Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Chapter 2: People with high status just talk big and push all the shitty things onto others
The Application of Long-Distance Weaponry focused on firearms, or the firepower equivalent of blades. However, the traditional bow, throwing knives, etc. were also included. The main objective of the class was to accurately strike targets.
Fu Xing arrived at the instruction building next to the training area early, though there were quite a few practicing students waiting there. While combat-type classes were always far from being neglected studies, it was usually impossible to see such an enthusiastic crowd on a Friday night class.
When he entered the tiered classroom, he saw several people gathered around the seats in the far corner. Upon closer look, he found that it was Isaac being surrounded. A few darkblood students were respectfully standing by Isaac to discuss something. Isaac’s expression was cold and stern; though he did not speak much, he carried the dignified air of a leader.
The introverted and low-profile Isaac from before that always hid under many layers of clothing, the Isaac that had sat with him in the pavilion to write the Aquarius report, was now another leader of the darkbloods. Meanwhile, what am I? Fu Xing couldn’t help but bitterly think this to himself.
When Isaac noticed Fu Xing, he sent the others away as he walked over to Fu Xing to sit with him in the last row.
“Did you receive the emergency notice?” Isaac dryly smiled. “Calling a meeting at 11 PM on a Friday night is quite a willful decision.”
Fu Xing nodded and complained, “Exactly. I hope it doesn’t drag into the weekend!”
Not long after, Flora and Zhu Yue entered the classroom as well. Fu Xing waved at them and called them over to sit with them in the back. Isaac switched to the seat closer to the wall on Fu Xing’s opposite side, while Zhu Yue and Flora sat in the spaces next to Fu Xing.
Isaac’s public rise in status to become the leader of the southern darkblood clans had made him stronger and more mature, but Isaac still unconsciously tried to avoid females.
“Your body carries the gene of bloodthirstiness. For your own sake, and for the sake of those who are weak and innocent, keep your distance from females!” This had been the teaching he had received from his ethics instructor since childhood, and it remained carved into his conscience through the tough methods of discipline it had been delivered.
Flora and Zhu Yue had just been sketching, so they carried the smell of charcoal and there were dark smudges on their fingertips as traces from taking an advanced art class. Fu Xing had originally wanted to select this course as well, but he had been rejected because he had not taken the introductory art course.
The most baffling fact was that Rocort, who had similarly never taken the introductory art course, had been allowed to choose this advanced one. Putting aside how Rocort had successfully managed to enroll without issues, Fu Xing strongly doubted that this person whose sole interest was food even knew what he had signed up for.
Fu Xing thought back to last semester, when Zhu Yue and Flora had sat outside to do their homework while Rocort had followed along in curiosity.
“What’s that? It looks yummy!” Rocort stared at Zhu Yue’s box of coloured pencils in wonder.
“Don’t you think the brown coloured pencil looks like Pocky? The pink one too!”
Because of that statement, Zhu Yue and Flora locked their art supplies to ensure they wouldn’t be eaten.
“What did you draw today?” Fu Xing curiously looked at Zhu Yue’s sketchbook while pulling out a wet wipe from his backpack to help the two girls clean their hands.
“Oh, thank you!” Zhu Yue smiled gratefully. “You’re always so caring.”
“It’s nothing.” Fu Xing scratched his head in embarrassment. “I learned it from you.”
Zhu Yue was always like a mother in the way she took such good care of the people around her. He hoped that he could do the same, naturally bringing warmth and kindness to others in small acts.
“What a good guy,” Zhu Yue sighed as she turned to give Flora a meaningful grin. Flora responded with a faint smile.
Fu Xing had no idea what it meant. It seemed like these two were once again exchanging a mysterious joke that no one else could understand.
Upon seeing the black stains on the towel, Fu Xing asked, “Charcoal sketching?”
“Yes.” Zhu Yue beamed brightly as she curled her fists and declared triumphantly and enthusiastically, “Hehe, after drawing fruit and silverware for an entire semester, we can finally draw people!”
“Didn’t you draw them last week?” Fu Xing recalled, “I remember that your model was a female sea spirit?”
The sea spirit had sat on a stone chair with only a white cloth covering her lower half so that the fine curves were barely discernible. Her upper body had been entirely naked, with only her long, shining hair to perfectly cover her chest.
