[Some days ago]

Just on the day, Seth and Serena walked out of the Vault, Laila finally arrived at her hometown.

It takes a whole lot of expense to use teleportation which Laila was only allowed to prefer in case of emergency. And since there wasn't any rush, Laila had to travel sixteen days to finally get rid of the carriage's narrow seat.

However, unlike in the past, Laila's welcome was not done with a warm smile but anxiety and nervousness spread on her parents' faces.

The first place where she was taken to was her room where the personal maid of Laila and her mother Riona inspected the sigma which indicates a woman's chastity.

And for goodness gracious, Laila still was a maiden.

Laila, despite being a little slow thinker and clumsy at times, still had an idea why she was inspected just upon arrival. And there wasn't anything she felt bad about.

It was her incompetence that she wasn't even able to maintain her engagement which her parents were so happy about.

She still had no clue why Seth annulled their relationship but there was some chance that it was the commoner first-year Anabelle behind his decision. And also the history professor Haruka sensei with whom Seth has grown quite close.

But not like Laila ever did anything to make Seth look at her and so, there was nothing to complain about.

"I am sorry, dear but this was something which I and your father suspected to be the reason behind this broken engagement."

Laila smiled at her mother who had genuine guilt and concern radiating for her which made the pink-haired girl quite overwhelmed.

She held her mother's hand and spoke in a calm tone.

"It's okay, mother. I understand. Umm..but can you leave me alone for some time? I want to take a rest for the day. "

Riona understood her daughter's feelings as she nodded and stood up to leave only to remember something before she pulled out an object from her spatial storage.

"This… Your Grace Duchess Valarie told me to give you."

Riona deliberately trimmed the criteria which Valarie put behind this wooden box so as to not hurt Laila any further.

Laila stared at the box in confusion after she took it. The focus of this box lies on the person who gave it but nothing would conclude until Laila doesn't open it.

After her mother closed the door on her way out, Laila carefully lifted the lid.

It took her time to understand the content inside but when the realization hit her, the box from her hand instantly dropped down with her eyes stretched to their widest reach.

'This… Seth?'

________________

[Present Time]

It's been four days since Seth woke up from his slumber and has recovered most of his injuries with the help of regular checkups and a proper routine.

These few days were the most laid-back period for Seth ever since he transmigrated into this body.

He has been doing nothing other than just relaxing and getting served by Lara and the other maids his mother selected and assigned herself.

In the meantime, Seth prepared his future prospectus, which he never thought of before as he was more or less focused on Arata's movements.

One thing which troubled him was his mana core which according to the high priest, has been polished and even a minuscule but it has enlarged from the average size which someone on Seth's level should be possessing.

Seth had a hunch that it must be the beast meat he ate inside the Temple. However, he hid such a fact when his mother asked since he was not sure.

He sought to verify this hunch first and only Serena was the one who could make things certain.

'Talking about Serena… '

Something was bothering Seth as well ever since he woke up and that was the reward that the Vault should have granted upon the completion of ordeals.

In the novel, Arata was rewarded with an ability enhancer ring which assisted Arata in better control of his innate talent for Lightning and Thunder.

Later the protagonist discovered that this ring belonged to the very first and the only Thunder user other than himself.

Such an artifact was undoubtedly made for Arata but the problem was that even if the protagonist didn't go through the trials, he might get his hands on the artifact nevertheless.

At times when Seth was done with Minatuar, his consciousness had already left his side. And to get out of the vault, it was mandatory to receive the reward.

Which meant…

'Serena has that ring… '

It wouldn't be surprising if she gifts the ring to her dear friend Arata but Seth wasn't much stressed about it now.

Since this Temple incident didn't boost Arata's prowess and most likely Serena wouldn't kill herself this time because of apparent reason, it was highly unlikely for Arata to awaken any time soon.

Seth would graduate before such a phenomenon takes place and he has no plan of coming across the main cast ever again if possible.

He had ways to take Haruka with him but first, he needed to seduce her and corner the woman to make her surrender. He can't go slow since he has only four months remaining in school.

'Well one way or another, she has to fall for me… '

Stretching his limbs, Seth relaxed his muscles and after a brief thought, he turned toward Lara who was arranging Seth's clothes in his cupboard.

Generally, these tasks are done when the master is not using their room but Seth was practically living like a NEET for some days.

"I will have dinner with everyone."

Lara blinked before she hurriedly turned toward Seth and after a bow, she excused herself to inform the madame.

Thinking of the conversation he was about to have with his family, made Seth again reluctant to not go and just slide back in bed.

But since sooner or later he has to announce his decision, Seth shrugged his useless worries.

"Well, let's see how it ends up.."

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A/N: - I hope the flow is understandable. I am trying to list the scenes and characters as much before we reach the end of an arc.

Again, I am improving constantly so there will be some mistakes so please bear with me.

Drop a comment tho~