And the chaos begins…
Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Chapter 3: The hidden calamity is actually secretly creeping in the darkness
When Fu Xing left the warehouse, he flew straight over to the southern campus’ reception hall. He found a corner in the gardens outside where he could observe the front door and quietly crouched there in wait.
Margaret, please come out soon, Margaret…Fu Xing anxiously muttered to himself.
Will Margaret really help me? Why is Zi Ye so certain? And speaking of which, what is the thing that Margaret wants? How could I have it? It’s not like I have any precious treasures on me—
Oh, I think I do. During winter break, Lin Lin and her students went overseas to play and brought back a local gift, my personal treasure—but would Margaret want that?
At nearly ten, in the first twenty minutes of the start of the third class, a graceful and beautiful figure slowly stepped out from the front door.
Fu Xing felt relieved when he saw that Margaret was alone. Now he didn’t need to think of a way to make any companions leave.
But…does she not have any friends? Thinking about it, ever since Margaret had arrived at the northern campus, she seemed to always be moving independently. It was rare to see her accompany the others from the southern campus as well.
Unlike Momiji, who always had a group of girls following her wherever she went. In contrast, Margaret displayed her invasive-like beauty alone with no one else in the background.
When Margaret passed by the garden, Fu Xing suddenly leapt out and blocked Margaret’s way.
The abrupt action slightly stunned her.
“Hi, ahem, the weather’s really great today, isn’t it?” Fu Xing commented with a foolish smile.
Margaret recognised Fu Xing and replied with grace. “Were you specifically waiting here for me?”
“Er, um…I guess…”
“To confess to me?” Heh, it’s been ages since I saw such a pure and old-fashioned program.
“Ah, no! Of course not!” Fu Xing hurried to confirm his innocence.
Margaret’s smile stiffened a bit. “Then why?”
“Mn, it isn’t too convenient to talk here…could I take a bit of your time?” Fu Xing glanced around, terrified of being seen by an acquaintance. He leaned towards Margaret and quietly whispered into her ear, “Why don’t we go to the forest on the west side?”
Margaret arched a brow in astonishment. “It’s broad daylight and on campus. Are you sure?”
“Um, yeah.” Or what, should we go to a classroom? This plan cannot be found out by many people. “Is that not okay?”
“Heh, it’s fine.” Who would’ve thought that this Asian kid would have so much nerve behind his pure and well-behaved manner?
“Ok!” I didn’t think Margaret would be so easy to communicate with! Seems like she isn’t a bad person.
Thus, the two people that completely misunderstood each other snuck towards the forest on the west side.
Since it was class time, the west forest area was deserted. A fragrance wafted through the fresh and clean breeze, which was delightfully refreshing.
Fu Xing stopped at a hidden corner under the shade of a tree.
The moment he saw this scenery, Fu Xing thought it looked extremely familiar.
He seemed to have come here before, and multiple times at that…
He vaguely remembered having had quite a few happy experiences here. This feeling was very strong, but his mind was completely blank.
Something like a person waiting for him here, chatting with him.
Must. Not. Think.
It is not yet time.
Whoosh!
The familiarity that had appeared instantly vanished.
I probably misremembered. I have to finish doing this more important business first.
“Then, Margaret, I—” Fu Xing turned his head around. An alluring scent assailed him as a warm sensation stuck to his body. Margaret used both arms to hold Fu Xing against her chest as she seductively stared at him.
“Mar-Margaret?!” Fu Xing instantly flushed bright red. That excessively soft touch made his heart race like crazy! “Wha-what are you doing?!”
“Having fun?” Margaret lightly pecked Fu Xing’s neck. “The price is giving me a bit of your vital essence…”
Fu Xing felt his neck tingle numbly as though he had been electrocuted. His consciousness seemed to gradually become drunk in dizziness from a certain type of delight.
Oi, control yourself.
A familiar voice rang out in his mind, pulling him back to reality.
“That-that’s not it!” Fu Xing hurriedly pushed Margaret away. “You’re mistaken! This wasn’t my intention!”