“Oh, yes.” Zhu Yue’s face was clearly one of disinterest as she smiled thinly, “Year 2’s Helena is very beautiful. But the model this week is more…” Zhu Yue paused for a second as she searched for the appropriate description. “Hm, more adorable and outstanding.”
Fu Xing was willing to bet that Zhu Yue had originally wanted to say more mouth-watering rather than adorable.
“Who is it?”
Zhu Yue and Flora smirked at each other before the former passed her sketchbook to Fu Xing.
Fu Xing opened the sketchbook and flipped through the pages. When he reached the page with Helena, he subtly paused for a moment — he couldn’t help it when Zhu Yue had drawn her so well and Helena was so well-endowed. It was hard to keep himself from wanting to stare at it a bit longer — but he then continued forwards.
“Ah!”
The person in the sketch had short, light-coloured hair and was sitting naked on a stone pillar with one hand resting on the knee and one hand supporting the chin to mimic the pose of the famous sculpture “The Thinker”.
The slender and exquisite figure had perfectly proportioned bone structure and muscles that were strong yet lithe. The profoundly handsome face was one he had come to know well over the past two years, but he had never seen such an expression filled with determination and deep contemplation.
“Rocort?” Fu Xing was astonished. “Why is it him?”
“Although there’s something weird with his head, his appearance is definitely perfect to use as a subject for sketches.”
“Er, but, if he’s acting as the model, then he can’t draw anything himself, right?”
“Why did you think he was able to skip all the art courses?” Flora explained in exasperation, “Professor Victor let him skip without any conditions to drag him into modelling for us. He’s also guaranteed a pass even if he just lies around all day.”
“Isn’t that too nice?!” Good-looking people really do get to live luxurious lives. As Fu Xing studied the sketch, he added, “This is my first time seeing Rocort with such an expression. How did you guys do this?”
“It was very simple.” Flora casually replied, “We just put a plate of desserts in front of him and warned him that he couldn’t eat it until two hours had passed.”
While they were chatting and laughing together, a tall, dark figure slowly entered the classroom and approached the back row. It was none other than Fu Xing’s roommate, Leon Sagveiss.
“Hi! Good evening!” Fu Xing shifted over to let Leon sit comfortably.
Isaac greeted Leon simply with a wave of his hand, which Leon returned with a nod before sitting in the empty seat by Fu Xing.
The moment Leon entered, the noisy chatter in the classroom instantly quieted. Despite it being just a flash of a moment, the abrupt change spoke volumes.
The leader of the northern darkbloods and the new leader of the southern darkbloods had appeared in the same place. Everyone was observing these two’s actions, observing if Isaac’s sudden emergency in power was a threat to the Sagveiss family, observing which side would show more power. This would be their base reference for choosing which side to stand with.
With the world on the verge of turning into chaos, finding stable support was more practical than boosting one’s own strength.
Leon’s previous class was Western History & Philosophy. This was the most neglected course out of all the unpopular courses offered in the past two semesters, and was taught by the oldest centaur at the academy, one of the last descendents of the centaur race: Chiron Pleiades. Including those that withdrew midway, there were never more than ten students that enrolled for this class every semester.
“What did you just learn?” Fu Xing asked out of curiosity. Despite never understanding Leon’s answer whenever he asked this question, he still enjoyed asking.
“Hegel. A German philosopher from the 19th century.” Leon paused for a moment, before continuing with a rare hint of pride, “And also from Stuttgar. Lia and I once visited his former residence to collect his manuscripts.”
“Oh, really?” Fu Xing exclaimed in envy. Although he had no clue who this Hegel person was, the thought of possessing authentic works from a famous historical figure seemed incredibly cool. “What famous words has he said before?”
Leon pondered this for a moment before replying, “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”
“How profound…” Basically, like how I always get a stomachache from eating too much barbeque during Mid-Autumn Festival every year, yet I will still continue doing a barbeque each year anyways.
The instructor, a peregrine falcon spirit named Ort, entered the room and the chatter instantly stopped.
“But there’s another quote I like more.” Leon said in a lowered voice, “Life has value only when it has something valuable as its object.”
Fu Xing wanted to respond with his thoughts, but the professor had already started lecturing.
Something valuable as its object…what counts as something valuable? Everyone’s definition of value differs. Something that one might believe as valuable might be bad news to someone else.
For example, the freedom and glory that special animate beings sought after, as well as the axioms that the World Sanctification Court acted upon.
