Time flew by as Asher, Williams, and Finch talked without pause or end, laughter echoing once in a while through Asher’s room. At this point, Asher had already brought out food prepared by Lyra from his system storage space; although the cafeteria had food, it could never beat something prepared in a Ducal Household, both in quality and refinement.

"So, Asher, with your talent, do you think you can become the next Duke, or the Primarch as the Wargraves call it?" Finch asked as he chewed his cookie, his legs on the table as though he owned the room, completely at ease.

Asher stayed silent for a moment before he replied, "to become a Primarch, one has to be a Crownstar Life Rank first, and I’m sure I can get there in a few years, maybe in a decade, but my elder brother, Malrik, has a better chance," he stated, his voice calm and indifferent.

"Besides, personally, I don’t care about the Duke title; it just seems like more work. Personally, I would prefer to be an Elder or Great Elder; they seem less busy and are always free to do whatever they want at any time," he spoke as he transitioned from a juice to a wine with unhurried composure.

"Well... that’s true, besides, all Wargraves have the same fear and respect, be them Duke or not," Finch spoke in thought, nodding faintly as he considered it.

"I’m more concerned about the part where he said he can get to the Crownstar Life Rank in a decade or even less," Williams couldn’t help but speak as he sighed, clearly unsettled by the implication.

Asher simply smiled as he replied, "my brother became a Crownstar Life Ranker at the age of twenty nine; I’m eighteen now, you shouldn’t be surprised at the reality of me being able to replicate the same feat," his tone steady and devoid of arrogance.

There was no arrogance or hubris in his tone, just a calm observation and factuality that made his words even more grounded.

’Although I’m sure I will get there in way less time,’ Asher mused to himself, a quiet confidence settling within his thoughts.

"Yeah, the First Sun is a bit too strong to be considered human at this point," Finch spoke again, leaning back slightly. "Sometimes I wonder who is more ridiculous, you or him?" he added, a grin forming on his lips.

Asher didn’t reply immediately; his eyes stayed on Finch’s bird that seemed to be pecking at cookies crumbled by Finch, observing the small creature with mild curiosity.

"Well, it’s not like there is a device to measure talent, so we can’t know," Asher finally spoke, his tone casual yet logical.

"But, if you become a Primarch, who do you plan to marry? There are a lot of beautiful women around you, you know?" Williams asked, his curiosity shifting toward a different subject entirely.

"Indeed, you have Darissa Camber, although I’m sure her father might not accept, since she is his only heir and they remain a neutral family. Then there is Princess Vaelra; I’m sure the Emperor would want to hand the Kingdom to his son due to him being a boy and all that. Then there is Ryaen Silvershade, my personal favorite, looks, talent, composure, maturity, she has it all," Finch spoke as he started listing all the women in Asher’s life with almost theatrical enthusiasm.

"You are listing them as though these women are some products on a supermarket shelf or something," Asher couldn’t help but reply. "Don’t tell me you are one of those who think women are weaker than men and all that," he asked, raising a brow slightly.

"I’m not; only idiots think like that. Maybe before Astra energy came into our world, but now, definitely not," Finch replied without missing a beat, his tone indifferent.

"I agree with Finch’s words. I think Ryaen has a thing for you; I mean, she hangs around you sometimes. Even when the Prince challenged you, she was with you at the time, and you both also left together," Williams interjected, his reasoning somewhat grounded.

Asher couldn’t help but sigh, wondering why these two were suddenly worrying and talking about his love life. To him, they were misunderstanding the entire situation, not only the situation but Ryaen herself.

Asher could understand from the way Ryaen carried herself and rarely spoke to anyone that she wasn’t much of a talker, neither did she have any friends, which was why she hung around him once in a while, more out of convenience than anything else.

Of course, Asher wouldn’t deny that Ryaen was the most beautiful woman he had seen within the Zarethorne Empire, but it didn’t mean he would immediately turn into a simp or let some raging teenage hormones control him, as these two idiotic friends of his sitting before him were suggesting.

They simply were just friends... for now, at least... who could say about the future.

"Why are you both even talking about this and shipping Ryaen and me as though you both are getting paid for it?" Asher couldn’t help but comment, his tone laced with mild exasperation.

"I wish we were getting paid," Williams couldn’t help but sigh as he spoke. "At this moment, I’m at the lowest point I’ve ever been; I used all my academy points to purchase another weapon, as my last sword shattered during my last mission," he shook his head at his own poverty. As a noble, being poor was foreign to him. "I envy you and Finch; after all, soul-bound weapons are basically indestructible," he added.

Asher stared at Williams and chose not to comment; weapons, after all, were something one always had to buy and upgrade constantly. One couldn’t just purchase a weapon and use it forever. If he didn’t have a soul-bound weapon, Asher might never have won against Blue or Debro... well, unless he came up with some other methods.

"Ryaen and I are just friends, end of discussion," Asher finally spoke as he tried to end the matter there immediately, his tone decisive.

"You both seem like the perfect couple," Finch couldn’t help but continue. "I mean, she challenged Princess Vaelra and won, then Prince Vaelric challenged her too, but she also won, meaning at this moment, you are both Rank 1 and Rank 2 within our class. If that isn’t the perfect match beneath the stars, I wonder what is," a smile appeared on Finch’s lips as he leaned forward slightly.

Asher arched an eyebrow at the news of Ryaen climbing to Rank 2, but at the same time, he wasn’t too surprised. Although he didn’t know the Princess’s combat prowess, Asher understood that Ryaen was quite ridiculous in every sense of the word, her growth nothing short of extraordinary.

’I wonder how much stronger she has gotten after all this time,’ Asher thought to himself as a smile appeared on his lips at the thought of Ryaen’s progress and enhanced combat abilities, a hint of anticipation quietly surfacing within him.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: There will be four Chapters today. So do well to press next and not miss them after reading the first two.