"There's nothing else, Senior Sister Ni."
Ni smiled, but quickly beca serious: "Be careful lately, that kid has started to act restless again. But they're doing it rather covertly this ti, and I still haven't caught them red-handed—"
Frey lifted her head, looking at her with so concern.
"It's okay," the black-haired female knight took a breath: "With here, just be a bit cautious."
After speaking, she lifted her head to look at the disappearing carriage in the direction of the sky. The northern sky appeared somber, as if it was brewing a terrifying storm.
Would this storm arrive before the deep winter?
No one knew.
Ni knew only that the academy was beginning to grow anxious, and this last land of the kingdom might not be a haven but the center of a future gigantic whirlpool. As for the brief peace, it was but a false calm before the storm.
At least the girl knight understood that in the north, in Free Port Ambeser, an unseen war was about to unfold.
She turned back and took a deep look at Frey.
"Can you handle it?" she asked.
"What?" Frey was stunned.
The future Valkyrie's dazed expression amused Ni, who slightly covered her mouth and replied with so interest: "Nothing—"
...
And in the final days of the complicated Frost Descent Month, it seed everything was converging at once. When the northern situation was teetering on the brink, ti flew just as swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, two weeks had already passed since the Shafelund Mine incident—
The incident that made everyone anxious was ultimately found to be a farce, which, at first, spread widely in the town but was soon forgotten by the people.
People are always forgetful, except for the injured and the families of the deceased who will forever rember this day deeply. Most people returned to their original life paths within a week.
On the surface, the Shafelund Mine seed unchanged, maintaining its outdated appearance of decades past. Yet beneath the surface, things were slowly changing.
Firstly, since Brand and others left the underground, Kulan's actions have been restricted. The old man announced, under Brand's suggestion, to temporarily transfer all mining duties to Ogins and then shut himself behind doors to recover— As for that timid clerk— In fact, when Brand and disha barged into his office, he had already completely surrendered.
Now, Yuta led over twenty Black Iron Peak rcenaries disguised to monitor the clerk around the clock. Even if given a hundred thousand guts, he wouldn't dare to play any tricks.
Contrary to Brand's predictions, Ogins now seed more fearful and diligent than ever, even winning so praise from the bewildered civil servants under him.
The assistants probably believed that their Lord had finally repented and beco pragmatic and hardworking after taking on all the mining area duties.
Even the spies Denell sent to secretly monitor the young man's performance had written favorable reports for two weeks straight.
Of course, every report had passed through Brand's hands. When Brand showed these reports to the timid clerk, the young man called Ogins cursed for the first ti.
Naturally, after cursing, he cautiously glanced around, fearing that his disrespect towards Count Denier might be overheard by the surrounding eyes.
This is the so-called "mud that can't stick to the wall"— Brand couldn't help but shake his head.
But to appease this timid yet ambitious clerk, Brand promised him that he wouldn't reveal any details of his work to anyone, saying only that he had imprisoned him and found soone similar to replace him.
Though this lie could easily be exposed, at least it offered so psychological comfort to our clerk. Now he often lived in fear, surviving only on this bit of psychological comfort.
Kulan was sent to Fir City the next day. When the old man saw Char, he knew he couldn't escape. Nevertheless, he still rejected Brand's sowhat genuine goodwill, insisting that the latter keep his promise to let him go when the ti arrived.
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