Regardless, he did not know what to pursue, and even doubted if his existence had any value at all.
Fu Xing couldn’t help but frown at the persistent feeling that every incident around him recently was linked to White Triangle. And each of those encounters would in turn make him think of the unknown blanks that followed.
It was as though God was against him, always preventing him from recalling the troublesome incidents.
Ort’s words were like a gun, clean and efficient, and he finished lecturing about the theory within thirty minutes. As someone that firmly believed in application trumping theory, he led the students straight to the training area underground.
The students stood in a line in front of the training platform and carefully followed instructions to load their guns to start firing.
Leon faced the human-shaped dummy ahead of him and followed the contents of their learnings to load bullets, shift into position, press the trigger, and shoot.
The gun rang out. Although the bullet hit the target, it did not strike the vital areas. The digital display above the target showed a very average number of points. Out of a full score of 400, he had earned 187. There was still much room for improvement.
He exhaled under his breath and continued reloading his gun to keep practicing.
Leon’s strength was in cold weaponry to fight at close-range. However, he knew that in an actual battlefield, the more skills that he was equipped with, the more capable of ending the enemy’s life he would be. In addition, he would be able to protect himself better.
Quiet murmurs of admiration arose not too far from him. Leon turned just in time to meet the gaze of Isaac lowering his gun. The scoreboard above Isaac’s target had 356, which was practically double of what Leon got.
“Nice shooting.” Leon did not hold back from giving praise. “There are not many darkbloods skilled with guns.”
“I used to hunt in the forest often when I was young, so I’ve had some practice.” Isaac responded with a modest smile. “Those who use the blade are the true heroes.”
“The ones that can survive on the battlefield are the true heroes.”
Cries of astonishment could be heard this time. The two of them turned their heads in unison to see the shockingly high score of 389 points displayed above Fu Xing’s target.
“Fu Xing! You’re so amazing! One would’ve never guessed!” Zhu Yue exclaimed in praise. “So cool! You have to teach me later!”
Seeing how much excitement and passion was in Zhu Yue’s eyes made Fu Xing very glad that Brad was not taking this class. Otherwise, that guy might’ve accidentally slipped and fired some bullets at him instead.
“Where did you practice to get such a skill?!” Flora was equal parts curious and in disbelief.
Fu Xing had an air of cool abashment as everyone looked at him with admiration.
“Shilin Night Market. People call me the Target Prince.” Fu Xing smirked in feigned effortlessness. “I once brought home a stall’s entire stock of dolls and toys in a single night.” That night, the stand owner had cried tears of blood in resentment, unable to utter a word in the chilly night.
“How impressive.”
Fu Xing raised his brows and held the gun up to his mouth to try acting out the move of blowing on the barrel like the handsome main characters in movies. However, he brought it so close that he nearly burned himself, and he frantically licked his lips, which instantly ruined his cool act.
Leon and Isaac simultaneously smiled, though the former’s was not as obvious.
The crowd’s interest did not last very long, as everyone went back to their own training areas. As the brief uproar calmed, Fu Xing returned to his own practice as well.
He pressed the trigger and struck the humanoid target’s forehead with a bang. Despite the warm reception just now, the pride and joy that had filled his heart did not last long. It was like his inner mind was against him as it immediately extinguished the emotions with a bucket of ice water.
So what if I can shoot well? If I stand on a real battlefield, would I have the guys to fire at the enemy? Am I brave enough to accept the burden of something as malicious as taking a life?
The memory of Flora’s words during the new student ceremony appeared in his mind. More people were beginning to strengthen their military power as preparation to break out into war at any moment.
During this shooting practice, what were they imagining the targets as? White Triangle? Or all humans?
The only reason he had chosen this course was because Leon, Isaac, Flora, Zhu Yue, and quite a few other classmates had done so. Yet as he looked around at these people now, a feeling of revulsion bubbled up inside him.
Damn it! Fu Xing furiously ran a hand through his hair.
Why am I making everything so complicated? What am I thinking so much about?! Besides, who am I to even judge?
I’m just a weakass, insignificant character. I wouldn’t even qualify as a pawn on a chessboard. I’m just the lines that cross over each other on the board – despite being on the battlefield, I have no effect on the game.
