THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

Iliana widened her eyes in surprise. "You can feel the other Pacifer? Does your Pacifer Seal allow you to do that?" She was rather bewildered and sceptical.

"Yes."

"That is..." Iliana frowned lightly. "That shouldn't be possible. Only Maha Dmitra can do that. Did you, by any chance, receive your Pacifer Seal from your—no, it won't be possible either; Babies can't bear the burden Pacifer Seal gives them."

Iliana was muttering to herself, and Basil looked at her in interest. While he couldn't really explain where he had gotten his seal from, he was sure it wasn't something that a Maha Dmitra had bestowed him; like he had said, he was born with it.

"Huuh... you really are an anomaly, aren't you?" In the end, Iliana decided to give up. "Anyway, why do you have to wait until you break through to the Upper Realm to look for our Clan?" She looked at Basil curiously.

"Because, by then ... I already have the minimum power to protect myself and the people I care for from the world."

"The world...?" Iliana was slightly confused as she had thought Basil would say something along the lines of protecting his family from the Church and the Empire.

Basil gave Iliana a small incomprehensible smile, and sagely said, "The world is a dangerous place, don't you think? We can never surely know who our allies, and who our enemies are. Before I can make sure of that, the whole world is my enemy."

"So that is the case..." Iliana was sure there was more to it, but she opted to not pursue the matter any longer. She knew to never question anything related to a Mage's private matter too much.

Furthermore, she had already understood Basil's reason to wait until he broke through to the Upper Realm: so he could be ready if something went wrong. It was already enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"From the way you behaved back then, I conclude that you understand what I did to Deacon. Can you tell me about it?"

"Oh, that is Blessing." Iliana nodded her head.

"Yes?" Basil was slightly taken aback at the fact that he had named the act correctly. "Kuhum! Can you tell me more about what is Blessing?"

"Aren't you a strange one? Despite being able to do it, you don't know what it is?" Basil nodded once, and Iliana chuckled in amusement. "Very well, listen to me closely." Raising her right hand up, she channeled her Mana in a unique way to it.

"Blessing is the way we greet each other as a fellow clan member. It was originally something that only a Maha Dmitra does; they bestow Pacifer Seal upon someone this way. Therefore, they were the only individuals who could do it."

Iliana's palm shone in blue, giving off a warm feeling.

"Blessing only became the Clan's way of greeting, after a Hina Dmitra found a way to imitate it. She taught everyone how to do it, and it became popular ever since. Of course, this Blessing is different from the one that a Maha Dmitra does."

Pushing her hand forward, she stopped it before it touched Basil's forehead. "Can I?" Basil nodded, and she immediately put her palm on Basil's forehead. "As its name suggested, Blessing shows that we care for our fellow Pacifer, and we want them to live a good life."

"So, we bless them?"

"Yes." Iliana smiled, and said, "May my blessing accompany you."

The blue light on her palm shone even more intense as Basil felt a warm feeling enveloping his entire existence; he closed his eyes to revel in the sensation. Iliana looked at the scene, and slightly teared up.

A few seconds after, the light died down and Iliana took her hand off Basil's forehead. The latter opened his eyes afterward, then looked at the former with a slightly puzzled face.

"Why are you crying?"

"I always wanted to do that..." Iliana said it in a barely audible.

Of course, Basil, whose body had exceeded the human's boundary, was different. "Did you mean the act of Blessing someone?"

Iliana nodded her head. "Hm. I thought I was always alone ... I am glad that the day I meet my fellow clan member has come."

Basil hummed to himself, and recalled a memory of his past life. Iliana had never once blessed him when she had been alive. Before she died however, though he didn't feel like he had been really Blessed, she had done the same gesture.

—I am sorry.

He didn't get what she had been actually sorry for, but now he could tell: Iliana had been sorry for keeping him in the dark for too long. He wasn't upset with that.

Considering how he had been in the past, he understood Iliana's choice. For the naive and powerless him of the past, he would have only killed himself by "avenging" his Clan if Iliana had told him the truth.

'Avenge I never do; grudge I never forget.' He didn't know what kind of a clan his clan was, and he didn't feel any emotional ties to it yet. However, he had the same enemy as his clan. For this reason alone, he would help his clan avenge themselves ... In his own way.