Shocked by the rejection, Margaret was slightly unhappy. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and frostily glared at him. “Then what do you want?”
“I want…to ask you to help me.”
“You want me to help you?” Margaret curiously raised a brow. “With what?”
“Er, let me clarify first: there’s a reason I’m doing this. It’s not because of some bad intention, nor for personal benefit. And it’s definitely not because I’m targeting fame—”
“Get to the main point.”
“I want to win the popularity vote!”
“So?”
“Please make me a charm potion that dream spirits specialise in!” Fu Xing bent down at the waist with his hands clapped together and raised above his head. “I beg of you!”
Margaret stared blankly for a moment, then chuckled.
“And here I was wondering what was wrong…” What is that? Sounds pretty stupid. “I couldn’t tell you were someone that likes being the centre of attention. What a narcissistic and vain guy you are.”
“That’s not it! I just need to obtain that medal!”
“Medal?” Margaret furrowed her brows. “So many of your friends are in the top ten. If they win, can’t you just directly borrow it from them?”
“Er, I want to own it myself. And it’s very embarrassing to constantly ask them to lend it to me…”
Margaret could tell that Fu Xing was not saying the real reason, but she did not try to dig further.
“What do I gain from helping you?”
“I will try my best to do anything you want!”
Margaret was silent for a few seconds. “Deal. Remember your words.”
“Thank you!” Fu Xing happily grabbed Margaret’s hands. “You really are a good person.”
“Hmph…idiot.” You don’t even know when you’re being used…
Margaret dropped by her dorm. About thirty minutes later, she returned to the forest.
“You finished so quickly?”
“It isn’t difficult to make a charm potion. The important part is a dream spirit’s enchantment.” Margaret pulled out a dark-green bottle. “The potion itself is just a primer and catalyst. The specialty of a dream spirit’s charm potion lies in the fact that only a dream spirit’s spell can activate its effect. The spellcaster can also control the strength of the effect. This counts as one of the race’s special abilities.”
Fu Xing took the potion and uneasily stared at the transparent liquid inside the dark-coloured bottle. “What happens if I drink it?”
“You’ll emit an enticing charm, a charm that attracts people even more than a dream spirit.”
Historically, many leaders that easily manipulated people’s hearts used this type of potion. The most famous one was that monster from Germany that had caused the world to fall into chaos during World War II.
“Have you used it before?”
“Heh, me? It’s not necessary.” Margaret smiled confidently. “Besides, I don’t usually need to attract so much attention for no reason.” Sometimes, attracting too many eyes made it difficult for one to act.
“I’ll become a heartthrob after drinking this?
“With your current state, you would definitely be seen through if you instantly became a heartthrob. If a toad suddenly turned into a swan, even a blind person could sniff out a problem.”
“Ah.” So wounding.
“The spell I will cast on you will increase everyone’s favourable feelings towards you a little at a time. It’s the friendship route. It will make everyone vote for you because they like you, not because they are infatuated by you or worship you.”
“I see.” Fu Xing nodded and praised, “You really are amazing!”
Margaret was unaccustomed to being lauded so straightforwardly, and she looked away in embarrassment. “Hmph, I’m a dream spirit after all…”
Fu Xing chuckled foolishly and drank the potion.
Margaret reached out so that her hands were over Fu Xing’s heart and chanted a spell. A purple glow continuously rippled outwards.
The power of the charm spell coming from her palms built itself up inside Fu Xing bit by bit.
Build. Circulate. Build. Circulate. B—
Hm?
As the spell was transmitting and rebuilding, there was an abnormal fluctuation. A hidden, unknown disturbance.
Margaret frowned.
The steps were correct, the spell was correct. Everything was perfectly fine. However, when the energy waves entered Fu Xing’s body, the waves that reflected back were not quite right. Is it my imagination?
Fu Xing held his breath in trepidation as he watched Margaret’s every action. He felt something tumbling around inside him, but he had no idea if this was a normal reaction or not.
