Mage Manual

Chapter 1697: Chapter 1254: You Finally Came Back for Me

"Experience of traveling through more than three realms... Even if this train is full of foreign travelers, not many meet the criteria," Felix counted on his fingers: "Senluo doesn’t count, I only have experience with Dazzling Star and Gospel, and I haven’t formally traveled through Blood Moon, so I don’t qualify... But why require passengers with cross-cultural travel experience?"

"Perhaps it’s to handle cultural conflicts."

Ash said, "For instance, if you want to greet a Blood Moonian’s mother, they’d probably be bewildered because the Blood Moonese language doesn’t even have the concept of parents, only genetic contributors in terms of reproduction. Conversely, if a Blood Moonian praises a foreigner as a ’hybrid,’ it might cause tension, but in Blood Moon culture, due to political correctness and other reasons, ’hybrid’ means you’ve transcended racial boundaries to acquire strong traits from multiple races, which is indeed a heartfelt compliment."

"In such situations, only travelers knowledgeable in multicultural experiences can better mediate conflict."

Felix nodded repeatedly, "That’s indeed possible. But Ash, you..."

"Hold on, if no one else is going, then I’ll take a look."

After a few minutes, the train broadcast sounded for the fourth time:

"Would a gentle, kind, loyal, and handsome young man who enjoys Lalafei please proceed to car number ten."

Ash jumped to his feet, "I feel the call of duty!"

"Absolutely not you!" Sonia, Diya, Weiser, and Vishi all stood up and refuted in unison.

"It doesn’t have to be so absolute..." Ash sat down with a downcast look, "I feel like I at least meet the last criterion..."

Weiser looked up at the broadcast speaker, squinting slightly, "It’s a bit strange, what is the train trying to achieve by looking for these people?"

"Maybe they need someone to operate the Technique Spirit," Ash speculated, "Some Technique Spirits require specific people to activate, like the ’Pure Technique Spirit’ demands the mage is a virgin."

"And the ’Righteous Technique Spirit’ can only be activated by a mage with no feelings of guilt," Felix recalled an example.

"No idea if it’s something urgent," Ash said seriously, "As a mage, I feel I should do my part!"

Sonia patted Diya on the shoulder, and after a moment of silence, Diya said gloomily, "Hanna was right, I really have picked up bad habits from Ash..."

Just then, the broadcast sounded for the fifth time:

"Would the passenger with more than ten lovers please proceed to car number ten."

This time, not only Sword Maiden and the others, but even Dedarose couldn’t help lifting her eye mask to look at Ash.

Ash immediately crossed his hands and shook his head firmly, "No, absolutely none, at least not right now!"

"Really?" Vishi asked, "Did you seriously count?"

Ash blinked, and his expression suddenly turned unsure. He began counting on his fingers, but there was no need for an answer; his reaction alone was telling. Several cards whizzed by, grazing Ash’s fluttering hair, and embedded deeply into the wall behind him.

Ash pulled the cards out and reluctantly handed them back, then stood up and said, "I’m going out for a bit."

"I’ll go with you," Felix stood up to follow.

"You’re coming along?" Ash was a bit puzzled but shrugged, "Alright then."

... freewebnovel.cσ๓

...

In car number ten, Siflin swirled a glass of red wine, but her eyes kept glancing at the door. The carriage was empty save for her—no staff, no other passengers, and no good Samaritans or diners responding to the broadcast—because none of the five broadcasts were public announcements for the whole train; they were targeted notifications only for the two compartments reserved by Ash.

Siflin had thought the first broadcast, an enticing ad for Lalafei, would reel Ash in, but even after five broadcasts, there was no effect. Aside from the fourth broadcast, all others clearly derived from Ash’s prominent traits; judging by his personality, he should definitely come to check it out, right?

Especially the fifth broadcast, who else could it be for but him?

The flipside being, if even the fifth broadcast couldn’t lure him, Siflin was at a loss. Either his passion had cooled, leaving him uninterested in trouble, or he was shamelessly oblivious; in either scenario, Siflin and Hanna’s night-long plan was destined to fail.

That darn Meiwa just had to throw a fit at this moment... does she even know who we’re doing all this for...

Just then, the door slid open. Siflin’s head snapped up, hope glinting in her eyes—

Thus, the Blood Clan candidate Empress met the second daughter of Vosloda.

"...What are you doing here?" Siflin was dumbfounded.

"The broadcast," Felix replied, "I met the criteria in the broadcast, so I came to see if there’s anything that needs help."

"But wasn’t the broadcast asking for someone with ten lovers?" the little bat was froze: "You have had that many relationships?"

"Do past relationships count?" Felix cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed, "I used to be quite a... dandy." ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Felix Vosloda, once famous at Sword Flower University for having twenty girlfriends in six months.

...

...

After meticulously washing his face, Ash walked out of the bathroom, sniffed himself to make sure there was no trace of jasmine fragrance. He couldn’t afford to be careless, as everyone had different shower gels and shampoos; it wouldn’t do to implicate Felix.

After all, she is still just a Holy Sanctuary Mage, and joining such a brutal competition is premature.

Felix...

He stretched leisurely, exhaling a long breath. Ash couldn’t guarantee much else, but when it comes to kissing, he felt he was at least Legendary if not a Demigod, distinguishing fingers from lips effortlessly.

Scratching his head, Ash cleared his mind and returned to his compartment. He had originally intended to check out car number ten, but since Felix said she met the requirements, Ash no longer felt like going.

By the way, which compartment was it again?

Looking at the two closed compartments, Ash pondered for a while but couldn’t remember, so he decided to just open a door—apologizing if he got it wrong.

He opened compartment 13 and saw a fold-eared cat grooming itself on the table, realizing he had the wrong room, he said, "Sorry, I was looking for—"

He paused, turning back to glance again at the cat, feeling he’d seen this cat before somewhere.

"Actually... you’re not in the wrong place."

A hand pulled Ash into the compartment, the fingers slender and distinct, an arm covered in a layer of soft, white fur like sleeves. It was summer now, yet the touch of this fur felt not warm, but refreshingly cool.

This alluring fur is the most distinct difference between a Meiwa and a human.

"Ash Heath, the most fearsome cult leader of Kaimon City, the most notorious escapee of Shattered Lake Prison," Freyja’s face was crimson, her gaze towards Ash brimming like it could weave silk: "You finally came back for me."