After entering the house, Alice could still hear what William and the others were saying.
After all, she had already advanced to become a junior Soulmancer, which had bestowed upon her an unprecedented enhancement to her hearing.
The words William said were very comforting to her. True to his role as her master, he ultimately took her side.
Heh heh!
Originally somewhat fuming, Alice’s anger subsided instantly when she heard what William said to Bella.
“Master, are we eating at home at noon?” When Alice was at home, meals were generally dull affairs. Her parents were always busy, and at most her grandfather would inquire about her progress in her studies during meals. However, eating at William’s house was different.
She even started to miss the little girl from across the table, her name was Amy, wasn’t it?
William said, “We’ll cook when we return. There are still many vegetables; it would be a waste not to eat them.”
Older people generally have one characteristic, which is to be frugal.
It wasn’t about wealth; the idea was to finish all edible food, not wasting a single grain. If there were leftovers at home, they should all be consumed.
Alice said excitedly, “Okay! Shall we go to the bookstore now?”
William replied, “I will go alone; don’t you need to help Nathaniel with his treatment?”
“Oh, alright, then I will clean the ingredients later and you can cook when you return.” The main reason Alice came to William’s house early in the morning was to treat Nathaniel, a task assigned by William, so naturally, she couldn’t refuse.
At this moment, Bella said, “Where are you heading? I can drive you there.”
“No need,” William responded, walking towards the yard. Just then, Evelyn came out riding her bicycle.
This wasn’t a coincidence; William could hear the footsteps from the neighboring yard. His hearing was even sharper than a street patrol dog.
“Are you going to school?” Evelyn asked William curiously.
“Of course, I am a good student!”
Evelyn snorted at the ‘good student’ remark but still asked, “Shall we go together?”
“Let’s go!” William naturally hopped on the bicycle. He had promised Bella to have dinner together, but it was still morning, wasn’t it?
He was a student, after all, so he should attend school.
In the yard of William’s house, Alice and Bella watched the backs of William and Evelyn as they cycled away. .
Alice pouted but quickly regained her composure. She glanced at Bella and said, “Bella, my master has left, aren’t you leaving? Are you here to seek medical treatment?”
Bella coughed lightly, saying, “Alice, I don’t think I have offended you before, have I?”
Alice replied, “No, but we aren’t exactly close, are we?”
Bella had understood why she had upset Alice and chose to speak candidly, “Alice, I won’t beat around the bush. I sought William’s help because I had previously asked him to pretend to be my husband. He refused, so I feel safer asking him for help.”
“You did what? You asked my master to be your husband?” Alice was stunned. Bella had been perhaps too bold and too direct.
Bella explained, “My grandfather asked me to seek out William, and you know this. You were probably also sent by your grandfather, right? I didn’t want to get married initially, but my family pressured me a lot. I thought William was a match arranged by them, so I was prepared to have a sham marriage with him. However, he rejected the idea. Now, my parents have arranged another date for me, and I can only feel at ease seeking help from someone like William.”
Alice remained silent; Bella was speaking the truth. Hadn’t she initially assumed that William was a match arranged by her family too?
Eventually, her grandfather told her straightforwardly that there was no way William would be interested in her, leaving her feeling down for quite a while.
Unable to resist, Alice asked, “Is your family really pressuring you that much?”
Bella gave a bitter smile, “You’ll understand once you reach my age and still have no partner.”
“I don’t really want to understand.” The mere thought of her family constantly urging her to marry and arranging dates for her made Alice’s scalp tingle. It was terrifying.
Taking a deep breath, Bella said, “So, you can rest assured. I have absolutely no special feelings for William.”
Alice rolled her eyes, saying, “You don’t need to explain this to me.”
Bella smiled and chose not to say more. Women understand women best. While William might not be able to see through Alice’s little schemes, she could see them clear as day.
“Can I have a casual meal at your master’s place at noon today?”
“No one is chasing you away.” Alice felt that she might have been too sensitive earlier. Her previous frustrated demeanor had indeed resembled that of a jealous person.
Bella had no intention of leaving. Although she had no romantic feelings for William, the fact that Alice had taken William as her master showed that he was no ordinary person. Besides, she had nothing else to do today…
Thinking about the half bowl of noodles she had just eaten, and considering that William would be personally cooking at noon, Bella felt a sense of longing and found herself unable to leave.
Alice hesitated for a moment before suddenly asking, “Do you know how to cook rice?”
“…” Bella raised an eyebrow, counter questioning, “Don’t tell me you don’t know how to cook rice?”
Alice declared boldly, “Is it weird not to know how to cook rice? Can you cure diseases and save lives?”
It was a compelling argument, leaving Bella unable to retort.
“Do you have a rice cooker at home?”
“Yes!”
“Then isn’t it simple?”
“Don’t look at me like that. If you want to eat here, you have to teach me.”
“Can’t you just search for it online if you don’t know how to do it? Also, rice cookers come with instruction manuals.”
“…” Alice suddenly felt like her intelligence was being insulted, asking blankly, “Are you going to teach me or not?”
Bella could only explain to Alice how to use a rice cooker.
“So it’s that simple!!” Alice finally understood why William had looked at her with a ‘you are an idiot’ expression before.
It was so embarrassing!!
William hadn’t yet realized that his clumsy disciple was being teased and joked about at home. After arriving at the school, he noticed many Soulmancers had appeared in the surrounding area.
These Soulmancers were all very low in skill level; he couldn’t even find a single mid-level Soulmancer amongst them. However, it was evident they had all been drawn in by his Aura Field.
William had an innate dislike of being disturbed, and if these people were to constantly wander around his bookstore, wouldn’t that be incredibly irritating?
He couldn’t possibly eliminate all these people, right?
After parting with Evelyn, William did not go to class as he was supposed to but headed straight to the bookstore.
Upon reaching the bookstore, although the door was closed, there were already uninvited guests inside, and more than one at that!