It feels like a single slip could result in an internal turmoil that would make me bleed from all seven apertures…
Fu Xing shook his head to stop his wandering thoughts.
Approximately ten minutes later, the purple glow gradually weakened before finally disappearing.
“Alright.” Margaret pulled her hands away and stood. Her gorgeous face seemed to have lost colour as a result of the spell-casting consuming her strength.
Fu Xing blinked and touched his face with his own hands.
“How is it? Have I turned handsome?” Fu Xing tried his best to show off his sexiest and handsomest gaze. “What do you think of me? Do you feel like you’ll fall in love with me?”
Margaret smiled mirthlessly. “The spellcaster is immune to the enchantment. The charm potion will not alter the person’s appearance. Besides, the potion’s effects will not activate until evening.”
Fu Xing stammered in embarrassment. “Say that earlier…”
Margaret picked up her backpack. “I’m a bit tired, so I’ll be taking my leave first.”
“Oh right! You still haven’t told me what you want me to give you in return?”
Margaret halted in her tracks. “You don’t need to give me anything. Just try your best to cooperate with me whenever I say something from now on. Whatever I want to do, you must help as much as you can.”
“That’s all?” So weird. It feels super easy!
Margaret chuckled. “Remember your promise.”
Fu Xing watched Margaret’s back with an inexplicable emotion. He had the feeling that someone else had requested something similar from him in his first year…
Whatever, no need to think about these things. I still have a ton of matters I need to worry about! First I need to think about how I’ll explain my participation in the contest to Leon.
Fu Xing used the afternoon break to quickly run back to the warehouse. There, he saw Samukawa furiously interrogating what looked like a foreman brownie.
“Who’s the one that was on guard shift last night? Where are they? You don’t know?!”
The brownie wearing a red hat was hovering in the air while yelling back in fluctuating volumes with an expression of anger and frustration.
“Can’t find them? Have you searched? Where did it run off to fool around?”
The red hat brownie turned to the subordinate brownie behind it and asked a few questions. Then it turned back around and shook its head at Samukawa.
“What the hell!”
“Samu-Samukawa, what’s the situation now?”
“The brownie on that night shift went missing. No one has communicated with it since the start of its shift, so they don’t know when it went missing.”
“I see…”
“Which guards were patrolling the northwest corner last night?” Samukawa asked the brownies.
Two small brownies stepped forward.
“Did you notice any abnormalities during your patrols yesterday?”
The brownies exchanged a look and shook their heads.
Samukawa sighed. “Then did anyone appear near the warehouse after three in the morning?”
The brownies pondered this for a moment, then nodded.
“Who?”
The brownies gestured in the air while fighting to speak. Samukawa impatiently waved a hand to stop them.
“A student?” Samukawa raised a brow. “Immediately retrieve the school roster from the brownies in the education administrative committee and find that person.” With this, he turned to face Fu Xing. “Have you settled things?”
“Yeah.”
Samukawa looked Fu Xing up and down. “Doesn’t feel like there’s any change? Why does your face still look stupid?”
“It won’t kick into effect until evening!” So insulting. “How is your progress?”
“I placed the elf gem into the box so that it could close. After all, the sealed box retrieves energy from the crystal to maintain its ward function. As for the attached parts, I’ve already sent a familiar to the fire fairy smith that’s closest to Shalom. It should be complete within three days.”
“I see…”
“Alright, now that there’s time, I have some questions I need to ask you.” Samukawa’s expression turned stern. “Who knew about you being a transporter?”
“There are quite a lot…” Aside from the people in Aquarius, there were also Rocort, Emerald, Brad…and of course, Leon too.
Samukawa let out a low curse. “What the hell! Why do you love showing off so much?!” Damn it, locking onto the target will be even more difficult like this!
“It’s not like I knew it would get stolen…”
“Has anyone made inquiries about the medal or the sealed box?”
“Nope…”
“Then have you told anyone about the medal or the sealed box?” A low yet faint voice rang out from a corner of the warehouse.
