CHAPTER 51: TO SPACE

Vanessa paused shortly after.

’Don’t guys like this, a nice older woman feeding them?’ she thought, her cheeks warming.

It was such a silly thing, but she wanted it to mean something.

Since the day Lucius had entered her life, everything had shifted.

The guild, her daily routines, even her future... it all seemed like it was being reshaped by his existence.

She wanted to thank him.

She wanted him to know that his presence wasn’t something she took for granted.

And yet, she also didn’t want to push him away by being too forceful.

So she tried the gentlest way she could think of.

His lips parted slowly, hesitantly.

His expression betrayed him — his cheeks had the faintest pink flush.

Then, without another word, he opened his mouth and accepted the bite she offered.

Her breath caught.

She fed him, sliding the fork past his lips.

Lucius chewed slowly, then swallowed.

His face lit up. "Hey, this actually tastes good."

His wide-eyed surprise made Villy puff out her chest with pride.

Before Vanessa could react, Lucius reached out and gently placed his hand on Villy’s head, patting her like a satisfied master rewarding his servant.

"Good job," he said warmly.

Villy’s eyes practically turned into stars.

She leaned into the touch, her cheeks glowing pink.

Meanwhile, Elara stiffened where she stood.

Her entire face turned red, but not out of embarrassment — out of frustration.

Her fingers curled tightly around the hem of her skirt as her lips pressed into a thin line.

’Why... why is his hand freely touching another woman’s head?’ she fumed. ’He hasn’t even patted mine today.’

Her eyes flicked up toward her own head, then back to Lucius’s hand still on Villy’s hair.

Her heart twisted.

Vanessa, sensing the silent storm brewing in Elara, coughed lightly and moved the fork again.

"Eat more~" she urged softly, as if the playful tone could mask the awkwardness hanging in the air.

Lucius nodded, seemingly oblivious to the tension sparking between the women.

"Sure."

And so she fed him again.

Bite after bite, Vanessa guided each forkful of food to his lips.

Slowly, steadily, she emptied the plate for him, watching with quiet satisfaction as his shoulders relaxed, his face softened, and his exhaustion melted away with every swallow.

When the last morsel was gone, Villy dutifully swept in, removing the empty plate with a professional flourish.

"Alright," Vanessa said at last, her tone shifting to business. "By completing a D rank mission and one of the requirements, you’re already eligible for ranking up. Now, all you need to do is to make your Mana hearts."

Lucius sat back, expression thoughtful.

That was easier said than done.

The process of forming a mana heart wasn’t uniform.

The time and energy it took varied drastically depending on one’s element and rank.

For ordinary elements, it could take weeks or months.

For rare elements, double the time.

Even he didn’t know how long it would take to form his, it could be an hour or a month.

’Whatever,’ he thought, rubbing his temple.

’If it takes too long, I’ll just buy something from the System to speed it up. Hopefully it isn’t too expensive. Worst case... I’ll take a loan.’

Vanessa’s voice pulled him back. "I’ll arrange a slip for you to visit Evergreen Forest tomorrow. It’s the best place nearby for absorbing wood element mana."

Her eyes softened with a hint of apology.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t know of any natural locations that contain spatial mana."

Lucius shrugged. "No problem, Vanessa. I’ll figure it out."

He stood, stretching his arms.

A tired smile tugged at his lips. "And thank you. I really enjoyed today."

Her heart skipped.

Before she could answer, he turned to the door.

He glanced back over his shoulder and flashed her a smile that could topple walls.

"I hope to get to raid with you sometime."

Then his gaze slid to Elara. "Shall we?"

Elara didn’t even wait for him to take another step.

She rushed to his side, clutching his arm possessively.

The moment his warmth seeped through her, her jealousy faded into triumph.

With a spark of mana, the two vanished from the room.

The timing was impeccable.

Just as the air stilled from their departure, the doors swung open.

Rita stumbled in, breathless, her hair sticking slightly to her damp forehead.

"Hey, cutie—" she began, only to freeze when she saw Vanessa still sitting at the desk, cheeks faintly red.

Rita’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do you know where Lucius is?"

Vanessa cleared her throat, quickly regaining her composure. "Uhm... he just left."

Rita bit her lip, eyes clouding with worry.

’I know it’s uncertain but what if he’s still mad about that...’ She thought, there would be no way to get him into the ground floor.

"Did he... say he wanted to avoid me?" Rita pressed.

Vanessa frowned, gathering papers on her desk to avoid Rita’s searching gaze.

"Rita, we’re close friends, but you can’t come storming in here asking about a man." Her tone sharpened into her usual professional cadence. "He didn’t tell me anything. He only came to collect his mission, I checked up on him, and then he left."

Rita exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging.

"Thanks. I’ll be right back."

And just like that, she darted out again, leaving a trail of purple in her wake.

Vanessa sat back in her chair, exhaling through her nose.

’And there she goes again. Why are there so many women circling around that guy?’

Her scowl deepened.

’Could never be me.’

A beat of silence.

Then she unlocked her phone, her fingers flying over the screen.

’Yeah, totally me.’

She texted him, asking if there was anything she could order for dinner.

...

Lucius, meanwhile, had already dropped Elara home... He wanted to test out something.

He was soaring through the sky rising higher and higher with each passing second.

The wind howled in his ears as he pushed off the air itself, propelling himself upward.

The higher he climbed, the more turbulent space became.

Invisible currents of energy twisted and tangled like unseen rivers.

The density of spatial particles in the atmosphere thickened, tugging at his senses.

"Wooo!" Lucius whooped as he rocketed past a passenger aircraft, startling the pilots inside.

His black shirt snapped against the wind like a banner.

The sensation was intoxicating.

Levitation with enough velocity wasn’t just floating anymore — it was true flight.

He streaked higher, faster, his grin widening.

Clouds blurred beneath him.

The city shrank into a patchwork quilt.

The very air grew thin and crisp.

Minutes later, he broke through the final veil of atmosphere.

Weightlessness wrapped around him.

Silence pressed in from all sides, vast and unending.

Below him sprawled the planet — blue oceans, green continents, curling wisps of cloud breathtaking in its size.

Above him stretched the endless black of space, studded with stars that glittered like shards of crystal.

Lucius floated there, suspended between worlds, and he smiled.

’It’s beautiful,’ he thought.