Outside Thalendor, Lisa ran without thinking of a destination.
And for some reason, the place her body led her to was a familiar clearing, the place where they had first met in person, where Lisa had brought the Goblin to test Lohan’s strength.
Thinking about the process of accumulating power, the number of evolutions Lohan had achieved and practiced, and the rich battle experience they now possessed, even if Lohan returned to his own Level 01 body to face that Goblin again, that battle would be much easier now.
Lisa finally stopped running upon reaching the center of the isolated clearing, where the roots of a giant tree formed a natural arch covered in mana flowers that glowed softly beneath the tree shadows.
After surveying the area, she turned around, panting, her tail swaying erratically, trying to regain the mask of indifference she wore to protect herself.
Lohan landed heavily a few meters away from her, his blue gelatin vibrating from the effort of maintaining the propulsion technique for so long.
He deactivated the small black tail he had created and rolled slowly until he was facing the fox.
Through the Mental Link, even without Lisa saying a word, he could sense her emotional turmoil, a mix of shame, irritation, and something he, who also lacked social experience, couldn’t quite label.
Lisa lowered her head, feeling stupid for having acted so impulsively in the city.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
Even though she felt guilty and wanted to do something to end this awkward atmosphere caused by her impulsiveness, Lisa, or rather, Isabella Vance, wasn’t used to apologizing.
This had nothing to do with social class or any other factor; it was simply something she had been taught since childhood.
But here, now, in front of Halon, who might be her only true friend, at a moment when their relationship was hanging by a thread due to the possible revelation of her identity in the real world, Lisa saw no point in clinging to her pride.
So, afraid, terrified of what their friendship might become if she kept this up, she spoke.
"I’m sorry..." The words came out so softly that Lohan barely heard them. "I... I just thought you were forgetting our goal. Astralis Requiem needs you to stay focused. My staff and associates will soon arrive in the Open World, and we can’t appear disorganized."
Lohan clenched his little hand and gave Lisa’s white paw a gentle pat, a comforting gesture that made her shiver slightly.
He sensed that her apology wasn’t truly sincere; it was obvious that the source of her anger and frustration was the fact that he was with Aeliana like that, but considering the significant step she’d already taken in apologizing, Lohan chose not to call her out on it.
"We’re a team, Lisa. You are my blade, and I am your armor." He spoke in the calmest, most magnetic tone he could muster, trying to soothe Lisa with his words while conveying the feelings he was experiencing. "Aeliana is my friend, the first friend I made in Elysium even before I met you. I hope you understand that too."
Hearing that, Lisa initially felt a warmth in her chest, but then she felt a little embarrassed, realizing that he must have felt frustrated by her irrationality as well.
Nodding, she didn’t deny his words, so he continued.
"But if Aeliana is my friend, you are my best friend, Lisa. It’s with you that I spend my days laughing and playing; it’s with you that I work day and night to get stronger; it’s with you that I’m building something special (the guild); it’s with you that I plan my future (in the game)..."
Hearing that, Lisa’s mind went blank, with a flood of new emotions now surging through her chest, causing her cheeks beneath the white fur to turn completely pink.
The tension that had built up from the confusion of her feelings was now giving way to a completely different kind of confusion.
"All right, all right, that’s enough!" she said, looking away, utterly embarrassed by what he was saying as she forced herself to regain her usual arrogance. "Tell me, what did you mean by going through a near-death experience?"
That was a very important point in what Halon had said earlier, something that truly worried Lisa.
Knowing that he had gone through something like that while she was so far away and unable to help set off an alarm in her mind.
If he died, he would permanently lose his Mythic Race! That would be a complete disaster for them, not only in terms of Astralis Requiem, but also considering that he would no longer be able to keep up with her rapid growth, inevitably creating a rift between them.
That was something she definitely didn’t want to happen.
"I was just wandering around Thalendor, seeing if I could find any powerful Mana Stones, when Aeliana found me excited..." Lohan explained everything, hiding nothing of what had happened.
When Lisa heard that he had entered the Archmage’s tower alone, she flew into a rage, scolding him about the dangers he could have faced there and why he’d done something so incredibly stupid.
And hearing that he’d consumed the Level 13 Mana Stone without her help made the fox even angrier.
"Geez, Halon, if I take my eyes off you for a second, is this the kind of thing you’re going to point out?" She huffed, rolling her eyes.
Instead of getting angry, Lohan found her reaction cute. She was arguing with him out of simple concern.
To ease her anger, he had an idea.
"Well, I wouldn’t mind if you kept your eyes fixed on me all the time, and I’d be more than happy to do the same to you," he said, shaping his slime into two simple, round, cartoonish eyes like two dots, which rolled across his slime as he spun around Lisa, clearly taking in every little detail of her.
Lisa saw the eyes forming in the Slime and was shocked, only to freeze again as she processed the words he had said, and felt her face grow even hotter.
"HALOOOON! THAT’S NOT WHAT I SAID!"