’The Witch is Silver Tier, so the people coming for her must be Silver Tier too. I can’t get involved in this ss. Once I get the information, I’ll have the Witch leave.’
Just as the thought crossed Baron’s mind, the Witch spoke. "The person I made a deal with said he was from an organization."
"What organization?" Baron perked up.
"I think it was called..." KK’s face took on a thoughtful expression. "The Mutual Aid Brotherhood?"
’The Mutual Aid Brotherhood? What a ridiculously generic na. Sounds like so neighborhood watch committee,’ Baron snarked internally.
’Did she just make that up?’
KK said, "I know it sounds like a generic na, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it was called... Also, it seems the mbers of their organization all use codenas based on poker card suits and numbers."
"The person I dealt with was the Ace of Clubs."
’Poker cards? Ace of Clubs.’ Baron ntally filed away this piece of information.
He was about to ask more when the Witch suddenly spoke. "Mr. Constantine, sotis ignorance is a blessing."
Her tone had beco languid and graceful.
He looked over. The Witch’s vibrant eyes had suddenly grown profound. Though her face was the sa, exquisitely beautiful, she now exuded a natural, noble, and mysterious air—the complete opposite of KK.
Her very glance gave him the unsettling feeling of being looked down upon from a great height.
Like a god gazing upon dregs.
Baron understood. This must be the one KK had ntioned—Carn, the one who had signed the contract with him and led him in that dance.
Carn glanced out the window, then her gaze settled on Baron. With a weary expression, she said:
"I wish to make a deal with you."
"What kind of deal?" Baron asked cautiously.
"I will hide under the cover of your status as a Dragon Knight for a few days. In exchange, I can give you the blood you need to advance to the Bronze Tier."
’The blood needed to advance to the Bronze Tier? Doesn’t that an I’ll have fulfilled one of the three conditions?’
"Who are you hiding from? And why would my presence help you hide?"
The offer was tempting, but Baron remained mindful that reward is proportional to risk.
"My fiancé, Silver Wizard Fei."
Carn said, "As for why your presence helps evade their scrying, it’s just as I told you on the day of our contract: the Red Dragon is a being abandoned by Destiny."
"By extension, you, who are contracted to it, have also been cast out by Destiny. Not even the greatest Astrologer can perceive you."
Unlike KK, Carn sounded exceptionally weary. "This is also why you could run amok through the Outer and Inner Sides without the Hestia Family or the Inquisition being able to catch you."
’Abandoned by Destiny... a phrase that makes sound like so kind of cosmic pariah... Then again, considering everything I’ve been through, "cosmic pariah" fits pretty well.’
Baron weighed the pros and cons. The deal seed mutually beneficial, which was good. However, to prevent the rcurial Carn from backing out later, Baron proposed that she also had to answer a few of his questions.
"Three questions, at most," Carn said. "And to save you the trouble, I don’t know anything about your personal predicants, the deal I made with the Ace of Clubs, or how you were able to beco a Dragon Knight."
"Giving you the contract back then was partly to uphold a promise, but I was also able to use our pact to draw upon the Red Dragon’s power, offsetting the backlash from my own failed ascension."
"Frankly, I never expected you to awaken your Spiritual Sense so quickly, much less gain the Red Dragon’s approval and beco a Knight."
Her expression was complicated. To put it in terms Baron understood, it was like watching the quiet, underachieving kid from the back of the classroom—the one who was always ranked last—suddenly ace his finals and get into an Ivy League school that you yourself could only dream of.
’No, wait. Why does her look give the guilty feeling of a cheater being caught red-handed by the class valedictorian?’
Baron cleared his thoughts and asked the first question:
"What are Prole, the Inner Side, and the Outer Side? Is there so kind of connection between them? And how does one travel between them?"
Baron said it all in one breath.
’If Carn tries to say that’s three questions, I’m taking it back.’
As if guessing his thoughts, Carn chuckled. "You don’t have to speak so fast. I can count that as just one question."
"Really?"
"That makes four questions," Carn said.
Baron gave a sheepish laugh as Carn began to explain slowly:
"The Inner Side is another dinsion built upon the foundation of the Outer Side by Alchemists using Alchemy Arrays. To maintain its stability, you can generally find counterparts to the Outer Side’s landmark buildings within the Inner Side."
’Just like Buckingham Palace of Lancelot’s Family.’
"As for Prole, although I lived there for many years, my guess is that it’s a world completely independent of the Outer and Inner Sides."
"It is real," Carn said very seriously.
"And as for the connection you ntioned, haven’t you noticed that the people here all speak English? Even the Professional Law system is identical."
"Including the Red Dragon... The Red Dragon was originally the Holy Beast of Feinan. To this day, the totem on their national flag is still the Red Dragon Banner."
The Witch said, "The two worlds aren’t linked, and yet there are anomalies like us who can travel between them..."
Baron raised an eyebrow. "Are there many people who can travel between the two worlds?"
’If there were, then I wouldn’t be the only one who could show off with sothing like the Periodic Table of Elents... I was even planning to go back to the Outer Side to brush up on my chemistry and physics so I could co here and bluff my way into getting so perks.’
"Currently, only you and I," Carn said. "I can because of the Red Dragon, which has the power to traverse space. As for you..."
Her gaze fell on the sowhat awkward Baron. "...I won’t press for details."
"Just the two of us?" Baron said. "But..."
"Perhaps I was being too absolute. But as far as I know, the only connections between the two worlds right now are the shared system of Law and so myths and legends.
"And even if there were others, they would likely remain hidden in the shadows, not go around bluffing people with sothing like the ’Periodic Table of Elents.’"
Carn’s words made Baron flush. He was about to offer a rebuttal, but she had already slipped under the covers. Lying on her side, she watched him, her red eyes bright and yet full of authority.
"Your three questions are up. Now it’s your turn. I will ask just one question."
"Have you ever dread of the Red Dragon?"
Baron froze for a second before shaking his head. "No."
Witch Carn sighed, then rolled over to face away from him.
"Please close the door on your way out, Mr. Constantine."
’Won change their minds in a flash... no, wait, the Dragon Witch really does seem to have two personalities.’
But for the sake of the Red Dragon’s Blood, Baron decided not to argue the point.
’The Witch doesn’t seem to have any ill will toward . The top priority is still to get stronger as quickly as possible. If I’m right, Ferdinand will co looking to settle the score in three days.’
’I need to co up with a strategy, and fast.’
But just as Baron’s hand landed on the doorknob, the Witch spoke again:
"Constantine, you’d better not go out. Fei is looking for . Stay here until tomorrow, and I’ll give you back that Gold Coin KK took from you before."
"It was two coins," Baron corrected.
Silence.
’Figures. Anyone associated with a Dragon is greedy. Myself included.’
"Just kidding," Baron shrugged.
"You..."
Carn’s voice sounded annoyed and strained, punctuated by panting breaths. She seed very weak.
A rustling sound ca from the bed, like the shifting of cloth as soone undressed. After a mont of silence, a girl’s petulant voice cried out:
"Don’t look!"
’I already saw everything when we first made the contract. Honestly, while she’s gorgeous, she’s not my type.’
Baron bowed slightly. "As you can see, Lady Dragoon, I am a blind man."
He then turned his back to Carn and walked to the sofa near the bed. After confirming the high back of the sofa would block her view, he pulled the Secret Notes from his coat:
[No. 2: I am Yelena Constantin.
Brother, didn’t you once tell you had an imaginary personality nad ’Zhou Yike’? Is that enough to prove who I am?]
Baron stared at the words, suddenly feeling that life was well and truly fucked.
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