Fu Xing turned to look towards the noise and saw Zi Ye currently crouched behind the sofa to stare at a black winged bunny—Samukawa’s familiar. He picked up an excessively gorgeous quill pen and waved it back and forth in front of the black winged bunny. The other lazily laid there, completely ignoring Zi Ye’s teasing.
“You’re here?”
“He’s stayed there since morning.” Samukawa snorted in annoyance, “He was originally just standing there and popping bubble wrap. I couldn’t stand the noise, so I summoned a familiar to distract him and things finally quieted down.”
Zi Ye peered at the black winged bunny. “Samukawa…”
“What?”
“People say that pets resemble their owners.”
“That isn’t a pet!”
“Your bunny seems pretty stupid…” It doesn’t react at all.
“What did you say?!”
“Zi Ye, that move of yours only works on cats!”
“Fu Xing, you still haven’t answered my question.” Zi Ye continued in a low voice, “Did you tell anyone about the medal and the sealed box? Does anyone know about the sealed box’s mechanism and the true effects of the elf crystal on the medal?”
“Of course n—” His words abruptly died on his lips.
There was. One person did know.
One person had seen the Aquarius documents, knew the origin of the sealed box and how it worked, knew all the information regarding the elf crystal on the medal.
His roommate, Leon.
“What? You have a clue?” Samukawa noticed Fu Xing’s unusual behaviour and immediately questioned further.
“Er, no. I was just thinking about how I still have homework I need to submit in the afternoon.”
It can’t be Leon.
He had personally handed the documents to Leon; it wasn’t Leon that had requested it.
But before then, Leon had indeed expressed a high level of interest in the medal…
No, that’s wrong! If Leon really was the thief, why would he ask me to help him win the contest?
The brownie that had run over to the education administrative committee earlier flew back at top speed with the student roster in hand.
The brownie shouted at Samukawa, then opened the roster and used a long, gnarly finger to jab a finger at a corner of the page.
Samukawa, Zi Ye, and Fu Xing simultaneously moved closer and stared at the head shot that the brownie was pointing to.
The picture in the photo had pale skin, a frigid yet reserved gaze, lips tightly pursed together into a thin line, and black, neat short hair.
His roommate.
Leon Sagveiss.
It was evening. The sun had not yet sunk below the horizon, the remnants of rays clinging onto the skies, waiting to be dyed by the thick darkness.
Leon, who had stayed in the dorm room, was woken by a rhythmic knocking on the door.
He stood with the anger of being disturbed from bed and opened the door. There, he saw Shiran outside with a warm smile, wearing dark black clothing that did not match his sunny temperament.
“What is it?”
“White Triangle is on the move.” Shiran tossed a scroll over, which Leon caught in midair. “That has the relevant information. You have ten minutes to prepare. We’ll meet directly outside the teleportation portal.”
Leon nodded and shut the door.
The time has finally come…
His old enemy, the useless trash of the World Sanctification Court!
As hatred and mourning attacked his heart, his dark pupils turned into a dangerous dark red.
Leon walked out from the bed area and changed into black outdoors clothing. He placed a specialised leather sling over his back and opened his closet. The chilling metallic glow reflected onto his pale, frosty face.
As Leon was placing the weapons one by one into his sling and belt, the sound of the door opening came from the living room.
Leon could tell from those clumsy footsteps that the one who had arrived was his roommate, Fu Xing.
“Leon, you’re heading out?” Fu Xing stood outside Leon’s bed area as he asked in a curious tone.
“Mn…” Leon continued his actions of equipping himself while coldly responding.
“It’s still so early…will you be alright?”
“It’s official business, not a private escape,” Leon succinctly replied without turning his head. He had no intentions of revealing much related to his investigation of White Triangle’s actions.
Things like slaughter and revenge were so dark. He did not want Fu Xing to know too much.
“I see…” Fu Xing nodded, then opened his mouth with difficulty. “Ahem…Leon, I need to tell you something…”
“Hm?”
