Chapter 73

Chapter 24. Twisting Two Fates (5)

Roar!

Enya, resembling an excited primate, pounded her chest and let out a wild scream. Jin flinched and involuntarily took a step back, while Quikantel sighed, looking troubled.

Thud!

Suddenly, Enya grabbed Jin's hands and bowed deeply, her head almost touching the ground, a gesture almost akin to a full prostration.

"Nice to meet you! Young Master Jin! I'm Enya!"

"Uh, um... Nice to meet you, Enya."

"Kyaah!"

By the heavens.

Jin had never seen such a scene in his life. Even in his previous life, when he was the admired Veradin Zipple, he had never encountered such an enthusiastic follower.

'So this is what it means to be admired?'

This was almost like the appearance of a believer welcoming a deity. In fact, Enya had already collapsed and was muttering incomprehensible prayers.

Jin felt so overwhelmed that his chest felt constricted.

The heart of a young girl with a crush on an 'idol' was, to Jin, a completely unknown territory. After all, Jin had never had an idol himself.

"Even when I became the contractee of Olta, it wasn't this extreme."

Quikantel felt a bit hurt.

At the moment when the god chose her, Enya had only exclaimed, "Wow!" Now, she was bouncing around like an excited puppy, giving Quikantel a strange sense of defeat.

'And I advised Lord Olta so much about the importance of lineage!'

Such a lack of dignity and decorum!

This was exactly why Olta and the silver dragons valued lineage. At the very least, a god's contractee should have some dignity.

But what could be done?

In the present era, there was no one more amiable than Enya, so they had to go through with the contract, even if it meant gritting their teeth. It was impossible to undo it now, and Quikantel had no choice but to love Enya.

That was the fate of a guardian dragon.

"Hmm, Enya. That's enough now."

Quikantel tried to calm Enya, who was still bouncing around. When Quikantel pressed her finger against Enya's forehead, Enya finally quieted down.

Of course, she didn't stop staring at Jin with her sparkling eyes.

'I wonder what Murakan would have said if he were awake.'

Jin chuckled lightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I got too excited. Seeing Young Master Jin in person, whom I've only seen in newsletters, made me lose my composure... I'm sorry!"

Enya bowed deeply again.

Her overly friendly and energetic personality was Jin's first impression of Enya.

"There's no need to apologize, Enya. I'm overwhelmed by your enthusiastic welcome."

"Kyaah! Should I welcome you even more?"

"That's enough."

"Lord Quikantel, Lord Quikantel! Please explain. How did Young Master Jin end up here? Could it be that Lord Olta answered my prayers?"

"What did you pray for every night?"

"Of course, I prayed to meet Young Master Jin. Hehe, anyway, today is a wonderful day! I was so tired from the Academy all day."

Quikantel's expression darkened.

He knew better than anyone how Enya was treated by the Academy students.

'I can't just kill all of them...'

Thinking of the cunning noble students who subtly tormented Enya, Quikantel felt his teeth grind. If they had physically assaulted her, he would have just killed them, but treating Enya like a transparent person left no room for Quikantel to intervene.

Jin, recalling Quikantel's expression and the nature of the Academy's noble students, nodded as if he understood.

'They must be humiliating her for being a commoner scholarship student. That's why I avoided Academy-trained mages in my previous life.'

During his time under a magic teacher, Jin had encountered all sorts of Academy-trained mages. And he had never met a more detestable group of people than them.

In any case.

It was time to rescue Enya from the clutches of those discriminators. Although Runkandel couldn't provide any support, he had just formed a new, independent force.

'If I can persuade Enya and move her family to Tikan, I can find her a good teacher for magic.'

The free city of Tikan was a more relaxed and humane city compared to Biment. Plus, with Kasimir's direct care, she would enjoy a better quality of life than most nobles.

If Enya could only give up her hometown of Biment, it would be a golden opportunity for her.

"Miss Enya, I came here to ensure your safety and take you away."

He said it because it was the truth.

However, it didn't take long to realize that was a mistake. The moment Jin spoke those words, Enya seemed to become the protagonist of a novel.

"Take... take me away. Take me, away, awayyy!"

Another commotion ensued. Enya was flailing her arms in the air like a half-crazed person, her eyes bloodshot.

"I'm going, I'm going! Anywhere, I'm going! Long live Olta!"

Thud.

Unable to bear it, Quikantel finally gave Enya a light tap on the back of the neck. Enya shivered and fainted, and Jin felt like he had just witnessed a bizarre one-act play.

