Chapter 352 Sleepless Nigh (1/2)
(ED: Yet another NSFW warning nearer to the end….)
”Dong!”
Rhode slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth after reading the system prompt.
He had been praying hard for some sort of difference between reality and game while on the way back, but the harsh truth presented otherwise.
Under Anne's status was the 'Weakened' debuff.
”Hu…”
Rhode calmed himself down before sitting on the chair and closing his eyes. For a brief moment, he attempted to collect his thoughts, but after a few seconds, he stepped out of his room and made his way towards the guest room at the end of the hallway. Without hesitation, he extended his arm and knocked.
”Ah, Mr. Rhode.”
Lize, Marlene, and Christie answered the door. Lapis wasn't amongst them as Rhode had sternly ordered the poor alchemist to reflect on her actions in her room.
”How's Anne doing?”
”Not good…”
Lize shook her head helplessly.
”The side effects of the potion is too strong. Almost all of Anne's energy had withered away. All I can do now is to preserve what's left of her strength within her body. Mr. Rhode, do you know how long will the side effects last?”
”Anne's performance was baffling indeed.”
Marlene remarked in her usual tone as though the effects of that incident had disappeared. She frowned and twirled her hair with her finger before continuing, ”I have no idea exactly what that potion was, but its immediate effects instantly raised the strength in Anne's body… and the side effect was equally frightening… I will seek guidance from my teacher about this matter.”
”Yes please.”
Rhode nodded towards Marlene and shifted his gaze towards the other two.
”It's getting late now, go and rest. Leave her to me.”
”Mr. Rhode?”
Lize widened her eyes in surprise, whereas Christie hooked her tiny finger onto Rhode's sleeve.
”… Can Christie stay with Rhode and Anne…?”
”You should rest too, Christie.”
Rhode got down on one knee and revealed a warm smile.
”It's already very late now… and you should also take care of your body.”
”En…”
A trace of reluctance flashed across her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and the little girl left the room obediently with Lize in hand. At this time, only Marlene, Rhode and the sleeping Anne was left in the room.
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
”Mr. Rhode, you don't seem very happy that we had won the tournament?”
Marlene quietly observed Rhode's expression. Her red pupils were glistening with warmth and a gentle radiance that even she wasn't aware of.
”We certainly should be happy over our victory, but it is a pity that we sacrificed too much.”
Rhode shrugged his shoulders before dragging a chair from the side.
”Although I know there's no use in regretting now, I still have to say that I wished I didn't send her up.”
”But Anne will eventually still fight, and we all know that's for certain.”
Marlene revealed a bitter smile whereas Rhode nodded in agreement. Although Anne appeared childish on the surface, she always did things with determination. However, this may be a good and bad thing at the same time. It was no easy task to 'train' Anne's character because — after all — humans weren't made out of numerical data that one could modify whenever they please…
Rhode pressed his hand against his forehead — Within his summonable spirits, there was also a troublemaker.
”So… Marlene? Do you have anything else for me?”
Lize and Christie had already left, and only Marlene chose to remain. Rhode didn't believe that Marlene was here to admire Anne's sleeping posture.