“Er, I might not be able to help you campaign for the popularity vote anymore…”
“Mn.” Leon was unconcerned and continued what he was doing. He figured that Fu Xing had likely been dragged into helping with other matters, such as the class booth or miscellaneous tasks from Aquarius that left his hands completely full.
“Also,” Fu Xing took a deep breath. “I will participate in the popularity vote too…”
Leon’s movements paused for a second, but he did not show a large reaction.
“I’m very sorry, really very sorry…” Fu Xing hung his head down and continued to quietly mutter, “But I really need to participate…”
Leon did not respond, quietly waiting for Fu Xing to say the reason on his own accord. He knew that Fu Xing would always apprehensively voice all his thoughts about everything, regardless of whether the listener wanted to hear it or not.
“Mn, that’s it. I hope you can forgive me.”
Leon was slightly stunned.
That’s it? Where’s the long superfluous explanation and self analysis? You don’t plan on explaining your reasons?
“Whatever,” Leon coldly replied. However, there was a faint sense of displeasure in his heart that even he could not quite comprehend. “What a surprise. Where did you get that self-confidence from?”
When these words came out from his mouth, Leon was astonished by himself. What am I saying?
“Mn…” Fu Xing gloomily answered.
It was natural for Leon to be angry. After all, Fu Xing had promised him first. Now, the promise was not only broken, but Fu Xing had become a competitor as well.
“Also, Leon, I might be staying over at the warehouse from time to time for the next few days to discuss things with Samukawa and Zi Ye.”
“So?” Leon closed the closet door. “Your matters are none of my business—” He picked up his weapons and turned his head. Fu XIng’s figure reflected in his eyes.
A strange, indescribable feeling attacked his thoughts and enshrouded his mind.
What the hell?
Leon lowered his head and pressed his temples as he felt a phantom lightheadedness. Something was stealthily invading his consciousness.
“Le-Leon?”
Leon lifted his eyes to look at Fu Xing.
A bizarre, unusual emotion swiftly diffused outwards like a dye that had been poured into water.
He slowly reached out to place a hand on Fu Xing’s shoulder.
“Eh?!” What’s going on?
“Do not…” Do not leave…
“W-What?”
Leon paused and shook his head. It looked like he was back to his previous calm state.
“You’re participating in the contest?”
“Er, yes…”
“And staying at the warehouse?”
“Um, yes.”
“With Samukawa and Zi Ye?”
“Uh, yea—”
“Hmph. You seem to be quite popular. Do you really enjoy the feeling of being crowded around that much?”
“What?”
“You’re an Aquarius officer that has helped resolve quite a few school matters. Have you already become infatuated with that superficial and vain fame, He Fu Xing? Your classmates from northern campus, the schoolmates from southern campus, and a newly entered idiot all seem to be your supporters?” Leon scoffed, sounding extremely disdainful.
“I’m not—”
Leon suddenly grabbed Fu Xing’s collar to pull him close.
Fu Xing stared at Leon in shock, not daring to move rashly.
“You’re not?” Leon used a finger to push open Fu Xing’s collar. “Why don’t you explain this lip mark then?”
Fu Xing glanced down and recognised the mark that Margaret had left.
Leon lowered his head and sniffed. His expression morphed into one of disgust.
“Your body has the scent of a dream spirit.” Leon’s dark pupils frostily pointed at Fu Xing. “You damn bastard…”
A misconstrued image suddenly formed in Fu Xing’s mind. He felt like he was in some kind of afternoon drama where he was a cheating husband whose whereabouts were being interrogated by his wife.
“Le-Leon, this is—” FU Xing paused for a few seconds. “Er, Leon, are you jealous?”
The next second, Fu Xing witnessed an extremely rare marvel.
The pale darkblood’s face instantly flushed pink.
Leon shoved Fu Xing away and picked up his weapons bag.
“Leon, I—”
“Your life or death has nothing to do with me!” Leon threw the door open and loftily left.
Fu Xing stared blankly.
This was his first time seeing Leon so agitated, so talkative.
The potion has kicked into effect?
