"Would you mind explaining this mess to me?"

With the sect master standing right in front of us, I couldn't help but grab Eve's arms and pull her out of me. Kissing her worked just as I wanted. With her lips attacked, she was unable to think about worrying anymore, so now was the time to actually deal with the problem at hand instead of comforting her.

"There isn't much to explain here. Eve was guiding me around the forest as we were hunting Gyarnas. I wanted to gather at least forty hearts of those demonic beasts to prove my strength and enhance my chances of geting approved into the sect, but just as we were about to finish the last prey, I accidentally stepped into its territory."

Standing up, I explain the bare minimum of the past events to the master, pointing my hands at the direction where Penguin disappeared.

"Sadly, I had to give up those hearts to placate this insane monster so it would leave me alone. Oh, and on that note…"

I place my hand on Eve's head and rub her hair lightly.

"I was the one to force her to follow me into the forest. All the blame for those events should be put on me!"

"Wait! No! That's not how…"

Eve's attempt to interject in the talk was stopped by the freezingly cold stare of her master.

"I'm talking to our guest now. Don't embarrass me with your ungraceful attitude! Or do you want to imply that this is how I taught you to behave?"

This woman! She didn't even need to show any negative expression or infuse her voice with this kind of emotion, yet Eve shrugged and hung her head down. Just from this, I get to understand what was the position of this cute girl in the sect!

"Forgive me for this, in my position, disciplining my pupils is one of the most important tasks. Going back to the main topic though, you don't need to try to figure out any fancy ways to hide your identity. I know that the beastmasters are commonly despised, but standing up against such a monster while allowing my disciple to run for help? I will be forever indebted to you for this!"

Oh God damn it! They are still going with this ruse of beast-something? Can't they just acknowledge that I actually defeated it? Will my act of mercy prompted by the strategic reasoning pull me down to the abyss of misunderstanding?

"As I told You already, I'm not a beast-master! I actually… Or nevermind. Just count this as luck on being on my side. If not for those hearts that we obtained before, I would be a cold corpse right now."

In the end, explaining the misconception that the entire sect has won't bring me any benefits. No matter who they take me for, as long as I will be able to just live calmly with Eve on my side, I will be content with the result!

"As I thought. Don't worry though. Not only I won't betray your identity to anyone outside the sect, but I would also love to accept you to the inner core of it! As for the news spreading through the sect itself... "

At this point, the master could only shrug her arms in annoyance.

"Don't worry, I get it. If everyone follows the same line of thought like you, there is no way we can stop everyone here from spilling the beans. As long as it will be kept inside the sect, being able to live with Eve is what matters to me the most!"

Without even looking, I reach with my hand to my side and grab the girl's hand. Just the touch of her slim and fragile fingers makes me think about her as a fragile kitten that I need to protect!

"Oh, since you agreed to accept me into your sect, I think I should start referring to you per 'Sect Master'? Or should I use a 'Matriarch' title?"

"Hahaha, there is no need for that. As I said, I'm indebted do you, so if it's in private, you can just use my name, but in public, just a 'master' will suffice. Since that matter is settled, for now, let's head back to the sect now!"

After laughing lightly, the woman turned around and gestured her people to go back. Another point to remember - learn the meaning of this sects hand-orders. Did I already say that I loved using military hand communication system back on earth?

"Oh, forgive me my insolence, but I believe I never had a chance to get to know Master's name. Would you give me this honour of revealing it to me?"

Well, I was told to use her name in private, so I think I need to hear it from the person in question first. I don't know what are the normal behavioural procedures in this society, so I have to stick to the only ones I'm accustomed with. While I could search the memories implanted from this body life before the incarnation, as this isn't some kind of hard knowledge but a custom, it would take me quite a while to actually find some clues about it.

"Ah, my bad. I'm Stella, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

As the woman turned her head back to me, I got a chance to savour the curves of her upper body contrasting beautifully with the brown outline of the destroyed forest in the background.

"I believe that you are called Bart? Am I wrong here?"

Only when did the sect master ask this question did I see a dangerous glint in her eyes. While I couldn't decipher its meaning, it appeared only after I dared to ask for her name! Well, it's nothing I should bother my mind with right now. If I didn't notice wrongly, I will get some sort of explanation sooner or later.

"No, master. You are absolutely right. Just before we finish, would you mind letting me hunt the gyuarnas for a bit longer? I would like to have some achievements when I officially enrol into your sect. Otherwise, people would make fun of me and try to prey into my background."

I cannot get any more rational than this. I know that I grew up insanely fast, but all my stats are capped now behind an invisible barrier, and I have no idea how can I overcome it! The only guess that appears in my head lies in raising my levels until the limitation will be removed, but to do it, I need a lot more exp!

"Don't even ask me about something like this! Since I can consider you my student from now on, I need to properly take care of your matters! Can you imagine what those people would think if I let you stay in the training grounds now?"

With her head nodding towards the inner core cultivators, Stella decisively denied my request.

"There is no point worrying about the hunting trophies. I will arrange for some fake story to be prepared and spread through the sect. Does that satisfy you?"

Well, beggars cannot be choosers. Since my new direct superior told so, there is nothing I can do about it.

"Just one more thing, could you please arrange some separate lodging for me? I don't want to impose on the master, but I'm not familiar with the sect yet so I would like to avoid any mishaps that could appear if I were to live with someone else."

To my surprise, when she heard those words, the sect master froze on the spot and turned around with a stupefied look on her face.

"You don't want to live in Eve's place then?"

At this point, I felt Eve's gripping my hand even tighter than before and falling on my arm with her entire body while hiding her head behind my back!