.
Alice nodded.
Her goal had always been to slay legendary monsters, and leave behind her names in legends.
To do that, her journey had to start somewhere.
Going into the wilderness today was the first step.
A few minutes later, a knock came from the front door.
Professor Catherine entered with her usual casual grace.
"Good work studying on your own," she said, nodding at all three of them.
They responded with brief nods and quiet acknowledgments.
Professor Catherine’s gaze settled on Alice.
"Later, show me the technique you used. I need to make sure it isn’t dangerous to your health."
Alice’s face turned a shade more serious. "It’s a family heirloom. I can’t show it to others."
Professor Catherine didn’t seem fazed. "And now you’re my student. Which means I can’t let you practice a thousand-year-old technique without verifying its effects.
"It could be inefficient. Or worse, harmful.
"Maybe I can improve it. Maybe there are side effects the original creators never understood. Just let me take a look.
"And I’m not a dragon. I can’t use it, even if I wanted to. So, you don’t have to worry about me stealing it."
Alice went silent, thinking it over.
Then she gave a small nod.
’Nice, Professor,’ Isaac thought.
If Professor Catherine had access to the technique, then there was a high chance he’d be able to see it too without raising suspicion.
And once he saw it, he could start practicing it on his own.
Professor Catherine then turned to him. "You should come to the living room. You’ve got a visitor."
"Celia?"
Professor Catherine nodded. "She’s waiting."
He rose from his chair. Before he could take a step, Emily piped up.
"Can I come too?" she asked, excitement showing clearly on her face. "I want to meet her."
Isaac gave her a quick glance.
"Sure," he said, though inwardly he was surprised. ’When did they become friends? Was it after the battle at the Metavore Hive?’
He turned to Alice to check if she would come along too.
She met his eyes, then shook her head gently.