A Bunch of Odd People

Before he knew it, Aaron had already been lying in the city lord's residence for several days.

Although the effects of the Blazing Sun Potion were astonishing, injuries to the muscles and bones still took a hundred days to heal. The fact that it had enabled Aaron to get out of bed and walk in such a short time was already nothing short of a medical miracle.

During this time, he had also naturally taken the opportunity to cram himself full of supernatural knowledge through Sart.

"That's all for today." Sart glanced at the darkening sky outside and spoke to Aaron, who was leaning against the wall.

Aaron nodded, but then noticed that Sart seemed to want to say something but was hesitating. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

After the series of events they had been through, his relationship with Sart had grown much closer.

Once he had figured out Sart's temperament and personality, Aaron simply decided to speak frankly.

"Yes, Aaron..." Sart rubbed his face and said, "I may be going back after some time."

He had already received fate's feedback from Aaron and obtained an opportunity to advance. Naturally, his next step was to return to the Star Tower.

"That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Aaron wasn't surprised by Sart's words.

In fact, Sart's unfortunate junior, Siosand, came by almost every day to pay a visit. With a deeply aggrieved look on his face, he frantically interacted with Sart.

He grandly called it: "Inspiring my senior's fighting spirit."

But whether it was Aaron, Sart, or even Alice, who occasionally came to visit, they all knew that his words clearly had little effect on Sart.

Still, thanks to Siosand, Aaron was able to understand Sart's current situation from the bits and pieces of their conversations.

Once Sart successfully advanced to the Silver Tier, it would also mean that his career at the Star Tower had officially entered its countdown.

"Perhaps there'll be a way." Aaron didn't know how to comfort Sart. "Maybe even my wife can lend a hand."

Although they weren't married yet, someone had already taken to treating Alice as one of his family with extraordinary familiarity, showing no restraint whatsoever when speaking of her.

"Wife?"

Sart froze, somewhat unable to understand this unfamiliar term.

"I mean... Alice. You know, right? She's a member of House of Iris, which is quite prominent even in the Yagrant Kingdom. Just think, when the time comes..."

Sart smiled helplessly and coughed awkwardly several times, interrupting the spittle-flecked Aaron.

"First of all, Sir Aaron, I believe it should be Alice marrying you. In other words, her surname will become Albert afterward, and others will only respectfully address her as Madame Albert. They absolutely will not regard her as a member of House of Iris.

"Secondly, I will not accept any help from nobles. That point is quite clear."

Aaron shrugged. "What about me? I'm a noble too."

Even with Sart's astonishing capacity for acceptance, he couldn't help but be won over by this man's shamelessness. The smile at the corners of his mouth was impossible to conceal.

"Sir Aaron, although I really don't want to expose you, you should know that someone without an estate, servants, a fief, or even a carriage—even if he possesses a noble title from the Yagrant Kingdom—doesn't seem quite qualified to be called a noble, does he?

"Perhaps you should take a look at Miss Alice. She's the one who can truly be considered a noble. As for you..."

Sart looked at Aaron's constantly trembling lower legs, then gave him a meaningful glance. "A true noble would never work a sewing machine with his feet, Mr. Aaron."

"Although I also dislike Master Sart somewhat, I agree with him on this." Alice's cool voice came from outside the door.

She then carried an exquisite lunchbox inside, knocking on the door to announce herself before entering.

During the several days Aaron had spent lying in bed, Ed or Alice had basically delivered his meals.

However, Alice rarely brought him food. More often, she merely used Aaron's room to hold one of her afternoon teas.

"Master Sart, although I've emphasized this many times, I still want to repeat it once more. Sir Aaron is my friend. I believe you understand what that means, don't you?"

Sart keenly caught the trace of irritation in Alice's voice and deliberately emphasized the point.

Just as Siosand repeatedly nagged him about it, Sart would tirelessly emphasize the same thing almost every time he met Alice.

He had not the slightest favorable impression of nobles.

Perhaps Aaron had yet to realize anything, but Sart had already sensed that something was amiss.

Although he still didn't know what scheme House of Iris was plotting, he didn't want Aaron to become a victim of a noble conspiracy.

"Master Sart, I'm only here to fulfill my engagement." Alice slammed the lunchbox heavily onto the table, then said coldly, "I can tell you this, Master Sart: I won't fall for this man, but I will fulfill my duties as a fiancée and, eventually, as Madame Albert."

She took a deep breath to calm her roiling anger, then glanced at the lazy man leaning against the wall.

Even now, she still couldn't understand what charm this man possessed to make Sart so willingly speak up for him.

This bastard didn't understand what Sart had done for him. Could she not understand it?

Uncle Degas had explained the Blazing Sun Potion to her in full detail.

To be honest, she found it difficult to imagine just how much the Star Tower's master, Julian, cared about this apprentice to be willing to take out a potion capable of driving even Platinum Tier powerhouses mad.

It was equally difficult to imagine that this Julian's apprentice had actually been willing to use such a precious potion on this bastard for no reason at all.

Even more unimaginable was that Siosand, despite criticizing Sart the entire time, had not even blinked as he dripped the potion onto him.

Whenever Alice thought of these things, she felt an inexplicable sense of absurdity and found it all unbelievable.

Of course, in some respects, this bastard's experiences were even more unbelievable.

First, as an ordinary person, he had become a sacrifice to a Heretical Cultist, yet he had survived the sacrificial ritual completely unharmed and even seemed to have killed that Heretical Cultist.

Next, he had accumulated enough power to advance from the Black Iron Tier to the Bronze Tier in an extremely short time, and had actually begun attempting to break through.

After that, he had somehow escaped from under Tog's control and then survived after being targeted by some existence.

Although the Blazing Sun Potion had played a considerable role this time, he had indeed survived.

Judging fairly, if their positions had been reversed, Alice absolutely wouldn't believe that she could have done better than him.

That was also one of the reasons Alice had ultimately compromised.

If, after experiencing so many dangers, this man who didn't even count as a noble could still be alive and bouncing around, perhaps she shouldn't hope to end this engagement.

Thanks to Qianmeng and Erica for the tips~