A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 163 The Pizza Girl's Arcane Festival Dream (9)

"Senior, I have a scar on my body, would you like to see it?"

"How did it happen?"

"It has nothing to do with my arcane past, sad memories, or anyone bullying me."

"So what kind of scar is it?"

"Lonely Scar".

Accompanied by the chanting of a Transfiguration spell, train 9572 was quickly filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Moments later, there was a knock on the door of the compartment where Quinn and Lynn were sitting. A girl, holding a struggling toad, politely asked, "Mr. Quinn, are these students from your class?"

“No, I don’t know him,” Quinn replied immediately.

Wearing denim shorts that revealed a small portion of her shapely buttocks, and only a strapless top that accentuated her curves, this alluring woman with tanned skin was Judith, a sixth-year student at Grindelwald.

Before Celia enrolled, if we disregard Lynn, who was somewhat over-the-top, Judith was one of the so-called school beauties. Even Quinn had heard many rumors about her, and she was generally the kind of girl you could get along with.

The toad in Judith's hand cried out in agony: "Croak, croak, croak—" (Teacher, save me, I'm Seven!)
Quinn, who somehow understood what the toad was saying, continued to shake his head, "I'm really not familiar with it. You should take it to other places and ask, like the prison."

"Is that so? Fine, I'll let you go then." Judith tossed the toad aside, closed the door to the private room, and turned her gaze to the little girl beside her. "I saw you at the station. It seems like this is the first time in six years I've seen Lynn participate in the Arcane Festival."

Lin said crisply, "The train hasn't come."

She was referring to Train 0000. The little girl wasn't using a train that was only for faculty members because she had special privileges; rather, she had hacked into the academy's railway system. However, this time, Train 0000 was at a station in the city, where a teacher was sitting. So, she and Quinn chose the older Train 9572.

Compared to the seemingly extravagant silver train, the interior of train 9572 appeared quite ordinary. However, Quinn knew this was Merlin's replica of the train from Harry Potter, complete with an arcane doll pushing a cart and shouting "Sunflower seeds, chicken feet, instant noodles!" There were quite a few students on board, all going to watch the evening's performance, including Seven, who had been turned into a toad for sexual harassment.

"I heard that you killed four superhumans on the third level of the Abyss without any protective gear and brought them all back safely." Judith's gaze lingered on Quinn with interest. "How did you do that?"

"Perhaps it's because of my mental strength, but I have a relatively high resistance to pollution," Quinn said, using the same tricks he used to fool his students.

“Last school year, I got an A+ in Abyss Research.” Judith’s eyes narrowed. “The contamination of the Fallen Layer is not something that ordinary mental power can resist. You’re not a graduate of the academy, yet you have this ability. The Clock Tower can’t train arcanists like this. Where are you from? The Sea of ​​the Moon? Or a monk from the Ferryman’s Academy?”

“Just a savage.” Quinn didn’t want to say more. His mind wasn’t on these relationships that he wouldn’t need in the future. “He’s not as good as you think. He just passed the teaching assistant interview by luck. He learned most of his arcane magic on his own.”

"Oh," she said with a playful tone, "You don't want to tell me? But what if I'm really interested in the Full Moon Cult?"

"I am not religious."

Hearing this, Judith's smile didn't fade. Instead, she pulled her tube top down a bit, revealing half of her tanned cleavage. "Seven won't do, he's just a little kid. But since Mr. Quinn doesn't need to go back to the academy tonight, we can find somewhere to catch up on lessons. I'm very eager to learn, you know?"

Quinn sighed inwardly. This wasn't a student; he was a damn clueless arcane mage.

Just as she was about to refuse, Lin reached out to Quinn and blocked him like a kitten guarding its food.

"Pizza, no taking it!"

Her tone was so calm it was almost inaudible, but anyone familiar with the little girl's thought process knew that if anyone dared to try and take someone from her, the transformation spell would be activated in the next second.

The super-fast magic version without chanting makes it difficult for the professor to change back after the transformation.

"Whoa—" Judith gasped, covering her mouth in shock and turning her head back and forth between the two of them in disbelief. "Big news?!"

Quinn said helplessly, "I'm taking Lynn out to eat, so let's skip tonight."

"How did you do that?!" Judith's voice was trembling with disbelief. "So being a teacher is all it takes to get Lynn out? No wonder they've been trying for six years without success."