Fifteen minutes before the second portion of the Long Distance Weaponry class ended, Isaac informed Ort that they needed to leave early. As though already knowing what the meeting was about, Ort easily agreed.
Before Fu Xing and Isaac left, Ort waved good-bye to them from where he was leaning against the pillar. “Take care.”
This gave Fu Xing a bad feeling.
When they arrived at the meeting room in the main bailey, it was eleven on the dot. They opened the door to find the seats around the U-shaped table filled already. Aside from the official members of Aquarius, there were also senior instructors such as Samukawa and Grod. Samukawa had already turned back to his middle-aged appearance that seemed hard to get along with due to the eternal stern-looking expression. There were also several elders in the seats that Fu Xing had never seen before, but were clearly important and influential individuals. Shiran, who Fu Xing had not seen in a long time, was present too.
The ones seated in the middle were Headmaster Sanbi and a male with long golden hair and blue-green eyes. They looked equivalent to a human in their twenties and gave off the feeling of a new instructor. However, the man wore a contemptuous smile that seemed to look down on everything. With his head propped on one hand, his gaze was locked onto the entrance as his gem-like pupils scrunitised each individual that entered.
Those eyes made Fu Xing extremely uneasy.
Once everyone was seated, the facilitator, Peiris, declared the start of the meeting in a loud and clear voice.
“It is Shalom’s honour to welcome everyone’s esteemed presence. While the reason we have gathered is a rare circumstance, the choice to call a summons in this location makes it evident that Shalom has already been recognised by you all—”
“It is only the fighting power Shalom holds that we recognise. As for that far-fetched principle of world peace…” The golden-haired male scoffed, “Merely a dream.” And this “dream” is an illusion that could never materialise in reality.
Peiris frowned, not hiding his displeasure. “Perhaps it may be, Master Lancelot. However, it is also possible that not everyone thinks that way. The majority still hope for peace—”
“Oh, peace.” Lancelot chuckled as though he had just heard a laughably childish joke. “The excuse that the weak give for their own satisfaction. Our esteemed predecessors that died heroically in the Holy War would surely agree with that view.”
“You—” Lancelot’s effrontery angered Peiris, whose ears, eyes, and fingers began to transform into their original form in his fury.
“Professor Peiris, thank you for opening the meeting.” Sanbi quietly declared, “Let us move on to the main point.” He stood to take control of the meeting.
The Aquarius members sitting nearby secretly let out bated breaths in relief. They had never seen their instructors and seniors clash head-on before.
Fu Xing silently stared at Lancelot. Lancelot was extremely handsome, but seemed to have a terrible character. Those long, golden hair, snow-white complexion, and crystalline eyes reminded him of Emerald.
Not only Emerald, but even Shiran sitting at the table shared some features with Lancelot.
He’s probably a wind elf too…Fu Xing thought as he guessed Lancelot’s race.
How can they all be wind elves but act so differently? While Emerald and Shiran had opposite personalities, one could tell that they were fundamentally alike after getting to know them, as both possessed a very direct form of kindness. On the other hand, Lancelot’s words and demeanor were tyrannic.
“The reason everyone has been gathered here is none other than the intensifying conflict with the World Sanctification Court. The current situation is the tensest it has been in the past three centuries. The casualties among special animate beings have been rising at an unfathomable rate.” Sanbi paused for a second before continuing, “This drastic state is due to the unprecedented increase in cursed souls. East Asia, South Africa, and Australia have all gone from Level 1, Green alert to Level 4, Orange alert.”
A black-haired male sitting to the right of Lancelot raised his hand. “My surveillance team informed me that White Triangle has already prepared armies of cursed souls, currently dispatched to various branches across the world. If they gathered together…”
These words immediately made everyone in the room anxious.
“If these rumours are true, then it’s dangerous enough to eradicate special animate beings.” Sanbi frowned. “Regardless of whether they are true or not, the existence of cursed souls is undoubtedly a major threat to us. Ninety percent of the garrison troops that have heroically died in their line of duty were due to the poison of cursed souls.”
“So?” Lancelot yawned. “Were we all called here just to listen to you announce when and how we are to die? This is your peace, Sanbi? Just silently waiting for death to avoid war?”
“Headmaster Sanbi was simply relaying the current situation for everyone to understand the danger we are facing, and the importance of staying united.” The sour-faced Samukawa could not hold back any longer as he retorted, “Would Master Lancelot like to share his brilliant ideas as a high-rank elf and one of the Five Great Clans?”