How-how is this an enchantment that boosts positive feelings? It’s too bizarre! Or is this how Leon shows good favour?
Seriously, so forceful!
Ah, I still haven’t asked Leon about last night. Sigh, with the current state of things, it looks like asking will be difficult…
When Fu Xing was about to return to the bed area, he stepped on something weird. When he glanced down, he saw that it was a scroll.
Is this Leon’s? There’s an Aquarius insignia on it. Has Leon joined Aquarius as well?
The red prohibition stamp on the scroll seemed to teasingly lure the holder into opening it and reading. Fu Xing inwardly struggled for a few seconds with the scroll in his hands before ultimately giving up.
Curiosity killed the cat.
He was a bat, but it made no difference.
Leon left the dorm and headed towards the building where the teleportation portal was. Shiran was already standing at the entrance, waiting in full armour.
“You’re late.”
“Get off my back!” Leon pushed open the door on his own and strode inside.
Shiran arched a brow. He had never seen the reserved and icy Leon openly display emotions like this.
However, Shiran remained tactful and did not ask further.
Leon and Shiran went into the teleportation room in the middle of a ward.
“The location is Marseille, France. There were traces of fighting in the freight section of the port. The sea spirit that originally lived nearby went missing.” While the teleportation portal was starting up, Shiran explained to Leon, “This happened two hours ago.”
“So White Triangle might still be there?” Resentment shook off Leon’s abnormal mood and restored its iciness.
“Yes.”
In other words, it was very possible that they would directly battle the enemy.
Leon’s lips curled into a cruel and sinister smirk. Just as I wanted.
The runes in the teleportation portal glowed an intense green. Then, lightning-like streaks cut through the ground, walls, and ceiling from all directions along the magic array. It instantaneously transferred the people inside to the space on the opposite side.
After Leon and Shiran left, the room returned to its dim and silent state.
Then, five minutes later, a furtive figure clumsily snuck in from the extra back door of the building.
Is..it here?
The infiltrator secretly walked to the center where the teleportation room was and tried knocking on the door.
“Er, is there anyone inside?”
The only response was silence.
Mn, it’s not like it’s a bathroom. This seems unnecessary.
He opened the door and cautiously walked in. The door smoothly closed.
The next second, the runes flashed green, causing electricity to streak through the floor’s array.
The teleportation was complete.
Marseille, France.
The summer night’s cool and refreshing sea breeze blew through harbour town. The air carried the salty freshness of the ocean. Lights formed brilliant specks like small diamonds along the Mediterranean Sea.
This ancient city had been a transportation stronghold since 600 BCE. Not only had it recorded the flourishing of humanity, but it was similarly an important base where special animate beings concentrated together for activity.
The teleportation portal in this area was hidden in a fishing boat on the shore—less than two kilometres away from the victim this time.
Shiran pulled out his cellphone and called a hotline that immediately connected within two seconds.
“Shalom’s investigators have reached the scene and await orders. Please provide instructions.”
“The guards have searched the residence of the sea spirit, Louis Gilles. It is speculated that White Triangle is currently heading towards the first district’s Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. Please head over to support. The shuttle bus is parked in the lot outside the port and has been marked with an enchantment. You can go ahead and use it.”
“Understood. Anything in particular to take note of?”
“Try your best to stay alive.” With this, the call immediately cut out.
Shiran stowed his phone away. “Head towards the Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.”
Leon nodded. Right as they were about to set off, a tiny disturbance grabbed his attention. He paused in his steps and swiftly drew his sword as he alertly spun around and charged out towards the source of the noise not far behind them.
“It-it’s me! Help! Why is this boat parked so far from the shore!”
A familiar voice rang out. Leon froze in shock.
He watched as Fu Xing clumsily stepped over the edge of the boat and used both hands and feet to half crawl towards the dock.
Then he lost his balance and fell into the water.
“Save me!”
“What the hell are you doing?!” Leon roared as he sheathed his sword and crouched down. As if he was picking up garbage, he reached out and grabbed Fu Xing by the collar and pulled him up to the shore.
