My eyesight recovered rather swiftly after escaping from the onslaught of fire. Before I even managed to see everything clearly, just by looking upwards I was able to see a tall figure with reddish colour climbing to the skies. Only after my sight finally recovered completely did I realise that it was, in fact, my spell!

But it's not a time to marvel at the might of my capabilities. Discovering who was inside the room won't be hard for literally anyone who could be bothered to do so, and considering the sheer scale of the commotion that was already appearing everywhere around, someone would investigate this issue. 

This was a gross mistake from me! If I don't do something fast, people will start asking questions that I would like to avoid if I want to keep the existence of my system and my extraordinary capabilities away from common view!

"TREASON!"

With no other idea how I should divert the attention from the crowd, I shouted as loud as I could, falling to my knees.

"SOMEONE TRIED TO KILL US!"

Well, blaming this situation at non-existing assassin works in many ways. Not only I will be able to push the blame, but both my dear cousin and Baxhar with his entourage will also have to be wary of an unknown third party trying to meddle with me and Eve!

"Are you okay?"

As soon as my shouts were picked up by the crowd, someone approached us and offered his hand while helping me to stand up. Grabbing his extended arm, I used it to straighten myself up, before turning to Eve and embracing her tightly.

"I'm so glad we survived."

Pushing the head of my beloved on my shoulder to hide her puzzled expression, I started trembling. It took her a good while to realise my intentions but as soon as she did, her body almost instantly melted down to the point where I had to support her!

"Someone call the medic! Here, have this rejuvenation pill!"

Wow! I didn't expect a random stranger to pass such a valuable item to us! If not for the fact that it was all a ruse, I would gladly accept it! While I might be shameless in many situations, I can't accept honest help when I don't need it!

"Eve, are you injured?"

Pushing her at the distance of my shoulders, I carefully examined her body. Without any surprise, the only thing that was wrong with both of us, was a drastic lack of the energy that we sapped while creating as many shields as we could to defend ourselves from the blast.

"No, I managed to escape the harm. If not for your quick wits, I would most definitely be dead!"

Realising that she had trouble in keeping her fragile expression of fear and instability, I quickly pulled her in back in my hug to cover her face from the eyes of the onlookers.

"I'm the city official! Let me through!"

Sooner than I actually expected, some expert made his way through the crowd. With the fireflare finally exhausting its energy, it rather quickly shrunk and disappeared from the sight. 

"What happened here?!"

Arriving right in the centre of commotion where we stood, the official saw a tightly shut gate and our duo embracing each other. It wasn't hard to realise what this aftermatch meant, but that didn't change the fact that we were the only ones who knew what had happened inside!

Not going to let Eve pick the burden of bullshiting our way out of it, I lowered my body and sat her on the ground before straightening myself back and facing the official.

"Sir, we were sparring inside the training room that we rented when I felt powerful energy. Following my wits, I erected a barrier around the two of us, but before I realised, it was already on the verge of collapsing! If not for the fact that we were close to the doors and my fiancee helped me to sustain the protection for a little longer, we would be blasted to the death by the blaze that appeared out of nowhere! I'm sure someone tried to kill us in a place where there would be no witnesses! I demand an explanation! Those rooms were supposed to be perfectly safe!"

Blasting as many words as I could in this short timeframe before I would get interrupted and asked for details, I frantically moved my hands around. In case this official would try to question us more, I had a teary story that included someone targeting Eve because of her connections to a powerful local family but I was highly reluctant to use it. Before she will explain the entire topic to me on her own accord, I will do my best to avoid bringing it up!

"Calm down. With me here, no one will be able to do you any harm. Considering what you had to go through, do you want to go to the city hall to lodge a complaint? We will be sure to help you go through the entire process!"

At this point, I can't help but start to get suspicious. In any normal scenario, the first thing that an official should do was to look for a way to shift the responsibility and avoid letting the city take any prestige or financial hit. Why was he so keen to bring us with him?

Ah, I guess I'm overthinking things. There wasn't any assassination attempt in the first place, so I think he just wants to bring us to a place without a crowd and force us to keep this matter under wraps. But that doesn't suit my plan of stirring the trouble and uncertainty for our other enemies!

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I want to leave this place for now. My fiancee is taking part in the tournament, so we will report this matter to the organisation that takes care of it. Thanks for your offer but we will have to refuse!"