Regardless of its authenticity, the document in hand at least appeared legitimate.
Reading the document proved far more convincing than Fire Finch’s verbal accounts, especially considering her past misdeeds concerning Aya Tone.
Starlight magic bloomed from Aya Tone’s chest, his body shrinking within the radiant glow until he stood barely a meter and forty centimeters tall, his silver hair cascading freely over his shoulders.
Aya Tone silently recited an incantation.
Employing the magic-enhanced ‘Clear Mind’ spell, he swiftly perused the document, absorbing every single word.
Just over ten seconds later.
Aya Tone slowly lowered the document onto his lap, his eyes brimming with perplexity.
‘How could this be? Why is there no catch?’
Fire Finch had not deceived him; in fact, the benefits outlined in the document exceeded his expectations.
Where, then, was the problem?
“Where is the academy located?”
“Nan’an City.”
“That far?” Aya Tone exclaimed instinctively, even before his mind could pinpoint Nan’an City’s location.
Was that truly considered far?
Nan’an City, situated along Z-Country’s coast, lay only a few hundred kilometers from Yan’an City.
By high-speed rail, the journey would take merely an hour or so.
“So, are you taking the job or not?” Fire Finch pressed, unwilling to indulge him. Having made a rare effort to be helpful, she wouldn’t tolerate it being taken for granted; next time, she’d revert to her usual self.
“I’ll do it!”
It was almost laughable: two classes a week, totaling a maximum of six classes a month.
In less than a day’s worth of cumulative work, he would receive such a substantial salary.
With a plethora of additional benefits, only a fool would refuse.
As for any potential pitfalls, he would leave his future self to regret them; for now, Aya Tone could discern no issues whatsoever.
“The academy doesn’t open until September, so remember to go when it starts, alright?”
Still, Fire Finch remained unconvinced, adding, “Never mind, I’ll remind you myself when the time comes.”
“That works!”
September was still nearly three months away.
Given such a long interval, Aya Tone genuinely feared he might forget about it.
It was a job offering a monthly salary in the millions; if he lost it, he would surely be consumed by regret.
Having conveyed the necessary details, Fire Finch did not linger.
While most guild matters didn’t require her as the president to decide, even the minor ones rarely needed her input.
However!
She hadn’t forgotten about Li Jia, who constantly monitored her movements.
Since Aya Tone hadn’t been seen in the guild recently, Li Jia seemed to be watching her even more closely, displaying an obsession that surpassed that of any stalker.
****
Vermillion Bird Guild.
As expected, no sooner had Fire Finch settled down than a “Li Jia monster” materialized, refreshing at irregular intervals.
Fire Finch casually pulled a bag of snacks from a drawer, teasing, “Tell me, Jia’er, are you practicing spatial teleportation so diligently because you’re preparing for the S-rank assessment?”
“Cut the chatter,” Li Jia retorted. “I asked Aunt Bai, and she said Tone returned ages ago.”
Li Jia strode forward, a spatial array slowly coalescing in her hand. In an instant, the array expanded, merging into the surrounding space.
This was a spatial lock cast upon the office, intended to prevent their impending commotion from disturbing those outside.
“Speak,” Li Jia demanded. “Tone hasn’t shown up in the guild these past few days. Are you behind this?”
“Hand them over!”
Fire Finch gazed at the beautiful face so close to her own, yet she did not directly answer Li Jia’s question.
Instead, she asked with a smile, “You care so much about Aya Tone; you must have fallen for him, haven’t you?”
Of course, Fire Finch was only teasing; she and Li Jia had grown up together, practically inseparable.
They were both girls; how could such a thing be possible…
“No,” Li Jia denied, though her eyes instinctively darted away, as if a secret held deep within her heart had just been exposed.
Hiss!
A guilty conscience! Something was amiss!
The chip bag burst open with a soft “pop.”
Concurrently, a terrifying conjecture exploded uncontrollably within Fire Finch’s mind.
Yet, the very next moment, she dismissed the thought; they were both girls, so it couldn’t be.
Still, since the idea had surfaced, why not exploit it?
“Jia’er! That’s a path of no return! Snap out of it! It’s impossible for you two!”
