Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Layla… you… Do you have any remedy for this? And why the fuck is it affecting me this much? Did your master do something to me?"

Layla hmphed at his question before replying:

"If my master wanted to break you, you would have been certified idiot by now, Eren Idril. Try to remember, will you? I had already warned you not to get scared or intimidated when you go meet my master. Do you think I was kidding or speaking in euphemism?

The first thing you do when faced with someone who can use soul sense is to protect your soul from getting affected by it. You do not let your emotions make your unawakened soul vulnerable more than it already is.

My master didn't want to do anything with you. But her soul sense as a Sage was bound to affect you because of your breakdown there.

Your nightmares are because of the external influence you have on your soul right now. A residual influence, which should eventually vanish on its own.

These nightmares would eventually stop. But how long it'd take depends on your soul and its ability to get rid of foreign influence."

Eren finally understood there was an external reason behind his nightmares. That gave him comfort because he thought he was going crazy. He looked at the ranked bottle of liquor and had another urge to uncork it.

The butcher fought that urge and asked Layla:

"Give me a solution, Layla. Is there any way to expedite this process?"

Layla looked at Eren's condition. He was still sweating all over. She could still shake his body and sighed. The young witch thought for a while before answering:

"There is indeed a solution I can think of right off the bat. It could be beneficial for you in the long run as well. You can try ingesting the stalks of Stellar Sativa that can help you get rid of foreign influences on your soul. It could also aid in strengthening your subconscious control over your soul.

It is a ranked herb. Its rarity increases with the increase in rank. Safe to say, its price would increase with it too. I don't know how rare it is nowadays. But since it is needed in the concoction recipes of a lot of potions, it wouldn't be that difficult to get."

The E-Rank booze was again stored within Eren's ID storage. He had bought it to drink at his leisure, after all. He wouldn't be dramatic enough to break it for no reason and waste his Extols or his beloved booze. He had just refused to drink it when he was emotionally at his weakest.

"Do you have any stalks on you? I don't think I'd be able to sleep without something like that in my system these days."

Eren wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked with a bit of hope in his eyes. Sadly, he was going to be disappointed by the young witch's answer:

"Of course not. Eren, Stellar Sativa gets spoiled if you store it carelessly without using an array. Since it is easy to obtain, the potioners would just get it when they need it."

Eren's expressions turned grim when he heard Layla's response. He was low-key scared to try to sleep now.

"Is there… any other temporary remedy?"

Eren asked expecting a no in response. But this time Layla surprised him:

"Hmph! Why don't you try doing those lewd things? They seemed to work for a leecher like you."

Layla intended it as a joke, of course. But the latter found it plausible and he was ready to give it a shot.

Eren thought of messing with Layla for her rude tone of voice. He raised his eyebrows before asking in disbelief:

"Lewd things with whom? You?"

Layla seemed to have frozen in shock. She burst in anger soon after:

"Pervert… I knew you were eyeing me. Stay away from me. I… I suddenly don't feel safe with you."

Eren heard Layla's exaggerated reply and snorted before replying:

"Eyeing you? Pfft! With that flat chest of yours, the possibility of that is lower than me being beaten down by a rankless human.

Anyway. I guess I gotta go and…"

Eren looked at the shaking of his hands and continued:

…. Look for a solution."

Layla understood what he was trying to say and immediately replied:

"You…. Don't look down on a lady's endowments, you pervert.

And… *cough*... size is not everything. I'm cute and I know it. Hmph!"

Layla said and looked at the pendant he was wearing before continuing:

"Anyway, remove the pendant before you carry on with your lewd activities. Don't worry. My humble abode is, for worse or worse, space-bound with you by master's magic. It would appear on your personnel when you are at a certain distance away from it.

I'm saying this because I don't want to watch more of what I already saw in the evening. Hmph!"

Eren smirked at Layla's reply and removed the pendant. He kept it on his pillow before heading out of his room.

Eren saw Jake was still busy in his potioneering projects when he came out. He had a wild idea to get back at Layla for her witty jabs. He approached his roommate when he put his flask down and asked:

"Jakey, my man. How's it working out?"

Jake was a bit surprised by Eren's approach to starting a casual talk. Usually, he'd be so tight-lipped that he wouldn't even notice him even if they lived in the same dorm house. Therefore, it wouldn't take long for him to guess what could be the cause behind it.

"I thought we already talked about everything there is to talk about regarding your departure. Hmm. What do you need, Eren? If it's your loan of merit points and Extols, then I can only say you need to wait…"

Eren interrupted Jake before he could continue:

"You got it wrong Jake. I wanted to ask if you still have "those" magazines we had bought from the city of Lionhearts."

Jake was shocked before forming a "cultured" smile on his face. He laughed like a baby hyena before asking him:

"Kekekekeke! How many do you want?"

Eren flashed an evil grin before answering with one word:

"Yes!"

Jake laughed his heart out and retrieved all of his items in front of his pal. The guy had collected a lot over the months. He offered them all– thinking Eren might need them for the road tomorrow and then for his stay in the city of Osan.

Eren looked at a huge pile of magazines in shock. After he whistled and clapped his friend's back, he deposited all those magazines in his storage. He walked back to his room again after that.

Jake laughed again and shook his head before resuming his potioneering project.

"Layla, are you done with the array disc?"

Eren asked as soon as he entered his room. Layla was surprised the guy finished his adventure this early. Then she thought he must have had cold feet to approach Renita.

She appeared in front of him with the array disk and a vial of potion:

"Not so brave, are we? Hehehe. Yes, I'm done."

====================

AN: Brace yourself for the mass release tomorrow. ;)