Just yesterday, Gus had approached Lin Yue, saying he wanted to organize a celebration feast for the Avellina Defense Battle.
Alan, Airella, and the others were all coming.
He had heard that Lin Yue’s cooking was excellent, so he took the initiative to find him, hoping he could find a place to gather everyone for a meal.
Lin Yue was initially somewhat resistant.
‘Why do I have to cook just because I’m good at it?’
“Don’t be so stingy… I heard you’re looking for a weapon. Why didn’t you think of asking me to make one? If you act as the chef, I won’t charge you. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”
But then again…
Having recently moved into a new house, Lin Yue was in a good mood, so he agreed.
Gus looked at this guy who claimed to be a Mage but still couldn’t let go of his Warrior skills and smiled.
Lin Yue’s fighting style was actually very similar to his own, and their philosophies were about the same.
If Lin Yue were willing to cooperate with him, perhaps he could use Lin Yue as a template in the future to design a vast amount of equipment that Mages could also use for melee combat.
First, he would hook him with a few small benefits, then make further plans later.
Gus patted him on the shoulder as if entrusting him with a heavy task.
“What’s with that wicked smile…”
“I’m giving you a mission that only you can complete, heh…”
Lin Yue held the feast invitations they had made themselves and walked toward the top of the classroom, where the Vallianna sisters sat, looking speechless.
He turned back to see Gus giving him a thumbs-up and sighed.
The two Vallianna sisters were in their seats.
Isabena had her eyes closed, resting and lost in thought, while Isabella was lightly biting her pen, seriously taking notes.
“Ah… Lin Yue.”
Isabella’s eyes flickered, catching sight of Lin Yue walking toward them.
Hearing her sister’s reminder, Isabena instantly sat up straight and tidied her hair before speaking.
“Lin Yue! Cough, cough, you’re here…”
Her words and behavior had changed slightly; she seemed more poised and acted more like a lady than before.
It couldn’t be helped.
Their relationship was no longer what it used to be.
It was worlds apart from the near-enemy status they once had.
After dropping her cold exterior, Isabena cared more about how she appeared in Lin Yue’s heart.
However, she didn’t know how to change naturally.
They were in public, and her sister was right beside her.
Wanting to be both enthusiastic and dignified was indeed difficult.
In Lin Yue’s eyes, she looked like she had been electrocuted, suddenly snapping to attention.
He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
‘She’s probably worried about our relationship too. After being mentally influenced, she suddenly kissed me. We can’t exactly act like nothing happened…’
But if she didn’t bring it up, Lin Yue didn’t intend to ask.
Perhaps she had just been emotional and found the strangest way to vent.
Lin Yue scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
He simply placed the invitation on the table and said, “A celebration feast for that incident. Do me the honor of coming. I’ll be cooking personally.”
“Where are we eating?”
Isabella glanced at her nervous older sister and took the initiative to respond to Lin Yue.
“Um… my place?”
He and Gus had tentatively decided to have an open kitchen at Lin Yue’s new residence.
Since Charles’s house was a top-tier villa and had a small garden for everyone’s entertainment, a little tidying up would make it perfect for a big communal meal and a barbecue.
“Go… yes! You’re going too, right, Bella!”
Isabena, who had been silent the whole time, managed to squeeze out that sentence.
She then took the invitation and spoke to her sister.
“I’m fine with whatever.”
After all, it was Lin Yue’s personal invitation.
The two of them hadn’t had much to do lately, other than being interrogated by people from the Avellina investigation.
A meal to relax sounded nice.
Isabena’s actions had been categorized as being coerced and mentally interfered with.
Since she had made up for it in the subsequent battle, confessed of her own accord, and provided information to the academy without causing direct casualties, she was safe.
She was tentatively classified as a victim and was being observed by the academy, just like Alan.
The information she provided had given Avellina the leverage to demand a high price from the Holy See, so nothing had happened to her.
Tier 6 Archmage Liya favored her, and the investigation into the Forbidden Magic Beasts and the [Divine Domain] relied on the Vallianna sisters’ Law powers to make any progress.
As long as she studied hard in the future and fought for the academy, everything would be fine.
This incident also prompted Avellina to strengthen its security.
Entering and leaving the academy became much stricter, making it unlikely for other forces to penetrate so easily again.
Seeing that the two had agreed, Lin Yue nodded and noted them down.
…
After school, he returned to the camp and found that Airella had already tied her hair into a ponytail.
Looking like a housewife, she picked up Lin Yue’s belongings and placed them on the table.
“Ah… welcome home, hehe.”
These past few days, she had also received a routine leave of absence.
Having nothing to do and knowing Lin Yue was moving, she had simply come over to help him pack.
She was also the one who had gained the most from this incident.
