Chapter 37: Core

The travel of the master and disciple didn't take long. After all, the horses they were riding on were horses that were equipped with magic.

It was done with the magic of Lionel. They didn't have any coachman or something like that.

They reached the City of Jakart in just 6 hours of traveling, and they were able to get there by night.

Now, before they were about to enter the City of Jakart, Lionel spoke to Desire.

"Don't tell them that you are my disciple. Things could get nasty if enemies were to know."

Desire nodded his head with the stern warning of Lionel.

He knew what Lionel was talking about.

Lionel was a prominent figure in the Jakart, and people were going crazy trying to find chances to kill and replace him.

If word became known that Lionel took a disciple under his tutelage, his enemies would go right after his disciple.

And that disciple is Desire. There's no way Desire would create potholes for him to fall in.

And so, the carriage holding the Clan Master of the Lion Clan and his disciple soon entered the City of Jakart.

****

The place they arrived at was a huge building that could beat any nobles' houses.

It was large and wide that they literally have one area of the city for themselves.

The clan members of the Lion Clan saw the carriage bearing the symbol of the Clan Master, and they went to their positions to welcome him.

As the horses stopped in front of a grandeur gate, the door opened, and the leader of the clan members outside stepped up to greet the Clan Master.

Shiiik! The door opened, and with it, a man appeared from within the carriage.

His huge body was intimidating, and his slit eyes were fear-inducing.

His hair was exactly just like a lion's mane was fluttering in the wind as he walked.

And as soon as the guy who leads the clan members saw Lionel, he immediately bowed and said.

"Welcome back, Clan Master!"

Then as if they were on a chorus...

"Welcome back!"

...All the other members staying in the place and doing night duty all greeted Lionel.

Of course, as someone who stands at the top, Lionel doesn't greet them at all.

Although Lionel was kind, his pride as a Clan Master depends on how he acts.

If he acts like a normal person in a public place, people will start to look down on the Lion Clan.

It was then.

As Lionel continued to walk away, the clan members were about to put the carriage into a place where it would be properly stored when it happened.

A child of decent clothes came down from the carriage as if it were the most normal thing to do.

His gray long hair could be seen fluttering in the wind, and his piercing blue eyes that didn't even take any interest in the clan members spread out before him.

"Hey!" The guy who leads the clan members shouted out.

After all, the child was planning to walk the same way the Clan Master went.

However...

"H-huh?"

...Before he could grab the child, he disappeared out of nowhere.

He looked dumbfoundedly at the spot where the child was walking and felt chills run down his spine.

"H-hey, did you see a child coming out of the carriage?" The man asked his subordinate, who was also staring dazedly at the air.

"Y-yes...There was a child, but then he was gone..." The man said nervously as he looked at his team leader.

If there were a ghost living or trying to enter Jakart, they would be immediately extinguished.

Three powers handle the security here, and one of them is the Lion Clan. If ever that ghost were able to enter...

"M-maybe it's not a ghost..."

The leader tried to reassure himself and his subordinates, and they too answered back with such hopes.

"Y-yeah. Our eyes are probably playing tricks with us. Hahahaha."

The man scratched his head and displayed his muscles as he continued talking.

"Anyway, let's do this job! And drink right after!"

"Y-yeah. You're right. Let's go, you bastards!"

The men who were staying silent all shouted, 'Yeah!' to the encouraging team leader.

Then they went to fulfill their duties that have been stopped by a strange event.

****

"Whew. It looks like they didn't think much of it." Lionel said as he dropped Desire to the floor.

He was the cause of why Desire disappeared just like that. After all, if Desire were to get discovered riding in the same carriage as him, it was easy to deduce their relationship.

"You just told me not to introduce myself as your disciple...isn't that your fault then?"

Desire said while rubbing his nape, which was the part where Lionel took hold of when he took Desire.

"Yeah. Well, I'm not too good at this. It was actually Varyce who told me that."

'Wow. This master of mine is a bit...' Desire didn't finish his thoughts as that would be rude to his master.

Well, even if you take a look at Lionel, it was easy to tell that he was a muscle guy straight from the woods.

Lionel only got the strength to rely on to survive in this kind of environment.

'Haha. I'm getting excited.' Desire thought as he looked at the man, weirdly scratching his black hair.

After all, strength is what Desire plans to get from now.

He solved his problem, his emotions, and his attitude in the past year with the Suckus.

He had the foundation called the Heavenly Demon Trait right now, and this helped him put building blocks on the person called Desire.

Now, the only thing that he should do is to get stronger from now on with the help of his master.

It was then.

While the two were having an awkward atmosphere, a voice interrupted between the two.

It was quite a lovely voice, and it had the power to allure Desire, who could control his emotions.

"Desire. You're finally here."

When Desire heard the voice, he turned his head towards its source.

His hair fluttered in the air, and his deep blue eyes widened to the brim when he saw who it was.

Purple hair adorns her head and her violet pupils that were as charming as her figure.

Her moderately-sized chest hidden by the piece of rag before was now in full glory as she walked in a nice dress.

"Jarina!" Desire shouted with passion in his voice.

After all, this was the person or monster that helped him throughout the year.

He didn't see her back in the Skinjur or back in her home, so Desire was quite worried about her.

"So, you were here. Wait, why are you here?" Desire tilted his head as he looked at the beautiful woman.

Jarina's eyes then looked at her father, and when she saw Lionel nod, she began to talk.

"Well, it's not a story you would like to hear in front of the door; why don't you come in?"

Desire nodded his head, and when they were about to walk, he remembered something.

"Lionel! Can you teach me about..." Desire stopped talking when he saw Lionel gestured at him to look at Jarina.

"Get it from her. I'll be going now. We'll begin your training after you finish with Jarina."

Lionel said while tossing something to Desire.

"Take it."

Ting! Desire snatched it from the air, and he quickly looked over the piece of...stone?

"What's this?" Desire asked with curiosity in his voice.

However, Lionel didn't answer him as he immediately disappeared.

It seems he still had things to do as he even left his disciple alone in his house.

Desire just looked at the shadows where Lionel once stood dumbfoundedly.

After all, his master just outright gave him something and didn't explain.

It was then.

Desire then felt the warmth of Jarina's hand on his shoulder, and then he looked at her.

"I'll tell you about it." Jarina said while wearing a smile on her face.

And then, Desire's eyes moved in from Jarina's head to her toes.

As Desire took in the figure of Jarina's body, he realized something.

He remembered how Jarina looked like back then in the Skinjur, and he compared it to now.

It was not...the same.

"Hey, Jarina. How come you're not transparent?" Desire said as he tilted his head once more.

This was just his first day in a human city, yet he was already being shocked beyond belief.

Well, it was not exactly the humans who were doing it.

"Ah. This is how Suckus looks when they try to hide that they are a Suckus."

She wasn't transparent anymore, and she looked like an...ordinary girl.

Well, a beautiful girl at that.

Jarina looked exactly like how a human would if she were a human.

"Hmm, I see. Anyway, what are we going to do now?"

It was then.

Jarina then pointed at the piece of stone Desire was holding that he got from Lionel.

She grinned as she spoke.

"Core formation."