Water Mage in the Flame Realm

The scene grew awkward for a moment. Fortunately, Barbara's emotional intelligence was quite high; she quickly regained her composure and didn't press the issue.

As the third daughter of the Warm Fire Commerce Association, she had an exquisite appearance and an aloof temperament, but she wasn't spoiled and capricious like many wealthy young ladies tend to be.

She changed the subject and said, "The ashes... The ashes of the knights who died to protect me, I have received them." Pausing, she looked earnestly into Andrew's eyes, "Thank you. Those ashes mean a lot to me."

From Barbara's perspective—

Originally, she ventured out happily, exploring, but the outcome was that all her companions were killed, shattering her innocent dreams into pieces.

Now, being out of contact with her family, she was forced to stay in this remote town deep in the desert, having to face the nearly invincible Desert Speaker Rose amid the sand tides—

The mental pressure was, understandably, immense!

Having previously devoted herself entirely to the repair work of the lab, she hadn't felt it. However, upon seeing Andrew and Ivan, her mind slightly relaxed. Therefore, when mentioning "the knights who died to protect me," she couldn't hold back, and her eyes slightly reddened.

"Sorry..."

She didn't hide it, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and casually wiped away her tears.

Then her expression grew solemn as she talked about the restoration of the laboratory's "heating" and "fortress" functions: "…It seems that there's a fair chance of holding off Rose. But we must not be careless. Before the desolate beast wave truly arrives, let's make the preparations as thorough as possible."

Andrew and Ivan listened intently, nodding.

Barbara then discussed some details with Andrew.

She didn't ask much about Andrew's earlier mention of "solving the water problem."

In Barbara's view, it was nothing more than arranging a water-saving plan for the upcoming period, right? She didn't realize that Andrew, in fact, had taken Ivan and discovered an underground water source that was enough to stir the entire Inner Sea Desert!

"Then... let's leave it at that for now?"

A half-hour later, Barbara couldn't think of anything else that required immediate discussion.

"Yes, let's leave it at that for now."

Andrew smiled, hesitated for a moment, and then added, "I don't know what the death of your knights means to you, and I don't want to say anything like 'it wasn't your fault, so don't feel guilty.' What I want to say is, if you do feel guilty, then live well, carrying their part with you."

In his mind, he recalled a scene from a movie he watched before crossing over, where the sacrificer tells the rescued "Don't waste your life."

He tried to express a similar sentiment, not knowing if it was effective.

Scratching his head, Andrew felt that persuasion really wasn't his strong suit, so he didn't say more and got up, saying, "Afterward, let's continue to act separately and do more pre-battle preparations."

He left with Ivan.

What Andrew didn't know was that deep down inside, Barbara was indeed extremely remorseful. She always felt that her naivety had cost the knights' their lives.

And after hearing Andrew's words, Barbara outwardly showed no response, but deep down, her heart trembled intensely!

Recalling her first meeting with Andrew, Barbara actually felt nothing special.

Upon waking up, when she learned that Andrew not only saved her but also killed Humboldt, Barbara felt a bit surprised and a little curious: How did he do it? But she didn't have the urge to find out.

In the morning, when talking with Andrew, she did feel up close the "fresh and appealing" appearance and demeanor of Andrew nowadays.

But Barbara wasn't someone who was concerned about appearances; in fact, she was almost indifferent to looks, so it still didn't strike her as anything notable.

At this moment, hearing Andrew's words of comfort that didn't seem fitting for someone his age, and recalling Andrew's meticulousness in bringing her the knights' ashes, Barbara finally felt a novel strangeness from the depths of her heart that she had never experienced before!

When she came to her senses, Andrew and Ivan were no longer in the room.

Suddenly, Barbara thought to herself, "Compared to this morning, Andrew seems... different in appearance and demeanor again?"

The cultivators of Soul Magic—whether from the Warm Fire Commerce Association's "Heart Fire Series" or the Magic Guild's "Desolate Language Series"—are extraordinarily perceptive.

Barbara had a feeling: The current Andrew seemed more like an ordinary person than when she first met him. Just this morning, he still looked handsome, yet now, after half a day, although his looks haven't changed, his demeanor had once again become simple, with a hint of rustic charm!

Regardless of the reason behind this change, this introspective transformation, compared to flamboyant outwardness, caused another ripple of strangeness within Barbara's heart.

Something she hadn't even realized herself happened: For the first time in her life, because of a boy… her cheeks blushed slightly.

Though it was just for a moment, Barbara didn't even notice it. But if someone familiar with her from the Warm Fire Commerce Association had seen her blush, they would probably be stunned.

Because in the past, Barbara had never blushed.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Andrew had already stepped outside the laboratory.

"I underestimated you, huh, hehe."

Ivan said with a teasing smile, "I take back what I previously thought of you."

"What?"

Naturally, Andrew didn't know he had been labeled as a "rookie in the field of romance" in Ivan's mind.

"Haha, nothing."

Ivan shook his head with a laugh, then turned serious, asking, "What's next?"

Andrew didn't hesitate and said directly, "I want to go to the Living People Cemetery, to have another talk with An Ya."

Half a day ago, handing over the duties of Wildfire Town's manager to An Ya was purely from the standpoint of a "normal lord."

Now, however, he wasn't just any normal lord, but a Magic Lord.

The size of one's territory, the strength of the populace, through the "Gate of Enlightenment" in one's dantian, were directly linked to one's own "Magic Power!"

So Andrew planned to sort through Wildfire Town inside and out once more.

Getting everyone to grow stronger meant his own strength would increase.

"If I could break through to Tier Two with 'Magic Power' before Desert Speaker Rose strikes, that would be best."

Andrew thought, "Of course, I won't force it."

With his mind made up, Andrew headed straight to the Living People Cemetery to find An Ya once more.

After chatting for a while, Andrew learned what An Ya did in Wildfire Town while he and Ivan were exploring the underground space!

"In just half a day, she had completed a personnel count—counted the number and specific list of individuals 'showing signs of Professional Awakening'?"

Andrew was pleasantly surprised, "What's the situation like? How many individuals are there with signs of awakening like young Sophie? What's the percentage of the town's total population?"

An Ya didn't immediately answer; instead, she took another look at Ivan, feeling that Ivan and earlier seemed quite different, as though there was an almost "entirely following Andrew's lead" demeanor that hadn't been there before! But how could that be? Was it an illusion? An Ya felt a bit uneasy in her heart.

After a moment of silence, she looked back at Andrew and replied, "The percentage of individuals showing signs of awakening is—"