“What’s going on?!” Shiran belatedly arrived and was stunned upon seeing Fu Xing as well. “Fu Xing? What are you doing here? And you…”
A wave of dizziness attacked Shiran. He suddenly discovered that he could not get angry at Fu Xing.
Fu Xing squatted on the ground, gasping for breath from the lingering trepidation. Then he lifted his head and awkwardly scratched his dripping hair. “Hehe…sorry…”
He had originally come along rashly because he was worried about Leon. As a result, he had planned to secretly follow them and protect his beloved roommate from the darkness.
However, his plan to follow them had shattered less than five minutes in.
“Do you want to die? Do you think we came out here to play around?! White Triangle’s people are still nearby! A third-rate jingguai like you coming out here is equivalent to suicide!”
Shiran stared at Leon in astonishment. On the one hand, he was surprised by Leon’s uncontrolled emotions. On the other hand, he felt unhappy about Leon lashing out so fiercely at Fu Xing.
“You don’t need to speak to him in that kind of tone…” Shiran quietly muttered.
“I don’t need to listen to your orders,” Leon frostily glanced back.
Fu Xing dumbly stared at the two of them. “Um, sorry, I can’t understand German…” Going out of the campus meant leaving the boundaries of the language magic. At the moment, he could not properly communicate with others at all.
Hearing Fu Xing reply in Chinese, Leon remembered Fu Xing’s language barrier and his rage rose even further.
“You can’t speak German?” Shiran stared at Fu Xing in surprise. “Don’t jingguai possess the gift of language?”
“His gift is in creating disaster. He only knows Chinese and can’t use any language he hasn’t learned before, just like a human,” Leon coldly explained. There was a faint smugness in his tone, as though he was proud of himself for knowing more about Fu Xing than Shiran did.
Shiran furrowed his brows. Not to be outdone, he used heavily-accented Chinese to ask Fu Xing, “What are you doing here?”
When Fu Xing heard the familiar language, he felt like a drowning person that had grabbed hold of driftwood. “I was worried about Leon, so I followed him. I saw you guys enter the building with the teleportation room so I went inside out of curiosity…I didn’t think I’d end up all the way here.”
“The guard at the front door let you in?”
Fu Xing said in embarrassment, “I went in from the back door. I have a spare key.”
Samukawa was busy handling the medal matter, so he had given spare keys to Fu Xing in the afternoon so that he could conveniently borrow equipment or classrooms. In the end, Fu Xing had made best use of it that very evening.
“Who helped you activate the teleportation spell?”
“Huh? I don’t know…? After I entered the building, I saw that the door to the teleportation room was closed. I wanted to see if anyone was inside, but the moment I went in, the door automatically closed. When it reopened, I was here.”
Shiran was dumbfounded.
The teleportation room could not activate without reason. Moreover, operating the spell used a large amount of spell power, and needed a twenty minute cooldown after activation. Logically speaking, it could not have started operating again so soon…
Was it a malfunction? It malfunctioned as soon as Fu Xing used it?
Shiran stared intently at Fu Xing’s sorry figure and foolish face, a faint uncertainty growing in his heart.
It feels like…many messes are related to Fu Xing…
Is it just a coincidence?
“Should we go?” Leon impatiently voiced. “Tell him to stay here and don’t run around.”
“He must go with us. White Triangle might appear here, and the harbour at night is not safe in the first place.”
“Indeed, the chances of this guy being mugged by humans is very high.”
The two had reached a consensus for once.
“Er, um, now what?”
“Follow behind us, Fu Xing. Don’t wander off.” Shiran softly comforted, “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”
“Oh, ok…”
“Also,” Shiran took off his coat and gently draped it over Fu Xing’s shoulders. “Wear this. Although it’s summer, Marseille’s night winds can still feel chilly.”
“But I’m dripping wet, I’ll get it dirty.” He could tell that the coat wasn’t cheap just by touching the material.
Shiran’s smile was as bright as sunshine. “It’s fine.”
