“What are you spacing out for? Did you even hear what I said?” Seeing Sein’s dazed expression, Lorianne could not help but scold him.

Snapping back to his senses, Sein hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Pushing aside some unrealistic fantasies, he offered, “I’ll take you to see Fermera right now, Master Lorianne.”

In truth, Lorianne felt a little unsettled by Sein’s gaze earlier. Her thoughts were already in disarray, and she was no longer in the mood to meet the Rank Six angel robot anymore.

“Forget it, we can look at her another time,” she said, waving it off.

“I did not come here just to check on you,” Lorianne said, her expression finally calming. “I heard that after Gregory was badly injured, you did not even go visit him?”

“Uh... I forgot,” Sein admitted, scratching his head.

Ever since being pulled back from the frontlines, he had been swamped with work, barely finding time to breathe.

Given the circumstances, visiting Gregory after such severe injuries was both proper and necessary.

And it was not just Gregory. Sein had also heard that Grandmaster Feylis had suffered serious injuries in the previous battle.

As their junior, he should have shown more concern.

This was one of Sein’s shortcomings. While he generally handled relationships with members of the Magus Alliance and foreign deities quite well, he often neglected those closest to him.

Perhaps it was because such bonds could not be measured by material wealth or numerical values.

Lorianne frowned, clearly displeased. “Come. Let’s go visit them,” she said. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“They helped you a great deal when you were advancing to Rank Four and after that. Now that we’re fighting on a civilizational-level battlefield, supporting one another matters even more,” she reminded him.

Compared to visiting Master Gregory, however, Sein was far more eager to find an outlet for the pent-up desire that had suddenly surfaced within him.

Reina was currently at the Ashen Fortress. She would be perfect. Or perhaps Yuri would do just as well.

Sein also had a feeling that Kram, who was still in another laboratory, might not refuse him if he suggested taking their relationship to the next level.

After all, they had undergone so many body-tempering experiments together. Sein could already sense subtle changes in Kram’s mindset and daily demeanor.

The power of lust was truly an exceptionally peculiar force within the Astral Realm.

Sein could feel that his thoughts and judgment had shifted noticeably from his usual calm state.

He was agitated.

When he met his mentor’s eyes, he seemed to catch a flicker of fluster deep within her gaze, even as she continued lecturing him.

For a fleeting instant, he almost wanted to silence her with a kiss.

Fortunately, he did not act on that momentary impulse.

Taking two deep breaths, he suppressed those impractical fantasies and forced himself to calm down.

“Alright, Master Lorianne. Let’s go visit Master Gregory,” he said.

Lorianne must have sensed the subtle change in Sein’s demeanor, but she did not comment on it.

She involuntarily gulped and composed herself before saying, “Alright. Let’s go now.”

As they made their way toward the exit of the space fortress, Sein, now fully collected, spoke up.

“Master Lorianne, I wasn’t actually doing anything inappropriate with Kram. We were only testing a new type of potion. I named it the Apocalypse Potion. The idea came from the corpse specimen of a Rank Six Apocalypse World creature.”

Lorianne knew Kram. She had spent some time near Blue Star in the past.

Sein then explained the principles behind the Apocalypse Potion and the source of his inspiration in detail.

His explanation was clear and methodical, and as an expert in apothecary, Lorianne should have had no trouble understanding it.

Yet for some reason, she remained silent throughout, as though her thoughts were elsewhere.

It was not until they flew out of the space fortress, heading toward Gregory’s Whispering Flame Fortress, that Lorianne finally spoke.

“Send me a few Apocalypse Potions once you’re done. I’ll analyze them for you.”

“Alright,” Sein replied.

After a long pause, Lorianne spoke again. “Do you ever feel that I, as your mentor, interfere too much?”

The question caught Sein off guard. Without the slightest hesitation, he shook his head. “Of course not. Everything you say is for my own good. I understand completely.”

An obedient apprentice was always a mentor’s favorite.

Seeing his response, a smile returned to Lorianne’s face. “To be honest, you’re already exceptional. Perhaps you should be my mentor instead—teach me how to advance to higher realms more quickly.”

Sein dared not presume to guide his own mentor. Teaching Lorianne was beyond him; that was Feylis’ role. At most, he could suggest more discussions with her.

“I still have some plant seeds from the Grand Apocalypse World among my spoils,” Sein added. “I’ll send them to you for your research.”

***

The Whispering Flame Fortress was pretty lively when Lorianne and Sein arrived. Bernice, Berecca, Aelid, and several others were already present.

Except for Grandmaster Feylis, who remained stationed at the central fortress, nearly all the high-ranking members of the Verdant Flame Faction had gathered here.

Aelid had arrived at the subspace battlefield around the same time as Lorianne.

This senior of Sein had broken through to Rank Four nearly at the same time as him years ago, yet now lagged far behind him.

That said, among Rank Four mages, Aelid’s combat strength was still quite respectable.

However, due to his relatively short time at this rank, the Magus Civilization had not yet assigned him to any especially dangerous frontline missions during this Clash of Civilizations.

His current strength hovered around mid-stage Rank Four—two minor realms behind Bernice.

Although Bernice had recently been busy with logistical coordination duties, she had already reached the peak of Rank Four after the Netherworld Star Domain War concluded.

Feylis had deliberately assigned her to logistics to give her ample personal time for magic research, accelerating her push toward Rank Five.

At Gregory’s fortress, Sein also encountered a familiar face from the Verdant Flame Faction—Selphy, a demigod-level mage and his senior.

It had been nearly two millennia since their last meeting, following the Verdant Flame Faction’s previous gathering.

Such was the passage of time for high-ranking beings. Millennia passed in the blink of an eye, leaving behind little more than memories.

Having advanced to the demigod realm, Selphy was now one of the Verdant Flame Faction’s most promising younger talents, poised to break through to Rank Four.

Even Grandmaster Feylis spoke highly of her.

Selphy more than deserved the praise, having already reached the heights her mentor had once attained.

Given that demigod-level mages possessed theoretical lifespans approaching ten thousand years, the exceptionally young Selphy had a strong chance of reaching Rank Four within her lifetime.

That was, of course, assuming she did not perish prematurely on the battlefield during the Clash of Civilizations.

“Long time no see, Sein,” Selphy greeted him with a bright smile.