Youth Ablaze

Amlund, the original founder of the Blood Sail Alliance.

Once the Blood Sail Alliance's light-sword spellcaster, now one of the Blood Sail Alliance's thirteen great elders, the publicly acknowledged number one on Black Isotta Wizard Academy's top-ten newcomer experts ranking for this class, the first wizard apprentice of this class to be recognized by a wizard...

All of it spoke of Amlund's heart, unwilling to be ordinary.

Amlund held a wineglass and stood quietly, looking at the person who, back on the ocean liner, had been beyond his reach, the person he had needed to look up to: Solam.

I'm no longer that weak little fellow from back then. These three years, I've grown a great deal. I already have the qualifications to look you in the eye! And now, everyone from the Blood Sail Alliance is here. If you do anything out of line, all it will take is one order from me...

Feeling the people standing beside him, Amlund finally filled out his confidence and walked toward Solam with a smile on his face.

Amlund looked Solam straight in the eye and confidently extended his hand.

As long as he dared to do anything out of line, there was no need to show him any courtesy. Now, everyone in the Blood Sail Alliance was no longer the children from the ocean liner back then!

Amlund stared tightly into Solam's eyes, waiting for his next move.

Smack!

Solam took Amlund's hand and smiled with refined elegance. "Amlund, I remember you."

Uh...

For a moment, Amlund actually did not know what he should say. Without realizing it, he had actually developed hostility toward the other party. Was it because of his fear back then?

Silently shaking his head, Amlund brought his mindset under control and said calmly, "Solam, these past three years, no one in the Blood Sail Alliance has forgotten you."

The words had two meanings.

On one hand, Amlund was sighing over Solam's power; on the other, he was referring to how Solam had brought the Faceless Mask wizard back then, changing the fate that had originally been sending everyone to Lilith's Cottage Wizard Academy.

Solam did not try to quibble over anything. He said frankly, "Back then, it was because of me that Mentor Faceless Mask was able to hijack that ocean liner originally bound for Lilith's Cottage Wizard Academy. There's nothing about that which can't be said. The reason I came here today is actually only to accomplish one thing... I request to join the Blood Sail Alliance."

Ignoring everyone's shock, Solam continued, "Actually, back then, I truly didn't care about you. But in the end, you formed an alliance and defeated the sailors on the ship. That reminded me of some things and gave me a great shock. These three years, I've always regretted that when I had just returned to the Wizard Continent, I didn't request to join the Blood Sail Alliance."

Amlund froze for a moment. The spellcaster beside him also froze for a moment. Lafi, Amiida, and the others to the side were all stunned as well.

No one had expected that Solam would actually come at this time to request to join the Blood Sail Alliance.

"Who!"

Suddenly, Solam was startled. He turned around with a surging, majestic aura, only then seeing that a fellow wearing a white mask was actually standing right at the entrance to the hall. The other party had been so close before he had discovered his presence.

Who was this person?

When had someone like this appeared in the Blood Sail Alliance?

Was he an older wizard apprentice from a previous class of the wizard academy?

As Solam turned, only then did everyone discover that, at some unknown point, another wizard apprentice wearing a white mask had appeared at the hall entrance. The same question surfaced in everyone's hearts: who was this person?

This person, of course, was Green.

Green was somewhat embarrassed. A few days ago, he had only just used his knowledge of pharmaceutics to fully create a potion capable of eliminating the scent emitted by the human body itself.

On top of that, Green had always come and gone alone and was used to quiet. Now, wherever Green walked, he was simply like a soundless ghost. Ordinary people would not notice him at all, and if they suddenly did notice him beside them, they would instead be startled.

"Uh, I'm..."

"Green! Haha, you bastard, it's not a masquerade ball. What are you wearing a mask for!"

Binhanson directly cut off Green's words. He was actually the first to recognize Green and took the initiative to walk over, laughing and teasing him.

"Green?"

Lafi, Yorkris, and Yorklianna walked forward in some disbelief, as did the girl beside Binhanson.

Amiida's face darkened. After taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, he worked hard to maintain his proper bearing and followed as well.

Solam thought for a while, looked at the eyes beneath Green's mask, and suddenly said, "Green? I remember now. I remember you."

After saying that, Solam took the initiative to extend his hand.

Green was somewhat surprised. Had this guy changed his temper, or had he always been pretending before?

Green remembered that back then, when Solam had disguised himself as Kiram, that proud, disdainful bearing of his had simply been treating himself like the protagonist of a novel.

However, since the other party had extended his hand, Green was unwilling to think too much about it and directly shook hands with him.

"Solam, hello."

His tone was somewhat stiff. These past few months, Green had rarely spoken.

Yorkris said apologetically to Amlund and Solam, "Sorry, you two continue discussing the matter from just now. We'll go over to the other side."

As he spoke, the group led Green away.

After Amiida thought for a moment, he gritted his teeth, expressed his apologies to Amlund and Solam, and also followed them away.

"Come, come, Green, let me introduce your sister-in-law to you. Robin. You can also call her by her nickname, Moon."

Binhanson wrapped an arm around that pretty girl with brown-black curly hair and said with a smile.

"I never acknowledged you as my big brother."

Green joked, then turned his head to Robin and said, "Sister-in-law Moon."

Binhanson laughed heartily in satisfaction, while Robin pinched his ear from the side.

"Bastard, I haven't agreed to marry you yet."

On the other side, Yorkris was likewise pointing at his younger sister Yorklianna, laughing loudly. "Green, you have no idea—this sister of mine talks about you every day. She's nearly annoyed me to death. And then you'd only been out of contact for a little over half a year, and just now she actually said maybe you were dead, haha."