The phrase "bet for six years" refers to a famous bet among the sixth-grade boys in Grindelwald—a bet on who would date Lynn first. The boys in Grindelwald aren't ordinary; Lynn is beautiful, but for them, the top-ranked brain in the grade, capable of suppressing all other geniuses, is what truly appeals. The bet's stakes come from the Broom Alley Fund, and over six years, the stakes have accumulated to a terrifying amount, yet no one has succeeded.

Let alone asking her out on a date, it's uncertain how many times I'll run into Lin throughout the year, except for the opening ceremony.

"Then I can get the bonus?" Quinn asked, bored.

“I have to tell everyone this exciting news right away,” Judith gave Quinn a deep look. “Have fun.”

After she left, a commotion quickly arose. Many older students secretly ran to Quinn's private room, pretending to pass by but actually peeking through the glass. Lynn was alright to her sixth-year classmates, but to students of other grades, she was a legendary goddess on campus.

The youngest wizard besides Merlin, the only A+ student in Space Magic, with a perfect face that has remained almost unchanged from first to sixth year, and an incredibly cool personality.
“You’re very famous,” Quinn said sincerely.

Lin tilted her head, unsure of what he was referring to.

Compared to the incredibly fast 0000, this ancient arcane train, with its thousand-year history, is much slower, soaring through the sky as leisurely as strolling through a field. Passing through the dreamlike starry sky outside the Grindelwald spatial barrier, from day to night, the train connects to the lake, the dimly lit city of Eswell flashes past the window, and finally pulls into platform 9 of the train station.

After leaving the train, two or three groups of students came to invite Quinn to go shopping together—they were mainly inviting Lynn, but they didn't dare say it directly. Quinn naturally declined; everyone had different destinations. They were going to Sweeper Alley before watching the show and had absolutely no interest in politicians' speeches or boring product demonstrations.

Almost all the more outgoing students in Grindelwald who were interested in social activities were here, totaling only about forty. The rest stayed at the college—it made no difference to them whether they were on vacation or not; they were all immersed in their own world, learning all sorts of strange and unusual things.

Two first-year students came to Quinn, one of whom was Seven from the divination class. Although he was a bit eccentric, he was quite popular and had become a familiar face in every grade within just two months of the start of the semester. He knew Judith, and he recovered from being turned into a toad shortly after being thrown away.

He only came to complain about Quinn's indifference; the kid was planning to pursue a senior, but soon he was back with his grinning sixth-year group. Adolf didn't go out; that guy was extremely reclusive and seemed to have recently become obsessed with gas chambers, spending his time in his dorm studying them.

Another student who came to see Quinn was Allison from the Demon Defense Class. His noble lineage from the Southern Continent certainly had some merit; compared to when he first enrolled, this teenager, in the throes of puberty, had grown considerably taller, almost reaching Quinn's height. His wine-red curly hair was parted in the middle, and judging from the older girls' attitudes towards him, he was quite popular. Quinn knew this boy liked Celia, but he seemed to have suffered setbacks for the past two months. His reason for coming to see Quinn was quite simple—

“Mr. Quinn, Celia isn’t at the academy today; she must have gone home.” His tone was gentle. “Will she be at the party tonight?”

Anyone who follows Celia knows that she is very close to Quinn at school.

"I don't know," Quinn shook his head, "but I probably won't go."

"Do you know where she lives? She's a local from Ashwell." Allison made his intentions clear: "I want to invite her to the party."

"This is the students' privacy."

“I understand, thank you for your help.” Allison nodded and turned to leave.

“There’s no need to go to the party,” Quinn suddenly said to his retreating figure. “She won’t be going.”

Allison stopped and turned back, asking calmly, "How do you know she's not going?"

"She doesn't like to join in the fun."

Allison's eyes narrowed slightly. Quinn's long hair hadn't given him any such associations, but now that he had a new hairstyle, he didn't look so old.
“Although I don’t think so, I’ll still ask if I may,” Allison glanced at Lynn, who was standing there in a daze, “you and Celia aren’t lovers, are you?” “Heh,” Quinn patted the little girl’s head indifferently, “Let’s go get some pizza.”

Allison smiled confidently: "I'll go to the party, right now."

"Whatever you want."

Quinn thought to himself that there was no way to stop these suicidal ghosts.

According to Ankua's estimation, as a prototype spatial concept weapon targeting the Demon King's castle, the Eye of Grindelwald's overloaded blast would be devastating. While the target was Rin, the hero, the extent of the aftershocks was uncertain.

