People in the Alliance, Time Management Master

"..." Kasha fell silent once again.

The symbiotic carapace on her face quietly faded away without her noticing, revealing her flawless face to Mu Bai.

Deep in her heart, she kept repeating two extremely common words:

beautiful.

friend……

Chapter Six: The Living Buddha of Blood Harbor, Blessing of the Ocean, and Master of Anti-Fraud

In the end, Kasha still did not agree to have dinner with Mu Bai.

She felt embarrassed just thinking about that scene.

After all these years of living alone, suddenly having to eat with others feels... weird?

That's probably what social anxiety is all about.

Of course, she just didn't agree to have dinner with Mu Bai, but that doesn't mean she rejected all of Mu Bai's good intentions.

“This is called a Void Sawtooth Beast, or Sawtooth Beast for short.” Kai’Sa half-squatted on the ground, her slender jade fingers gently tracing a piece of wreckage. “It’s somewhat similar to an Earth-burrowing Beast, so don’t confuse them.”

“I understand. The one that attacked me last time was the Sawtooth Beast.” Mu Bai nodded repeatedly.

This is Kasha's "repayment" to Mubaiti.

—Help clean up the battlefield.

While other couples go out alone to eat and shop, they went to the outskirts to clean up the battlefield and incidentally educate people about void creatures.

Although this was somewhat different from the repayment Mu Bai had imagined, it was still not bad.

He's only been here a few days and his understanding of Runeterra isn't very clear yet, so it's good that Kai'Sa is there to help him learn more.

Anyway, it doesn't require much labor. It's called cleaning up the battlefield, but it's actually more like strolling around. Just keep an eye out for anything unusual.

Although the Void invasions are quite frequent, they don't happen every day, and the outskirts are not dangerous during normal times.

Hugging someone's coattails isn't shameful.

"You really know a lot, Miss Kasha." About two or three hours later, Mu Bai suddenly spoke up in praise.

"Just life experience." The girl turned her head, looked at the other person, then at the crescent moon above the dome, and suddenly realized:

"That's about it for today, it's getting late."

"No problem, I'll rest for a while and then go back."

Mu Bai breathed a sigh of relief, then casually found a flat rock to sit down. He had been running around all day, so it would be a lie to say he wasn't tired.

"Tired?" Kasha sat down next to her, keeping about an arm's length away.

At this moment, her Void Armor did not cover her head, and a few strands of hair that fluttered in the wind would occasionally brush against Mu Bai's face, making him feel a little itchy.

However, Mu Bai did not avoid her—he was afraid that she would misunderstand and think that he was looking down on her.

"A little... I really envy your physique."

"Envious?" The girl pursed her lips, a hint of bitterness hidden in her calm tone. "No, if you knew my past, you wouldn't feel envious."

As she spoke, she looked up at the horizon again. The bright new moon in her eyes was like a mocking smile, ridiculing the failure of the fallen and mocking the depravity of the defeated.

That past is unknown to others—even she herself doesn't remember it very clearly; she only knows that she failed.

The Void changed her, infected her, and turned her into a monster that was half-human and half-Void.

That indelible second layer of skin constantly reminds her of her past powerless resistance and depravity.

"Can you tell me about it?" Mu Bai asked subconsciously.

“There’s nothing to say… I was infected by the Void and gained evil power, that’s all.” The girl shrugged, looking somewhat forlorn.

Realizing he had misspoke, Mu Bai immediately corrected himself: "Would you like to hear some interesting stories about my hometown?"

"Whatever." Kasha continued to gaze at the moon, but the tingling sensation from the contraction of her second layer of skin became increasingly pronounced. "If you want to talk, I can listen."

She's still not used to chatting with people casually.

Even if the other person is her only friend... at least for now.

Kaisa is looking at the moon, and Mu Bai is looking at Kaisa.

He stared at her beautiful profile for a long time before saying, "My hometown is Bilgewater, a port city without laws or constraints..."

This is a false identity that Mu Bai fabricated for himself—a survivor from Bilgewater.

There are practically no Bilgewater people in the Sanctuary, and it's the most chaotic place in all of Runeterra, making it very convenient to use as a bluff.

Even if you accidentally say something wrong, no one will notice.

As for the "funny stories" to tell Kai'Sa, just combine the backstories of Bilgewater heroes and modify them a bit.