Fu Xing mentally cheered for Samukawa.
As though having already anticipated this question, Lancelot smirked and lazily commented, “White Triangle’s most fatal weapon is the cursed souls. If we can subdue that, it is the same as subduing White Triangle.”
“I believe that everyone understands such a simple concept.” Samukawa snorted, “Do you perhaps have a more specific countermeasure?”
“I do.” Lancelot straightened in his seat and deliberately took a sip of his Darjeeling tea to drag out the suspense before elegantly declaring, “The Requiescit Campana.”
Silence fell upon the room.
What’s the Requiescit Campana? Fu Xing was entirely lost, but judging by the subtle expressions that the “masters” in the room shared, it had to be something extremely powerful and dangerous.
“The ultimate-grade magic device that can dispel and destroy all lingering spirits in the world.” Lancelot continued, “As long as we find it, cursed souls are nothing to fear.”
“But hasn’t it been missing for a very long time?” Another elder said doubtfully.
“I suspect it might not have ever existed in the first place,” Samukawa scoffed.
“By all means, keep showing your ignorance.” Lancelot shot Samukawa a look of disdain. “There are few records related to the Requiescit Campana, but they do exist. It first appeared around the 17th century during the religious wars, so it is not an extremely ancient object. Its existence is much more proven than the ancient divine artifacts of the legends.”
“If the creator has passed, their descendents should still be alive. We should be able to trace the genealogical records at the temple’s Mound of Rest,” another elder chimed in.
The Mound of Rest was the cemetery for special animate beings. Most special animate beings would cremate the bodies of the deceased, and some would use their abilities to transform the bodies into dust and light. However, all the deceased would be made a tombstone in the Mound of Rest, and their dates of birth and death, race, and achievements would be engraved on the square-shaped stone pillar.
“You won’t find it that way.” Sanbi finally broke his silence. “It’s a product of humans.”
Lancelot furrowed his brows, as though unwilling to admit to this unacceptable truth. “That is just a rumour. It is not necessarily from humans.”
Lancelot looked down on all humankind, so having to now rely on an object created by humans to save himself was possibly as hard to accept as showing weakness to the enemy.
“Since no one knows of the Requiescit Campana’s whereabouts, it’s completely damn useless no matter how powerful it is!” Samukawa roared out, “What’s the point of suggesting a solution that’s impossible to execute?!”
“I’m not as stupid as you. The most intelligent thing that comes out from your mouth is the pig’s head from dinner.” Lancelot clicked his tongue in annoyance, “Of course I know a way of finding it. It’s just…a bit complicated.”
“What?”
“Time reversal. Return to the past to search for the Requiescit Campana’s last location.” Lancelot knew that this would cause an uproar, so he leaned back to distance himself from the cacophony of shouts that instantly burst out.
“That’s a forbidden technique!”
“It’s too dangerous!”
The clamour of oppositions surged forth.
“But if it’s just time observation…perhaps it isn’t that dangerous…” A thin, haggard man sitting in the corner quietly stated, “It’s better than just sitting around and waiting for our deaths.”
There were two types of time reversal: the first type was observation, while the second type was backflow. The former was standing outside the flow of time, watching history happen from an outsider perspective. The latter was a taboo of taboos, where the person was submerged in the flow of time and moving backwards, returning to the past and actively becoming a part of history. As any carelessness could affect the future, and the technique itself had an extremely low success rate, it was a forbidden technique that very few had ever dared attempting.
“Casting such an advanced spell is no easy feat either—”
“The old fire fairy that lives in seclusion has a way. The crazy smith that researches welding, machines, and witchcraft.” Lancelot smirked cruelly, “I’m sure that in this time of peril, Fram would be more than happy to help. We must unite to overcome this challenge.”
“What if she refuses?”
“She will not.” Lancelot clearly had a card up his sleeve, which made others shiver in fear.
For a moment, there seemed to be a light dispelling the dark and gloomy atmosphere. However, it was immediately ruined by Samukawa. “Then who will you send?”
“Of course warriors that are courageous, valiant, and strong.”
The middle-aged man sitting next to Lancelot gasped with wide eyes, “Wouldn’t that be you? Master Lancelot, don’t tell me you plan on setting out yourself?”
