A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 284 The Truth of the Dragon Lord's Prophecy

The past recounted by the boss did not cause much of a stir in Quinn's mind.

He still didn't think Celia was a hero, and this past event only solidified that belief.

Because the boss's words implied that the Dragon Lord's prophecy was not absolute, but could be reversed.

There are two versions of the mythology of Taimuran. Leaving aside the ancient era studied by mystics, in the eyes of ordinary people, human history began with the Divine Calendar, and before the Divine Calendar were the myths woven by the seven great gods.

The supreme god "Sun" created the world, distinguishing between day and night, and promising humanity an era in which to live.

The World Tree has evolved across the earth, supported the sky, and given humankind its soul.

Order and the Holy Spirit educate humankind, establish order, enable civilization to develop and prosper, and purify the soul.

The moon, which takes over the night after the sun sets, protects humanity from demons and evil spirits. It is also regarded as the manifestation of the arcane "source" in the world.

The ocean brings tides and rainfall, providing a constant flow of water, which in turn allows livestock to thrive, crops to be harvested, and humans to be well-fed.

The Serpent of Death rules the underworld, ensuring that the souls of the dead have a place to rest, thus making the world a place for the living.

The Dragon of Eternity and Time watches over time, making the past just the past and the future just the future, thus allowing the world to function.

These myths are "common knowledge" written in textbooks in various churches and even schools, and are also the general understanding of human society. However, if one comes into contact with more religions, it is not difficult to find that there are many conflicts between the "myths" promoted by various sects. For example, who created the world, the World Tree or the Sun? Who holds the "order," the Dragon Lord or the Goddess?
Many scholars have publicly questioned these myths, but their arguments have been suppressed by the major religions. Over the past fourteen hundred years, the various religions have ceased their debates, and the major religions tacitly agree that, at least in the world visible to ordinary people, no clergy member would question the scriptures of other religions.

Although they may have conflicts with each other, the core "elements" of each major religion are unique and as unshakable as the foundation of the earth.

For example, the sun's status as "light" and "supreme god," the white goddess's "arbitration" and "healing," the serpent of death's "return of souls" and "cleaning of the human world," and the dragon lord's "prophecy" and "eternal immutability."
What the boss said was undoubtedly a questioning of the Dragon Lord's "prophetic" abilities.

If the prophecy of the Son of Prophecy is not limited to this part, then the part that was not released by the Eternal Church is clearly problematic.

Horus, as prophesied by the Dragon Lord, was to die on the night of the great fire in the palace.

The prophesied child, Celia, was placed in a small boat and floated down the river. She narrowly escaped death and then went through fourteen years of untold hardships before finally returning to her homeland in 1454. She drew her holy sword and led the rebels to kill their enemies.

However, the college snatched all of this away.

Horus, who should have died, survived, and Celia was not put on the small boat. The two eventually arrived in Eswell and opened a small tavern in a poor alley in Eastwell, where they have lived a simple and uneventful life ever since.

Celia did not grow into the prophesied child who was capable of wielding the holy sword. Instead, she became a simple-minded girl who needed half a month to learn to play the "Seven Mile Fragrance" tune. 1454 should have been the year of her destiny to draw the sword, but instead, she spent her time in the academy playing Go with Quinn.

Under her adoptive father's influence, she may or may not have learned about her origins. But the boss firmly believed that, given Horus's character, he probably wouldn't allow such an innocent girl to face a cruel fate; in other words, the chosen one to draw the sword might not even appear.
The prophecies, which Quinn already considered unreliable, became even less credible.

On the contrary, Merlin
Locking in on Celia fourteen years in advance, and even interfering with and disrupting the Dragon Lord's plans—is this truly something Merlin's Book, a magical book hailed as a sacred artifact, could accomplish alone?

Merlin was there a thousand years ago.
Quinn shook his head, dismissing the idea.

In any case, divination could not possibly span a thousand years; only the gods could predict such things.

So, does that mean my fellow villager is even more powerful than the Dragon Lord?
Quinn, being cautious, returned to the academy.

The boss was already asleep on the table, snoring loudly from drunkenness. It was hard to tell whether the old man was faking sleep or genuinely drunk.