Characters like Blood Harbor Living Buddha, Ocean Blessing, Miss Lucky, Anti-Fraud Master, Law-Abiding Citizen... can all be easily adapted into good material.

As several stories were told, Kasha became more and more fascinated, her gloom vanished, and her mind was filled with nothing but fantasies about the stories.

She never imagined that the world outside of Icathia and Bandle City was so wonderful.

More than half an hour later, Mu Bai let out a long breath, announcing the end of the last story.

Kasha rested her chin on her hand, blinking her beautiful purple eyes several times, seemingly still wanting more.

"That was amazing..." For the first time, the ruthless Void Hunter showed an expression that only a little girl would have in front of others.

Of course, she didn't notice it herself.

Mu Bai stole a glance at the girl's adorable expression, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. "Not bad. Actually, I know some more interesting things. Do you want to hear them?"

"Yes..." Kasha regretted it as soon as she opened her mouth. She suddenly realized that she was being too enthusiastic.

People will dislike you if you do that...

“I mean… if you want to continue.” Her slightly flustered appearance added to her charm.

Mu Bai chuckled inwardly, but on the surface, he showed no change and simply nodded slightly.

"Tomorrow. Meet me at the city gate at the same time tomorrow, and I'll continue the story then."

"Hmm? Okay." Kasha was a little disappointed, but she didn't try to stop her.

Young as she was, she would never have imagined that the other party's tactic was called playing hard to get.

Maintain a little distance and mystery, and leave yourself a reason to meet again—perfect.

..............................

Bandle City, the city center.

Inside the rune-inscribed chamber.

Zilean finally welcomed Ryze back from his trip.

“Ryze, something…shocking happened while you were away today.”

Upon hearing this, the blue-skinned old mage immediately became interested. "You've grasped a new understanding of runes?"

"What new insights? This is even more exciting than understanding them completely, and it can refresh your understanding of runes." Zilean was looking forward to his old friend's next reaction.

"Refresh your understanding...?"

Chapter Seven: What Grandmother Paradox? I'm really not familiar with it.

Do you know what you're saying?

Inside the rune chamber, the old mage Ryze slammed his hand heavily on the table, the loud sound echoing throughout the room.

His thick eyebrows furrowed together, and his eyes, whose pupils were obscured, gleamed with a white light—a sign of overflowing magic; he was almost losing control of his power.

Because he was very angry.

His most trusted old friend, Zilean, had actually set his sights on the runes.

He had warned everyone he knew that runes were both a treasure and a devil. No one could use them recklessly.

Even though the sanctuary's energy barrier relies on runes to maintain, Ryze himself is always very careful, cautiously allowing each "chosen one" to take turns absorbing rune energy, for fear of any mishaps.

But now, Zilean wants a young man to use the runes alone!

"You know, Zilean! Even the Chosen One can only absorb a little rune energy every now and then. You know why!"

Ryze was so excited that he was almost incoherent.

“Yes, I know, of course I know.” Kieran nodded and sighed softly.

He was fully aware of the dangers of runes.

No matter who it is, they must be extremely careful when absorbing runic energy, and they must spend a long time digesting it after each absorption to avoid being bewitched by the runes.

Even so-called celestial warriors, or ascendants, are no exception.

Nasus paid a price for this conclusion.

"Then what exactly are you insisting on?" Ryze said angrily. "Have you also been bewitched by the runes, my friend?"

“No…” Kieran looked at the other person calmly, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.

He hadn't expected Ryze's reaction to be so intense—in terms of opposition.

At first, he thought Ryze would approve of him, or at least not oppose him.

“This is our last chance, Ryze. You have to trust me, trust my understanding of time.”

"It's not that I don't want to believe you, it's just... do you know what you're saying?" Ryze's right hand, hidden behind his back, secretly gathered magic power, ready to cast Rune Imprisonment at any moment.

He guessed his friend had gone mad.

“Listen to me, Ryze… Think about it, even if we lose the bet, so what? The worst that can happen is nothing. But if we win… this is our only chance to turn things around.”

Kieran rubbed his temples in frustration, the clock behind him ticking away as if providing accompaniment to his persuasion:

"We have nothing left to lose, haven't we?"

"When did you become so cowardly, my friend? You've collected four World Runes, you know them better than anyone, you know it's perfectly possible!"