Supreme Magus novel Chapter 420

With Elina hugging him, the kids at his legs, and the whole family staring at him with an expectant gaze, not even Blink could save Lith from his predicament. He decided it was time to address the elephant in the room.

’Even if they do it in an annoying, nosy way, they are just looking out for me. There are so many things I keep hidden from them already. I’m not going to lie about something trivial like a fling.’ Lith thought.

He had no need to explain to them how the Ranger system worked. Ever since he had expressed the intention of joining the military, his family members had performed thorough research about it.

If not for Soluspedia, they would know more about the army than Lith. He told them about the hidden village. To keep the story family-friendly, he changed the slavers into monsters and their victims into scared but healthy prisoners.

The kids enjoyed it while the adults shuddered. They knew that the more fable-like the story was, the more atrocities he was omitting. Then he explained how he met his handler, Kamila, and asked her out.

"I didn’t buy new clothes because of her." Lith was adamant about it.

"Between the border warfare and the lost cities, the inhabitants of Belius are afraid of uniforms. I needed clothes, otherwise I would be an unwelcome guest in any establishment of the city."

"He said ’clothes’ twice, so he bought more than a single set." Elina spoke like he wasn’t even there.

"Yeah, also since when does he care what other people think? Not to mention that my son isn’t the kind of man who would spend money just to be able to spend more on food. Not when he can get free meals at the canteen and sleep in the barracks."

Raaz shook his head. Lith’s cover story was hard to believe.

Lith didn’t know whether to be happy for how well they knew him or ashamed for being universally considered a cheapskate.

"Is she really a princess?" Leria asked full of curiosity. Having a King for an uncle was still among her childish dreams.

"Gods, no!" Lith shuddered at the idea. During his work as Assistant Professor he had met the Queen’s daughters more than once. They were even less beautiful than Phloria and so stuck up that they were unbearable.

Lith would consider dating them only if they were the last women on Mogar.

"Is she pretty?" Aran asked.

Lith cupped his hands and conjured a 3D hologram of Kamila with light magic. It was a full-body image as big as a doll and in greyscale, representing her as she was dressed during their first date.

"She is to me. Kamila has a beautiful smile and seems to be a very caring woman."

"She is really cute. How old is she?" Rena was trying to make her tone sound as casual as possible. She even threw in a compliment before asking the only question those present really cared about.

"Twenty-six." The answer was welcomed with a barrage of snorts and sighs.

"Another one older than me! What do you have against girls your age?" Rena rolled her eyes, not even attempting to hide her displeasure.

"Nothing, besides them usually being shallow and childish." Lith replied with a snarl.

"I have to back him up on this." Tista’s voice was sad. "All the mages I met were arrogant pricks, nobles are only interested in marriage, and commoners are terrified by us." She had summarized her whole love life in a single phrase.

Even after joining the Mage Association and having asked for Jirni’s help, she never got past the first date.

"Besides, Lith is very mature and sophisticated for his age. He has even decided to travel the world to expand his horizons. Pressuring him like this is unfair. Love doesn’t come with a deadline. This kind of things needs time."