Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Stay with Me for Now?
Although Robert surely deserved his fate, his death was still a violation of Genosha\'s laws. Moreover, with the vast power of the Taylor family behind him, their retaliation could be unpredictable.
Watching Charles calmly sip his soup, Lily was stunned, unsure of what to say.
"You must be thinking whether I am like the rumors say, a heartless killer, right?" Seeing the peculiar look in Lily\'s eyes, Charles gently set down his utensils and sighed, "Robert was colluding with Bradley and Felix, who had defected from Lsengard. They were involved in murderous dealings in the ferocious beast mountains.
I have evidence that Robert was responsible for the deaths of no less than a hundred people. If Robert had lived, more would have died!"
"If I hadn\'t killed him, he would have killed me. Besides, it wasn\'t me who finished him off. He was weak enough to be devoured by a group of man-faced spiders..."
Listening to Charles recount his experiences in the ferocious beast mountains, Lily\'s eyes gradually reddened. She wanted to offer some comfort, but struggled to find the right words.
Charles continued to speak when suddenly, a flash of white appeared before him. Lily had embraced him unexpectedly, the heavy weight making his heart skip a beat.
Buried in her soft, snowy chest, Charles almost wanted to remind her, "Hugging is fine, but could you consider this overwhelming bust size?"
Sensing the amorous atmosphere building, Charles gently pushed Lily away, shifting his focus from her chest, "Um, I can\'t go home for now. Would it be okay if I stayed here temporarily?"
Lily, getting up from the sofa with a cheerful smile, didn\'t hide her delight: "Of course! The house is too empty with just me, and I get scared. If you don\'t mind, treat this like your own home."
Charles nodded, "Thank you. I\'ll stay in my room for the next few days. It\'s best if I\'m not disturbed."
...
Clack.
Heading upstairs to a room, Charles gently closed the door behind him. The room was filled with a pleasant floral scent and was immaculately tidy, even the trash bin was spotless.
Lying back on the soft, comfortable bed, Charles let out a long sigh of relief, finally feeling the trials of living rough for two months had come to an end!
These past two months had been fraught with danger, with several near-death experiences. Yet, it was in these crises that he had made rapid progress, not only advancing his companions, Max and Mousie, to Lv19 but also successfully becoming a third-level Beast Master.
"There\'s a personal strength demonstration segment at the victory banquet in three days. Heh, the entire Lsengard will tremble because of me," Charles smirked.
While he preferred to keep a low profile, fitting his nature across two lifetimes, the current situation with the Taylor family, and Sly\'s bounty of 5 gold coins for his head, made hiding indefinitely unappealing.
The best strategy was to rely on a major power in Lsengard!
Charles wasn\'t worried about his safety; he would soon leave Lsengard. However, there was always the chance that his parents would return to Lsengard. By aligning with a local power, Sly would have to think twice before targeting his family.
Right now, he wished he could share the joy in his heart with someone.
"Hello, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
Buzz—
Charles felt a pang of disappointment as he put away his phone.
It had been over two months since he\'d lost contact with his parents. Charles called them twice daily, but it was always the same; no one answered, and he had grown accustomed to the chilly automated message.
Charles slapped his cheeks lightly, trying to lift his spirits. The world of Beast Mastery was vast, but he believed that with enough strength, he would eventually leverage his influence to locate his parents.
The immediate priority was to excel at the enrollment ceremony in half a month.
The three major academies in the imperial capital not only boasted the best Beast Masters in Genosha but also attracted the nation\'s top scholars. From Emma\'s independent development of the five major theories of Beast Mastery, which were as revolutionary as E=MC^2 in a previous era, the depth of these academies was evident.
Recently, Charles had been particularly interested in one of the academies, Cyber Academy, rumored to have once educated Nathaniel, a peak eighth-level Beast Master of Genosha!
The admissions criteria for this institution were extremely stringent. To secure a spot, Charles needed to produce outstanding results at the upcoming enrollment ceremony.
"Securing the first place at the ceremony not only grants access to the deepest vaults of the Treasure Pavilion, where I might find a high-quality mystical beast egg," Charles mused with anticipation about the ceremony. "In a few days, I\'ll visit the guild to see if there are any second-tier beast cores for sale and sell the materials I\'ve collected over the past two months.
That should earn a substantial amount of money!"