Iliana wiped the tiny bit of tears off her eyes, and regained her composure afterward. Looking at Basil once again, she smiled warmly. "Furthermore, I can meet the son of my mentor—the person she entrusted to me."

Basil quirked his eyebrow. "If I didn't put Pacifer behind my name, how would you find me?"

"That is easy, Sil." Iliana smiled. "Although it would take a little bit more time, I could still easily find you." She pointed to her nose. "Your Mana smells like your mother's; I am familiar with it."

"Can you smell Mana?"

"Seriously?" Iliana quirked her eyebrow. "I thought you were a bright one."

"I know you are talking about Mana signature, but the way you said it makes me think you can really smell Mana."

"Do you think it is possible?"

"Not for you."

"Huh? You can?"

"Yes."

"R-Really?"

"No, I'm just joking."

"..."

The Pacifer duo weren't naturally a sociable person. Though they could easily insult everyone here and there and made it look like a joke, none of them had actually ever joked before; they were too serious to do that.

Therefore when Basil had joked, Iliana couldn't respond properly. Ironically, the one who had joked also couldn't tell why he had done that; he didn't find the joke was funny either. Still, he found messing with Iliana amusing.

"That was not funny..."

"I know." Basil nodded his head simply.

Iliana sighed. "You are a unique one, aren't you?" Smiling helplessly, Iliana took Basil's hand and put it on her head. "I've Blessed you, now you bless me."

Basil didn't respond her verbally; he merely channeled his Mana to his hand and utilized it in the same unique way he had done before. His hand was glowing in white in the next moment, as warmth overwhelmed Iliana's entire being.

"My blessing shall accompany you."

Upon hearing those words, Iliana opened her eyes widely, and looked at Basil incredulously. 'This is—this is wrong...' She wasn't referring to the words Basil had said. 'This feeling ... A Blessing doesn't give you this feeling. T-This is not just a Blessing!'

Basil couldn't read what Iliana was thinking, but he could tell from her Mana that she was genuinely flustered and confused. 'It must be because of the different way I am doing it.' He knew that it had something to do with his Blessing though.

Basil took his hand off Iliana's forehead a few seconds after, and his palm stopped glowing. Just like what he had felt after he had Blessed Deacon, he felt that his "connection" with Iliana had become stronger; he felt more familiar with her.

"That was ... Intriguing." Iliana touched her head in wonderment. "I feel different ... I can feel you in me. It is as if we practically have the same soul; it's strange, but not unwelcome." Tilting her head, she asked, "Are you feeling the same?"

"I feel like you have become my Companion ... Beast Companion."

"Is that a joke?"

"Unfortunately, no." Basil shook his head.

"..." It took Iliana a few seconds before an amused laugh came out of her mouth. "You really are an anomaly, aren't you?"

Basil shrugged lightly. "Anyway, thank you for telling me some part of the truth." He nodded his head lightly.

"What do you—"

"I will wait for the time when you can say everything without hiding anything." When Iliana heard this, she instantly shut her mouth. She didn't expect that she wouldn't be found out, but she didn't expect she would be called out on her lie this soon.

"You know that there is always a reason to it," she muttered

"I know. That's why I will be waiting."

? Snap!

Right after the snap, the Isolation Spell that Basil had casted around them to protect their conversation was erased. Iliana couldn't properly see the Barrier melting down, but she could feel that she was now closer with the world—the outside world.

It was also at that moment that she realized she hadn't heard a single noise from her surrounding. She didn't know whether her focus on her conversation with Basil had made her realize it late, but she was sure Basil's Spell must have had a hand in it.

"You utilized your Spell well."

"I know," Basil said surely.

"Hah! I like your attitude." Iliana slapped her thigh. "Wanna be my boyfriend?"

"Am I not one already?" Basil smirked.

"That's right! I just wanted to remind you."

Basil merely shook his head in amusement with a small smile on his face, then faced his body to the front with the same method he had used to face Iliana a few moments earlier.

Notifying Deacon to slow down via their [Link], the other five students caught up to them not long after. None of the students said anything, as they were too focused on what Iliana was doing.

'There is no way in hell they didn't take a distance for a romantical purpose!'

Iliana was burying her face in Basil's back, while hugging his waist tightly. Although they couldn't see her face, they could tell from her gesture that she was happy ... For some reason.