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Dimension Weaver: My Wife Is The Dragon Empress!-Chapter 66 - - Trust and Skill Mastering
"Huh?" Talon looked at Hyun-Jae with a confused expression as he blinked quickly. For a second, his mind refused to register what she said.
"I have no other place to sleep in and this room is the farthest away from the noise so I thought I would ask you if I can sleep here," Hyun-Jae explained quickly when she realized how absurd what she said was.
Talon: "..."
"Pfft, hahahaha! This girl is something else, I tell you, Talon." Acrypha said in laughter as she held her stomach. Her giggles filled the room like a divine melody. "She's more daring than you. Maybe you should humor her a little and share the bed together."
"Cough! Cough! Cough!" When Talon heard that, he almost choked on his own saliva and started coughing awkwardly. Then, he gave Acrypha a strong glare to the side before he turned to Hyun-Jae.
"Ehem, that makes sense. Sure, I'm not using the mattress so you can sleep there." He said.
"Really?" Hyun-Jae asked with a hint of anxiousness in her tone. "It's fine if you don't want to. I can sleep later."
However, Talon shook his head in refusal. "No, you already worked extra hard the past few days, you deserve some rest. Besides, I need you at your best mental and physical state for what's about to come."
"..." Hyun-Jae stared dazedly at him for a few seconds before she nodded her head. "Thank you."
"Of course, any time you need help, you can ask me," Talon said as he turned around to leave.
"Where are you going?" The girl asked confusedly.
"Hm? I'm going to leave the room for you to sleep."
"No, it's fine, you can stay. I'm already asking for too much, I wouldn't kick you out of your room." She said.
"But…"
"Please, I really don't mind." Hyun-Jae insisted.
'What's up with her?' Talon could only think when he noticed how adamant she was about him staying. But, since she was insisting, he had no reason to leave.
"Ok, if you don't mind…" Talon shrugged and went back before he sat down on his chair.
Hyun-Jae awkwardly stared at him before she stared at the mattress on the other side of the room.
"If you excuse me…" She murmured as she approached the mattress and slowly sat down on it.
'What am I even doing?' Hyun-Jae asked herself as she felt way more nervous than before. Even when she was fighting monsters, she didn't feel as nervous as she did at that moment which made her feel even weirder.
However, since she already asked, she can't back down now. If anything, as nervous as she was, she still wanted to sleep here for one reason or another. So, with that in mind, Hyun-Jae slowly laid down on the mattress before she stared at the ceiling.
Talon busied himself with something else to not make Hyun-Jae feel even more awkward. The two remained silent for a long while before Hyun-Jae opened her mouth and spoke.
"Thanks again."
"No problem."
"No, really, thanks for everything," Hyun-Jae repeated. "I really appreciate everything you have done so far. You really helped me greatly. You're really kind." She said.
Talon stopped what he was doing and stared at her. Their eyes met for a second as he read what she conveyed through hers. He could see deep gratitude in them, something that made him feel even more complicated.
The reason for that was simple, Talon did nothing out of kindness. Everything he did so far was simply in order to get closer to his goal. He worked hard day and night to train the students, providing them with weapons and skills, it was all just to achieve what he wanted.
He was even sure that if it wasn't for the fact that it would benefit him, he wouldn't have gone this much out of his way to help them.
Even his teamwork with Hyun-Jae, was all out of pure selfishness. However, Talon couldn't really tell her that since it could break their trust and make things worse.
"You should probably sleep." He said as he turned around again.
"Hm…" Hyun-Jae stared at him confusedly for a second before she nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right." She murmured as she finally closed her eyes slowly.
Not even a minute passed before Talon could hear Hyun-Jae's small, rhythmic breaths. Talon could only sigh as he looked at the window silently.
He wasn't necessarily feeling guilty that he was selfish since Talon knew he would still do the same stuff again if he went back in time. However, that didn't make lying feel any better.
