"Professor, I'll go rest," Anfey said with a smile.
"Yeah, rest early. We are going to the Mage Academy tomorrow." Saul nodded his head.
Anfey pushed his chair away, standing up and smiling to a few 'brothers' whose names he didn’t remember. He turned and went outside.
"Father, I also want to go to rest." Niya pushed away the plate and elegantly wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Ok, Niya." Saul didn’t think too much about this.
Anfey was going along the stairs to his room. Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Anfey, wait!"
Anfey stopped, he didn’t need to look back to know that Niya was calling him. He just didn’t know why Niya was calling him.
"I didn’t imagine you could walk so fast, and your walking posture was also very strange." Niya said, slightly short of breath.
"Miss, what can I do for you?" Anfey asked calmly. His mind became vigilant. Some habits could not be changed, such as the way he walked! It was a kind of footwork, always giving people a slow feeling; in fact, the speed was very fast, only a little bit slower than a trot. When he went out shopping with Saul and Ernest, he deliberately controlled himself in order to not reveal any clues. But habits are habits. Inadvertently, he used the previous footwork. He needed to be more careful!
"Let’s go to my room and talk."
"This..." Anfey hesitated.
"Why are you still there? Hurry, come with me." Niya waved her little hand authoritatively.
Anfey simply followed Niya until they entered her room. Once they entered the room, the appearance of Niya changed and her smile disappeared. Her face was full of disguised grimness. She was scanning Anfey with a pair of very vicious eyes.
Niya pulled out her sword and started attacking Anfey. Anfey dared not to move at all as he didn’t know what her skill level was. He didn’t want either of them to get hurt.
"Miss, what are you doing? I am Anfey, your father’s apprentice," Anfey said lightly.
"How did you—" Niya suddenly covered his mouth. "Do not interrupt! What is your purpose in becoming my father’s apprentice! I am warning you that I have limited patience!"
"Miss, can you just take away the sword? I will tell you the truth." Anfey felt a trace of sadness. The most likely reason was that Saul was too intimate with him, which triggered someone's jealousy. This placed obstacles in the way and even pushed the naive Niya out! It seems that wanting to stay here was not an easy thing.
Anfey always gained the upper hand by striking only after the enemy had struck. This did not mean that he was afraid, or that he wasn’t strong enough, it was just his personality. Some people were naturally arrogant and despotic, so they fought over things that they liked. If they could not get it, they destroyed it so that nobody else could get it! Some people liked to be quiet, avoiding fights, and they took a step back to defuse the situation. And for the latter, there were some special types; they did not stir up trouble, but when things happened to them, their counterattacks were much more intense than others’. This so-called tit for tat was fair play, and Anfey was one of those special people.
"Well, you'd better be honest. Do not waste the opportunity I’ve given you!" Niya tried to look majestic.
"Miss, where should I start? I have to start from the beginning." Anfey sighed. "My life is full of danger, the threat of death always looming over me. When I watch the sunset in the evening, I pray that I live to see the sunrise in the morning."
"Where did you live? In the world of magic beasts?" asked Niya, surprised.
"No, I lived with a great archmage and a group of young kids," Anfey said lightly.
"Great archmage?" Niya shook the sword in her hand. "Do not spout nonsense! Tell me, who is this great archmage? Don’t try to muddle your way through!"
"I am sorry, Miss. I cannot tell you the name."
"Then you are lying!" Niya's sword moved forward a step.
"Noble Miss Niya, you can doubt me." Anfey did not change his expression. "Living under the protection of Archmage Saul, everyone is trying to please you. No one dares to make you unhappy, which developed your character. You can doubt whoever you want, you can make anyone explain, or you can kill them without fear, is that right? I am just a little man, and you are lady from above. There is no fairness between us. You do not need to talk to me about what is fair or just. The sword is in your hands. You can just kill me!"
"You... That’s nonsense!" Niya’s angry face flushed. Her sword approached Anfey’s chest.
"I can prove that he is not talking nonsense." Ernest opened the door. Watching Niya quietly, his eyes became very indifferent.
Ernest was a principled person. A simple magic sword and a special identity could not change his position. Anfey passed his test, and Ernest personally brought Anfey away from the island. He trusted Anfey. If Niya still tried to hurt Anfey, he did not mind teaching this noble girl a lesson, even though she was Saul's only daughter. Friendship was friendship while morality was morality, and Ernest would never be against morality out of friendship! He also believed that Saul would not take his own daughter’s side.
A person like Ernest was rare. Anfey was a lonely juvenile with very low strength; he was just an apprentice. In the eyes of many people, offending Niya for Anfey was not wise. But what would the world become if everyone made decisions based on what was wise or unwise?
For some things, Ernest could temporarily put down fairness and justice, like when he and Saul went to deal with Yagor. But for other things, Ernest could never give up his own principles. He’d rather die than live in regret!
People like Ernet let the world understand what pride meant! If the world was dark, they were the torches at night, illuminating themselves and others.
"Uncle Ernest..." Niya was stunned.
"I can swear with my life, what Anfey said was the truth. Miss Niya, what else do you want to ask?" Ernest said indifferently, "If there is nothing else, I hope you won’t disturb Anfey in the future. If you hate Anfey, and you cannot change your emotions, then you can go to your father and tell him to change their relationship as professor and student. Then I can let Anfey be my apprentice!"
Anfey's hands suddenly tightened into a fist, then slowly relaxed. Anfey and Ernest were not the same type of people. Ernest’s dislike for Niya was written on his face. But Anfey was the walker in the night. Regardless of any excitement or disappointment in his heart, his face rarely changed, unless it was deliberate. Anfey was an activist, he believed in action more than anything else. Tons of words being said was nothing compared to a cup of hot tea!
"Anfey, sorry..." Niya lowered her head. By the influence of Saul, Niya worshipped Ernest very much. Although she did not believe Anfey, she had to believe Ernest. Moreover, Ernest made an oath. That was even heavier than she was able to afford.
"Everything is all right now, right? Can I go?" Anfey asked lightly.
Niya nodded, at a loss for what to say.
Anfey did not look at either Niya or Ernest, taking a big step out of Niya’s room. Ernest’s eyes went back to Niya from Anfey, and he whispered, "What Anfey has been through is not anything that you, lady, could ever imagine. I’ll repeat it again. Do not bother him!" These words had been full of warning.