The little girl was smart—really smart. She knew Thunder wouldn't do anything to her now, so she took a chance and flirted.
Feeling Thunder's breathing grow heavier, Tifa giggled and squirmed in his arms. Girls like her always acted this way. Before, she had thought maybe he wasn't interested, but now she knew better—it wasn't that she had no charm, it was just that the young master had real self-control.
Tempting… Tifa's chest wasn't big, but it was firm—very different from Maria's. If Maria's were ripe mangoes, then Tifa's were fresh green apples. The tiny bud on top stood proudly, soft yet strong, and Thunder could easily imagine its pink color.
He clenched his jaw and pulled his hand away, placing Tifa facedown across his lap. With a few quick smacks, he gave her a light punishment.
Tifa turned her head and looked at him with wide, bright eyes—eyes full of seduction.
"Will you behave next time?" Thunder asked sternly.
"No," she said quietly, hiding her face behind her hands.
"Good girl." He pulled her back beside him, trying to push all inappropriate thoughts out of his mind. He stretched and lay back on the bed. Of course, Tifa followed, resting her head on his arm and staring up at him.
The blanket carried her sweet scent, and he took a deep breath before asking, "Was everything okay while I was gone?"
"Nothing much. Except once when a wolf came to the farm. Carlos hit it with a hoe and killed it."
"Carlos… good man." Thunder remembered seeing the big guy at the slave market—he'd bought him mostly because of his lucky face. And truth be told, ever since Carlos arrived, things had been going well.
"He's really strong too," Tifa added. "Once, I saw him training in the yard with a stick. He broke a stone with one hit."
"What size stone?"
"About as big as me!" she replied excitedly. "But it wasn't very hard—he only tapped it lightly, and it cracked without even making a sound."
"How do you know it wasn't a hard stone?"
"He told me so. He saw me watching and explained it to me."
No stone breaks that easily unless… *Could it be?* Thought Thunder. Is he hiding his battle aura?
Hmm, maybe I should test him one day.
"What is this?" Thunder suddenly felt something under the blanket. He pulled it out and was about to look closer when Tifa snatched it away in panic.
"You can't see that!"
She hadn't even taken off her shoes yet, but she jumped onto the bed like a frightened cat, curling into the corner, holding the paper tightly, eyes full of fear.
"I already saw part of it. Why hide it?"
"Ahhh…" Tifa lowered her head and stayed quiet for a long moment before finally laying the paper flat on the bed. "I belong to you, Thunder. Now and forever. This contract proves it."
"This is your old contract?" Thunder asked, surprised. "Didn't I tear it up before?"
"Oh no… I glued it back together." She whispered, biting her lip.
Thunder smiled softly. He understood now. Even though he didn't think such a thing was needed anymore, Tifa had kept it close.
This cursed bond might chain her life, but it also tied them together. Though Thunder didn't need it, Tifa did—and now, he kind of got why.
"Thunder! Lunch is ready!" Erik's voice called from outside.
Both their faces reddened. After a quick glance at each other, they stood up, straightened their clothes, and opened the door.
Outside, Erik was running around aimlessly like a headless chicken.
"Oh! There you are! What were you two doing in there?" Erik asked cluelessly.
Both Thunder and Tifa blushed again.
At lunchtime, the three lightning students kept calling him "Thunder," which confused Old Oak and Tifa.
"That's just the name I used at the academy," Thunder explained. "It sounded cool."
"Oh," Tifa said, smiling. It didn't matter what others called him—*he will always be my Master.*
After lunch, Thunder had Tifa teach the lightning trio about body points and meridians. Since she had studied his charts before, and had learned quite a bit through *personal experience,* she was the perfect teacher.
Then Thunder went alone into the study. He spread many sheets of fine-cut parchment on the table. Bottles filled with colorful monster bloods lined the desk.
Taking the special scroll-writing pen Maria had gifted him, Thunder began his work. High-level scrolls—those of level five or six—needed monster blood to reach full power. Everything was ready. All that remained was for him to begin.
**Will the magic scrolls be powerful enough to protect them? Or will secrets buried in the past rise again?**