Samukara, Grod, as well as quite a few of Shalom’s other instructors grimaced as though about to vomit.
Lancelot chuckled. “Faron, I do enjoy how you’re always able to bring flattery to the extreme.”
Fu Xing shot furtive glances at Flora and Isaac sitting next to him, and the three of them couldn’t keep their lips from turning upwards.
After laughing, Lancelot shifted to an expression of sympathetical regret. “As one of the original wind elf nobles among the high-class elves, as well as the leader of the elves, I must protect the Pellot clan.”
“The Pellot clan is not the only original nobility of the wind elves.” Grod mockingly interjected, “Our class has a money-worshipping young one that is also a descendent of original nobility.” He deliberately paused for a second before adding, “Strictly speaking, the Ascle clan’s blood is purer and closer to the original bloodline.”
Lancelot’s expression instantly shifted as though he had been struck by a fatal blow, but he quickly regained his irreverence.
“In any case, I am not the appropriate choice for this mission.” Lancelot shrugged. “In times of chaos, a hero’s valour can only be displayed on the battlefield. Right now is the optimal moment for Shalom’s elites to offer their services to repay the clans and show off the brilliance of their youth.”
Lancelot snapped his fingers as though suddenly recalling a matter. “Speaking of which, I heard that one of the new members of Aquarius bravely seized a gold button. Who would that be?”
Everyone’s gaze shifted onto Fu Xing.
Fu Xing awkwardly and hesitantly stood. “…That would be me.”
Lancelot and the elder sitting next to him both looked doubtful.
“One truly cannot judge a book by its cover.” Lancelot chuckled as he walked towards Fu Xing. “Are you willing to accept this dangerous mission and dedicate everything to your clan, your race, and even all special animate beings?”
“Lancelot, he is only a child, and is not yet suited for the battlefield.” Sanbi opposed, “He is Shalom’s student, not your subordinate…”
“Strength and age are unrelated.” Lancelot side-eyed Sanbi. “Considering how much the Five Great Clans have contributed to Shalom over the many years, I should have at least the small amount of authority required to dispatch a few students.”
Sanbi did not respond.
“Go on, tell me what your choice is. Are you willing to offer your power for the sake of your family and race?”
Fu Xing was at a loss for words.
Considering the circumstances, it did not require any intelligence to know that this question only had one answer.
What made him hesitate was, could he really make the decision? In the past, every school activity, whether it was off-campus instruction or after-class tutoring, would require him to bring a paper back to his parents for a signature of consent.
This matter’s importance far surpassed such scenarios.
Fu Xing really wanted to say, Can I call my mom and ask her?
But on further thought, he was already twenty years old. Even for a human, that was already an adult. Be more independent, Fu Xing. You’ve already managed to escape from dying at the hands of White Triangle, even taking flights back and forth over a dozen countries to do so.
“I am willing.” As Fu Xing uttered the words, he felt like he was a bride at a marriage ceremony.
Lancelot’s people showed satisfied faces of relief. Meanwhile, Shalom’s people glared at Lancelot with cold expressions of hatred.
“May I ask if I must go alone?” That made Fu Xing extremely uneasy.
“Oh, of course not.” Lancelot laughed out loud. “Shalom’s warrior, you can find others to accompany you. Choose your most valiant comrades. I bestow you the authority to conscript companions. Faron will provide an imperial order with all the clans’ seals to you.”
“I am extremely grateful.”
“I believe you will be able to choose brave, outstanding comrades that will devote their efforts for all special animate beings.”
Grod and Samukawa exchanged a look.
All clans’ seals? Imperial order? That bastard Lancelot is really arrogant enough to think of himself as a king.
On the surface, Lancelot permitting Fu XIng to choose his own companions seemed to be a great favour. However, Samukawa did not believe that was the case. Any comrades Fu Xing found would have to be students of Shalom. The reason Lancelot suggested this was merely because he did not want to waste any of his own resources. That sly bastard is clearly a conspiring official, not a king.
“Let us applaud this young hero’s bravery!” Lancelot raised Fu Xing’s arm up to put on an act.
Among the scattered applause, not a single one of Shalom’s people joined in.
Fu Xing was extremely embarrassed. It felt like he was the winning contestant of the WWE without having participated. It was a special honour that he should not possess.
Fu Xing surveyed the members of Aquarius. Most of them were staring at him with worship and envy, though Flora and Isaac were blank-faced and confused, unsure of whether to feel happy or upset.
