Keira's attempt to use this as leverage to trade with him showed a complete misjudgment of how things were progressing.
"Approval? I need the approval of the King and the law, not something gained through a transaction."
"As for oren and magical items… Ms. Metz, do you think my rewards today aren't generous enough?"
Karl El leaned slightly forward, his voice low but with clear sarcasm: "Moreover, some things cannot be exchanged with money or a few kind words."
"Especially when you aren't even willing to offer a simple apology to a lady who has long passed for your previous rudeness. Your arrogance makes you unworthy of this knowledge."
These words were like a slap, harshly striking Keira's face, leaving it stinging.
Keira's smile instantly froze, her face turning from white to red, then from red to green, her fingers on her hips white from the force.
To be so directly humiliated by a bastard, a brute, whom she had always looked down upon.
And to have him expose something she refused to admit, the immense anger and embarrassment almost made her lose control.
She wished she could immediately cast a spell to make Karl El kneel in agony and beg for mercy.
But Triss was right beside Karl El, watching her with a displeased expression.
So, Keira forcibly suppressed her anger and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Very well, Karl El, you will regret your insolence!"
"Triss, are you just going to let him treat your best friend like this?"
"Keira, you were the one who proposed an inappropriate transaction first."
"This is Karl El's private matter, and he has the right to make any decision! Now, please leave." Triss's tone also grew cold.
Keira glared fiercely at the two, especially Karl El, her gaze as if she wanted to devour him whole.
She spun around abruptly, her skirt swishing in an angry arc, and stormed out, slamming the door.
The conflict between the three temporarily subsided, but Karl El and Triss both knew that Keira would not give up easily… Over the next two days, Karl El studied Ancient Speech under Triss's guidance, while she worked on attempting to cast two Alzur spells, using the characters Karl El provided and ancient records.
This work was extremely difficult and mentally exhausting.
Once, Triss needed to go to another archive in the Temple Quarter to consult a solid manuscript, leaving Karl El alone in the room.
He was quietly reciting the Ancient Speech characters he had written down when Keira, like a ghost, stealthily re-entered the room.
This time, her face wore a feigned expression of concern.
"Sir Karl, are you still researching those dangerous things?"
She slowly approached, her voice becoming unusually gentle, a subtle magical glow flickering in her eyes.
She was secretly casting an extremely covert form of psychokinesis, attempting to soothe and manipulate Karl El's emotions.
"I'm just worried that those ancient spells of yours and Triss's can have terrible backlashes."
"Perhaps you just need to recall those characters in your mind and let me help you assess the risks. I just want to help…"
Her voice carried a hypnotic magic, attempting to pry open Karl El's mental defenses.
And Karl El did feel a slight daze, the characters in his mind seemingly about to surface automatically… Just then, a rune on the back of his right hand, almost invisible on normal days, which Hen had previously etched with magic, suddenly emitted a faint but sharp burning sensation.
This sensation was like being doused with ice water, and Karl El instantly became alert.
"Mind reading? Or stronger psychokinesis?"
He was horrified, immediately reining in all his thoughts, dispelling chaotic ideas, to prevent Keira from reading his mind.
At the same time, he kept a poker face, even deliberately showing a hint of hesitation as if swayed by Keira.
"You really… can assess the risks?"
Karl El's tone softened, as if convinced, and at the same time, he seemingly inadvertently moved closer to Keira.
Seeing Karl El's attitude soften, Keira rejoiced inwardly and maintained her psychokinesis with even greater focus.
She said softly: "Of course, I have quite a bit of research into ancient magic… You just need to concentrate and recall…"
By now, the distance between them had shortened to less than an arm's length.
Now! A glint flashed in Karl El's eyes, all his feigned hesitation vanishing instantly, replaced by the swiftness of a leopard.
His left hand shot out like lightning, seizing Keira's slender neck in a death grip.
The immense force instantly choked her, and her spell was forcibly interrupted!
"Ugh! You…!" Keira was utterly horrified, a trace of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth, and pain in her internal organs—a backlash from her spell being forcibly interrupted.
She had absolutely not expected Karl El to see through her and suddenly attack.
She struggled desperately, but Karl El's fingers were like iron clamps.
However, Keira was not entirely defenseless.
In her extreme horror, she instinctively released another spell she had already prepared in her hand—Levitation!
An invisible, violent force slammed into Karl El's chest, pushing him backward and sending him flying, crashing heavily into a shelf laden with alchemy bottles and jars.
Glass shattered with a cacophony of cracks, and various colored liquids and powders splattered all over him.
"Damn you, you crude brute! How dare you touch me!"
Keira shrieked, rubbing her reddened neck where a handprint remained, her face filled with fury and lingering fear.
She raised her hand, about to conjure a more aggressive spell, dangerous light flickering in her eyes.
Karl El endured the dull pain in his chest, quickly got up, grabbed a long-handled metal spoon used for stirring nearby, and adopted a defensive stance, his gaze coldly fixed on Keira.
Just as the energy orb in Keira's hand was about to be unleashed, the laboratory door was flung open!
"Stop! Keira!" Triss, having returned from the Temple Quarter, stood at the doorway.
She saw the chaotic laboratory, Karl El covered in grime and holding a weapon.
And Keira, with a red neck and a dangerous energy orb forming in her hand, instantly understood most of what had happened.
Triss didn't hesitate; she abruptly raised both hands, and scorching orange-red flames instantly appeared in her palms.
The flames roared, condensing into two swirling fireballs, and the temperature in the room abruptly soared.
Her red hair moved without a breeze, and her eyes blazed with fury.
"Keira Metz! Stop your spell at once! Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship!" Triss's voice was unprecedentedly stern.
"How dare you use psychokinesis on my partner in my place, forcing him to hand over spell incantations?!"
"Do you have any basic decency or dignity left?! Do you still consider me your friend?!"
As friends who had known each other since studying at Aretuza Academy.
Now, Triss calling Keira by her full name showed just how furious she was.
Keira was intimidated by the two intensely hot fireballs emanating from Triss's hands.
She had no doubt that if she dared to shoot the energy orb in her hand at Karl El, Triss's fireballs would engulf her the very next second.
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