Chapter 33: A Decades-Old Pact and a New Quest

Sensing an object thrown their way, Novas snapped out of their thoughts, swiftly catching the item tossed up from below.

Unfurling their hand, their eyes narrowed slightly upon discerning the vertical pupil carved into the badge resting in their palm, which exuded an ominous aura.

They recognized this artifact, for it was the source from which the War Fiends had derived their control methods.

Recalling their decades-old pact with them, Novas’s face darkened, and they gritted their teeth.

“Your Majesty, have you remembered now?” The Youth asked, gazing calmly at Novas, who clenched the badge in their hand, a smile playing on their lips.

“Hmph, I remember,” Novas scoffed, tossing the ominous badge back before rising from the throne.

“Since you recall, allow me to introduce myself,” the Youth said, their smile widening as they lightly touched their chest.

“Ha, an introduction won’t be necessary. Speak your purpose—yours, or rather, *your group’s* purpose,” Novas stated, their expression composed as they fixed their gaze on the Youth.

“Oh?” The Youth raised an eyebrow, their smile deepening. “Your Majesty is truly forthright. In that case, I shall not beat around the bush.

“Not long ago, in the Jiayu Mountains near the Forest of Fireflies, I encountered a Young Man and two Maidens. I hope you can help me apprehend one of them—the white-haired girl.”

“Apprehend someone? That is simple enough. However… the Forest of Fireflies and its surrounding areas fall within the Ditters Empire’s territory. Shouldn’t you instruct them to make the arrest? Why come to us, the people of the North?” Novas countered, crossing their arms as their gaze met the Youth’s eyes.

“Because they are heading straight for you!”

“…”

Upon hearing these words, Novas fell into a profound silence.

“Your Majesty, what are your thoughts on this matter?” The Youth inquired, tilting their head slightly as they watched Novas.

“…I understand. We shall handle this,” Novas conceded with a sigh.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Youth offered a slight bow, then pulled up their hood, once again concealing their face, before turning to leave.

“Might I ask why your esteemed sect wishes to apprehend that girl? Is there anything particularly special about her?”

Novas, observing the figure about to exit the palace, decided after a moment’s thought that an inquiry was best.

“That is not for you to know!” The Youth replied curtly, then ascended into the air and vanished.

Watching the Youth come and go with such ease, Novas slowly furrowed their brows, an unnamed fire igniting within their heart, yet they could say nothing.

****

High above,

The Youth indifferently overlooked the magnificent palace and the bustling populace below.

“Enjoy yourselves thoroughly!”

“The people here truly seem happy, wouldn’t you agree, Deacon Ledi?”

“Aipang, why have you followed me?” Hearing the voice beside them, Ledi, who had been expressionlessly observing the ground, slightly turned their head to face the short, stout Black-Robed Figure who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“Deacon, I was merely concerned for you,” Aipang, the Black-Robed Figure, fawned, rubbing their hands together.

“Hmph,” Ledi scoffed, then ascended into the air and flew off into the distance.

“Deacon, wait for me!”

Seeing Ledi depart, Aipang immediately followed.

****

The night passed without incident.

As the first light of dawn began to illuminate the land, Ailin, who had been sleeping with their eyes closed beneath a tree, abruptly opened them.

“Ailin, you’re awake?” Qi Lin asked, sensing the movement. They had been embracing their knees, watching the sky, and now shifted their gaze to Ailin, who was standing a short distance away.

“Why didn’t you wake me for the second half of the night watch?” Ailin questioned, frowning as they looked at Qi Lin, their tone laced with confusion.

“That was…” Qi Lin pursed their lips. “That was because I became too engrossed in the moon and then forgot… Besides, I feel exceptionally energetic and not tired at all, so I thought there was no harm in not waking you.”

“Eh? You’re both awake already?”

Nia stretched, opening her eyes to see Ailin and Qi Lin already up, and exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah, Nia, you’re awake?” Qi Lin turned to Nia.

“Mm, I had a wonderful sleep!” Nia replied, standing up and squinting her eyes with a smile. However, something occurred to her, and she asked with a touch of confusion, “Right, what’s wrong with you two? You looked as if you were confronting something just now.”

“Nothing, really. Just that Qi Lin stayed on watch all night,” Ailin stated, leaning against the tree trunk with crossed arms, addressing Nia.

“Ah?” Nia gasped. “No, Qi Lin, why did you stay on watch all night? And why didn’t you wake us?”

“I… I just wanted to do something for you, especially since you’ve put yourselves in danger to help me find my friend…” Qi Lin said, shrinking their head slightly.

“You call that danger? The Ditters Kingdom? Heavens, what’s that? We’re already targets for arrest by those nations anyway!” Nia declared, perking up her slightly curled ears on top of her head as she spoke to Qi Lin. “In any case, from now on, for night watch, we must take turns!”

“Nia is right; that’s not good for your sleep,” Ailin added, agreeing with Nia.

“Mm, I understand,” Qi Lin could only promise, even though they felt perfectly fine without sleep.

Hearing Qi Lin’s assurance, Ailin said nothing more and walked directly to the pit where the potions were stored.

After a brief glance at the magic circle, made from residue, that had turned to ash in the pit, Ailin retrieved the potion from within.

Holding the potion bottle up to their eyes, Ailin gazed at the crystal-clear, ruby-like liquid inside and nodded.

“Just a few warm clothes, and we can officially set off for Candilac.”

Muttering to themselves, Ailin walked back to Nia’s side.

“How is it?” Nia inquired.

“The anti-cold potion is ready. Now we need to solve the warm clothing problem,” Ailin paused, then added, “Once the warm clothes are sorted, we can depart for Candilac.”

“Warm clothes, huh!” Nia mused, pinching her chin. “Making clothes requires fabric, but where do we get fabric?”

“The knowledge our elders taught us, and what I mentioned recently… did you forget again?” Ailin asked, glancing at Nia and tapping their temple with a slight headache.

Nia stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

“In any case, our most urgent task now is to first leave this mountain range; only then can we address the issue of warm clothing,” Ailin stated truthfully, turning to look at the towering mountains in the distance.

Hearing this, Qi Lin and Nia nodded in understanding.

“So, how do we get there?” Nia asked, though she immediately regretted speaking, as her question clearly made her sound foolish.

“Two options: one is to walk, and the other is for Qi Lin to fly us over,” Ailin said, pressing their lips together. “The fastest way is for Qi Lin to fly us.”

“Understood! Then, leave it to me.”

After telling the two, Qi Lin summoned the wings within their body.

Spreading their wings, Qi Lin checked the one that had been injured not long ago.

They breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the wing was completely unharmed.

‘I thought my wing hadn’t recovered yet,’ they mused.

Dismissing the thought, Qi Lin walked over to Nia and took hold of her waist.

Ailin, too, instinctively moved closer to Qi Lin.

After grasping Ailin’s waist as well, Qi Lin flapped their wings, slowly lifting off the ground.

“Alright, Qi Lin, let’s go!” Ailin, held by the waist, pointed a direction and instructed Qi Lin.

Qi Lin nodded in understanding, then flapped their wings and flew in that direction.

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