"You're crazy!" Wendy shouted the moment her breathing stabilized once again. "Why did you do that? Were you trying to kill me?!"

A slight air of disgust became apparent in Harper's face. "Didn't you want to die?" she said bluntly, eyeing Wendy as if she was some kind of deformed creature. "I was just helping you." A look of disbelief dawned on Wendy's face. Harper didn't care, however, and continued: "You want to die simply because of a scar. Do you think it was very easy for me to save your life? Do you know that my medical fees and expenses to cure you were so high that if I decided to charge them all to your clan, your family would be bankrupt and living in the streets?"

It was Wendy's first time hearing all of this. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that her family could go bankrupt just because of her medical expenses.

"Shut up" she shouted, shaking her head. "Lies, lies, lies!"

Once again, Harper acted like she didn't hear Wendy's lamentations. "Do you know that the pill to cure you is invaluable?" she continued. "Do you know how great of an effort I spent to get an herb from Labyrinth

with her, she will be safe."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Zack. It's my job to protect Lady Harper. She is not only a benefactor of my clan, but also a friend of mine. In addition, since she is my superior, it has always been my duty to protect her."

"As one of her friends, I just want to thank you for being there for her," Zack said. He then took a deep breath, smiled, and continued, "I always feel that she is getting stronger and stronger every day, and that her mind keeps expanding to new horizons. I don't know until when that would last, but I want her to always be safe from any kind of harm."

Shawn's eyes twinkled. It was true that Harper had been getting stronger and stronger as days went by, and they all seemed left behind, unable to catch up to her no matter how hard they tried.

"Anyway, she will come back home eventually," Shawn sighed.

"Yeah, she will come back home," Zack said somberly. After a while, he shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of something inside of him. "You know what? Forget about the work. I can deal with them tomorrow. Let's go for a drink!"