Endside (Part 4)

"Why could such an important material be there?" Celine asked, confused.

Rayvne looked at Mary, awaiting her approval to share the matter, considering it was important and private to her.

A sigh escaped Mary's lips. She took a step forward and answered, "Because he's my ex-husband."

Celine's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

Slowly, she turned to Zent, who had returned to enjoying the breeze of the fan, mesmerized by his hair fluttering around his face, looking so comfortable as if soaring to heaven.

"He is my ex-husband, and I'm the one who gave him that material before we parted ways. He wanted to return it to me, but I couldn't accept it, as it would only remind me of when we first met. That material is also what made us a married couple," Mary explained with a sad expression.

The atmosphere shifted completely. It felt so somber that the air became heavy.

"I apologize for that, Ms. Mary. We shouldn't have asked further," Zent said gently, stroking Celine's head, who looked guilty.

Mary quickly raised her hand and waved it. "Oh no, no need to apologize. That's all in the past. We have our own lives now, so I don't think about it much anymore," Mary replied. She spoke a bit too quickly, raising suspicion.

However, they decided to restrain themselves, giving Mary space to breathe. After all, this wasn't their issue, and it seemed like both of them had already dealt with it well.

Mary cleared her throat a few times before continuing, "The academy is located near the Fernova Kingdom, a union between the human and other races. Something we thought would never work out, but it's still standing. In fact, I think Fernova is almost as grand as Alfcity.

That academy operates under their jurisdiction. That's also why there haven't been any major conflicts so far. Just minor disputes, like fights between students," Celine explained to me.

Zent's grin widened as he listened. "This is going to be quite the exciting journey. I can't wait to get there."

"We still have to go incognito, Zent," Rayven chimed in as a warning. "And we have to figure out how to become one of the students there, on top of that."

We turned to Mary, who instantly smiled proudly. "Leave it to me."

Not even an hour later, after waiting outside the room, trying not to overhear Mary's conversation with the headmaster, she opened the door, breathless after having a 'slight' argument with him.

"You two will be the school representatives for the upcoming tournament in a week."

"Tournament... Do you mean the inter-academy tournament held once a year?" Rio asked enthusiastically. "I've been wanting to participate in it for so long! Finally, my dream is coming true!"

"You want to participate in the tournament?" Rayven asked, surprised.

Her grin widened. "Of course! I can fight alongside strong individuals in there. I can gauge my strength and see if I can defeat the prideful representatives from each academy!"

Rayven facepalmed, shaking his head at Rio's dream. "You do realize that we're all much stronger than them, right? Just the two of us are Tier 5 knights. Meanwhile, the strongest ones there will only reach Tier 4."

"We never know if this world might have a genius among them, do we?"

"As long as you don't hurt them too badly, fine," Rayven replied, giving up on trying to dissuade Rio.

He knew the girl would never stop once it came to a fight. Perhaps that was also the reason why Rio had a reputation in the Underworld as the Red Rose.

With that, they prepared to head there after listening to Mary's explanation, who asked them to restrain themselves and not draw too much attention. Especially after the previous attack by the cultists, Fernova had become more vigilant toward foreigners.

Of course, Zent chimed in, "As long as they don't cross the line, I won't either."

Mary could only sigh, her smile weary. She had completely forgotten that their leader was someone a bit unhinged. She could only hope they'd be okay.

As they stepped out after saying their goodbyes and thanks, a few people intercepted them in the middle of the road. The people around them sidestepped, not wanting to get involved in the trouble that was about to occur, especially upon seeing the tattoos on their right arms.

Zent observed the tattoos and then grinned. "What are you guys, spear gang?" he quipped.

The man in front, wearing chainmail with a spear hanging behind him, stepped forward and folded his arms. "True. We are the spear gang. But, we much prefer to be called 'Doomspear.'"

Zent struggled to hold back his laughter. However, imagining the stern face in front uttering that name made him burst into laughter, causing him to fall to the ground. "Doomspear? A bunch of pervert?"

Rayven couldn't hold back his laughter, which he quickly stifled, and then coughed loudly. "Sorry, there's a spear—ahem, I mean, a fly."

The man's eyes twitched, restraining his emotions. "You all are the ones who injured Troy, aren't you?"

"You mean the guy with no manners?" Zent retorted from the ground. He stood up, dusted himself off, and nodded. "Not entirely wrong, but not entirely right either." His grin widened. "I'm the one who did it, not them."

"Oh? So, you're admitting it? I thought you were someone who only dares to stand up because of backup," the man glanced at the people behind him before returning his gaze to Zent.

"Don't you see your own numbers?"

"We're a gang, not knights like you. Although I feel you're better suited to be street clowns,"

He and his followers burst into hearty laughter. They stepped even closer, preparing to charge at the seemingly weak group. It had been a while since they had such beautiful women among them.

They just needed to injure the two men, then they could take each woman from their group. Truly a treasure trove.

Unfortunately, this treasure trove wasn't an ordinary one. It was a mimic, waiting for its prey.

"Clowns, huh?" Zent lowered his body and spun, tripping the man's legs. He then delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying forward.

Seeing their leader treated like trash, they rushed forward, each releasing their mana.

However, in one stomp, their bodies fell to the ground, crashing heavily. As if a heavy weight had suddenly descended, pinning them down. They could only watch as the figure approached one of them.

Zent knelt, inspecting his fingernails for any dirt, then gazed at the bandits in front. "Why? Weren't you the ones who wanted to prove we're clowns? Why is it that you're the ones lying on the ground, becoming a big joke in Endside?"

Their leader lunged forward, only to be thrown back by a flick that didn't even touch his body.

"One tip for you all, coincidentally, I have no ill intentions. Never attack those who appear weak but walk with confidence. You'll never know if they're actually setting traps to pounce on people like you."

He patted the bandit's head as if playing with a pet. Zent stood up, stretched his body, and continued their journey. Not forgetting, he also dispelled the gravitational pull with a snap of his fingers.

He intentionally put on a show for Endside, considering they still had to return here. It was much better to address every potential issue in the future rather than wait for it to happen.

However, if it turned out that his current behavior would lead to even bigger problems, Zent wouldn't hold back and would treat them the same way he treated the Queen during the attack.

The Queen, not Ryssa.

They are two different people now.

Zent was also confident they wouldn't attack Mary indiscriminately, especially since the power slowly seeping out of her felt not much weaker than the two companions who were still in the Xianxia world.

"Don't use your HB," he said once they were outside of Endside.

"Why?" Rayven asked, puzzled.

Zent conjured a large spacecraft alongside with enough cargo space for two cars. "We'll use this. I'll show you what the future is like."

He smiled broadly, eager to reveal its contents.