Chapter 248: Already Separated by a Thick Barrier
Kurtz stood still for a moment, feeling the lingering warmth on his lips.
The thin veil between him and Serie was finally torn away, revealing the surging emotions that had accumulated over thousands of years.
But this did not make things simple; instead, it created a situation that required careful handling.
Especially for Flamme.
He took a deep breath of the acrid air and looked in the direction where Flamme had gone.
Although he was indeed impulsively led by Serie's words and did something driven by desire, Flamme's quiet departure naturally did not escape his notice.
The way that child looked as she left was somewhat heartbreaking.
But he knew that some things had to be said immediately, even if it hurt her.
"I hope Flamme won't do anything irrational."
Now that Kurtz had confirmed his feelings, Serie's slight resentment toward Flamme dissipated, replaced by her initial concern.
"Now you know how to care about her?" Kurtz glared at her.
"Mm..." Knowing she was in the wrong, Serie didn't refute Kurtz. After a moment of silence, she said, "Actually, I did hold back earlier, probably..."
Serie realized that she had indeed held back.
Otherwise, it would have absorbed and condensed all the light sources within a hundred-meter radius and then released them again, just like it did a thousand years ago.
That was the truly world-destroying forbidden magic.
"I didn't see that coming. Never mind, Flamme shouldn't be that fragile. Remember to apologize to her."
"Apologize!?" Serie shook her head violently. "What kind of logic is it for a teacher to apologize to their student? Where would that leave my dignity?"
"Then forget it." After thinking about it, Kurtz gave up on the idea of making Serie apologize.
The main concern was that this might further provoke Flamme.
Following the scent, the two quickly found Flamme resting under Ayla's care not far away.
Frieren leaned against the side, fiddling with the grass with a slightly bored expression. When she saw Kurtz and Serie approaching, she blinked her big eyes.
When Ayla saw Kurtz, especially Lady Serie behind him, she immediately stood up nervously, instinctively trying to stand in front of Flamme, and opened her mouth as if to say something.
Kurtz shook his head slightly at her, indicating that she didn't need to say anything more.
His gaze fell on Flamme, who was still resting with her eyes closed. Her face was still pale, but her breathing was much steadier.
Flamme's talent was not only reflected in her ability to learn and understand magic, but also in her breakneck mana regeneration speed.
"Have you already taken the mana restoration potion?" Kurtz asked.
Ayla always carried mana-restoring potions, so she should have taken them out and given them to Flamme as soon as she saw her looking so weak and exhausted.
"Yes, Teacher Kurtz," Ayla nodded in reply.
Kurtz walked up to Flamme, stopped, and deliberately made his expression serious, even with a hint of coldness that suggested a clear distance.
He needed to test the waters, to confirm whether, beneath the moment of calm that Flamme had displayed after his persuasion, a more dangerous obsession was hidden.
He knew his apprentice well.
She was very stubborn. She wouldn't give up easily.
"Flamme," he said, his voice deliberately cold, devoid of much gentleness.
Flamme's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Those red eyes looked at him, and the intense emotions they had felt not long ago seemed to have faded, leaving them somewhat empty, or perhaps too empty.
She looked at Kurtz, opened her mouth, and seemed to want to call out "Kurtz" with a hint of intimacy or even coquetry, just like before.
However, the words caught in her throat when she met Kurtz's cold gaze.
She recalled the scene of Kurtz and Lady Serie kissing earlier, and also noticed the distance they were deliberately maintaining.
In an instant, her mood also plummeted.
Her lips moved slightly, but in the end, all the intimate terms of address that she couldn't bring herself to say were swallowed back.
She lowered her eyes slightly and spoke clearly in an extremely calm, even, and deliberately distant, respectful tone:
"Teacher Kurtz."
Teacher Kurtz.
No longer the bold "Kurtz" of before, but now with the formal title of "Teacher"—it seemed as if they had returned to the very beginning.
Kurtz seemed to shiver.
He knew that a pitifully thick barrier had already separated him from Flamme.
Flamme's behavior was exactly what he wanted to see. Regardless of whether she was hiding her own obsession, when Flamme showed this expression, Kurtz's heart still felt as if it had been struck hard by something.
This calm and reverence, almost like the silence of a broken heart, made his heart ache.
But he couldn't show it.
If he showed even the slightest emotion toward Flamme, all his previous rejections would be for naught.
Kurtz's feigned stern expression almost crumbled. After a few seconds of silence, he managed to continue in a steady voice: "It seems you know you were wrong. I'm satisfied."
Flamme certainly knew she was wrong, but she didn't know exactly where she went wrong.
"I hope I don't see what happened today happen again. Otherwise, I'll have to consider severing our master-disciple relationship."
Kurtz spoke harshly, clearly not wanting to see Flamme and Serie fight again.
His appearance caused the once closest master and disciple in history to turn against each other, which he could not accept, no matter what. "I hope you can truly learn from this lesson and put your mind back on the right path of magic. Don't go astray again."
His words sounded like a standard teacher's admonition, dry and even somewhat high-sounding.
Flamme kept her head down and respectfully replied: "Yes, this student knows her mistake. She will definitely concentrate on learning magic in the future and will not disappoint Teacher Kurtz again."
Every word she spoke was obvious and obedient, yet it also revealed the sense of alienation that Kurtz hoped to see.
But for some reason, when he saw her lowered head, all the prepared probing words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
He suddenly realized that his feigned stern probing seemed somewhat ridiculous at this moment.
Kurtz finally managed to say in a dry voice: "...Get some rest."
Then, almost hastily, he turned and left.
Serie stared at Flamme for a long time, during which Flamme never looked up.
"Get some rest." That was all Serie could say before catching up with Kurtz.
Given Serie's awkward personality, although she could properly express her concern for Flamme in front of Kurtz, in front of Flamme herself...
She took them all back instead.
In the end, all she could do was dryly repeat Kurtz's words.
[End of Chapter]
____
Want to read more than 30+ chapters right now!
patreon.com/cw/Mr_UmU
https://www.patreon.com/Mr_UmU