Acrypha noticed that lost expression on his face and could only shake her head. "You don't need to convince anyone with your intentions. Everyone here is seeking a goal of their own. Are you intending to be a hero, Talon?" She asked.
The latter shook his head as he looked at her with an expressionless face. "I'm no hero and will never be one as long as I live." He replied.
That was something Talon was certain of. Heroes were meant to be very selfless people with a noble desire to help others. Talon never had such a thing in his life. He simply sought his own goals and if that meant he could help others on the way then it was a good plus.
"Then you don't have to feel like you owe anyone anything. This world won't repay your kindness as you might think. I have seen with my own eyes countless people dying a miserable death because they tried to play heroic roles. It's foolish."
Acrypha wasn't against helping others or giving a hand to someone in need. But, her problem lies where others think that helping others is a must no matter the situation. She wasn't dumb enough to think she could save everyone she wanted to save even with her powers.
'I couldn't even save who I care for, saving everyone else is a pipe dream for the fool.' She thought to herself with a small frown.
"I know. I won't try to do any of that." He said as he finally shook those thoughts away.
Whether this ended up bringing him friends or foes, allies or enemies, he didn't care. As long as those he cared about were safe and sound, nothing else mattered as much.
Time passed quietly as Hyun-Jae slept soundly. Talon was surprised by how defenseless she was even though she was in the same room with him.
'Where did she even get all this trust in me?' He wondered with surprise.
Hyun-Jae had irresistible charms that any man would appreciate. So, the fact that she didn't seem that wary of Talon made him rather confused and also a little happy.
As he was like that, Talon heard a whimper that broke his focus.
"No… No, I didn't do it… I didn't… A mistake…"
Hyun-Jae had a very deep frown on her face as she murmured those words during her sleep. Her hands were balled into fists and her breathing was erratic as if she was fighting some kind of deep fear.
The way she spoke even in her sleep sounded disturbed and terrified to an endless degree. Even when they were facing life-threatening danger, Talon had never seen such a reaction from her.
It reached a point where she even started channeling her Aetheris unconsciously as it fluctuated with her emotions.
"She's having a nightmare…" Talon murmured as he looked at Acrypha. "Should I wake her up?"
"No, that's a bad idea. Let her be." Acrypha said as she approached the girl and looked at her. "Whatever she's dreaming of, it's probably a trauma from her past. You can't wake her up from it or the effect of it will remain even when she's awake."
"I see… Wait, how do you know all of this?" Talon asked.
Acrypha floated back to him. "Let's say I knew someone who had a lot of knowledge about dreams. I learned a few things from them."
"Interesting…" Talon murmured as his eyes went back to Hyun-Jae.
Her whimpers seemed to grow quiet again as her face relaxed a little bit. When he was certain that she was totally back to her deep slumber, Talon stood up and he stretched his arms.
"I'm going to go out to train. I didn't have time to do that yesterday." He murmured. "What about you, Acrypha? Are you going to follow me or go on your own?"
"I already roamed the place as much as I wanted. When you will start moving again, I will explore other areas."
"Suit yourself." He shrugged as he picked up his spear and took one last look at Hyun-Jae before he closed the door behind him quietly and left the gymnasium after making sure things were going according to the plan.
Outside, Talon moved a little far from the building to a secluded place where he could train in quietness. It wasn't that hard to find that kind of place.
"Hmm, perfect." He murmured as he started warming up and then began his training. After learning the horizontal slash, Talon started to master the other moves as much as the first one.
Since they were a lot harder and more technical, they naturally took more time. However, in the past few days, Talon was able to master the thrust and the vertical slash. His rapid pace exceeded Acrypha's expectations by a mile.
Still, even with those two moves mastered, Talon wasn't able to level up Spearmanship to level 4 which annoyed him. His skills were the only thing that slowly leveled up unlike everything else about him.
'Well, I will continue training either way and we will see how things go.' He thought to himself as he began his exercises. What Talon wasn't aware of was the unexpected occurrence that would happen as he was training.
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )