"Damn it... Soren, you bastard!"

Mireya punched the wall beside her with force, leaving a dent with the sheer impact, her knuckles bleeding.

Yet she didn’t even flinch as she bit her swollen, red lips, her eyes moist, a few loose strands of hair clinging to her damp cheeks, her breathing uneven and unsteady.

Looking at her pitiable state, it seemed she had cried.

But why wouldn’t she, when today she was bullied by a boy? Kissed so ravenously that she went limp with lust and desire in his arms, offering no resistance?

In fact, not only was she angry with Soren, she was angry with herself too, wondering why she had reacted to such a bastard who left her ruthlessly after enjoying her.

But in the end, she could only blame herself.

If she thought about it, what she tried to do with Soren was wrong to begin with.

As Soren said, if they were outside the Elite Hunter Academy, considering his power, he might have really killed her on the spot.

She should be happy that she managed to hide her Prophet class and got off scot-free with just a few kisses.

’But still... he should have said something before leaving me.’

In the end, Mireya was a girl with no experience after all.

Anyone would be deeply hurt if a boy kissed her, pressed her against a wall, gave her an experience she had never felt before, only to ruthlessly abandon her like this.

’Tch... forget it. I should just think of it as a dream and forget about this incident. That guy is too dangerous to make an enemy of.’

As much as Mireya was hateful of Soren, she had endured enough backlash today. Not only was that guy a variable whose future she couldn’t see, but he was also incredibly strong.

Not to mention, an indelible impression had already been carved into her heart that she couldn’t wipe off even if she wanted to.

As much as she forced herself to forget, that feeling of being pressed down and getting ravaged in his warm hand was too addictive.

In fact, it felt so good that she shamelessly begged him to kiss her at last.

’...i-it must be his trick.’

Just remembering it made her face flushed red as she quickly put it out of her mind. Any more thinking and she would feel that tingling sensation again.

’Ah... what happened to me.’

In the end, she quickly cleaned herself and made herself presentable before running towards her dormitory.

She decided she wouldn’t leave the room until her heart calmed down.

As for Soren... she wished she would never meet that scumbag ever again.

***

---

[Item: Beast Contract]

[Rank: D (Consumable)]

[Effect: Allows the user to form a contract with a willing beast of D-rank or below. Once bound, the beast becomes the user’s contracted companion.]

---

"1000 Credit Points? Isn’t this too expensive? It is just a Contract of D-rank."

Sylvia was shocked to hear the price of the small silver-colored talisman filled with runes in front of her.

How could a one-time consumable D-grade item cost so much? She thought it might cost 200 at most.

"Cough... sister, contract-type items are quite expensive compared to other items. Even if it is just a D-rank, it isn’t something anyone can make. Besides, it isn’t like I am charging you much. It is the rate determined by the Academy, look?"

The steward at the treasure pointed at the panel, proving her point. In fact, if not for the academy, it would cost even more to buy such an item outside.

As she said, the contract that involved the soul wasn’t easy to form.

"But still...1000 credit points..."

Sylvia felt a bit embarrassed as she didn’t have that much with her at all. She used all the credit points because of Professor Lysandra.

At most, she had 300 points.

"Okay, we will buy one. You can deduct it from this card."

Just as she felt a bit awkward, Soren suddenly came from behind, placing his card on the counter to complete the purchase.

"Soren...don’t!"

Sylvia tried to stop him, but he placed his finger on her lips, silencing her abruptly.

"Shss... we don’t have time to waste. You can just pay me later. Besides..."

He suddenly leaned towards her slightly before whispering in her ear,

"Didn’t you say you would pay me in other ways? You can just keep this in that tab too. What do you think?"

Soren smirked, making her flush red.

"Cough...can you two stop acting like this? We are here too, you know?"

Aria finally couldn’t take it anymore and coughed before pulling his hand away from Sylvia’s lips.

This Soren never learned his lesson. This time, they were leaving to go outside to conquer a D-rank dungeon, and he still had to play around?

Not to mention, this time, there were two other guests besides their usual group.

"Hey Elise, d-didn’t you say Soren and you... are together? Why is he—"

Sure enough, Elara seemed a bit shocked by the scene, looking at Soren’s behavior.

For a moment, her eyes went to Aurelia, who seemed somewhat calm.

Not to mention, even her sister seemed too calm about his frivolous behavior.

’The heck is going on...’

She knew Soren and Aurelia were together, as her sister had told her before. But why was he so close to Sylvia right now?

And why the heck were they so calm? Shouldn’t they confront him?

"Hmm? What do you mean? Of course, we are together. Didn’t I already tell you?"

Elise didn’t seem to understand her, though, as she just looked puzzled, making her speechless.

’Is this girl dense?’

For a moment, Elara felt like her sister might be an idiot.

"Idiot... didn’t you see him..."

"Okay, now that we have the Beast Contract talisman, we can let Sylvia tame Ivory and leave for the D-rank dungeon. Let’s not waste too much time."

Just as she was about to put some sense into her sister, though, Soren spoke again, cutting her off.

He had decided not to waste any more time. The earlier he conquered the Howling Chasm, the earlier he could recruit Isolde, who was angry with him.

Not to mention, he could then freely level up after that.