Yorkris spoke with exaggerated flair, while Yorklianna beside him explained timidly and nervously, "I didn't..."

At that moment, Amiida suddenly stepped forward and let out a hearty laugh. "Green, welcome back!"

After saying that, he was about to give Green a warm embrace.

Lafi and Binhanson, who had originally been smiling, instantly changed expressions. Only the Yorkris siblings and Robin failed to hear the oddness in Amiida's words, and their smiles remained.

Green's expression changed as well, though it was hidden by the mask, so no one could see it.

Amiida was actually speaking to Green as if he were the master of the small group?

If those words had come from Lafi's mouth, Green would have found it only natural. But now they had actually come from Amiida's mouth—Green himself was one of the founders of this team!

For a moment, the atmosphere turned somewhat strange.

"Enough!"

Lafi gave a loud shout, and the people around the dance hall were surprised, all looking toward Lafi in astonishment.

Although this venom-tongued queen never showed mercy with her words, she had always gotten along well with the few people around her. No one knew what had gotten into Lafi.

Lafi stood up and said coldly to Amiida, "Enough. This is a gathering for the five-member squad we had back on the sea liner. Get out of here."

"Lafi, you know I..."

Amiida wanted to explain something.

"I don't want to say it a second time. Get lost!"

Lafi shouted at the top of her lungs, her breathing heavy, clearly furious because of what Amiida had just done.

Lafi's sudden loud voice made some people in the music pool dance party look over, but once they saw it was Lafi, they all turned away again. No one in the Blood Sail Alliance was willing to take the initiative to provoke this venom-tongued queen.

Amiida gulped in air. Seeing Lafi treat him this way, he could no longer remain calm, and only felt as if his heart were dripping blood.

Red-faced, Amiida pointed at Green and roared, "I want to duel you like a man, and compete fairly for Lafi!"

Watching this scene, Green suddenly felt that this person was actually making a fuss and fighting over some empty, illusory little matter instead of seizing the time to pursue higher-level wizard knowledge. It was really far too childish and boring.

What was the cause of this conflict? Mating rights?

But he had done nothing at all. It had always been him, one man putting on a show like a clown.

Seeing Amiida actually point at him and demand to compete fairly for Lafi, Green even found it a little laughable. He had never thought about such things in his heart...

The pursuits of the two of them were simply not on the same level.

Green was just about to say something when Lafi suddenly stepped in front of him, as if back on the sea liner, this powerful woman had already grown used to taking on everything in Green's place.

Perhaps, in Lafi's eyes, Green was still that weakling who needed protection.

"Amiida, do you want me to make a move? Or should I say, are you confident you can defeat me now?"

Lafi narrowed her eyes, and her voice had actually turned a little cold. Beneath her skin, faint green shoots were vaguely sprouting; no one knew what sorcery it was.

Amiida looked at Lafi and suddenly felt that the Lafi before him was truly too unfamiliar. In three years of spending time together, she had never shown such a side. Could it be that it had really only been his own wishful thinking?

Amiida looked one last time at Lafi, who was staring coldly at him, then closed his eyes, turned, and left.

"Come with me."

Lafi pulled Green away, not even allowing Green to resist, as if she had already grown used to being this domineering.

Yorkris, Binhanson, and the others shrugged helplessly. This big sister leader simply allowed no one to resist her.

With a bang, Green was shoved against the wall by Lafi.

"Where the hell have you been for the past half year? You didn't come to the gathering, and you didn't answer when we contacted you through the crystal ball! Are you trying to forget us, or did you find some woman in the academy?"

Green was dazed by Lafi's forcefulness and subconsciously said, "Of course I was preparing for the trial during this time."

"Is that so?"

All of a sudden, Green only felt his body sink, his gaze turning somewhat hazy, as a thick reek of alcohol sprayed onto his face.

Green said in shock, "Are you crazy?"

Green had truly been frightened. From childhood until now, he had never had such intimate contact with a girl before, and instinctively wanted to dodge, but Lafi gripped both his hands tightly and pressed him against the wall.

Lafi raised her head and looked at Green. In her hazy drunkenness, her eyes were so focused.

"Crazy... hehe. No, Green, I think I've fallen in love with you."

Lafi raised her head and gently took off the mask on Green's face, her eyes actually somewhat wet as she looked at him.

"From the moment you saved me on the sea liner, when you pulled me up out of despair, I realized that I actually did believe in love. No one had ever given me that feeling before, made me feel that he was my everything, that I was willing to give all I had for him. I believe this is love."

Green stared blankly at Lafi, truly unable to believe that Lafi was actually saying these words to him.

"Hehe, it feels so good to say this. I was really afraid that in a few days you'd die in the trial, and I still wouldn't have had time to say it."

Lafi looked at Green tenderly, as if she wished she could melt him.

"You're drunk."

Green, faced with such a forceful confession from a girl, flushed crimson with embarrassment, and an inexplicable heat stirred through his body.

Lafi, however, ignored Green's words. She only gazed up at him intently and said, "You've actually grown so much taller over the past few years. Now I actually have to look up at you. Back then, I remember you were the same height as me."

"I... What I yearn for is endless knowledge. There's no way for us."

Lafi's wine-scented breath puffed against Green's face, and Green turned his face aside, struggling.

Lafi smiled.

Green was instantly so mortified he practically wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. To preserve the dignity a man ought to have, Green stiffened his face and forced himself to maintain his coldness.

"But what I pursue is... mmph..."

Green felt the coolness between his lips.

His mind went completely blank. Green fiercely wrapped his arms around Lafi's slender waist, making that devil-like figure press against his body, wishing he could melt Lafi into himself.