Chapter 77

"……"

"Just talk properly—why did you suddenly pat my head!"

Eclair flushed slightly and slapped away Lin Cheng's hand.

To be honest, Eclair had actually enjoyed the feeling of leaning on Lin Cheng just now.

But Eclair was a seasoned tsundere, so once she realized it, she immediately slapped his hand away again.

"Hahaha."

"I just saw you looking so pitiful, I wanted to comfort you."

Lin Cheng laughed twice, looking at Eclair's slightly flushed face: "Like a little kitten."

"What little kitten!"

Eclair slapped Lin Cheng again, glaring at his smirking face.

Then Eclair turned her gaze back to the phoenix stone hanging around her neck and whispered: "Isn't our current life already peaceful enough?"

"There's no need to search for a stone whose location we don't even know."

"I think living quietly in this town isn't so bad."

At this moment, Eclair's heart was unsettled.

Lin Cheng's actions had made her heart race.

If Lin Cheng had been just a little more forceful, she felt she might have truly leaned on him.

Not having to face things alone, having a shoulder to lean on—Eclair found it truly good.

"This life here is only a temporary pause."

"When the time is right, I'll sell the little tavern, and we'll keep traveling."

Lin Cheng smiled: "Travel the whole world—perhaps somewhere, Eclair will recover the memories you've lost."

Once Lin Cheng was ready and confident he could suppress or seal the phoenix without destroying it, he planned to take Eclair to find the other half of the phoenix stone.

"Travel the whole world…?"

Eclair stared at Lin Cheng's face, lost in thought.

……

It was midnight again.

Chairman Crawford sat quietly in his office.

What had happened today was a heavy blow to Crawford, chairman of the Magic Fapingyi Society.

For as long as he had been chairman, other magicians—including the Ten Sacred Magicians—had always shown him basic respect.

Even when Chairman Crawford gave someone a stern warning, they had no choice but to accept it, pretending to be afraid.

But today, Chairman Crawford had kicked a iron plate.

The opponent gave him not even an inch of face, yet still defeated Wolfheim, one of the top three of the Ten Sacred Magicians.

The top four of the Ten Sacred Magicians possessed inhuman power—they could effortlessly slaughter the bottom six, like swatting flies.

Yet unexpectedly, Ace had held his own against such a terrifying being, even defeated him, forcing Crawford—the symbol of the Fapingyi Society's dignity—to bow his head.

Merely thinking of it made Crawford feel a knot in his chest he couldn't swallow.

"Chairman."

"Still awake this late?"

Before Crawford could continue thinking, the office door was lightly knocked twice, and Zikurein walked in with a smile: "Still thinking about today's events?"

"Yes."

"Portgas D. Ace, merely the second division captain of the Bai Huzi Pirates."

Chairman Crawford glanced at Zikurein entering, then said coldly: "And the Monu Sect's Dazuisi Sect, Daiduosi Sect, who fought Ace to a standstill."

"Remember, the duty of the Fapingyi Society is to oversee the entire known world."

"If these organizations truly exist, how shallow was our previous understanding of the world?"

Here, Chairman Crawford's tone grew noticeably agitated.

It was clear he was deeply troubled by today's events.

"This is indeed a very serious issue."

"Though I hate to admit it, the Fapingyi Society knows far too little about these newly emerged organizations."

Zikurein, watching Crawford's troubled expression, kept his smile unchanged: "But I came here so late to tell you something related to this."

"Mr. Tichi, please come in."

As Zikurein spoke, a burly man walked in—it was Blackbeard Tichi, who had previously encountered Ace at Fairy Tail.

Of course, this Blackbeard Tichi was not real either—merely an illusion created by Aizen Sōsuke.