Garcia wore a low-key outfit. She had on a plaid s.h.i.+rt and a pair of jeans paired with a pair of sungla.s.ses and a cap on her head, probably not to draw unwanted attention. But Roland's impression of his sister was very deep, so he could immediately tell from her voice who she was, even if her face was veiled tightly.

Roland glanced at the note on the arm of the chair to make sure that he did not take the wrong seat before he asked, "Why can't it be me?"

"Well," she let out a nasal sound to show her dissatisfaction, apparently having seen the name on the note too.

"Anyway, I can't believe you have kids!"

This was totally mind-blowing. Did Zero take possession of both Garcia and her child who she gave birth to at the Port of Clearwater in the battle of Everwinter?

"My cousin," she spat out coldly.

"Well... It only seems to be a subst.i.tute."

Roland thought.

Somehow he felt a bit strange about the change in Garcia's att.i.tude towards him, from the contempt and disgust when they first met, to the current impatience which was open and obvious.

As attendees trickled in, the parents' meeting finally began. After the teacher on stage finished talking about his plan for the new term, it came to the part where every student had the right of speech. As soon as Zero rose from her chair, her pure natural white hair and crystal red pupils that looked remarkably unique, coupled with her beautiful appearance, triggered a sudden surge of argument among the parents and drew fixed gazes from all of the children. Her beauty was something that every witch maintained in the Dream World, something that could be count as a huge advantage in Roland's opinion.

Roland had no choice but to enjoy the "eye salute" from other attendees since he had to stand up to accompany Zero who was about to make a speech. He could sense the doubts and jeers in the other parents' eyes, thinking that Zero certainly belonged to another family and he was unqualified to be a parent. He could sense all that from their eyes and smiles. Roland had to admit that his casual outfit, a cartoon short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt paired with a pair of knee-length pants, made him look extremely different compared with the rest of them.

After Roland returned to his seat, he sensed Garcia's secret gaze, which depressed him even more. With a pair of sungla.s.ses, she could gaze at him as freely as she wanted to, but if he stared back to her and found out that she was not actually paying any attention to him, that would be quite awkward.

It was not long before he felt his elbow being nudged by Garcia and a note was pa.s.sed to him.

Roland frowned and unfolded the note. Her handwriting displayed such a sharpness and sternness that even someone who could not appreciate calligraphy could feel the power behind it. As Roland read the note, his heart thudded slightly.

"You're the mysterious martialist who pelted in the street the other day, right?"

"h.e.l.l, how did she know that?"

Roland cursed in his heart.

Roland could not help but turn to look at Garcia, unexpectedly finding that she was still writing something.

Soon came the second note.

"Don't deny it. Martialists have a very acute sense of judging body figures and a sharp memory to capture the details of the movements. When I first saw you in the news, your figure gave me a familiar feeling, but now I'm sure it's you. Tell me honestly, did you just awaken your Force of Nature not long ago or did you mean to hide who you really were from the beginning?"

Remembering his figure? How dramatic! Even if a video was placed in front of him, he was not sure he would be able to recognize himself. Anyway, Garcia could not go so far as to ask every man in her eyes that had a similar figure. That meant that she must be, in a sense, extremely observant in order to connect the mysterious martialist with him.

"Is this why she changed her att.i.tude?"

Roland hesitated for a moment, and then as soon as he raised his hand, a pen was given to him.

He had intended to deny it, to argue about how absurd it was, but an idea suddenly hit him as his pen touched the paper.

To be honest, his interest in the martialist was as much as that of any onlooker. He did not even have the slightest intention of picking up the gauntlet. In the Dream World, he could be regarded as half of a creator G.o.d, so winning a fight was no big deal, yet losing would be undoubtedly humiliating. Moreover, in nine cases out of ten, according to what he saw on TV, he would most likely lose without any formal training.

Actually, compared to collecting materials and exploring the memory fragments, the studying of the Force of Nature was not a top priority, yet he found out that he might as well take this encounter as a nice breakthrough. It would obviously be good if he could take this opportunity to improve the relations.h.i.+p between him and Garcia. He could use it to get the chance to visit her in her apartment.

Following his mind, Roland wrote down the answer on the back of the note, his handwriting crooked.

"What is Force of Nature? I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Even kids know that. Why are you acting like a fool?"

After tossing back the note, she also took off her sungla.s.ses and cast a stern glance at Roland out of the corners of her eyes.

"So the Force of Nature is the reason why my strength grew suddenly?"

"The Force of Nature can do more than that. Haven't you paid any attention to the propaganda of the Martialist a.s.sociation?"

"I am neither interested in fighting nor concerned with what you said."

"Besides partic.i.p.ating in the compet.i.tions, being a martialist also comes with the responsibility to preserve urban order and ensure social security."

"What is that?"

"It's complicated. We'd better find a place to discuss more details."

Excellent, Roland applauded himself for his own intelligence in his heart. Things seemed to be moving in the exact direction he had hoped.

"Really? But I have to go to the company this afternoon. What about visiting you in the evening?"

Roland got everything under his control. He thought if he promised Garcia now, they would probably find a cafe or a small restaurant nearby to have a talk, but if he made up some excuses to delay the talk until evening, she would find it hard to refuse his visit her home. After all, room 0825 and 0827 were so close that made it much more reasonable to have the talk in her home at a time that was between dinner and midnight.

As Roland expected, Garcia hesitated for a while and then nodded.

The students and parents took turns to speak on the stage. When it was Garcia's cousin's turn to stand up and make a speech, the murmuring of the audience burst out again.

But this time they focused on his social cla.s.s and background rather than his school performance and his appearance.

"Is he the little lord of the Clover a.s.sociation?"

"He didn't come with his parents."

"How could famous entrepreneurs like them have time to attend this meeting?"

"Does this lady also belong to the Clover a.s.sociation?"

"It should be. Apparently, she specially dressed up to avoid unwanted attention."

"It would be nice if I could accost her."

"Stop daydreaming. How would a lady like her ever talk to you?"

"The Clover a.s.sociation? What the h.e.l.l is that?" Roland rolled his eyes. "Sounds like an extraordinarily big company, but in that case, how could a relative of the owner of the a.s.sociation live in the shabby tube-shaped apartment?"

Moreover, Roland noticed a little strange expression on Garcia's face. Although her eyes were hidden under the sungla.s.ses, her clenched fists and sinking mouth gave up her emotions.

Roland had a feeling that there was more to it, but he did not think more about it. Tonight, he would have the chance to check whether his a.s.sumption was correct.