Ashe paused briefly, then chuckled, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
“Ah?”
“Even before we Signed the Contract, you had already remembered that I am Ashe Heath, hadn’t you?”
“But you still signed it,” Ashe said.
“Well, that’s because you’re a notorious criminal who escaped from prison,” Freya rubbed her eyes, avoiding Ashe’s gaze. “How could I dare to defy you, not to mention the perk of being gifted a Sympathy Spirit.”
Ashe let out a snort of laughter, “Don’t forget, I was holding a Sympathy Spirit at that time. I could feel your curiosity towards me, and… pity.”
Freya recalled that night five days ago. She hesitated before signing and noticed the man next to her displaying a mix of emotions—urgency, hesitation, fear—his eyes subconsciously glancing toward the balcony, as if ready to burst into the deep night at any moment.
She was suddenly reminded of an unrelated scene—when she had casually visited a pet shop and saw a Scottish Fold cat scurrying around. After the staff caught the cat, it would look toward the window, then at Freya.
That’s why she bought Little String.
That’s why she Signed the Contract.And so…
“I am kind to you, not out of pity, but out of fondness,” Ashe said. “As the first person I met outside of Prison, you have many habits I can’t understand, your values differ from mine, and you’re imbued with the Bloody Scent of the Blood Moon Kingdom…”
“But the kindness deep within you makes me feel the world is still a beautiful place.”
“It’s also because of you that I don’t want to just stand by indifferently. Even if it’s just you alone, I hope that you can… find happiness that heals a lifetime.”
Freya felt her face heating up, even the Bewitcher herself blushed shyly, “You’re about to leave, why say such things…”
“It’s not like we can’t see each other again.” Ashe said, “Although I’ll likely leave the Blood Moon Kingdom, I might return in the future. Even if I don’t, you’re going to become a Sorcerer, and we might meet in the Virtual Realm—of course, ideally not through my Sorcerer Inheritance projection.”
“We are Sorcerers; we must believe in Miracles.”
“So…”
Ashe stood up and touched the heads of Freya and Little String: “Goodbye, Freya, I hope that by the time we meet again, you have become a Mind Sorcerer. Goodbye, Little String, I hope your illness will be completely cured.”
Freya bit her lip, watching him, “Goodbye, Ashe, I hope… I hope you can be a good person.”
“Your words make me sound like a bad person now…”
With the sound of the door closing, the Cult Leader’s figure was completely engulfed in the night. Freya rubbed her eyes, settled the Fluorescence Sphere and Little String, and returned to her desk to continue her homework.
As she wrote, large hot tears fell onto the paper, blurring her vision and the writing.
She leaned on the desk, her shoulders shaking gently, sobbing silently.
“I’m surprised he didn’t take her with him.”
The Swordswoman sat in the seat recently occupied by Ashe, watching the crying Freya with interest, “Despite all the changes that happened during the escape from prison, Ashe still met the ‘Enchanting Maiden’. Rather than calling it a coincidence, I prefer to call it Destiny—’Enchanting Maiden’ is always an adherent to the ‘apocalypse observer’.”
“No, it has nothing to do with the coincidence of Destiny; it is the result of precise calculation.”
The observer leaned against the balcony railing, looking at Ashe disappearing into the night, and said calmly, “This is the apartment closest to Kaimon Comprehensive College, and Freya’s room was the only one on the third floor without light at that time. Ashe’s choice was inevitable.”
“Inevitable?” The Swordswoman tilted her head up, “Is the adherence of the ‘Enchanting Maiden’ accidental?”
The observer nodded: “When I escaped from prison, I wasn’t even a Sorcerer. With Freya’s help, I could avoid a lot of trouble, and utilizing her was undoubtedly the most cost-effective choice. For Ashe, who has now become a Two Wings Sorcerer, Freya would only be a burden, so there’s naturally no need to take her with him.”
“This is the first time I’ve felt like defending Ashe,” the Swordswoman said with a laugh tinged with anger: “How dare you use your filthy thought patterns to speculate and tarnish Ashe’s good intentions?”
“He may have had good intentions, but deep down he has already considered many things,” the Observer said indifferently. “It’s all the same.”
“If it’s ‘all the same,’ then why are we here?” the Swordswoman retorted coldly. “What we desire is a ‘different’ kind of Miracle.”
“Say what you will.”
“Observer, is it my imagination, or do you seem less enthusiastic today? Usually, you’d have mocked me with all kinds of shameless and boring jokes by now.”
The Swordswoman glanced at Freya. “Is it because you’ve unexpectedly encountered an old subordinate? It must have been a long time since you’ve seen her, right? How did the Enchanting Maiden die again? I only remember it wasn’t by my hand—”
The Observer shot her a look: “Swordswoman.”
“I suddenly recall a distant rumor,” the Swordswoman continued, seemingly oblivious. “The Enchanting Maiden originally followed you out of adoration, but you never granted her your favor, not even up to her death. It seems she never won your grace.”
“Why not satisfy my curiosity and tell me the story between you and the Enchanting Maiden?”
The Observer looked at her coldly, but the Swordswoman stood her ground without fear.
It was not until Freya sobbed so hard that she hiccupped that the Observer finally said coldly, “Are you taking pity on a former enemy?”
The Swordswoman replied, “I’m taking pity on a woman who’s encountered a scoundrel.”
After a long silence, the Observer spoke: “Do you know why her Mind Department Miracle had such high priority, such a wide range, such a profound impact?”
“Because she’s a Bewitcher?”
“Because she’s an abstinent Bewitcher,” said the Observer indifferently. “After abstaining, a Bewitcher can not only significantly increase the learning speed of the Mind Department but also cause a qualitative change in Mind Department Miracles. This is not a Secret Poison. The Bewitcher community might know of it, but few Bewitchers achieve it—there must be an object of the Bewitcher’s earnest affection, and only in a state of abstinence can they enhance their abilities, which can only be relieved when they fully converge with their beloved.”
“So you used her that way just to gain the Enchanting Maiden’s power?”
“I did it for her own good.”
“The paradise created by the Blood Moon Sovereign is for the well-being of the pets living in it,” the Swordswoman said coldly. “You disgust me, Observer.”
“Ashe may not be Freya’s regret, but you were certainly a disaster for the Enchanting Maiden.”
Little String walked up to the Observer’s feet and affectionately rubbed against the Observer’s tall boots.
“I’ll tell the others about this when I get back. Now we finally have a reason to band together. How could anything good come from being with a Small Horn like you…”
The Swordswoman was speaking when she turned to find the Observer had vanished.
The fold-eared cat jumped onto the desk, burrowing forcefully into Freya’s embrace.
Freya, looking lost, raised her head to see the fold-eared cat affectionately licking the tears off her face. Her nose tingled, and she hugged the cat, crying out loud.
The Swordswoman watched the scene quietly, a mocking smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
“To think of making amends only when it’s come to this… How tragic.”
But she immediately shook her head in self-mockery: “We are all just as tragic.”
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