Passing through the train station, the pillars and walls of the platform were uniformly covered with Elon's campaign posters. Unlike Westwell, which emphasized citizenship and human rights, Eastwell's posters took a different approach. The slogans on the posters intentionally or unintentionally emphasized national consciousness, portraying Eastwell as a strong sovereign state independent of its neighbors, and focusing on promoting parliamentary reform and expanding the airlift force.
This undoubtedly aligned with the mindset of the wealthier citizens of Eastwell. Quinn even saw a guy giving a speech in front of an Elon poster, clamoring for the establishment of a nation-state in Axwell, where a parliamentary system would make Axwell the most progressive and free country in the South Continent.
Seeing the redneck spitting as he spoke, Quinn inexplicably thought of a certain German orator.

He has quite a few listeners, and many Eastwell residents are into this. The rapid development of the arcane industry and airships in recent years has created a large middle class. Generations of people who have lived in Eastwell have long forgotten what their hometown looks like and are beginning to crave a new sense of national identity.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Elon's election as a member of parliament is a foregone conclusion.

But the prerequisite is that Quinn narrows his eyes and he can help him get through the hearing.

The train soared into the sky, crossing the boundary between day and night, and it was broad daylight again.

Quinn hadn't slept for almost forty hours. An ordinary person would have been distracted and daydreaming by now, but he was still full of energy and acted as if nothing had happened.

Quinn thought that he had actually slept, once on his feet and once on... cough, on his lap.

After becoming a Sequence Seven, if he were simply engaged in conscious activity, he probably wouldn't feel tired even if he worked non-stop for a week. He was as energetic as a machine that had been plugged in.

Becoming tired actually means something is wrong; it could mean either massive blood loss or that one's inspiration has been depleted by supernatural forces, or that one has been cursed and is experiencing mental problems.

Although I am full of energy, I can't stay up all the time. If I need to perform certain rituals related to the spirit world, such as the master-servant contract I signed with Amamiya Nene, it would be best to take a nap. In the mysticism, sleep is defined as the self-cleansing of the soul.

From the perspective of extraordinary individuals, excessively long periods of lucidity may exacerbate the tendency to lose control, and maintaining a regular and healthy routine is important for mental stability.

As Quinn stepped onto the platform of the academy from Train 0000, he looked up at the main castle. He vaguely sensed that the connection of the spirit world contract was becoming clearer, indicating that Amamiya Nene was attending classes at the academy.

He was somewhat confused when he thought of Amamiya Nene.

I've worked with her for more than a month or two, and her personality never used to be this strange when she had her period.
I'm pondering how to deal with the little witch. If she still has that grumpy look on her face, should I laugh it off or be serious?
With that thought in mind, Quinn opened the office door.

"Gah!!!"

Wangcai squeaked and opened its mouth to bite Quinn's hand.

"Holy crap—"

Quinn reacts eight times faster than Hakiwan; if he senses something is wrong, he'll run away on his own.

He nimbly dodged, and Wangcai missed its bite. But this damned silver dragon completely disregarded the months of feeding and cleaning up its poop, and started chasing Quinn's butt. Quinn was forced to jump around the office like a monkey, while angrily yelling at Amamiya Nene, who was sitting on the sofa watching the show with her knees drawn up: "What are you feeding it? Put it on a leash!!"

Amamiya Nene smiled broadly. Today, she had her hair in a bun and was wearing a black, purple, and gold-embroidered high-slit cheongsam. Judging from her posture and the way her small, black-stockinged feet swayed happily, she was the Amamiya Nene that Quinn knew from the past.

“Don’t swing on the office swing!” she warned Quinn, who was climbing up and down the swings.

Quinn laughed in exasperation, "Your dog's on its period too?"

"Wangcai is shedding its skin recently, so it's normal for it to be grumpy."

"If you have a bad temper, go bite a high-voltage wire. Why are you biting me?" Quinn ran while looking back at Wangcai's fluffy white feathers and asked, "It's molting? How does it molt?"

"It's just changing the layer of fur."

Just as Amamiya Nene had said, Wangcai ran out of energy after chasing for a while, panting heavily as it lay in a corner, though its adorable little eyes remained fixed on Quinn as if it wanted to devour him alive. Quinn avoided it, still traumatized by the silver dragon.

"You're two classes late, where did you go?" Amamiya Nene asked him, resting her chin on her hand.

"I went to buy you breakfast."

Quinn placed the packaged food on his desk; it was fish and chips made by Mrs. Selvi.

"What breakfast? Hmm, why does it smell so strange?" Amamiya Nene looked at the food in the lunchbox in horror.

Fish and chips.

Quinn picked up a stick, took a bite, and gave it a strange look.

Actually, he made this quite a few times when he was in his Nordic fantasy. As long as the ingredients are fresh enough, it won't taste too bad if you make it using the thin batter frying method of tempura.

