The next day, when Eira and Selena were enjoying their lunch, as both of them had expected, Jarek finally arrived.
'He is finally here.'
Jarek stared at her with a stunned gaze, her presence here a mystery to him.
She could feel the questions ringing in his mind. 'Who is she?' 'Why does she look like Eira?'
She also looked at Jarek with some surprise. 'Indeed, he is very handsome.'
But soon, both Jarek and Selena were able to pull themselves together.
"It's nice to meet you, Selena."
"The pleasure is all mine. I have heard many good things about you from Eira. Thank you for taking good care of my daughter for all these years when I wasn't there for her."
"It was no problem at all. She took care of me in many ways as well."
'Is he being sincere or just being polite?'
No matter how much she thought about it, Eira was the one on the receiving end of this relationship.
Soon, they found themselves engaging in conversation.
They talked about many things: Jarek's life as an academy student and Selena's past experiences.
Of course, whether everything was true or false was unclear.
"It's a good thing that beast died."
'This kid is difficult to read.'
Even though Jarek said so, Selena failed to glean whether he believed her.
'He doesn't believe everything.'
Selena came to that conclusion. 'But that is to be expected.'
After all, Selena's appearance here was due to a string of too many coincidences.
It didn't hurt to be careful when one sees the alignment of so many coincidences.
But in the end, they were still coincidences.
'I must not show any flaw.'
Only when a flaw is revealed do they stop being coincidences.
And she was determined to let them stay so.
In the end, Selena managed to get through the entire interaction without any issue.
And soon an opportunity presented itself for her to verify her earlier assumptions.
"Could I watch your sparring match? I want to see how strong Eira has become."
Jarek didn't refuse her request.
"Sure, but you need to keep a safe distance."
'Hmm? Medium Grade weapons?' Selena then saw Jarek and Eira retrieve two swords from storage bags.
For some reason, Eira showed an expression of confusion for a moment before reverting to one of utmost concentration.
The two Grandmasters charged at one another, and their swords soon collided.
'This power...'
"It's just like them."
While she stayed at the mansion, she came across Grandmaster and, on some occasions, witnessed their might during training sessions from afar.
'This is the level of power that I could only dream of, but now even I have the chance to reach this level one day.' Selena thought as she looked at Jarek with a calculating gaze.
'Only with him can I achieve that.'
Selena had a hard time keeping up with their speed, but she still keenly observed the battle.
'Was I wrong?' From what she could see, both Jarek and Eira seemed evenly matched.
She had thought that Jarek would be vastly stronger than this.
Someone who can defeat Jurgen should be able to defeat Eira with a single blow.
'I can't rule out the possibility that he is hiding his strength because he doesn't trust me.'
And she was right in that regard.
Jarek still couldn't trust her with one of his biggest secrets, at least not right now.
If others realized his true strength, the academy might catch wind of it, and he couldn't let them find out about his hidden depths at this stage.
'Patience, Selena. Patience.' There was plenty of time.
She then turned to look at Eira, who excitedly swung her sword at Jarek.
Jarek reacted appropriately with a perfect block and launched a counterattack, thrusting at Eira, who parried the attack.
As both Grandmasters exchanged blows with one another, Selena found herself drawn to the battle.
For some reason, she felt that the level of skill they displayed surpassed even that of the Grandmasters who had served under Jurgen for many years, centuries even.
'So, this is what a true cultivator is like.'
Compared to them, what she practised was half-baked.
Yes, she had cultivated herself, rising from a mortal to an Advanced Stage cultivator.
But that's all she did.
Unlike both Jarek and Eira, she lacked depth.
Her cultivation was not as solid as theirs.
In fact, it was worse than most at the same level as her.
Cultivation was more than energy cultivation.
It involved knowing how to use one's strength to the best of one's ability.
Someone with a solid cultivation base can contend with an average cultivator at a level higher than their own.
For the first time since she became a cultivator, Selena thought. 'Maybe I should put an effort into my cultivation as well.'
Even though she was a half-baked cultivator, in the end, she was still a cultivator. 'I'll ask Eira to help me with my cultivation later. I can't stay like this.'