Ronald only then had an epiphany.
Such calm and steady emotional fluctuations, weren’t these the very mindset the swordsman girl oft maintained!
However, the confusion had not entirely dissipated.
In the dwindling company of this late night, why would Patricia appear in his own residence?
Amidst Ronald’s stupor,
Patricia, who was sitting at the desk, also turned her head.
Seeing that the person who opened the door was Ronald, a look of surprise flashed across the girl’s face,
"You... Who are you!"
The expression on her face shifted from confusion to anger.
In the moment the sound of her voice fell, Patricia drew her sword from her side and thrust towards the location of Ronald’s shoulder blade.
Ronald quietly watched her movements.
The trajectory of the blade piercing through the air was thus imprinted in his eyes.
There was a time when he could hardly grasp the trajectory of such a blade, but now Ronald could clearly apprehend Patricia’s attack.
A small step back, followed by a push.
As Ronald moved into the room, he also easily deflected Patricia’s blade to the side.
Ronald was just about to explain, but Patricia’s blade promptly followed suit. The blade of a well-trained swordsman was certainly quicker than Ronald could speak.
He had only uttered the first syllable.
Patricia’s attack, like a silver crescent moon, swiftly ensued.
This second attack was not a mere probe like before.
Aside from being strengthened by a spell, the purpose of the attack shifted from subduing an enemy to inflicting direct harm.
If Ronald stayed where he was,
This strike would certainly pierce straight through his throat!
Ronald continued to step to the side.
But unlike the simple hand push before, the Sealer’s spell that controlled matter was immediately activated in this instant.
——A very obvious sense of hindrance.
Ronald’s far-reaching target was to disarm Patricia, and then have a proper chat with her.
But facing Ronald’s spell,
Patricia demonstrated astonishing mastery over her weapon.
Although the blade clearly wavered, she kept the longsword tightly in her grasp without the slightest sign of letting go.
Truly deserving of being Patricia.
Compared to when they met in Greenwich, her abilities had also significantly improved.
Ronald admired Patricia in front of him inwardly,
Taking the opportunity, he quickly raised his hands to show he had no hostile intent, while immediately beginning to explain:
Ronald could somewhat guess why Patricia would initiate an attack.
After his two-month disappearance, it was all too common for a Caster to impersonate his identity and then explore this residence for an ’adventure’.
Patricia’s decision to launch a probing attack out of basic defensive precautions was quite reasonable.
However, the change in Ronald himself was simply too great.
The original probing attack, having tested and found an ability that exceeded Patricia’s memory of Ronald’s strength, was naturally followed by a real attack.
On the other side, Patricia’s reaction was exactly what Ronald had speculated.
Seeing the formidable ’enemy’ exhibit such a stance, Patricia did not pursue the attack but instead spoke out:
"You couldn’t possibly be Ronald."
"Tell me honestly, who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"If you’re planning to get your hands on something, I’d advise you now to not harbor any delusions. When Ronald’s girlfriend left, she took all the mystic items with her. This place is just an ordinary apartment now."
"4 minutes 48 seconds, 9 minutes 36 seconds, 14 minutes 24 seconds, each angle at 15 degrees!"
Faced with Patricia’s caution and defense,
Ronald’s approach was simple.
He spoke of the discovery that had freed them from Bradshaw’s Railway Guide when they were bound together in Greenwich, amidst a time loop that involved the non-disclosure of original text information. As such, this information was the most confidential between Ronald and Patricia.
Ronald directly shared this message.
Patricia’s expression changed at once.
But there was still some hesitation in her eyes, as if she planned to ask something more.
"Alright, take a look at this." This time, without waiting for Patricia to speak, Ronald clearly recited the spell from the Divine Comedy:
"At this moment, please gaze into the deep valley.
Before you is the river of blood.
It boils and cooks those who committed the sin of violence upon others!"
A black fog of ’violence’ spread from his cuff.
Seeing the man in front of her use Ronald’s signature spell, Patricia finally let go of her last bit of vigilance.
"Ronald... where have you been all this time?"
"Because of your sudden disappearance, quite a stir was caused in the city recently. That Sealer, Alya, even went so far as to attack a school’s headquarters, forcing them to use the Prophetic Spell to speculate your whereabouts."
Ronald knew Alya could be somewhat unstable emotionally, but hadn’t expected her to go to such lengths.
Attacking a school’s headquarters and then compelling them to use Prophetic Spell...
Feeling the weight of Patricia’s words, Ronald asked with a somewhat nervous tone:
"So... what was the result?"
"The result was that no trace of you was found," Patricia sighed, "And because of this, Lady Alya was ’persuaded’ by Her Majesty to leave Springs. Many people in the city learned of your situation, and that’s when a series of disputes began."
Ronald nodded in understanding.
He immediately inquired about Heloise’s condition: Follow current novᴇls on noⅴelfire.net
"What about Philis, what has happened to her since I disappeared?"
Patricia explained naturally:
"Miss Philis is really something."
"Although she was alone, she still defended what you left behind and successfully evacuated from the Riverside District."
Evacuated from the Riverside District...
Upon hearing this phrase, Ronald immediately realized the implication behind Patricia’s words.
"Are you saying that Philis is still in Springs?"
This time, Patricia shook her head.
She then walked to the door, shut it, and continued to answer Ronald:
"For the first month, she indeed did not leave."
"But afterwards, Miss Philis organized your manuscripts and planned to publish them. One week after the first edition was handed over to the printers, she had no choice but to leave the city."
The sudden disappearance of himself and Bapulor had evidently left Heloise with no small amount of trouble.
Hearing this response, Ronald’s expression darkened.
He leaned back against the wall.
Seeing Ronald’s demeanour, Patricia also came over to comfort him:
"Ronald, you don’t need to worry too much."
"With that lady’s abilities, I think she can manage well anywhere."
Ronald smiled wryly and waved it off:
"I know, she’s definitely okay..."