CHAPTER 235: MY SCENT

For a few moments, they both simply let the night air touch their faces. Gara’s robe fluttered in the wind.

In the end, Gara showed his cold expression. "Then, why did you let the rumor spread out of control?"

Langga also became serious, but there was guilt in his eyes— the same gaze he always directed at Gara, making Gara doubt his entire revenge plan.

"I know you still hate me and don’t believe me. That’s why, if you can feel better after spreading the rumor, then it’s fine."

Amid the dark night and the faint light illuminating their faces, Gara tried to find a lie in those blue eyes— the same eyes as Arion, the middle triplet, the one who was most easily scared and cried the softest.

’Maybe, if Langga met Arion, he could teach him how to be brave and not be such a coward. As a professor with many successful students, he should be able to mentor his own child, right?’

Without realizing it, Gara imagined a future where Langga was there.

’I’m crazy!’ But he quickly rejected that thought. ’I don’t need Langga. Raising the triplets is enough with me and everyone in the Dimensional Home. Alrova’s success and making myself strong, all of it is for the triplets. I don’t need him!’

"Gara," Langga called softly. He stepped closer without Gara noticing, lost as the young man was in his thoughts.

Langga’s hand lifted slightly, almost touching the silky black strands of Gara’s hair, but Gara snapped out of his daze just in time. He instinctively stepped back.

"I think our training’s over. I’ll head back to my room now." Gara turned away quickly, not waiting for a response.

The young professor didn’t stop him. He only watched as Gara walked off.

On his way back, doubt quietly spread through Gara’s mind.

Maybe I shouldn’t blame everything on Langga. It’s true he did that to me, but that was because of the drug... and the Max Charm effect too...

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of his door. He entered, still lost in thought— unaware that Langga had followed him.

The silver-haired man stopped outside Gara’s room. From the outside, he looked calm and composed, but deep down, something felt wrong, off-balance.

Ever since he and Gara had parted ways a years ago, an odd obsession had taken root within him. It was what made him return to Falopo Town in the first place.

Now, with Gara right before his eyes again, he had to fight the urge to pull the young man into his arms. But he knew just how cautious Gara was.

And besides... he was Gara’s main advisor. There was no need to rush. He was confident he could win Gara over in time.

Yet lately, it no longer felt like part of some calculated plan to make Gara fall for him. He genuinely wanted to do his best for him.

Aside from that beautiful face and the night they once shared, they weren’t supposed to have any other connection.

But for some reason, whenever it came to Gara, Langga always felt like something was slipping beyond his control.

After standing there for quite a while, Langga finally turned to leave until a faint scent reached his nose.

"This scent..." he murmured, stepping closer to the door. "Yes... it’s coming from Gara’s room."

A puzzled frown crossed his face. "Why... does my scent come from inside Gara’s room?"

Langga wanted to stay longer in front of that door, but the guards would soon begin their patrol around the dorms. He had to leave before they found him there.

As he walked away, his mind lingered on that scent.

"Could it be another devil? But Mother said devils —especially Father’s kind— aren’t like other races that share a similar scent. Each of their scents is unique, unless they share the same bloodline."

Without realizing it, one side of Langga’s blue eyes slowly turned red.

His thoughts were full of Gara. "But Gara doesn’t smell like a druid anymore... Was I mistaken before? Then what about now? Am I wrong again?"

When he finally reached his room, Langga let out a slow breath and decided to drop the thought for now. "For the time being... I’ll just observe."

...

Gara’s eyes sparkled as he looked around the lab. Tools and instruments he had never seen before were neatly arranged in front of him.

Many of them were made from thinly forged metal, so delicate and refined that it didn’t feel like a place from a fantasy world at all.

It felt... like home.

A wild thought crossed his mind.

If the Ancient Dragon Lord hadn’t granted humans the Elemental Bloodline, would humans in this world have developed like the ones in mine? Would they have reached a civilization advanced enough to create nuclear weapons?

"What do you think, Gara?"

Ambar’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Gara turned to the middle-aged woman beside him, and before he could even answer, she had already caught the twinkle in his eyes.

A proud smile formed on her face. "This is the power of alchemy."

"It’s amazing," Gara replied sincerely.

After showing him the main lab, Ambar introduced Gara to several alchemists working there.

Everyone greeted him warmly, though Gara couldn’t tell if it was genuine, or simply because Ambar was present.

Miki and Jett were right. Humans and gnomes really do dominate this place, Gara noted silently as he looked around.

Ambar then guided him into her private laboratory. It was just as well-equipped as the one outside, filled with instruments and materials neatly organized.

"Gara," she said, her tone turning serious, "I want you to join me in my latest project. Inside this lab, we’ll focus entirely on my research. The outer lab is for everyone else, each working on their own projects. Still, there’s one collaborative research that’s been going on for generations."

"Collaborative research?" Gara asked, puzzled.

Ambar nodded. "It’s a centuries-old project, an effort to create an elixir that can extend the lifespan of races like us... humans, whose lives are far too short."

...