"You... you!" Emi glared at Melissa, trembling with rage, unable to speak.
His teeth clenched audibly, eyes seeming to shoot flames outward, yet deep within his gaze, there was a hint of frustration.
After all, as Melissa had said, he was indeed just a guard in the caravan, without the standing to challenge Melissa.
"Get out!" Melissa shouted again.
Emi gritted his teeth, let out a cold snort, turned, and strode out of the tent.
Once outside, the cold wind sobered Emi's dizzy head.
He realized what a foolish thing he had done—completely infuriating Melissa, not only ruining any chance of advancement but also risking being expelled from the caravan.
He bit his lip, intending to turn back and apologize, but remembering Melissa's harsh rebuke earlier, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Finally, with a resentful mutter, he stormed back into the tent and buried himself in sleep, muttering, "Hmph, if worse comes to worst, I'll just quit. Can't starve, can I?!"
"Whew..." Emi fell asleep, but Melissa remained awake.
Disturbed by Emi's outburst, her already chaotic thoughts grew even more jumbled.
Watching the candle burn down in the tent, Melissa suddenly, almost impulsively, stood up, blew out the candle, and walked out of the tent.
Outside, the caravan's campsite was pitch black, but in the distance, faint lights flickered.
Melissa knew it was Richard's camp.
Without fully understanding her own intentions, she took a step forward and began walking toward it.
Meanwhile, at the camp of the First Guard.
A beeswax candle was placed on a relatively flat stone, with a scroll of parchment lying beside it. Richard was swiftly calculating something on the scroll with a quill.
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
After what seemed like a busy period, Richard suddenly stopped, lifted his head, and let out a slow exhale.
He looked at the densely written scroll of parchment and smiled faintly.
Through his efforts, he had successfully computed several thousand conjectures about the simultaneous release of exploding fireballs in a spell model.
By his calculations, Richard had identified eight viable solutions.
Determining which of these was the most optimal required further comparative calculations.
Regardless of the final outcome, reaching this stage meant that he had overcome most of the challenges posed by his previous thesis.
Richard couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
After a long breath, Richard lowered his head, preparing to finish the final segment of his calculations in one go.
However, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
"Hmm?" Richard looked toward the source of the sound, his brow furrowing slightly.
Everyone in the First Guard knew that he needed a quiet environment for his research at night, so they rarely disturbed him.
The only exception was Lucy, the young maid who would occasionally remind him to eat dinner, but she had already fallen asleep nearby due to exhaustion.
So, who could it be?
Could it be an enemy tracking their group?
But judging from the footsteps, it seemed to be just one person, not a group.
Who could it be?
Richard squinted his eyes, listening as the footsteps drew nearer.
Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness, and he recognized her—it was Melissa, the willful young lady from the caravan.
What could she possibly want here?
Richard's eyes flickered as he continued to observe her. Melissa approached closer.
It took her over ten meters before she seemed to sense someone watching her and abruptly turned her head to look, but said nothing.
Richard also continued to watch her in silence.
They maintained eye contact for over a minute, until finally, Melissa seemed unable to bear it any longer and relented, showing signs of retreat without saying a word.
Richard saw Melissa tilt her head and angrily exclaimed, "What are you looking at!"
"I was simply curious why you're here," Richard replied expressionlessly.
"I can't be here just because?" Melissa retorted sharply, her voice confrontational.
"This isn't your family's place!"
Richard inwardly chuckled at this remark and responded, "Actually, the spot you're standing on is indeed my family's land."
"Huh?"
"Just today at noon, the caravan left Baron Lancaster's territory and entered my father, Baron Leo's domain. So, by your logic, I have every right to inquire," Richard explained calmly.
"..." Melissa was momentarily speechless but refused to concede easily.
In the next moment, she stubbornly continued, "Even if it's your father's territory, so what? You haven't inherited the title yet, so I don't have to answer your questions for being here."
With these words, Melissa glared and walked over to a nearby stone.
She glanced at the scroll of parchment placed on it and exclaimed in surprise, "Are you writing something? What are you writing?"
"I'm writing something you wouldn't understand," Richard replied, unwilling to divulge the truth and preferring not to fabricate lies.
So, he chose the most direct approach.
"You!"
Hearing this, Richard noticed Melissa's eyebrows shoot up in anger, resembling a cat with its tail stepped on, and she snapped, "Why do you think I wouldn't understand? I... I'll have you know, I've had five erudite tutors in Muren teaching me languages, arts, etiquette, poetry, and physics!"
"Physics, do you know anything about it? It's quite a profound subject!"
Melissa's face lit up with pride, looking contemptuously at Richard.
"Do you know why ships float on water instead of sinking? Do you know how to measure the volume of a crown? Hmph, I bet you don't, but I do! My tutors taught me!"
Richard wanted to laugh outright at Melissa's proud and cocky expression, but he managed to restrain himself.
However, seeing Melissa enthusiastically continue, seemingly ready to educate him on elementary physics concepts, Richard shook his head in resignation.
He decided it would be better to enlighten her about some realities.
"Did your teachers only teach you about buoyancy?" Richard began slowly, looking at Melissa.
"Huh?"
"And what about levers?"
"Levers?"
"It seems not. How about friction?"
"..."
"And I suppose they didn't cover static electricity, let alone electromagnetism and magnetism. It appears your knowledge of physics barely reaches the level of an elementary school student. You still have a long way to go," Richard remarked calmly.
"..."
"Physics generally comprises five branches: classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics. If you truly wish to discuss physics with me, I suggest you start by mastering at least one of these branches," Richard concluded, calmly observing her.
At this moment, Melissa's expression of pride froze and gradually disappeared.
After a moment of silence, Melissa coldly snorted in anger, accusing Richard of "putting on airs," then turned away without saying another word.
Richard, too, ceased paying attention to her and lowered his head to resume his calculations.