The murderous intent engulfed the office, leaving Sylfi gasping desperately for air as she struggled to stay conscious. Just as her vision began to blur, the oppressive feeling suddenly vanished.
As Sylfi knelt on the ground, coughing, Eve approached slowly and crouched in front of her, with a menacing expression.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you, little snake, because my master would be upset. But that doesn't mean I'll let you treat him with such disrespect," Eve said, her smile twisted with malice. "Know your place, and if you keep acting like the bitch you are, haha, death will be a privilege."Seeing the panic on the silver-haired girl's face filled Eve with satisfaction.A few minutes later, Clarice returned to the office. As soon as she stepped inside, she sensed the heavy tension in the air. Not wanting to meddle in others' affairs, she told Sylfi to follow her to the guest room.
Sylfi quickly complied, eager to escape Eve's presence.
"Clarice, while you accompany Miss Sylfi to the guest room, I'll go stay with master," Eve said, wearing a deceptively harmless smile.
Clarice simply nodded, bowing slightly, and left with Sylfi.
Once Eve saw they had left, she stretched her arms and made her way to Raziel's room, humming a tune. Upon entering, Eve found Raziel lying on the bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, his expression weary.
Raziel didn't even notice her presence until she lay down beside him on the bed, causing him to turn his head and stare at her, surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Raziel asked, his eyes lingering on the beautiful face of his bodyguard.
"I can't stay here with you?" she retorted with a gentle smile. "We always stay together when we have the chance."
Instead of replying, Raziel smiled, realizing her words were true. He then turned his gaze back to the ceiling, his mind shifting to focus on finding a solution.
Unable to come up with a solution, Raziel closed his eyes and gradually drifted into sleep. Eve, noticing he had fallen asleep, tenderly stroked his hair and soon joined him, drifting into a peaceful slumber by his side.
They both only woke up for dinner later that night. After finishing his meal, Raziel made his way back to his room alone, as Eve had told him she would be out handling some errands.
The next morning, Raziel rose early and headed to the backyard to train, seizing the opportunity to have the house to himself.
He had given Clarice some money, instructing her to take Sylfi shopping for clothes, as she hadn't brought any with her.
Knowing how much time women usually spent shopping, Raziel began practicing earth spells from the transmitter stones he had used to deceive Anya days earlier. The spells proved useful, with Earth Punishment being the most versatile, ideal for engaging in battles against a variety of opponents.
Controlling the Earth Shields and Earth Spikes from Earth Punishment was effortless. With his left hand, he summoned the shields, while his right hand deftly manipulated the spikes.
Without the need to recite the incantations, the process flowed more smoothly than Raziel had anticipated.
Raziel decided to halt the use of mana and switch to aura instead. Though he wasn't an aura user and didn't know how to control it properly, he had read a book that taught the basics of safely channeling aura through the body.
He started by channeling mana into his body, attempting to guide the energy through his veins and vital points.
It was difficult at first, but with time, his body adapted to the intense sensation of energy flowing through him, ultimately gathering in his heart, where his aura core resided.
When Raziel sensed the aura had stabilized, he decided to test it by running, jumping, and lifting heavy objects. Had he tried these tasks before acquiring aura, he would have likely collapsed.
Now, he could perform even the heaviest exercises with ease. If Raziel could master both primary classes, things would become truly interesting, allowing him to effortlessly defend himself and those he cared about in the future.
Although Raziel considered himself a lazy person, he had no problem working to maintain his new life. In the past, he had always depended on himself to get what he wanted, so bringing that mentality into his new world came naturally.
After all, his motto was simple: work harder to laze around better.
Repeating these words to himself, Raziel focused on further developing his aura to gain better control. Time passed quickly, and he only stopped his training when the girls returned home from their shopping.
Thanks to his aura, he could hear footsteps approaching the front door, despite being in the backyard at a good distance away.
Raziel made his way to the kitchen for a drink of water. As he entered, he saw the two girls sitting around the dinner table, chatting happily, and greeted them.
Clarice greeted him with a warm smile, while Sylfi gave a simple nod. Raziel then went to his bedroom to take a bath, and afterward, he relaxed on his bed, reading some novels.
He had no desire to do anything else for the day; his mind was content, focused solely on enjoying the peace.
Even though this new world didn't have video games or manga, he could turn training into an enjoyable hobby. The idea of becoming an overpowered archmage with the ability to wield aura was truly exciting.
