“Okay, so… eh… That happened,” I say with a slight nod, tapping my feet on the floor.   

“Yeah, that did happen,” Zakira agrees, pursing her lips and looking away.   

Currently, both of us are inside the empty school building, in one of the classrooms. After our duel, Zakira immediately sent me an urgent message, calling me here to talk. Oh, and by the way, the tournament is still going on in the stadium.   

“You’re not too tired, are you? You looked deathly pale earlier,” She asks, concerned.   

“No, I have recovered some of my energy. And you?” I ask back.   

“Same.”  

…   

…   

We sit in awkward silence for a few seconds— before I couldn’t take it anymore and speak out.  

“Listen, this isn’t a safe place to talk. Naomi and others are too close by. I just messed up big time and I don’t want things to get any worse— if they even can at this point, that is,” I say, shaking my head.   

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I am using a powerful magical artifact this time. If anyone listens-in to our conversation, I will know immediately. And besides, I have ordered my bodyguards to keep an eye on Naomi and all the other important figures as an extra precaution. So, we can talk freely,” she assures me immediately.   

I see…   

“Well then, let us start by making one thing clear— what happened earlier was because of our Blood Bond, right?” I ask.   

“Well, if it wasn’t because of another one of your strange spells, then yes, it was because of the Blood Bond… It wasn’t, right?” she says, looking somewhat hopeful that I will say ‘yes’.  

“No.”  

…   

“Anyway, I am sorry. I kind of figured what’s happening in the middle of our duel, but still, I went ahead and defeated you. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should’ve just pretended to be hit by one of your spells and ended the match there,” I say apologetically.   

“Oh, heck no! Thank god you didn’t do that! That would’ve made things worse— no, catastrophically bad!” Zakira says, taking me by surprise.   

What?   

“How come?” I ask with a frown.   

“Jacob, you’re seriously underestimating people with high-level systems. Spectators like Ilyrana and Leena (not to mention, Naomi) weren’t just simply watching our duel, they were closely observing everything we did— probably using magical means, no less,” she tells me, shaking her head.   

“And thus, they knew almost all the details that a normal viewer wouldn’t know — like how much mana do we have left, or are my spells actually hitting you or not, or, well, the fact that I couldn’t conjure spells when I was aiming directly at you.  

“So, you see, they would’ve known if you faked losing to me or anything. And that would’ve made them very suspicious, and curious as well, as to why you would do that— especially Naomi.  

“After the incident at the hotel with that bunnygirl apprentice of hers, there’s a possibility that she might’ve even connected the dots and realized that there’s something strange going on with us (aka Blood Bond).”  

…   

“But your spells didn’t work against me— isn’t that weird and suspicious as well? What if Naomi comes to a similar conclusion because of that?” I ask.   

“Yes, it’s weird, but that won’t happen. There’s another factor you forgot to include in this— you defeated Ilyrana yesterday! And thus, you’ve already done something that should be impossible for someone at your level.   

“It won’t be easy, but I can salvage the situation by letting out a rumor that you used another mysterious spell to influence my attacks. We will portray this spell as a defensive one rather than offensive so that it wouldn’t seem strange for you to use it on yourself before entering the arena.   

“This way, it can be also explained why no one saw perform the actual spell!” she answers.   

…   

“That can… work,” I say, quite impressed.  

“But it will fuck me up even more. Now, I have defeated two Princesses and no one knows exactly how.”  

“I apologize for that, it’s somewhat my fault. I knew that a slave cannot physically attack their master, but I had no idea that even magical attacks are useless. I was too late to realize this during our duel as well. Maybe, I should’ve just given you a heads-up anyway,” Zakira says grimly.   

“…”  

“…”  

Both of us stare at each other, realizing something.   

“I-I mean, the master cannot attack their slaves. You know, because the slaves are so weak that they will… they will die if a Vampire hits them,” she hastily explains.   

…   

Why does she only become dumb while making these excuses?   

Well, whatever…   

“Sure, that completely makes sense,” I say in a sarcastic tone.   

“Really!? I-I mean, of course, it does,” she says, looking happy with herself.  

“Anyway, don’t worry too much, okay? All of this is still a hundred times better than my father finding out about our Blood Bond. And we dodged that bullet only because you defeated me. So, cheer up a bit!”  

“Easy for you to say…” I mumble faintly.   

Suddenly, Zakira takes out her phone and checks the time.   

“Shit… Let’s head back to the stadium. We shouldn’t disappear for too long,” she says, stands up and gesturing me to come along.   

“Oh, and remember to stick to the story if someone asks how you defeated me. I called you here so urgently to tell you this,” she adds.   

“Alright, I will.”  

 

 

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Author’s Note: Jacob’s first day at Evelyn’s brothel (as an employee) will be covered in the side chapters.  

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“You want me to come to the White Elf Kingdom with you!?”   

Anna’s surprised voice comes from the phone’s speaker.   

“Yeah, but I understand that you have work priorities— especially being in the police department and everything. I don’t want you to force yourself to come and then get into trouble. It’s totally fine if you don’t have time,” I say sincerely.   

“Are you kidding me!? I am definitely coming! And don’t worry about my work, I have ways to get as many paid leaves as I want!” she tells me excitedly.   

“Is— Is that so?”  

I am not even going to ask about these “ways”.  

“Yup! Oh, and did you talk to your girlfriends about me moving in with you guys?” she asks.   

“Not yet. We didn’t get the time to discuss that,” I answer honestly.   

“Great, then don’t do that for now. I think it’s better for me to meet all your women first and bond with them. We can do that on the trip!” she says eagerly.   

“Sure, if that’s what you want,” I say while shrugging to myself.   

“Anyway, I will call you later. Bye!”  

“Bye! I love you!”  

“Love you, too.”  

I cancel the call, tossing away my phone. It’s around eight at night and currently, I am in my room, simply lying on the bed. Layla is downstairs, preparing the dinner, and Maya is helping her out.   

Okay, so, Anna is coming as well. Let’s go through the list again…   

Layla, Maya, and Zakira; check by default.   

Kate and Riley; I asked them after the tournament today, and both of them said that they need to ask their parents first (though they were quite thrilled about it). So, not checked yet.   

Mrs. Kremer and Arora; well, I don’t think I should talk to them about this— or anything, as a matter of fact— over the phone. I will go and meet them tomorrow. So, they’re not checked, either.   

As for Evelyn… Ahem…   

I lift up my pants and take a peek inside.   

…  

Damn… It still looks half-dead.  

I went to Evelyn’s brothel after school for my part-time job, and well, I won’t go into details, but things got a little too frisky than I imagined.   

Anyway, what matters is that she’s coming with me to the Elf Kingdom as well. So, checked.   

And last but certainly not least; Rebecca…   

“Well, I already know that she will agree to come— if she can, that is. I need Naomi’s help in this matter,” I mutter to myself.   

“Oh, you need my help?” A voice comes from the corner of the room.