Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 5)

Vol 5/Chapter 6: "Persuasion"

"What do you mean wearing your clothes? Those are his own clothes!"

I was confused. What was she talking about? But then I noticed a burned corner on Adrian's adventurer outfit. I suddenly understood what Nicola meant. I quickly pulled Adrian into the room to ask what happened.

"What's going on? Didn't you go buy breakfast? How did your clothes get burned?"

"Well, when I went out, I passed by the Adventurers Guild. Two teams were fighting about cutting in line. A fire mage got angry and secretly threw a high-level explosion scroll. It just happened to catch me as I was walking by."

Adrian explained. Worried I'd be concerned, he quickly added:

"Don't worry! That little fire can't hurt me. A few people were slightly injured, but they've been sent for treatment. The troublemaker was taken away by the city guard."

"That's good. Be more careful in the future. What if something serious happened?"

I felt relieved. Adrian is almost a 7th-rank expert now. I shouldn't worry too much.

"Why don't you eat something? You've never had this before! They say this 'Star Chicken Roll' is the most famous in all of Crescent City. I barely managed to get some."

Adrian opened the food box for me, busy fussing over everything. But I had no appetite. I felt more and more uneasy. I quickly took a sip of water and said quietly:

"No... I'm not that hungry right now..."

"But I bought so much. It's a pity if you don't try it. Just one bite? It's really good!"

Adrian scratched his head and picked up a 'Star Chicken Roll', trying to feed me.

"Wait! What's going on with you two?"

Unfortunately, this move was too obvious. Nicola at the door finally noticed something odd and shouted to stop us.

"What... what do you mean?"

My scalp tingled. I forced an awkward smile, pretending not to understand.

"What else could it be? No point hiding it anymore. Might as well just say it straight—"

Cyra had a cold expression, not helping cover for me at all. She just laid out the truth:

"They've been together for a while now. I guess they're boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"You bastard!"

This was too much. Nicola exploded in anger. She couldn't take it anymore. She spread her wings, rushed over, grabbed Adrian's collar, and slammed him against the wall.

"How dare you! You took advantage while I was gone and stole my woman behind my back!"

"What do you mean your woman!"

I almost choked on my water, totally shocked. I didn't expect Nicola to react so strongly. I quickly stood up to stop her, but then I noticed she had eight wings now. How did she rank up so fast?

"What... what do you mean? You and Feliciana aren't... aren't you just friends?"

Adrian was completely confused. His neck was being squeezed hard. He wanted to struggle but didn't want to fight back too much because of my relationship with Nicola.

"Nicola, let him go! Let me explain!"

Seeing this, I felt awful. I didn't have time to blame Cyra for stirring up this hornet's nest. I quickly spread my wings too, trying to pull them apart. But the strength difference between six and eight wings was too big. My effort was useless. All I could do was keep trying to persuade her.