As Raziel relaxed in the peaceful moment, the door swung open, and Eve entered, greeting him before jumping onto his bed. He just laughed and handed her a book to read.
Most of the novels in his room weren't his. They actually belonged to Eve, which he found quite amusing.
The original Raziel hadn't read them much, as he preferred to fool around the city, wasting money or trying to impress Sylfi with expensive gifts.
So, this woman beside him was a cultured fellow with excellent taste, a surprise to Raziel. He had never imagined she would enjoy such things.
'If she had been in the game, she could've easily been a heroine too. Unfortunately, she was only mentioned once by Clarice, who said she died on a mission,' he thought, glancing at Eve, who was deeply focused on her book.
"I surely won't let you die," Raziel muttered to himself.
"Did you say something, little master?" Eve asked, assuming he had spoken to her.
"No, I'm just talking to myself."
Eve nodded and went back to reading with a smile, while Raziel sighed, choosing to focus on his own book.
* * *
It was early on Monday, and Raziel was preparing himself to attend his morning classes. Arriving in the kitchen to have breakfast, he saw Sylfi lost in thought, sitting at the dining table.
She was dressed in a white and blue casual dress, which gave her an elegant appearance. Her smooth silver hair, which fell a little past her shoulders, was a bit messy, but it only made Raziel feel that it somehow complemented her.
The unexpected look, different from the images he had seen of her in the game, made it even better.
Before taking a seat, Raziel greeted Clarice, who was still cooking something in the oven. He then sat down in front of Sylfi, who hadn't noticed his presence yet, as her gaze was fixed on the table.
She only noticed his presence when Eve arrived, greeting them formally, picking up two plates of food, and sitting happily beside Raziel while giving him a plate.
Clarice smiled briefly again while placing some other dishes on the table.
After noticing Raziel's presence, Sylfi greeted him. He simply nodded in response while eating bacon with scrambled eggs.
When he finished his meal, he cleaned his mouth with a napkin and asked, "Hey Sylfi, do you intend to attend classes today?"
Sylfi, who had finished eating as well, was a little surprised by his sudden question but replied, "No, I will be absent from the academy for a few days."
"I see... Here, take this Pattern Card to open the door if you decide to go out and there's no one in the house to open it for you."
She gave him a thoughtful look and said, "...Okay, thank you."
Raziel then excused himself, getting up from his seat to avoid being late for his first classes. Sylfi was a little surprised to see him heading to the academy early, as his reputation for being late or not showing up to classes was well known.
Eve watched him leave home with a slightly sad expression, as she couldn't follow him inside the academy due to the prohibition against anyone who was not a student, teacher, or VIP guest invited by the headmaster entering the premises. So, she decided to visit Tiyara later to work on some contracts together.
Clarice focused on picking up the dirty plates to wash them. Sylfi offered to help, but her offer was rejected, so she decided to go to her room to see if she could come up with a solution to her problem.
While the girls were in the house doing their own things, Raziel was walking through the streets, receiving glares from people who were gossiping about the scandal involving him and his fiancée.
Raziel already knew this would happen, but he didn't care about what others were saying. After all, it was all nonsense to him.
Entering through the academy's magic dome, he was greeted by Castyel, who approached him with a bitter smile.
Trying to comfort him from the bad news, Castyel even offered some new novels he had bought yesterday. This gesture made Raziel a little emotional, as he had never had a friend to comfort him in his previous life. However, he quickly reassured Castyel, explaining that the rumors were just fake.
"Wait, so she didn't cheat on you? Are you sure about that?" Castyel asked, still doubtful about what Raziel had told him.
"Yes, she didn't. The guy is just an acquaintance of hers, so there's no need to worry."
"Oh... I understand now. Well, if you say so. But still, be careful, bro, because women these days aren't always trustworthy," Castyel said with confidence.
"The ones from my original world are worse, believe me," Raziel retorted, recalling how girls looked at him badly in school just because he was an otaku.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, I'm just remembering how awful the new volume of Sun Emperor was. The protagonist is just wasting time staying in that Cloud Sect just to simp for that stupid heroine," Raziel quickly changed the subject, talking about something else.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm almost quitting this one. If he doesn't leave that place in the next volume, I'll be very mad."
The two soon started talking about their hobbies, not caring about the other students who were surprised to see the second king of the academy chatting happily with someone who was now at the center of a big scandal.