Shiran, who he hadn’t seen in a while, wore a bitter smile on his gentle and handsome face.
The teachers that he knew such as Samukawa and Growd that were usually always at odds against each other, were currently wearing identical expressions filled with fury, helplessness, and pity.
Fu Xing quietly sighed. He was already accustomed to these sudden, unexpected situations. Since things had already reached this point, he could only accept it. Someone would have had to do this no matter what, and deep inside, he felt the tiniest trace of joy that he could be useful.
After the meeting ended, Fu Xing immediately sent a message to tell his friends about the matter. He had originally planned to wait until the next day to slowly discuss it, but his friends were so anxious that they decided among themselves to gather in Fu Xing’s dorm room.
“So your mission is to find Fram, then ask her to cast the Time Reversal spell so that you can see where the Requiescit Campana went?” Emerald summarised Fu Xing’s explanation.
“And see how to use it. If possible, the best result would be to find it and then bring it back to the academy.”
“Are they giving us allowance for us to waste our classes and sacrifice our personal time to do these things?”
“Lancelot said he would cover all costs from carrying out the mission.” Fu Xing opened his bag to pull out an Express credit card. “I can freely use the money inside this. If the mission is successfully completed, the Five Great Clans will confer a much higher reward.”
“Oh!” Emerald grabbed the Express card from Fu XIng’s hand, his eyes lighting up. “I think I kind of like this guy.”
As Fu Xing watched Emerald avariciously stare at the card, he suddenly remembered what Grod had said in the meeting.
He was probably referring to Emerald when he said there was someone closer to the original bloodline from the Ascle clan.
Does that mean Emerald is also a noble? Why is his situation so different from Lancelot’s…
“The fire fairy Fram, a witch skilled with machines and spells. I heard she combines knowledge of forging, mechanics, and chemistry to invent many unprecedented enchanted tools and spells.” Dan Juan went through the information stored in his brain. “There are a lot of rumours about her, but most are unreliable. I just know that she has a strange character and is difficult to deal with.”
Brad raised a brow. “Isn’t that the same as you then?”
“Actually, Leon and I have already met Fram before.” Fu Xing followed with a simple description of their past encounter.
When Shalom’s Star had been lost during the school ceremony, Samukawa had sent Fu Xing and Leon to secretly pay a visit to Fram and retrieve a peak-grade substitute. No one else in the school knew of this, as it wasn’t exactly something that could be carelessly talked about.
“Oh, so what kind of person is she?”
“Um…” Fu Xing considered this for a moment. “She looks pretty cute…I guess.” After all, they had barely interacted for an hour, so it was difficult to conclude anything.
“Since you’ve already met before, it shouldn’t be too hard to persuade her.” Feeling bored, Flora had sat down with a box of cookies and had started trying to throw them into Rocort’s mouth, like an owner playing with its pet.
“In any case, we have Lancelot’s Express card. If Fram refuses, we can just swipe the card until she’s satisfied. And if she doesn’t like the gifts, we can only take them instead. After all, everything is just a measure to complete the mission,” Flora slyly grinned.
“So true!” Emerald praised.
“Then,” Flora’s words gave Momiji an epiphany. “For a matter as important as meeting the great Fram, we must do it with decorum rather than sloppiness. As a result, we have to acquire apparel that is suited for such an occasion. This would also count as a reasonable expense, wouldn’t it?”
Flora earnestly nodded in agreement. “Of course!”
Overjoyed, Momiji began calculating which branded clothing from the newest season to get.
When Rocort heard this, he also had an epiphany. “So in order to make sure we have enough energy to carry out this mission, we must also purchase a large amount of snacks and sweets, right!”
Everyone stared at Rocort in astonishment. “Rocort, you’ve become smart!”
Zhu Yue spoke up hesitantly, “So buying a lens and video camera with a memory card to clearly record everything is also appropriate?”
“Definitely appropriate!”
They all continued adding things one after another before Fu Xing eagerly chimed in, “So in order for everyone to relax and maintain a happy state of mind while carrying out the mission, we must also buy video games, right?”
But this suggestion did not receive any sympathetic agreement like the others.
Emerald furrowed his brows and roasted, “What the heck are you saying.”
Flora snorted. “What do you mean happy state of mind, do you think you’re doing some kind of obscene transaction?”