“I’m not!” Li Jia retorted, her face flushing faintly.
However, her feeble explanation held no weight in Fire Finch’s eyes.
It only served to further confirm her guilt.
Fire Finch sighed, “Just tell your big sister. At most, I won’t tell your aunt.”
“I already told you, there’s nothing like that going on.”
“Oh, come on, we’ve been best friends for how many years now? You think I can’t see through your little schemes?”
Fire Finch, looking as if she enjoyed a good drama, reached for a handful of chips and popped them into her mouth.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
This was quite the live show unfolding: her sister, who had grown up with her, was actually…!
Was it the distortion of human nature, or the decay of morality!
Welcome to follow…
Ahem, I’ve strayed from the topic.
Seeing that no matter what she said, the other party stubbornly insisted she was a lesbian, Li Jia immediately bristled with anger.
She pulled out the chair in front of her and sat down, initiating a standoff with Fire Finch.
“You claim to see through me? What’s your prescription? Have you no sense of your own shortcomings?”
Fire Finch simply offered an amused smirk.
“Go on, I’m listening~”
“…”
Subsequently, no matter how Li Jia tried to prove her innocence, Fire Finch maintained an expression that clearly conveyed, ‘Do you really expect me to believe you?’
It was utterly infuriating.
Staring at that infuriating expression, a flustered Li Jia suddenly fell silent, then declared, “I merely wish to lock Tone away, so he can never leave…!”
Fire Finch, thinking Li Jia had finally exposed her true intentions, immediately cautioned, “Oho~ Young lady, your thoughts are quite dangerous.”
She then cast a thoughtful glance at the spatial barrier within the room.
Developing spatial abilities for the purpose of imprisonment—how very *you*.
Indeed, desire truly was humanity’s primary motivator for growth.
“Jia’er, he already has a daughter, you know. It’s simply impossible for you two.”
Mentioning the daughter, Fire Finch’s lips curved slightly, confident that this revelation would make Li Jia retreat.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Once exposed, Li Jia shed her facade, all traces of shame, indignation, and evasiveness vanishing from her face.
She became as calm as stagnant water, as if the person speaking moments ago had been someone else entirely.
“My spatial dimension is quite vast; mother and daughter together wouldn’t feel crowded at all.”
“In fact, having mother and daughter together would be even better!”
A twisted smile bloomed on Li Jia’s lips; once her spatial magic reached S-rank, she could finally put her plan into motion.
“…What?” Fire Finch uttered, a hint of disbelief in her voice. ‘Are you serious, sis?’
Fire Finch had never anticipated events escalating to such an extent. She swore! She had truly just been spouting nonsense.
Who could have known she’d hit such a precise nerve?
Perhaps she should just eliminate Li Jia?
Having recently watched numerous police thrillers, Fire Finch knew that the more one knew, the higher one’s chances of death.
To ensure her own survival, she had no choice but to strike first!
Conveniently, her Undying Flame could reduce a corpse to ash, leaving not the slightest trace of its existence.
She just wondered how heartbroken Uncle Li would be upon learning of it…
Li Jia’s father was a close friend of her own, and it was she who had initially asked Li Jia to assist Aya Tone.
Wait!
No, that wasn’t right!
Fire Finch immediately reined in her killing intent.
Considering it, she realized she was, in fact, the mastermind behind it all.
Blast! So I was the true sinner!
‘Uncle Li, I’m so sorry…’
Fire Finch had already apologized to Li Jia’s father in her mind.
“Li Jia, I was just joking with you earlier, don’t take it seriously, alright?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Li Jia replied. “I am serious.”
Having stripped away all her pretense, Li Jia no longer cared about such trivialities; it wasn’t as if it was something unspeakable.
“But rest assured, I won’t make a move until I have absolute certainty.”
‘Oh, how truly grateful I am to you…’
Fire Finch muttered inwardly.
However, it was regrettable that Aya Tone belonged to *her*.
Even if it was Li Jia, she would not permit anyone to covet Aya Tone.
A small, fiery Vermillion Bird detached from Fire Finch’s palm and stared intently at Li Jia.
A spatial lock—what an excellent place to hide a body!
****
Yowza!