Death... and me

The twins decided to go back to the sect on their own. Surprisingly, before they left, Luina appeared. Wars between countries were one of the best places for cultivators to awaken their potential. Naturally, the Lagan Sect also sent Luina to participate.

However, she was part of the Lagan Sect, after all. Even though she wanted to join the group led by the twins, she had to help her own sect first. Besides, as the sect master's daughter, she was also given a unit to command. In the end, she didn't get any chance to meet the twins, or Roan, to be more specific, during the entire duration of the war.

"Hey! I heard you two are going back now."

Rean and Roan looked in the voice's direction and saw Luina walking in their direction.

Rean smiled and immediately complimented her.

"Oh! It's been two months since we saw each other, no?"

Luina smiled back and nodded.

"Indeed. It was during the seventh gathering to discuss the plans of attack. I've been too busy with my own unit, so I couldn't come out to see you."

Luina then looked at Malaka and 'Illia.' Luina had obviously seen Illia before. However, she didn't know that Illia was, in fact, Calina. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel like she had seen this girl before. She thought a lot about it. Though, in the end, she simply gave up. Illia didn't look like anyone she recognized.

"Hi, Malaka, Illia, good to see you two."

Malaka didn't care about 'face' and simply hugged Luina.

"Luina, listen! Rean and Roan want to increase my training regime again. Can you do something?"

*Chop!*

"Ouch!"

Luina didn't join Malaka's side, saying in a stern tone.

"Stop complaining and just go do it. Do you know how famous Rean and Roan's training became during this war? Roan's methods were very harsh but effective. Rean's healing abilities could put your entire unit back in shape to battle even after the training was over. There was no lack of cultivators who wanted to join your unit."

She wasn't lying. As the Death Unit skyrocketed in the ranks after the third month, the other units sent a few people to check how they trained. It was there that they saw how the twins gave hellish training just to be fully recovered after it was done. Unlike the Death Unit, they didn't have a Light Element user to recover them, so they couldn't go as far as the twins' group did.

Malaka looked down with a gloomy expression but nodded in the end.

Luina then looked at Illia.

"Errr... Illia, right? We didn't have much of a chance to talk before."

Calina agreed with her.

"Indeed. I've just joined the Dalamu Sect recently, so it's not unusual that you don't know that much about me."

Luina nodded.

"I see... But why are you walking with Rean and Roan? Malaka is their younger sister, but what about you?"

Rean's eyes lit up before saying.

"Oh? That? It's simple. My brother here thinks very highly of Illia's commanding skills, so he had been 'closely' teaching her recently."

Malaka almost burst out in laugher after hearing that. How could she not know what Rean was trying to do?

Calina, on the other hand, thought that Rean was talking about someone else.

'Think very highly of my skills? Who? Roan? Since when?'

Luina narrowed her eyes as she waited for Roan's answer.

One must remember that 14 months had passed till the end of the war. During this time, Rean, Roan, and Malaka turned fourteen years old. However, everyone thought the twins were two years older. In Luina's eyes, it was already time for her to take action. Unfortunately, the war came. So she didn't have the chance to invite Roan to go out on a mission with her.

Roan, however, just ignored the two and asked.

"How long will you guys blabber? Can we go back already?"

Not a confirmation, and not a denial either.

"Oh! Since you're going back, let me join you. My unit has already been dispersed as well."

Rean didn't let the chance slip.

"Oh! That's great! Roan had helped you a little with your dagger skills in the past, right? We're close friends, so I'm sure he won't mind giving you some personal lessons on the way back."

Roan didn't seem to like it, so he immediately asked through their Soul Connection.

'What the hell are you trying to do? I don't want to waste my time teaching anyone else.'

Rean immediately came up with an excuse.

'Luina is the Lagan Sect Master's daughter, remember? There is no problem in trying to befriend her a little more. Besides, you would just give her a few pieces of advice on our way back. It's not like we would lose time like that. All in all, this is a good way of making more connections. We lose nothing in exchange for a few possible benefits.'