“That’s no good, Fu Xing.”
“Damn it! You’re all just ganging up to tease me, aren’t you!” Fed up, Fu Xing slammed a hand down on the desk.
Everyone laughed and joked around for a while about this. Then Leon calmly spoke up to bring the topic back. “So when will we start?”
Fu Xing tilted his head in thought. “Sunday night. Two full days to prepare should be enough.”
“Fram’s castle is near Marseilles, so getting there should be fairly easy. If we use the teleportation room, it won’t take any time at all.” Leon emotionlessly analysed, “Considering the current circumstances, I believe we should prioritise maintaining a low-profile while acting.” He paused for a second and quietly muttered in a low voice, “I’m sure no one wants to make the same mistake again…”
Fu Xing did not comprehend Leon’s words, and assumed Leon was reminding everyone to be cautious so he did not think any more about it. However, the others exchanged looks with each other, instantly realising that Leon was referring to when Fu Xing had been kidnapped to unknown whereabouts during the school trip.
After the school trip, White Triangle’s numbers and military force had shot up, causing all of Europe to fall into red alert. If they traveled through typical transportation, it would definitely be much more dangerous.
“Then let’s start moving tomorrow evening.” Brad yawned, “The earlier we go, the earlier we come back. I don’t want to spend too much time on this damn thing.”
“Good point.”
“Let’s go with that then. We can meet in the activity centre’s common room tomorrow afternoon then.”
After Fu Xing watched his companions leave, he suddenly remembered that he still had not mentioned this to his family.
He was already an adult, so telling his parents everything felt a bit lame. But he figured it was still better to let his sister know, and ask her for some medical supplies as well in case of an emergency.
“That piece of dogshit Lancelot ordered you to do a time observation?”
Fu Qing sat at her desk, writing down medical experiment results while listening to Fu Xing’s report. When she voiced this cold response, the Montblanc ballpoint pen in her hand snapped, causing the ink on the paper to leave a stain as dark as blood.
Persi, who had been on the table helping with page-flipping and transferring notebooks, was so startled that they fell off.
“Er…not just me, my friends will accompany me too. Plus, the one to activate the spell is the legendary fire fairy Fram! I’ve heard she’s very powerful…”
“And how much do you know about the Time Reversal spell? It’s been deemed a forbidden spell since ancient times. No matter how much Fram knows about it, there’s no guarantee that the activation will be successful. That dogshit trash is just treating you as cannon fodder. And Fram is such a selfish bitch that she would only protect herself if there’s any danger. Who would be left to care whether you guys survive or not then?” Fu Qing raised her voice as she ranted.
Persi picked up a cloth to start wiping the table surface, then hid fearfully behind the pen, trembling while watching Fu Qing.
This was the first time Fu Xing had ever seen his sister agitated enough to curse.
Is the Time Reversal spell really that dangerous? Why did my friends all seem so relaxed then, like we were just going out?
However, he quickly found the answer to his own question.
Did they put on that act just to make me feel less anxious…
“I’m already an adult.” Fu Xing grumbled unhappily. “This is my decision. I want to make a contribution to Shalom – no, to the entire realm of special animate beings.”
“So what? You’ve become an adult and you’ve lived enough?” Fu Qing refused to budge. “You’ve become an adult so you’re indulging in self-destruction? Before you make any contribution, you might just die with no remains aside from being a laughingstock over tea.”
Fu Xing frowned, his expression falling. “I came here only to let you know my decision, not to receive your approval or permission.” He turned and sulkily walked over to the door.
Why won’t she give me just a bit of support or encouragement? Damn Sis, her words are always so toxic. I hate it!
Fu Qing silently stared at Fu Xing, seemingly shocked at his response.
Shocked, but also hurt.
“Look like you really have grown up if you have the guts to talk back to your big sis.” Fu Qing chuckled before reverting to her usual calmness. “But you’ll always be my little brother.” The one that I will always take care of, the one that I’m always happy to devote my protection to.
Right before the door shut, Fu Xing softly muttered, “Don’t worry…I’ll come back safely…” Then he closed the door and quickly left.
After Fu Xing disappeared, Fu Qing stared at the door and murmured to herself, “Lancelot should be the worried one.”
If Fu Xing did not return safely, she would make the entire Pellot clan pay.
~Taffy Translations~ 