CHAPTER 374: CHAPTER 19: CHRISTINA (3)_2

Speaking, Bi’an the Sixth spread his hands: "Can anyone tell me if there’s any connection between these two things?"

Christina blinked blankly, not knowing how to respond. She could only look at Andrew.

Andrew didn’t know how to answer either.

Tell Bi’an the Sixth that the undead were so powerful that they had no choice? That kind of excuse might fool others, but it was obviously not going to work on Bi’an the Sixth.

As for telling the truth and saying they provoked a Golden Dragon? That was even more out of the question.

Outside the office was noisy, but inside it was unnervingly quiet. So quiet that the only sound was the faint sizzle of the flame burning the cigar as Bi’an the Sixth smoked.

Christina kept her head down, occasionally sneaking a glance at Andrew.

Andrew sat there, expressionless.

As for Bi’an the Sixth, he kept smoking one puff after another. The smoke nearly engulfed his small frame. His giant goblin-like eyes rolled back and forth between Andrew and Christina.

After a long while, with more than half the cigar gone, he extended a hand and snubbed it out in the ashtray. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I’ll cover this invoice for the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group. In fact, you can even reclaim your deposit—it won’t be deducted. But! But!"

Bi’an the Sixth raised a finger, solemnly declaring, "Starting today, all activities of the Blood Elf and Dragon Mercenary Group are suspended! Until Mr. Duru returns from his travels!"

Andrew’s eyes widened slightly.

Christina, however, remained calm. She kept her head down, her face full of grievance, completely silent.

...

The two of them left the adventurer guild in a sorry state. Christina refused to explain herself. As for Andrew, Bi’an the Sixth didn’t even intend to give him a chance to speak. After all, in Bi’an the Sixth’s eyes, he was just an unreliable human Mage.

Are human Mages ever reliable? No. Human Mages are even less reliable than thieves. Because a human’s lifespan simply isn’t enough to allow them to truly explore the boundless world of magic.

Andrejewitsch was trailing them from a distance.

Andrew glanced at Andrejewitsch from afar, then turned and headed straight for his home. Throughout the walk, Christina kept her head down, following closely behind him. Every so often, Andrew had to stop and wait for her.

"I’m sorry..."

"It’s not your fault. There’s no need to apologize. Besides, I don’t care at all whether we have tasks to do, or whether we can make money. We have more than enough money to live well here."

"I’m sorry..."

"I already told you, it’s not your fault. Why do you insist on apologizing?"

"If I weren’t so useless, Mr. Duru wouldn’t have needed to alter his appearance. And if Mr. Duru hadn’t changed his appearance, our contract wouldn’t have been frozen today. With Mr. Duru around, nothing would’ve gone wrong."

"Uh... when you put it that way, it kind of makes sense. No, wait, that’s wrong—it’s not like that. I’m also to blame. Last night, it was me who used the Fireball Technique. You don’t need to shoulder all the responsibility. Got it?"

Christina raised her head slightly, looking at Andrew pitiably.

Andrew sighed helplessly.

In all these years, it was the first time he realized his heart could be soft.

Reaching out, he gently patted Christina’s head and said softly, "Alright, let’s just head home. Consider this a break. Everything will be fine. After some time, I’ll return to how I was before and go talk to Bi’an the Sixth. He’s bound to lift the suspension."

"Mhm." Christina nodded firmly.

The two continued walking along the long street. Christina occasionally lagged behind, but then caught up to slip her arm through Andrew’s.

At the street corner, Andrejewitsch was dumbfounded, his face filled with disbelief: "What is this? She’s dating a human? And such an ugly human at that? No—this isn’t even a human. It’s something I can’t even define. My god... the Great Elder is going to explode with rage."

...

Andrejewitsch silently followed them, perched on rooftops, peeking through windows. He hid behind walls, eavesdropping.

He saw Christina and Andrew sitting together, dining like a family. Christina had even cooked the meal herself. He heard Christina and Andrew chatting on the sofa, with Christina asking all sorts of naive questions that Andrew patiently answered—half genuine explanations, half teasing her.

Late at night, they each returned to their rooms and extinguished their candles.

Apart from the stacks of gold coins cluttering Christina’s room, Andrejewitsch could no longer see anything about Christina that resembled a dragon.

"I knew I shouldn’t have let her leave Dragon Valley, and once she left, I definitely shouldn’t have expected her to come back." Andrejewitsch didn’t even know how to describe his current feelings.

Could he forcibly take Christina back?

Of course he could. He absolutely had the capability. But if Christina resisted, this entire town would be reduced to rubble. That kind of thing was usually the Black Dragon Clan’s style, not the Golden Dragon Clan’s.

Although the Dragon Clan didn’t have the strict rules of Heaven or Hell, doing something like that would definitely earn a severe scolding upon returning.

If it were just Christina, he might have been able to coerce her through a show of strength. But with Andrew in the mix... Andrew didn’t seem like an easy adversary, especially after throwing that reckless Fireball Technique last night.

In this scenario, if he made a move, Christina would definitely fight back to the end...

After pondering for a while, Andrejewitsch hesitated. He leaped from the rooftop into the courtyard and knocked on the window of Andrew’s room.

"Come out, we need to talk. Don’t worry, I’m not here to fight."

After speaking, he stepped back a few paces, calmly watching the window, waiting.

After a while, the window creaked open. Andrew hesitated before clambering out and stepping into the courtyard.

Under the silvery moonlight, everything was eerily silent.

The two stared at each other, neither speaking.

Andrew straightened his back, trying to appear imposing.

Andrejewitsch scrutinized Andrew carefully, studying him in detail, leaving nothing unchecked. Yet, he still couldn’t discern anything.

His face resembled a human’s, his hands resembled an elf’s, and his aura was utterly bizarre—neither human nor elf. Despite his vast perceptive abilities, Andrejewitsch, with little insight into secret techniques, simply couldn’t determine what Andrew was.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke softly, "I’ll give you a chance—leave her. If you leave her, I’ll forget your disrespect toward me last night."

Andrew stood motionless, his wary gaze fixed on Andrejewitsch, saying nothing.

Andrejewitsch continued, "Think carefully about my proposal—it’s in your best interest. The order to bring her back comes from the Great Elder. No one can defy the Great Elder. Even if I don’t act, other dragons will. Also, I’m talking to you like this not because I’m compromising, and definitely not because I’m begging. Don’t misunderstand. By the deadline, I hope you can give me a satisfying answer."

"What’s the deadline?" Andrew asked.

Andrejewitsch replied casually, "Tomorrow at noon."