From the neighboring room came the sound of water splashing. Lying on the soft, comfortable bed, Charles excitedly checked his storage space.
[Storage Space]:
[Weapons]: Ice and Fire Supreme Spear (Blue)
[Equipment]: Divine Scale Armor (Blue), Nine Netherworld Armband (Purple)
[Daily Use]: Tent, bedding, barbecue grill...
[Food]: Water 51 tons, Bloodthirsty Rhino meat 2000kg, Lightning Demon Ape meat 500kg, Steel-spiked Hedgehog meat 5000kg...
[Ferocious Beast Materials]: Bloodthirsty Rhino tusks ×20, Giant Freshwater Crocodile skin ×1, Steel-spiked Hedgehog skin ×32, Red-eyed Rabbit bones ×16...
[Beast Cores]: Gold [Tier 1] ×3, Wood [Tier 1] ×3, Water [Tier 1] ×4...
[Alchemy Ingredients]: Spirit Root ×52, Blue Lotus Root ×15, Revival Flower ×32, Anesthetic Plant ×232...
[Alchemy Miracle Drugs]: Spirit Essence Pill (Orange) ×1, Miraculous Speed Pill (White) ×31, Regenerating Potion (Gray) ×52, Hemostatic Powder (Gray) ×65
[Common Medicines]: Painkillers ×165, Spirit-Replenishing Pill ×21, Serene Fluid ×45, Beast-Driving Wine ×5...
[Forging Materials]: Mystic Iron ×21
[Treasures]: Bronze Division Sword (Unidentified), Bronze Division Cauldron (Unidentified), Bronze Division Armor (Unidentified), Night Pearl...
[Special]: Map Fragment (Unknown), Fragment of Jade Tablet
"With so many materials, if I take them to the market, not only could I get the two second-tier beast cores needed for Max\'s upgrade, but I\'d also have a tidy sum left over!" Charles grinned, barely containing his excitement as he looked at the treasures filling his storage space.
He planned to visit The Beast Master Guild after the victory banquet in three days.
...
Next door, in a large bathroom, the bathtub was already filled with water, steaming lightly.
Lily tested the water with her hand, finding the temperature just right, her cheeks flushing slightly: "Charles, the water in the bathtub is perfect now. Would you like to come and take a bath?"
"No... no, you go ahead," Charles\'s voice came from next door.
He sounded a bit nervous, prompting a chuckle from Lily, who whispered softly, "Coward."
Although they had already been intimate, Charles still acted shy around her. Lily sighed softly, recognizing that he was still just a boy who needed gentle guidance.
Lily took off her shirt, admiring her perfect figure and the impressive curve of her bust in the mirror, reminiscing about their tender moments in the office two months ago.
Patting her slightly heated cheeks, Lily finally removed the last piece of clothing and stepped into the tub, causing a gentle splash.
Sitting blankly on the bed, Charles, even with a wall separating him from the bathroom, found his hearing exceptionally sharp since advancing to a third-level Beast Master. He could discern the subtle changes in sound, imagining Lily applying lotion to her skin.
Swallowing hard, Charles reminded himself that he was a guest in Lily\'s home and that it wouldn\'t be right to betray her hospitality.
Yet, he found it impossible to control his thoughts when the faint splashing from next door sparked vivid fantasies of Lily\'s bare perfection and her voluptuously unmanageable chest.
Recalling their encounter in the office, Charles\'s heart started to pound wildly, his blood boiling with excitement.
"I shouldn\'t... I can\'t be like this..."
Reason was fiercely battling his physical urges. Charles wasn\'t the type to be reckless with emotions, and without any clear commitment to Lily, this ambiguous relationship could only harm them both.
"Charles, help!"
Suddenly, a cry from next door startled him like a bucket of cold water, snapping him back to reality as he sprang from the room.
Could it be... his presence had been discovered and Sly had sent someone after him?
Grabbing the ice and fire supreme spear from his storage space, Charles didn\'t hesitate and burst into the neighboring bathroom. But when he pushed open the door, he realized he had been tricked.
Lily stood at the bathroom entrance, shyly looking up at him, her wet hair cascading down her back, a lock of hair draped across her snow-white, ample chest. Her skin was smooth and glowing like polished jade, water droplets tracing down her body in a tantalizingly perfect curve.
Before Charles could react, Lily had already embraced him tightly, her large eyes moist, seemingly conveying her longing of the past two months.
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