“Done?” Leon huffed in annoyance, “If we head out now, we might make it in time to help the guards gather bodies.”
Shiran chuckled, not at all unconcerned.
The three began to move towards the parking lot. The marked vehicle had a dim blue halo, like that of a new moon. Only special animate beings could see this rune marking. It was the symbol of the special animate being guards, the Grand Night Patrol.
Upon arriving at the bustling first district, they saw night travelers wandering around the street in twos and threes. Shiran parked the vehicle in an inconspicuous alley and led them to a small coffee shop on the street.
“Fu Xing, you stay and wait for us here.” Shiran made Fu Xing sit next to the window. “I’ll send someone to pick you up later.”
“Oh, thank you!”
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m alright…”
Shiran chuckled and strode over to the front counter on his own.
Fu Xing used this chance while Shiran was away to peer at Leon.
He had many things he wanted to ask Leon, many things he wanted to tell Leon. However, with the language barrier, voicing them would just be in vain.
Leon stared back at Fu Xing with a complicated expression. There was anger, resentment, and…rare yet obvious concern.
“Leon…”
“Hmph.” Leon shot Fu Xing a glare, then suddenly pulled something out from his clothes and tossed it onto the table.
It was two daggers. The edge of the slightly loose scabbards exposed the sharp blades.
Fu Xing scrambled to hide the daggers under the table. Fortunately, they were located in a corner; there were not many customers either, so no one had noticed.
“Leon! What are you—”
“…Be very careful…” Leon stiffly spat out stilted, awkward-sounding Chinese. “Dying…not allowed.”
Fu Xing blinked. Eh? Leon can speak Chinese? Leon is worrying about me?!
Leon furrowed his brows and muttered a low curse from irritation that came out of nowhere. Then he hastily turned to walk out of the shop.
Fu Xing could faintly see that the back of Leon’s neck had turned dark pink.
Shiran returned to Fu Xing’s side. “I’ve already paid. If you want to eat anything later, just go ahead and let the staff know. They have a Chinese employee inside so there shouldn’t be any issues with communication. This cellphone is for you; wait for my call.”
“Mn, thank you. You have two cellphones?” Fu Xing studied the smartphone in his hand. It was several times more advanced than his own!
Shiran laughed. “I just bought it from the owner.” The good thing about the human realm was that money could usually solve most problems. “Where’s Leon?”
“He went out.” Fu Xing glanced outside. “What a troublesome partner…”
They left the coffee shop and ran to their destination at full speed.
“The higher-ups sent a message. The guards are exchanging fire with White Triangle seven hundred metres north of Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.” Shiran checked his cellphone. “Since two minutes ago.”
Leon frowned and spun to turn into an alley. He scanned the surroundings to confirm no one was around before jumping up.
“Go from above.”
Leon leapt up level after level to reach the top of the rooves, then broke out into a mad run to fly through the night.
It was as though he had blended into the wind, skilfully staying in the shadows cut out between buildings by the moonlight. His movements were soundless.
This was a skill possessed by darkbloods, the residents of the night.
Shiran chuckled bitterly and easily summoned a whirlwind to send him up to the rooftops. Then he began to run after Leon.
“You spoil him too much,” Leon muttered.
“What did you say?” Shiran feigned dumb.
“Hmph…”
“Have you gotten used to living with Fu Xing?” Shiran suddenly asked. “As someone that always moves around alone, I’m sure that having such a noisy and annoying roommate is quite a disturbance, isn’t it?”
“You’re not much better.”
“How about having Fu Xing switch dorms?” Shiran smiled thinly. “As Aquarius’s vice president, I can easily settle such a trivial matter. What do you think?”
“Whatever—” Leon’s words abruptly died.
He smelled blood. Jingguai blood, sea spirit blood, human blood.
His eyes focused, the pupils turning dark red as his vision strengthened.
Eight hundred metres northeast from the towering gothic-style church, wounded members of the guard were currently in a fight to the death with White Triangle.
~Taffy Translations~ 