"Ah, my head. How did such a kid become Olta's contractee?"

"Kids should be bright and cheerful."

"You're a kid too. Sigh, there's no need for persuasion. If you just say 'let's go,' she'll chase you to Runkandel's underground prison."

"Our family doesn't have an underground prison, Lord Quikantel."

"Doesn't it? It should still be there. There are a few dragons imprisoned there."

"Really?"

"It's not important, forget it. Listen carefully. Enya will wake up in exactly 10 seconds. When she wakes up, please choose your words carefully and explain the current situation to her."

"Didn't you hit her quite hard just now? Even a well-trained warrior wouldn't wake up from that."

Swoosh.

Before 10 seconds had even passed, Enya staggered to her feet. Jin felt a chill run down his spine; it was a realm that modern medicine or martial arts couldn't explain.

The determination of a die-hard fan.

Still, she seemed a bit more subdued, as if the shock had affected her.

"Miss Gao Ongzi."

"Miss Enya, I'll explain the current situation to you slowly."

Enya nodded, and Jin began to explain the story of Yuria, the various suspicions surrounding Buretta and Zipple, and more.

Although he couldn't share information known only to the reincarnated, fortunately, Enya was easily convinced by Jin's story.

"Hmm, I believe everything Young Master Jin says. It sounds so romantic! Dragons, conspiracies, and adventures, a little girl and a young lady! And Young Master Jin too."

"You can accept it so easily?"

"It's better to think positively about everything. Anyway, you're saying I should leave Biment with my family and move to Tikan, right?"

"Exactly."

"When should we leave?"

"The sooner, the better. Lord Quikantel and I have some business in Biment, so it would be better if Miss Enya leaves first."

It wouldn't be good for Enya to formally withdraw from the Academy and take time to tidy up.

Biment wouldn't let the contractee of Olta go easily, and from the moment she showed any signs of leaving, they would try to restrain her by any means necessary.

They might take her family as hostages or use drugs to brainwash her. She would also come under special surveillance by the notorious Biment Special Task Force.

It would be much easier to sneak away before any of that happened. Although the pursuit would continue for a while, the investigation would likely focus more on the Lutero Magic Federation than the Free State of Tikan.

Of course, there was no guarantee of complete safety.

'The key is how much Biment values Olta's contractee.'

From Jin's perspective, they didn't value her much. If they did, Enya wouldn't be wearing such old and worn clothes.

'They're either waiting for Zipple to notice or haven't announced it yet, so they can't give her special treatment... but even the Special Task Force isn't assigned to her.'

If the latter was the reason, the Special Task Force should always be near Enya.

The reason she wasn't treated properly as a contractee was due to her status. The other nobles at the Academy, always wanting their children to outperform her, saw Enya as a thorn in their side.

The nobles were influencing the Biment royal city officials to ignore the commoner girl.

"The sooner, the better. I understand, Young Master. I'll have my family ready by tomorrow."

Enya's family consisted of her seven-year-old brother and an old dog named Pupi.

"But Jin, how will you smuggle Enya out? It's impossible to go through the gate, and I can't carry her directly. Everything is recorded, and the risk of being tracked is too high."

The same applied to leaving on Murakan.

Jin already had a plan.

"Regular trade ships from Tikan dock in the capital of Biment. We can sneak onto one of them."

The Seven-Colored Birds' informants in Biment operated this way. The Biment authorities turned a blind eye because of the Seven-Colored Birds' leverage over the Biment leadership.

Lower-level informants, who had no access to critical information, could freely enter and exit the country.

"Once Enya leaves, I'll stay in the Empire as usual and find an opportunity to meet Buretta. I'll tell the Academy that Enya is sick."

The nobles wouldn't be curious about the thorn in their side not showing up at the Academy. They would rather she never returned.

"Yes, and we'll return after finishing our business with Buretta. It would be best if we can avoid a fight, but... I doubt we can avoid it."

"As I said, the fighting is my responsibility. That sleeping one can't do it."

At that moment, Jin and Quikantel both looked towards the entrance.

A faint sound was coming from the lawn. Soon, a knock came from the front door.

"Is anyone home? I've come to get some firewood."

There was no reason for anyone to come to this secluded mansion to get firewood.

It was definitely a visit from the Special Task Force or the Royal Guard.

"Coming all the way here to get firewood, what a fool. Wait a moment."

Surprisingly, Quikantel didn't suspect the uninvited guest at all.