She had spent a wonderful time with Lin Yue in the mental world, obtained the high-potential power she desired, and gained the attention of the entire academy for her bright future.
“Hero Airella… why is such a big shot hanging out at my place?”
Lin Yue teased Airella with a smile.
The two of them knew each other well, and the atmosphere felt particularly warm.
“Why do you keep bringing that up… I just happened to influence the magic beasts by chance, but you guys make me sound like some savior…”
The news of Airella being able to command magic beasts had spread throughout Avellina.
However, she didn’t suffer much discrimination or harm because of it.
Any that existed were very few—meaningless malicious comments that she simply ignored.
Due to the large number of magic beasts that had come to support the front gate during the crisis, they had successfully bought a lot of time for Charles to cast high-level magic.
Since that day, many people had changed their views on taming magic beasts.
Coupled with Mabel and Lin Yue’s secret assistance, everything had gone smoothly.
Now, Airella was something of a celebrity idol in the academy.
Ordinary people would greet her when they saw her, a treatment that was worlds apart from the original story.
As for Lin Yue, the man pulling the strings behind the scenes, not many people paid him much attention.
However… that was exactly what he wanted.
Being too prominent wasn’t a good thing.
Reducing others’ impression of him would be more beneficial for his behind-the-scenes operations.
However, since that day, the so-called “Legend of Lin Yue’s Combat Power in Avellina” had spread.
It claimed Lin Yue was someone who controlled a Tier 6 Archmage, a Harem Demon, the Wolf of the Elite Class…
‘This time, it probably wasn’t Mabel who spread the news, right?’ Once bitten, twice shy.
This time it truly wasn’t her, but rather the low-level thugs he had scammed in the back mountains who spread it themselves.
It was the aftermath of the “fishing” incident.
Fortunately, no one came to pick a fight with him anymore, so it was quite peaceful.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t told Airella about the celebration feast yet.
He might as well tell her now.
“Airella…”
“I’m here.”
Airella patted her skirt and stood up with a smile, responding to Lin Yue immediately.
“Do you want to come to my new house tomorrow? I’ll cook for you.”
Airella was an old customer.
If she didn’t have anything pressing to worry about, she would definitely come if invited.
“Sure! Um… when do you want to start? I’ll come help too.”
Lin Yue figured that with so many people gathered, they would likely stay up all night, so he said casually, “It’ll probably be quite late, so be prepared to stay at my place for the night.”
Huh?
She had thought it was just a normal meal like usual, but those words left Airella stunned.
What did he mean by staying at his place for the night?
In an instant, many scenes she had imagined before popped into her head.
On the chair, against the wall, on the table—just not normally on the bed…
Cough, cough, cough! This is too indecent!
‘A-Are we in such a hurry! Isn’t this too fast… Is Lin Yue finally going to make a move on me…’
Hearing such a blunt invitation, Airella hesitated slightly.
‘After all, we went through that kind of thing. It’s normal for him to have these thoughts about me, right? But… but…’
‘But shouldn’t we confirm our feelings first, then kiss, set up a candlelit dinner, and finally…’
Ah!
Airella didn’t know how to react.
Lin Yue thought she still hadn’t recovered from the crisis and raised an eyebrow.
“You don’t want to come? That’s fine too.”
It wouldn’t matter much if Airella wasn’t there.
This was just a gathering between friends.
If she didn’t want to come, then forget it.
“It’s not… that I don’t want to.”
Thinking that the scene she had fantasized about for so long might actually happen, Airella’s heart couldn’t stop racing.
‘Anyway, you won’t fall in love with anyone else besides him… so it’s not like I’m being loose, right?’
‘Mhm… okay! Let’s consider this a reward for gaining strength!’
Airella convinced herself.
She walked up to Lin Yue’s ear with a deep look in her eyes and whispered, “You have to be gentle, okay…”
‘This is the first time, after all. I’ll be mad if you just brush me off!’
Lin Yue flinched at Airella’s sweet tone.
He didn’t know why she had suddenly blown air into his ear; it was quite itchy.
Before Lin Yue could ask a follow-up question, she quickly ran toward her dormitory, as if she needed to prepare something.
She was still the same as before—strange.
But that was just who she was.
Lin Yue stood with his hands on his hips, watching as Airella’s gloom vanished.
A sense of accomplishment rose within him.
That evening, Lin Yue sat inside the closed cafe with his hand supporting his face, eyes closed as he rested.
Everything had been moved out, so he had no place to sleep tonight.
He would stay at Mabel’s cafe for a day, and he also had things to discuss with her.
The wind suddenly picked up, and the wind chimes swayed.
Lin Yue opened his eyes slightly and realized there was something strange on his face.
Looking closely, it was Mabel’s glasses.
“Long time no see…”
Lin Yue looked up and found Mabel looking at him with charming eyes.
“Did you miss me?”