Overconfidence and cowardness were two elements that were closely related, and a person could be at the same time overconfident and a coward.
Such a person would always believe that they could do anything, that they were always right, but that was only because they feared failure.
Indeed, they feared failure so they hid behind their fake beliefs, persuading themselves that their every action was absolute.
Nevertheless, such a person would meet a bitter end, sooner or later, as no one would be absolute while being ignorant.
Adam, of course, had gained a lot of confidence in himself, in his ability, but he was still ignorant, and he kept making mistakes.
Thus, in front of the three girls, he needed to prove what kind of person he was.
The girls were very comprehensive considering what happened, and Adam knew this, but he couldn't also tell them everything just because of that.
Moreover, he didn't know what happened exactly, so he didn't know what these girls saw while his consciousness was, once again, brought to a different realm.
Still, Liu asked him if he was fine, but her tone and expression implied that she expected a detailed answer.
Of course, Adam didn't have the obligation to explain anything and could just say, 'I don't know what happened, but I am fine.' However, by doing so, he would admit that he couldn't control his power, or worse, it would destroy the image that Liu and the others had of him.
Such things, however, were not valid reasons for Adam to say anything unless he cared about it.
"I am fine," Adam said, and he was calm, showing no excessive expression on his face apart from a faint smile. "The monsters' cores were indeed useful as predicted, but I didn't expect that the energy contained inside of the cores would create that phenomenon after it penetrated his body. Fortunately, I managed to do something about it before things got out of hand. Sorry for worrying you, Liu…and also the both of you."
Adam spoke calmly, and his eyes were locked on Liu. Instead of trying to hide everything, Adam used part of the truth to answer the immediate questions that the girls had in mind.
That wouldn't be enough, of course, but Adam wouldn't meet these three again after they managed to survive, so he lead their focus on the monsters' cores and what one could do with them, excluding himself from the discussion.
After hearing her name, Liu didn't say anything for a while before she said, "I was thinking about leaving you behind…" Then, she averted her eyes and continued eating.
"Well, I would understand if you did that," Adam said, and when he did, Blanca and Zax shot piercing glares at him.
After all, Zax saw Liu's expression during the time Adam's power went out of control, so she knew that there was more to Liu's attitude than what she showed on the surface.
Of course, she couldn't make any comment about it while the two people concerned were trying to put on poker faces.
She was still wondering how Liu and Adam saw each other, or how they felt about each other, because despite their unfriendly interactions, they had something for each other, at least, that was what she thought.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Zax tried to change the topic. "And who is that little girl? Is that Cristal's new form?" She asked.
"Well, things got a little bit complicated," Adam said. "Liu, when you were at the Empire, have you heard about monsters that could take human form?"
"Human form? Are you saying that the little girl is a monster?" Blanca asked.
"Yes, that's the case, and I am still trying to understand this phenomenon. That little monster girl has the intelligence of a baby and learns things like a baby, so she is not violent like when she was a monster, and theoretically, depending on the environment where she will live in the future, she would probably grow up like a human," Adam explained.
"Well, I've never heard of such a thing," Liu answered Adam's previous question, but her expression suggested that she was thinking about the situation.
"Can monsters do that?" Zax asked, knitting her eyebrows. "Ah! Does that mean that the ones who kidnapped Liu were also monsters?"
Nevertheless, Adam knew that they had more important things to think about, at least for the moment, so they didn't have time to explore this topic.
"Well, I don't think this evolution happens often, but for now, we need to make sure that we keep this between us," Adam said.
"You don't want the Empire to find out about this?" Liu asked.
"I am not sure how the Empire will treat a monster that looks like a little girl, but I don't want to leave her in other people's hands unless I know what's going on," Adam replied.
"Is there any reason for you to leave her to this… empire, in the first place?" With a skeptical tone, Blanca asked.
"You are probably not aware of it, but in this universe, the Empire play a major role, so a discovery like this would interest them," Adam explained. "Anyway, there are a lot of things that had happened, and we have a lot of questions that need to be answered, but I believe that it's dangerous to talk carelessly about everything that had happened."
Adam was trying to make the girls understand that what was happening was beyond them, and those who were interested in this topic were certainly not normal people.
However, Liu took Adam's words differently, because the first thing that came to her mind when she thought about the Empire was her father.
"I don't think we have the choice. At this point, the Empire would monitor everything happening here," Liu said.
"Well, you are right," Adam said, knowing that there would be a lot of questions related to how they managed to survive all of this time. "That's why they shouldn't learn Blanca and the dragon girl's existence to protect them. I am not sure yet, but I believe that some dangerous people are hiding within the empire," he added.
"How do you know that? You've never been in the Empire, right?" Liu asked.
"It's just a matter of reflection. I never thought that people who performed inhuman experiences on humans would exist on the planet under my father's jurisdiction, either," Adam said.
"That doesn't mean they would inevitably end up…" Liu was about to say something to dispute Adam's reasoning, but she suddenly stopped, as if she realized that she was talking without thinking about the weight of her words.
In the first place, she knew how rotten the Empire was, but she just wanted to argue with Adam for some reason. "Well, we still need to explain what happened."
"Well, as long as you agree, I can come up with the most logical explanation that we can give them," Adam said.
"And what that would be?" Liu asked.
At some point, it turned into a discussion between Adam and Liu.
Zax and Blanca looked at these two without saying anything, then glanced at each other as if they were communicating telepathically.
Blanca, of course, saw Adam as a reliable person and didn't see him as a charming prince or anything. Since she was little, everything related to romance was never introduced to her.
Thus, these two didn't find it weird to see Adam and Liu acting like they didn't care about each other.
"You made a breakthrough and awakened your authority," Adam said straightforwardly.
Hearing Adam's words, Liu looked at Adam with an emotionless face. Then, the two of them continued to stare at each other for a while.
Looking at them, Blanca almost laughed out loud, and no one knew what kind of thought made her feel that way.
Zax didn't say anything but she looked like she had question marks floating above her head.
"Are you serious?" Liu asked.
"Yes, because it would make things difficult if we explained it differently. You made a breakthrough, beat the boss monster, and so we managed to return through the portal, and that's it," Adam said.
"You know that it's not that simple, right? We still need to explain how did we end up in that world, and in the first place, the fact that we entered a portal is already a big deal…" Liu said, but then she realized that she was talking too much, so she stopped.
"Well, that was just the most important thing that we need to stress on. Moreover, it's true, so it's not like we are lying; we are just excluding some information," Adam explained.
"Like your power, I presume?"
"Not necessarily. My power consists of manipulating this weird metal anyway, so it's not a big deal," Adam said, materializing a black cube on his palm.
Although he wasn't aware of Liu and her father's relationship, her mission, and the importance of Verte to her father, he was being inconsiderate of Liu's feelings, .
He just wanted to keep things simple so that he could get rid of the unwanted attention, but by doing so, he would expose Liu to a lot of other problems.
"…" Believing that all of this was her due to her mistake, Liu thought that she would need to take responsibility for all of it in one way or another, so she didn't say anything and listened to Adam's plan from there. She couldn't blame Adam for not knowing anything, or his attempt to cover Blanca and what had happened, or so she thought.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l