Roan narrowed his eyes. He could tell that Rean had some other hidden purpose. Still, he had to admit that Rean's reasoning wasn't wrong. In any case, Roan was the type who preferred to get as many benefits as possible.

'Fine.'

Luina's expression brightened after hearing that.

Rean then looked at Calina as her expression darkened.

'It will be fun!'

Sure enough, Rean just wanted to set the entire house on fire!

His words truly hit the right spot on Calina.

"We are going back to Dalamu, not Lagan. You should stick with your sect members, no?"

Luina looked at Calina. Immediately, she understood that 'Illia' wanted something with 'her' Roan as well.

"That's my problem. You don't need to worry about how our sect does its things."

"Hehe! So that's how much you value your fellow disciples? You've opened my eyes."

"Oh! Then how come I don't see your Death Unit coming back with you? I heard that you were also one of the commanders there."

"We already bade our farewells. Everyone knows what to do, so there's no problem."

"Is that so? Then what makes you think that I didn't do something similar? First of all, I've known my sect members for way longer than you know yours. So, shouldn't YOU spend more time with them instead?"

In the end, the two girls looked at Roan to hear his opinion, however...

"Where is everyone?"

Rean, Roan, and Malaka had suddenly disappeared without the two girls noticing. Only then did they see Roan's group running from afar. Sure enough, Roan couldn't care less about their argument. He only wanted to go back to the sect as fast as possible.

Calina and Luina looked at each other. It looked like sparks would fly out from their eyes any second now.

"Hmph!"

The two turned around and quickly departed in Roan's group direction.

Far ahead, Malaka laughed as she looked at Rean. This fourteen-year-old girl had grown up as sly as ever, so she could totally tell what Rean was trying to do. That being said, she decided to send Rean a Spiritual Sense message.

'Hahaha! It's so funny. Then again, Roan hasn't noticed a single thing.'

Rean immediately replied.

'Hahaha! Right? It's so fun! What do you think? Can you give me some help?'

Malaka's eyes shone as she immediately nodded.

'Definitely! However, I want to hear one thing first. Who are you shipping at the moment?'

Rean was taken aback.

'Shipping? Where did you hear this slang?'

This was something that Earthlings like to use when talking about possible couples. It's not something that he expected to hear in this cultivation world.

'Sister Orb told me.'

Rean couldn't help but sigh.

'Sure enough, it had to be her. Oh well, whatever. I'm not shipping any of the two. Don't forget that Calina will become the empress one day if everything works out. She will have to bear the country on her back in all possible manners. That also includes marrying the right person and giving birth to successors.'

'As for Luina, she isn't in such a powerful position as Calina, but she's still the Lagan Sect Master's daughter. I have no doubt that he already has things planned for her future. Naturally, it wouldn't work for her either. To be honest, I don't think Luina got permission to come out with us. She probably sneaked out of her unit just to come and see Roan. Only when she found out that Calina was also interested in him did her plans of coming back right after disappear.'

Rean was 100% right! It's just that no one noticed that Luina had disappeared. Well, no one except for a single person, Galios. He was the same person who had followed Luina back when Rean and Roan went out for their first Sect Mission. He was her guardian, after all. At the moment, he was also following Luina from afar with his Spiritual Sense.

'Sigh... This girl really should think more about her own position. Oh well, it won't be long before she can't do these kinds of things anymore...'

Malaka was taken aback when she heard Rean's words.

'Then... why are you doing all of that?'

Rean laughed before answering.

'The first reason is that it's really fun! The second...'

Rean looked at Calina and Luina, who didn't seem to care about anything else other than beating the other person at the moment.

'I want them to forget about all the shit the two need to think all the time. Let Luina and Calina bring out their feelings now since they probably won't have many chances of doing it in the future.'

Malaka couldn't help but feel a little sad after hearing that. Her expression then changed not long after as she looked at Rean.

'What do you need me to do?'