Roman Lane.
Leo unbuttoned his black robe, crossed his legs, and said, “In my original plans, you wouldn't have made a move until after the city fell.”
“Today is Novalia's coronation day, and enough blood has been shed,” Ning Busan said. “It's not just blood and death that can change people, but also faith and love. In any case, I believe that after this Black Sun, the humans of the empire will change for the better.”
Leo touched his jawbone. “Louis, you've gone soft compared to before.”
Ning Busan's eyes flickered slightly. “People can't remain unchanged forever. I will change, and so will you.”
“Louis, you're implying something,” Leo laughed. “I turned into an undead, not a villain. Even if we're both changing, there are some things in this world that remain constant.”
Ning Busan asked, “Like what?”
“For instance, even if I'm keeping secrets from you, I would never harm you.” Leo pursed his lips, looking thoroughly annoyed. “Alright, stop being so paranoid. What on earth do you want to ask?”
Ning Busan's brows knit tightly.
Whenever Louis ran into a problem, he would always discuss it with Leo. Ning Busan had actually inherited this habit; his first instinct was to seek out Leo.
But there were too many things he wanted to ask, and for a moment, he didn't know where to begin.
Leo grumbled, “Just spit it out. Don't sit there frowning in silence. Anyone looking at you would think I owed you money.”
Ning Busan said, “Don't interrupt. I'm thinking.”
Leo muttered under his breath, “You're clearly the one asking me for a favor. Is this how you treat someone you're begging?”
Ning Busan asked, “Why do you think the Black Sun came early?”
The two green soul fires in Leo's eye sockets flickered. He smiled and retorted, “How would I know?”
Soul fires reflected the state of an undead. Thus, if an undead lied, it was far more obvious than a human doing so.
Ning Busan suddenly lost the desire to continue the conversation. He let out a listless, “Oh.”
“Are you mad?” Leo tilted his head. “I'm not lying to you. I really don't know why the Black Sun arrived early. It's just that I can sense this matter might have something to do with you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to carry that psychological burden.”
Ning Busan's heart tightened inexplicably. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I'm a Seer.”
“Then I'm a Werewolf. Believe it or not, I'll knife you.”
“Don't underestimate a Seer's intuition,” Leo snorted proudly. “Even the high and mighty God of Light might not understand destiny and the future better than I do.”
Ning Busan warned, “Prying too much into the future and interfering with destiny will eventually bring backlash.”
“Can't be helped, prophesying is my innate talent,” Leo shrugged indifferently. “I see my own future every day. If there really was a backlash, wouldn't I have kicked the bucket a long time ago?”
Ning Busan asked in surprise, “You can see your own future destiny?”
Leo bared his stark white teeth, smiling brightly. “It's a rather beautiful ending.”
Ning Busan smiled. “Then isn't that great?”
After pondering for a moment, Ning Busan finally voiced what truly weighed on his mind: “The leader of the xeno army told me, ‘I finally found you.’ What do you think that means?”
Leo couldn't help but complain, “In my ten thousand years of living, this is the first time I've ever heard that a xeno could speak.”
“I'm not joking with you,” Ning Busan said with a long face. “Why do you think they're looking for me? Could it be because I slaughtered too many of their kind ten thousand years ago, and I'm on their blacklist?”
“Don't overthink it. So what if they've targeted you?” Leo said. “We managed to drive the xenos out of the Landia Continent once; we can do it a second time.”
Hearing him say that, Ning Busan's anxiety suddenly eased.
The xenos were not invincible.
Just like this time, hadn't they been repelled by him?
Leo asked, “What on earth are you afraid of?”
Ning Busan stubbornly insisted, “Who's afraid?”
What exactly was he fearing?
He feared that the person the xenos were looking for was not Louis, but him—Ning Busan.
He feared the massive conspiracy hidden behind those seven cards.
He feared he would gradually forget his original world, slowly molded by this one until he became completely unrecognizable.
But as the saying goes, all fear stems from insufficient firepower.
Ning Busan rubbed his face and said, word by word, “I've decided. I'm going into secluded cultivation!”
“Secluded cultivation? Why don't you just ascend to heaven while you're at it?” Leo sneered. “Don't say I didn't warn you. The Black Sun has just passed, and you have a mountain of things to deal with next.”
“You hold the title of Divine Envoy. Shouldn't you be reassuring the public?”
“As a max-level swordsman, do you really have no other thoughts when you see that the Dawn Empire only has four weak Grand Swordsmen?”
“Not to mention the magic world. My god, it's only been ten thousand years. How could the magic world have degenerated to such a pathetic state?”
Ning Busan was very good at shirk responsibility. “Don't we still have you and Novalia?”
“What does that have to do with me? Don't count on me to help that little Empress.” Leo tapped his skull. “Let me reiterate: I don't have a brain.”
Just as Ning Busan was about to speak, Leo began to play dumb, babbling nonsense, “Aba aba, aba aba...”
If you can't beat them, join them. Ning Busan also started babbling, “Aba aba...”
The two of them babbled at each other, staring wide-eyed.
After a good while, Leo threw his black robe back over himself and walked away, grumbling, “I am truly defeated by you.”
Ning Busan rubbed his nose.
Oh well. Work first, secluded cultivation later.
...
In the month following the Black Sun, Ning Busan was incredibly busy.
Reassuring the public was something Novalia could handle on his behalf.
With Teacher Saige presiding over the Mage Association and Leo, the wise one, offering advice, the commoners' enthusiasm for learning magic soared. There were even many promising talents who made rapid progress.
At this rate, it might only take a century for the magic world to undergo a massive transformation.
In comparison, trying to reform the circles of swordsmen and warriors was simply too difficult.
Yet, after Novalia became the Empress, she immediately entrusted Ning Busan with heavy responsibilities, handing over the management of all the empire's legions to him.
Ning Busan felt that this level of trust was simply too heavy for him to bear.
Rate on N.U.