As a Grindelwald teacher, my cultivation of responsibility and a little bit of kindness only lasted for two short months, and that was it.

but
Quinn suddenly couldn't help but think, what if there were a tomorrow?
What kind of response should I give her?
Then he couldn't help but shake his head, "What tomorrow?"

The arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be released.

Whether Lin lives or dies, neither he nor Ankuya can stay in Aishwell any longer. The history of this city may even be completely rewritten because of this cannon shot—but that's a story for another time. Once Grindelwald, this seemingly harmless arcane academy, gets serious, even Ankuya isn't confident he can escape 100%.

They could only hurry, and pray that they would escape back to the Demon King's Castle before the academy discovered who the murderer was.

As for what happened after that
Whether the Demon King will keep his promise and send him back to Earth is up to fate.

The information about contracts and Command Seals came from the mysterious people in Ankua and Merlin's Tomb. Quinn searched through the records of hero legends in the Whale Corpse Library but found no descriptions such as "heroes must abide by contracts".

Quinn remains skeptical about the claim that "Command Seals are the most fundamental binding relationships in this world."

Historically, the only known instance of a forced bond between Quinn and the Demon King through a hero's contract seems to be that of the First Hero Link and one of his wives, Tiresia. Otherwise, it's impossible to explain why an elven royal would become a human's sex slave and even help humans defeat the Demon King.

It is important to know that the history of elves is far longer than that of humans and even demons. The elves existed in the first era of the Age of Gods, and their extinction seems to be the result of the decline of their bloodline, and has nothing to do with demons.

But it doesn’t matter.

Quinn silently gripped the box in his hands.

After leaving Grindelwald, he barely glanced at the box, keeping it out of sight at all—not even when he met Pepe.

His deliberate evasive maneuvers weren't just for defense against Pepe.

After arriving in this world, one of the few things Quinn believed in was Aqua.

He believed that Aqua would do his best to fulfill his promise.

But what if Aqua can't do it, or what if Aqua was lying to him from the beginning?
That's only natural. Quinn was actually quite puzzled as to why he trusted Aqua so much, but from the first time he met him...
Although his mind remained on guard, his body unconsciously relaxed, as if he and Quinn had some inexplicable connection.

Quinn's eyes darted through the crowds at the train station. If he couldn't trust Aqua, at least he could trust himself.

Trust in mystery, trust in arcane arts, trust in what I've learned in the Library of Horrors over the past two months.

A mere Sequence Eight attempting to challenge the Demon King is not the act of a moth drawn to a flame. Quinn clearly knows that in front of the Demon King, he is not even a moth, nor even a speck of dust, but merely a tiny, insignificant speck of darkness that no one cares about, which will be completely destroyed by the light of a fire.

but
Someone gently touched my left hand, which was carrying the suitcase.

“Orange juice,” Lin said to him.

The two arrived at the entrance of the high-speed rail station. There was a familiar fresh orange juice stand and a familiar owner. Quinn bought a cup and handed it to Lin, not forgetting to pick up a straw from the convenience store next door.

The two walked silently, one behind the other. It was the same when they last met at the train station; the little girl was quiet, whether they knew each other or not. But unlike last time, after drinking most of her orange juice in one gulp, Lin poked Quinn's waist again—

"What, do you want more?"

"you drink."

The last two sips of orange juice were handed over.

Quinn took it. "Thank you."

The straw has an orange juice flavor on the edge.

"Where's the pizza?" As if she had been looking forward to it for a long time, Lin became unusually talkative: "A special pizza."

"The party venue, that's where the super pizza is on display." Quinn looked up, and in the distance, Grindelwald's Eye was shimmering with blue light—bluer than ever, bluer than ever before, a light that outshone all the city lights, like the most intense beam of light in the festive atmosphere.

“It’s huge, it smells amazing, it’s unbeatable.” Quinn said softly, “There will be a lot of people at the venue, so find a conspicuous place to sit and don’t move around. I’ll go buy you a pizza.”

"Ah."

"Let's go."

"Ah."

"Would you like some more orange juice?"

"Ah."

This time, it was a tone of shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked, feigning helplessness. "Why are you just standing still?"

"Quinn."

Lin looked up, a hint of confusion on her perfect little face.

"Did Lin do something wrong?"

"Of course not."

"Then why have you been avoiding my eyes?"

(End of this chapter)