Chapter 169: Chapter 153: Bewitching Maiden (Three Updates)
Ash chuckled lightly, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
“Even before signing the Contract, you remembered I was Ash Heath, didn’t you?”
Ash said, “But you still signed.”
“That, that’s because you are a notorious escapee,” Freyja rubbed her eyes, avoiding Ash’s gaze. “How could I dare defy you, not to mention the benefit of receiving a Technique Spirit?”
Ash laughed softly, “Don’t forget, back then, I held the Sympathy Technique Spirit. I could feel your curiosity towards me, and… pity.”
Freyja recalled that night five days ago. She paused for a moment before signing her name, noticing the mix of anxiety, hesitation, and fear on the man’s face beside her. His eyes involuntarily darted towards the balcony, seemingly ready to break into the deep night at any moment.
At that time, she suddenly remembered an unrelated scene—when she was casually visiting a pet store, she saw a fold-ear cat darting around. After being caught by the staff, the cat occasionally looked at the window and then at Freyja.
So, she bought the little Chord.
So, she signed the Contract.
“My kindness towards you is not out of pity, but out of fondness,” Ash said. “As the first person I met outside of prison, although you have many habits I can’t understand, and our values are not entirely in line, filled with the smell of blood that permeates the land of the Kingdom of Blood Moon…”
“But the goodness deep within you makes me feel the world is still wonderful.”
“It’s also because of you that I no longer want to just coldly observe from the sidelines. Even if it’s just you, I still hope you can… find a happiness that heals a lifetime.”
Freyja’s face flushed with heat, the bold Meiwa even becoming shy, “You’re planning to leave, and yet you’re still saying such things…”
“It’s not like we’ll never meet again.” Ash said, “Although I will likely leave the Kingdom of Blood Moon, I might come back someday. Even if I don’t, you’ll eventually become a Mage, and we could meet in the Void Realm—of course, it’s better if it’s not my Mage inheritance projection that you encounter there.”
“We are Mages, after all; we must believe in miracles.”
Ash stood up, gently touched Freyja and Chord’s heads, “Goodbye, Freyja, I hope when we meet again, you’ve become a Spirit Mage. Goodbye, Chord, I hope your illness is completely cured.”
Freyja bit her lips tightly watching him, “Goodbye, Ash, I hope… I hope you can be a good person.”
“You make it sound like I am a bad person now…”
As the door shut, the cult leader’s figure was completely engulfed by the night. Freyja rubbed her eyes again, put away the Fluorescent Ball and Chord, and returned to her desk to continue doing homework.
As she wrote, large hot tears fell on the paper, blurring her vision and smudging her handwriting.
She leaned on the desk, her shoulders gently shaking, crying silently.
“I’m surprised he didn’t take her with him.”
The Sword Maiden sat in the seat Ash had just vacated, watching the crying Freyja with interest, “Despite all the changes during the escape, Ash still met the ‘Enticing Girl.’ Rather than call it coincidence, I’d rather call it Fate—’Enticing Girl’ will always be the ‘Final Observer’s’ follower.”
“No, it has nothing to do with fate or coincidence, this is just the result of precise calculation.”
The Observer stood by the balcony railing, watching Ash vanish into the night, calmly said, “This is the apartment closest to Kaimon Comprehensive University, and at the time, Freyja’s room was the only one on the third floor without a light on. Ash’s choice was inevitable.”
“Is it inevitable?” the Sword Maiden’s face tilted upward, “Then is ‘Seducer Girl’s’ loyalty a coincidence?”
The Observer nodded slightly, “After I escaped from prison, I wasn’t even a Mage yet. Having Freyja’s help could spare me a lot of trouble; using her was undoubtedly the most cost-effective choice. For Ash who has now become a Two-winged Mage, Freyja would only be a burden to him, so there was no need to take her along.”
“This is the first time I’ve felt indignant on behalf of Ash.” The Sword Maiden laughed bitterly in anger, “You actually use your filthy thought patterns to tarnish Ash’s kindness?”
“He may have been kind, but deep inside, he had made many considerations,” the Observer stated indifferently, “It’s all the same.”
“If it’s ‘all the same,’ then why are we here?” the Sword Maiden spoke chillingly, “What we long for is a ‘different’ Miracle.”
“…Say whatever you want.”
“Observer, is it my illusion, or do I feel like you’re not in a very good mood today? Normally, you would have already mocked me with your shameless and boring jokes.”
The Sword Maiden looked towards Freyja, “Is it because you’ve encountered your old subordinate after a long time? It’s been a long time since you last saw her too, right? How did Seducer Girl die again? I only remember that it wasn’t me who killed her—”
The Observer glanced at her, “Sword Maiden.”
“I suddenly recall a distant rumor,” the Sword Maiden said as if lost in thought, “Seducer Girl followed you out of love for you, but you never satisfied her. Until her death, she seemed never to have earned your favor.”
“Just to satisfy my curiosity, tell me about your story with Seducer Girl?”
The Observer looked at her coldly, and the Sword Maiden fearlessly confronted him.
It wasn’t until Freyja sobbed breathlessly and hiccupped that the Observer spoke coldly, “Are you taking up the cause of your former enemy?”
“I am taking up the cause for women who encounter scum,” the Sword Maiden said.
After a long silence, the Observer finally spoke, “…Do you know why her Spirit Miracle had such high priority, such extensive range, such profound impact?”
“Because she is Meiwa?”
“Because she is a chaste Meiwa,” the Observer stated calmly, “A chaste Meiwa not only significantly increases the learning speed of Spirit techniques but also causes a qualitative change in the Spirit Miracles. This is not considered Secret Poison. The Meiwa tribe might know of this, but very few Meiwa achieve it—they must have a madly in-love object for them to enter the chastity state, which can only be lifted when they fully integrate with the object.”
“So you continued to exploit her just to obtain the Combat Power of Seducer Girl?”
“I did it for her own good.”
“The Paradise created by the Extreme Master of Blood Moon is also for the good of the pets living inside it,” the Sword Maiden said coldly, “You disgust me, Observer.”
“Ash might not be Freyja’s regret, but you were a disaster for Seducer Girl.”
The kitten approached the Observer’s feet and affectionately rubbed against his boots.
“I will tell the others about this when I return; now at last, we have a reason to unite. How could things possibly go well with a scandalous person like you…”
The Sword Maiden was speaking when she suddenly turned her head and found that the Observer had disappeared.
A fold-eared cat jumped onto the desk, forcefully burrowing into Freyja’s embrace.
With a blank expression, Freyja lifted her head to see the fold-eared cat affectionately licking the tears on her face, causing her to suddenly feel a sting in her nose and she hugged the fold-eared cat and burst into loud sobs.
The Sword Maiden watched the scene calmly, her lips slightly curling up, displaying a mocking smile.
“Thinking of making amends only now, it really is… so pathetic.”
But she immediately shook her head self-mockingly, “We are just as pathetic.”