Emperor's Reckoning

"Hm?" Lumina averted her glance from the book that she read to the warm-breathing young man that slept next to her. 

Lumina smiled as she reached out his palm and interlocked their fingers together. She reached out to his face and slowly brushed away the strains of hair that covered his face. Seeing the serene-lake peace of his face, she continued to read her book.

Renduval was watching from the side while Hilde let out a huge sigh before the latter sat down. 

"Hah, I need a drink," Hilde said. "Do you have something that is safe to drink?"

"Of course we have! This is not a poison store you know," said Renduval before he went for the exit.

"Renduval," Cecile suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Renduval turned around.

"You better sell that kunpeng quickly, lest you want others to cheat your prices and any other unwanted outcomes."

"A-Are you sure?" Renduval asked. He knew that Lyon had the most authority in the group. Everyone respected that young man, and some of them even feared him. 

"Don't worry about it," said Cecile before she resumed her sleep. "He never cares for such thing in the first place. Do what you will with it, in fact, you can keep it for yourself."

Renduval was taken back. He knew how much fortune they could obtain from that kunpeng alone. His life would take a better turn.

"Thank you!" Renduval nodded before he immediately took off from the library with haste. His eyes could already see the better days that were waiting for him to catch.

"Hey, don't forget my water!" shouted Hilde before she was replied with "Shh!!" from the rest of the alchemists.

Hilde scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

The group finally had their well-deserved rest. Even under massive attention from the Alchemy Union itself, there was hardly anything that could hinder whatever they wanted to do. 

Many pages had been turned as Lumina still kept a hold of her dearest man. The twilight blaze slowly succumbed to the maiden of the night. There was hardly any light as it was in the day, but the mana orbs did their job well in maintaining the perfect hue.

The silence of the night. The bellow of the cold wind. The dance of the grass. Lyon slowly woke up from his slumber with a twitch of his eyes.

"Hmm," the young man opened his eyes to see Lumina's face reading the same book. It was not a long nap but his hand felt warm before he smiled at what was going on.

"How long was I out?" asked Lyon with a smile before he felt the uncomfortable strain in his neck. "Ugh, remind me not to sleep like that again."

"You sleep for three hours," said Lumina before she closed her book and turned her glance toward him. "Do you want to sleep some more, or will you let me wash my hand?"

Lyon chuckled before he let her hand go. "Clearly we both need to wash our hands."

He leaned back before he asked her, "Do you want to stay here for a while? You can't say that you are not interested."

Lumina shook her head. "I'm hungry."

(Aren't you always hungry?) said Lyon inwardly. "Well.."

*Growl!

Lumina snorted as she looked at Lyon's gut. "Look's like you also need to eat."

"Obviously," said Lyon before he laughed. "Princess Hilde, do we have another banquet here in Alchemy Union?"

Lyon furrowed his brows before he noticed that the princess of the Bolg Kingdom was sleeping on the opposite couch of where Cecile was. She was vulnerable and seemed not to have a single burden on her shoulders.

Lyon smiled wryly. "Maybe we should wake her up?"

"No need, ah~" Cecile yawned as she stretched her arm upward. "Let's go get something to eat, I guess we are going to the Third Hall after all."

"The Third Hall? Isn't that the place where alchemists and cultivators gather?" asked Lyon.

"That is mostly true," a familiar old man with a white cloak appeared once more.

"Headmaster!" The alchemists immediately bowed and greeted him.

"Haha, please don't be so formal, I need no such thing," said the headmaster. His modesty was quite apparent from the way he walked and the way he dressed, but the alchemists couldn't help but give him the respect that he earned.

"Heh, did you find it?" asked Lyon with a smirk.

"There is no need for such haste, you have seven days— err, I mean six days and seven nights," said the headmaster with a smile.

The short exchange of dialogue between the two brought the creases of the alchemists' forehead. They never heard of some stranger with no huge background demanding their headmaster about an item. It was simply unheard of regarding his status as the leader of the Alchemy Union.

"The Third Hall is where you go and enjoy the delicacy within Alchemy Union, don't worry, the expenses had already been covered by Alchemy Union and your kingdoms respectively."

Lyon chuckled. "My kingdoms?"

"Oh? Am I wrong?" the headmaster smiled. 

"Absolutely," said Lyon with a smile. "But no matter, that's not important right now. Free food is still free food, you said there are many delicacies to enjoy right?"

Lyon stood up before Lumina followed suit, "Then why don't you join us? We can have a chat while we walk, headmaster."

(He called me headmaster, what a sly fellow) said the headmaster inwardly before he smiled. "Why not? You can call this my home and you are my guest, I suppose I can accompany you all to the Third Hall."

"Woah~" The alchemists were surprised by the response from the headmaster. He was rather infamous for his inclusiveness and very very rare appearance, even in Alchemy Union. Not even the last winners had enjoyed this kind of exclusivity.

Cecile stood up with a smile, "Then please lead us there, headmaster."

"En," the headmaster nodded before they escorted the group.