On the way back, the atmosphere between the three became somewhat delicate.
Although the two still walked side by side, they both turned their heads away, not daring to look directly at each other, only stealing quick glances.
Gavi followed behind them, carrying large and small bags, watching their backs with an auntie-like smile.
“Ah~ If only Miss Eleanor could see this~”
This atmosphere lasted until the inn door slowly closed behind them with a dull thud.
That sound was like a signal, freezing the already tense air completely.
Julius stood at the corridor intersection, his hand still in the position of pushing the door, his whole body stiff like a newly unearthed stone statue.
The usually decisive chosen one now seemed at a loss, his eyes wandering, as if searching for some tactical weakness that didn’t exist between the sconces on the wall and the patterns on the floor.
“W-Well…”
He opened his mouth, his voice dry as sandpaper.
“Get some rest.”
Helos lowered her head, burying most of her face in the complimentary scarf.
Hearing Julius’s words, she trembled as if scalded, then without pause, she nodded randomly, let out a mosquito-like response, and turned to rush toward the staircase.
Her speed was so fast it was as if she were fleeing from a flood or a beast, and she even tripped over her hem on the steps.
Pfft.
An extremely quiet laugh came from behind them.
Gavi was standing at the door holding the oversized shopping bag.
Her usually expressionless gray eyes were now filled with amusement.
She watched Helos’s fleeing back, then looked at Julius who was still standing there dazed, and the corner of her mouth curled into a meaningful arc.
“This is youth.”
She sighed to herself in a voice only she could hear, then walked past Julius with light steps, humming a nameless tune, heading toward her own room.
Julius was startled awake by that sigh.
He instinctively touched his nose, feeling as if some faint fragrance still lingered there.
“Did I say something wrong?”
He looked at the empty staircase entrance, falling into deep self-doubt.
Bang!
The door to the second-floor bedroom slammed shut heavily.
Helos leaned against the door panel, her body sliding down weakly, finally collapsing onto the soft carpet.
There was no light in the room, only moonlight filtering through the curtain gaps, casting pale spots on the floor.
The darkness gave her a sense of safety, but also made her senses unusually sharp.
She could clearly hear her heart pounding wildly in her chest, making a loud thumping sound.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Helos gasped for air, trying to calm the restless heat inside her.
Hot.
She raised her hand and pressed the back of it against her cheek.
Burning hot.
“Helos! Calm down!”
Though she roared at herself in her mind, the actual voice that came out was so soft even she could barely hear it.
“How can you become such a mess because of a single sentence? So embarrassing! Absolutely embarrassing!”
But no matter how she hypnotized herself, the scene replaying in her mind was completely out of control.
That moment at the clothing store entrance, the way Julius looked at her—so focused, so serious.
And that line that didn’t fit his usual wooden persona at all—
“You are very charming.”
It wasn’t flattery, nor was it polite.
The certainty in his tone was like stating a truth.
“Aaaaaah!”
Helos finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She jumped up from the floor like a madwoman, rushed to the bedside, and plunged headfirst into the pile of soft bedding.
She grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself from head to toe, turning into a huge cocoon.
“Idiot! Fool! Blockhead! Who cares about your compliment!”
She rolled wildly under the blanket, kicking her feet, messing up the neat sheets.
“Are such words to be used casually? Do you have any idea how much damage that does to a teenage girl’s heart?!”
Helos felt like her brain was about to burn out.
This complex mix of shame, secret joy, panic, and a hint of sweetness bubbled in her mind like a boiling pot of magic potion.
She even started to have wild thoughts.
‘What does he mean?’
‘Is he confessing?’
‘Or is it just a polite compliment to a lady as per the Knight’s Code?’
‘No!’
‘Since when does a polite compliment come with that kind of look!’
‘That look… it’s like he wants to devour her!’
Helos let out a wail and buried her face deep into the pillow.
Mmph…
She was done for.
She felt like she would never be able to look Julius in the eye again.
As soon as she saw him, she would remember those words, then blush, then become a stuttering fool.
Was she too deeply influenced by the maiden heart?
It felt like she had already gotten used to it.
This absolutely won’t do!
She is Helos!
A genius alchemist!
Someone destined to stand at the pinnacle of truth!
How could she be held back by such romantic feelings?
She forcibly closed her eyes, trying to cut off all thoughts.
“As long as I fall asleep, I won’t have to think about anything!”
“Sleep! Sleep right now!”
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll act like nothing happened! Yes! That’s it!”
And just as her emotional fluctuations reached their peak and her brain was about to completely crash from overload, a cold resonance sound echoed without warning deep in her mind.
This sound was all too familiar to Helos, but she hadn’t heard it in a long time.
It was the echo of Ultimate Alchemy.
Like a sudden basin of ice water, it instantly extinguished all the romantic feelings and shyness in Helos’s heart.
She abruptly stopped squirming on the bed, frozen under the blanket.
Wait, could it be…
The girl seemed to suddenly realize something.
Holding her breath, she stared wide-eyed into the pitch-black interior of the blanket, her attention fully focused.
And as if to confirm her guess, the ancient, heavy illusory book slowly appeared in her Consciousness Sea.
The pages turned automatically, making rustling sounds.
Lines of text emitting a faint purple glow clearly projected into her vision.
At the same time, the gray mark that had been dormant began to slowly emit an enchanting light.
[Preconditions completed.]
[Phantom Arts Alchemy—Unlocked.]