"You said you wouldn't fall for anyone, but didn't you develop feelings for me too?"

Feeling the connection between them, Nimophila's lips curved into a happy smile as she spoke.

Liens didn't refute her. Whether it was for the benefits of the contract or because he truly felt affection for Nimophila, the fact that the contract had been signed was undeniable.

However, even if he signed a contract with Nimophila, it wouldn't change his mind about leaving.

Hughes Town was too small.

He was learning less and less here.

To see more of the world, to fight more powerful individuals, to pursue higher swordsmanship, and to become a peak Legend, he had to leave.

Only by dedicating his limited Life to the dream he constantly pursued would he have no regrets, even if he died along the way.

"Oh, right!"

Nimophila seemed to suddenly remember something, then immediately grabbed Liens's shoulders with both hands and anxiously asked him:

"Since my existence is in your dream ability, did anything happen between you and the me in your dream?"

She knew herself too well.

With her current feelings for Liens, if she knew she was in a dream, she definitely wouldn't be able to resist trying certain things.

Although Liens seemed quite straightforward.

But if she made the first move, with her figure and charm, what if Liens couldn't resist?

Wouldn't her romance be cuckolded by herself before it even truly began?

She didn't want that to happen! Thi^s c.ha$p@t+e&r was or!ig!ina.l%ly$ po+st+e%d+ on *@..

Upon hearing this, Liens glanced at her, then walked towards the door.

"Since you're fully awake, I don't need to stay here. It wouldn't look good."

Liens said as he walked.

"No, wait, at least tell me the answer! Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight, or even for the next few days."

"Besides, what does 'looking good' matter? It's irrelevant."

"Anyway, in everyone's eyes, our relationship is already beyond intimate."

Nimophila immediately grabbed Liens's retreating figure, pleading with him to tell her the answer.

"Sigh… I didn't have any relations with the you in my dream."

"I wonder if this answer satisfies our Miss Nimophila, the Priestess?"

"Sometimes, I really don't know what you think about all day. Wouldn't it be better to put more effort into getting stronger?"

Liens replied helplessly.

At that time, the Nimophila in the instance was ready for a big fight, and had even taken off her clothes, but she was interrupted by the real-world her.

He didn't know if he felt any regret.

"Work-life balance, that's a principle my teacher often taught us."

"Life is endless, and movement never stops, but appropriate relaxation is itself preparation for the next better movement."

"I think I'm doing very well in this regard."

"My teacher even praised me for it, saying my personality is very much like water."

Nimophila said with a proud expression.

"Personality? Water?"

Hearing it was a Great Knight's words, Liens instantly became serious.

He began to ponder the connection between personality and elements in his mind, but after thinking for a while, he still couldn't find a reasonable point of view.

Because of this, Liens could only sigh that his realm was too low to understand the Great Knight's profound words.

"That's right, my teacher said my personality is very much like water's tendency to flow with the current."

Nimophila continued.

"Flow with the current?"

After Liens pondered for a moment, his expression became a bit strange, and seeing Nimophila's proud look, he couldn't help but say to her, "Is it possible your teacher was saying you're lazy?"

"Lazy? How could that be?"

Nimophila immediately retorted.

But soon she recalled the scene when her teacher said this, and the reactions of her senior brothers and sisters around her, and she inexplicably became a little unsure, unable to maintain the pride on her face.

"Alright, no need to think about it anymore."

"Although I don't know if a person's personality affects their comprehension of elements, I think you're doing very well now."

"Just as you said, work-life balance."

"Water under too much pressure, even if it can unleash powerful force, might lose its essence."

"Keep it up, I have high hopes for you… What you lack now isn't effort, but a direction, a direction that leads you from individual understanding to the exploration of the world."

Liens comforted and encouraged Nimophila.

"That's enough. I'll head back first."

"Go to bed early. Good night, Nimophila."

After Liens finished speaking, he waved his hand and left Nimophila's room.

"Good night, Liens."

Nimophila placed her hand on her chest, gazing at Liens's departing figure, feeling the connection between them, her lips overflowing with a happy smile as she softly spoke.

...

Early in the morning, the late spring sun had not yet fully risen, with only a faint glow competing with the bright moon.

Liens, after a long absence, stepped into the external training grounds in the early morning, though this 'long absence' was only a little over ten days.

Previously, he had planned to leave within the next week after finishing the last bit of content he needed from the introductory magic textbook.

But last night, Nimophila's reminder made him realize he still needed to stay in the town for another month or so, and suddenly his time became much more abundant.

Things were no longer so urgent, so he naturally regained his interest in practicing swordsmanship every morning.

At his current realm, simple sword practice contributed almost nothing to the improvement of his swordsmanship; it could only serve as a warm-up habit and a pastime.

Even for elements, he no longer needed to specifically practice swordsmanship to accumulate them.

Just by standing still and doing nothing, the Wind Element within his body would automatically attract external Wind Element into his body, gradually transforming it into his own element.

In other words, even if he did nothing, once enough time passed and the elements in his body automatically accumulated to a certain level, he would be able to break through to Great Knight.

This kind of progress, completely without bottlenecks, always made the Dean who taught him very envious.

"Hmm?"

As Liens entered the external training grounds, he discovered that at this time, the external training grounds, which usually belonged only to him, already had a figure present.

Seeing Liens, the figure, who was jogging around the external training grounds, quickly came to his side and enthusiastically greeted him: "Good morning, Teacher Heier, you're here for morning exercise too."

Looking at the figure who had tied her long, flowing dark hair into a ponytail for convenient running, Liens politely responded: "Good morning, Teacher Atel."

That's right, the person occupying his "territory" was none other than Atel, the former Royal Capital Knight Order female Knight who had just joined the academy yesterday.

Seeing Atel, Liens suddenly remembered that he should have mentioned her to Nimophila last night.

He hadn't said anything before because he didn't know how to explain how he found out.

But since Nimophila had already guessed that he possessed "dream" ability, there was no need for excessive explanation.

"Forget it, I'll tell Nimophila about Atel's situation when I see her later."

Liens glanced again at the elemental particles slowly entering Atel's body, thinking to himself.

Afterward, he no longer paid attention to Atel, walking directly to the center clearing of the training ground, drawing the longsword in his hand, and began to practice swordsmanship.

The weapon he was currently using was still the longsword he had brought from the Glenbagen Family. The chip in the blade caused by traversing the Monster Forest had already been repaired by the town's blacksmith.