After their loot was carried away to be processed, the teens spent the rest of the day taking a long overdue bath. Even after the family’s servants changed each one’s water 2 times, it still looked worse than a swamp. After a hearty dinner, everyone retreated to their chambers and crashed for the night.

All except one…

Being as stubborn as ever, Ethan spent his night on the guest house’s rooftop munching on vitality pills and planning his next move. When Ana found him in the morning, he was snoring with half of his body dangling in midair.

“Hey!”

“Wait, whaaaaa…”

If not for a last minute flip, Ethan would have landed on his head instead of his butt.

“What was that for?” he complained while wincing in pain.

“Are you allergic to beds?”

Ana watched with her arms crossed and an indifferent look. This type of behavior was nothing new, so she just accepted it as one of his quirks.

Today, the 2 of them should have been attending classes. However, as Oliver once explained, this was entirely optional. The academy didn’t care about attendance, only about the results students produced during exams and competitions.

Because of this, most nobles skipped regularly, especially since they could get better training at home. Of course, Ana still wanted to attend, but given the current situation, she decided to wait until after the youth tournament.

Since the teens had nothing to do until breakfast, they found a comfortable place in the large yard and started working on their cultivation. The trimmed grass served as their pillow and the gentle wind as their only companion.

“At this rate, we’ll stabilize the 6th mana pool in about a week.” said Ethan. By circulating mana back and forth between them, their cultivation speed increased 3 fold. Thanks to Ethan’s experience and mastery over mana, this effect was improved further, giving them a gigantic edge over their competition.

Even so, their progress would inevitably slow down the further they advanced. For Ana to be ready for the upcoming competition, they’d need another boost.

“Interesting method…”

When the teens opened their eyes, they saw Arthur taking a seat a couple of feet away from them.

“May I join you?” he asked.

“For joint cultivation to work, both mages must be at exactly the same level.” explained Ethan. “Plus, the effects would be lost if more that 2 people tried it.”

“Hmm… Your master must be quite something.” concluded Arthur after pondering for a moment.

“Of course.” confirmed Ethan with a mischievous grin. “He is… the best.”

The trio started cultivating, Ana and Ethan together, while Arthur worked separately. Finally, a few hours later, a couple of servants brought food.

“Talk about being late.” complained Ethan.

After finishing half the plates, Arthur figured the time was probably right.

“You know…” he began. “Our family takes debts and paying off said debts very seriously. You 2 could have abandoned my brother numerous times in the forest, yet you protected him even when it put you in danger.”

“Don’t mention it.” said Ana. “If it weren’t for Oliver’s and your help, I would have likely died from my injuries after the… incident. This is the least I could do.”

“Yes.” confirmed Arthur. “Our debt towards you can be considered settled. As for our debt towards Ethan… My brother should have taken care of it by now.”

Two hours prior within the Hunt family’s dining room…

“What do you mean you can’t sell them!? They’re just peasants!” An angry teen in fancy clothes was spitting demands.