However, the Brits were fried in some kind of batter, and they were sticky, had a beany taste, and were extremely salty. The fish was soft and mushy with no moisture at all. The old lady said that it was made strictly according to the Brits sisters' recipe to ensure authenticity.

Amamiya Nene pinched her nose and fanned away the smell in disgust.

Her mother was half Easterner, while she was a true Ronian who grew up in Ron and couldn't stand any British swill.

"Fine, don't eat it. Let the students eat it." Actually, Quinn himself didn't want to eat it either.

"You even bought me breakfast, huh." Amamiya Nene sneered, "It's probably leftovers from what you ate with your girlfriend, which you brought back to give to me as charity."

"Am I the kind of person who forgets about work for a woman?" Quinn said in a deep voice, "I have important business to discuss, about the definition of gods, concerning the fate of the world—"

"Don't let the students see the lipstick stains on your chin when you're in class."

Quinn instinctively reached down to touch his chin, then immediately realized he'd been tricked, and could only manage an awkward laugh like a scholar caught on camera.

".That's great."

Amamiya Nene slumped into her chair and sighed, "I also want to have a sweet romance, and I want a big-breasted, beautiful lady to support me. I don't want to go to work."

Only the second half of the sentence is true.

Amamiya Nene took a short vacation and returned today to find her schedule packed with classes, paying the price for the rescheduling.

It will be especially difficult to get back to work after a long rest.

"Then don't go." Quinn pulled up a chair and sat down, starting to help Amamiya Nene with her paperwork, while making sarcastic remarks: "I'll support you. Is 200 a month enough?"

"Penny or silver coin?"

"Gold pounds." Quinn used to not believe people that casinos could make you rich, but now he does. He even found two big bags of gold pounds in the toilet. He became a rich guy again after going in and out of the casino.

Life is as easy as turning your hand.

“Not enough.” Amamiya Nene shook her head. “200 gold pounds isn’t enough for me to buy clothes.”

"Wow, Miss, what kind of life do you live? If that's not enough, let me add another zero."

"2000?" She looked at Quinn suspiciously. "Did you rob a bank?"

“I mean 200 gold pounds for 10 months.”

"."

Today's work was not much different from usual.

The academy held a large lecture for first-year students in the morning to summarize the Forbidden Forest Trial and award prizes. Thanks to their gains in the Fallen Layer, the class with the longest time in this Abyss Trial was still the Divination Class. Quinn, the team leader and assistant instructor who did not participate in the entire trial, was praised by the vice dean on the spot. This Muggle was one step closer to becoming a full member.

The students in the divination class also received a reward from the college, with their Broom Alley funding amount on their student ID cards increasing dramatically.

Judging from the trial results, the quality of the 1454 cohort of students was higher than in previous years; after entering the abyss twice, not a single student was infected. Therefore, the academy set a precedent: from now on, the Forbidden Forest Trials for first-year students would be held regularly, though the exact dates are undetermined, but generally once a month.

Quinn knew he couldn't go into the abyss in his current state; if he fell to the fifth level, he really wouldn't be able to get out. But there was still a long time before the next Forbidden Forest Trial, so he could find a way to decline then.

After the lecture, Quinn called Megan into his office alone.

Celia wanted to come in too, like a loyal best friend wandering around the office door with a thermos when her classmate was called out by the teacher. But Quinn, as an experienced teacher, wouldn't let her succeed. The worst thing when lecturing is to have a cunning person who isn't afraid of the teacher interrupting. He chased Celia out, leaving Megan alone, trembling with fear.

Amamiya Nene and Quinn flanked Megan from both sides, while the Commander sat with her hands supporting her chin, staring at her without saying a word.

Wangcai stared at Quinn from the corner without saying a word.

Megan felt this was even more unbearable than the Forbidden Forest. Quinn took a sip of tea before leisurely speaking, "Do you know why I called you to my office?"

Judging from his tone, he truly deserves to be called a student who has been in the top class; his mouth sounds like he has a certificate of re-employment as a special-grade teacher hanging on his back.

No, I don't know—

"Ok?"

"No, no, I, I know," Megan stammered, tears welling up in her eyes. She could almost see herself being expelled from school.

"Good to know." Quinn nodded slightly and handed her the fish and chips beside him: "Take this and share it with Celia. Don't do this kind of thing again."

Megan ran away with tears in her eyes, her gratitude and relief at surviving the ordeal beyond words. After she left, Amamiya Nene asked in confusion, "Why are you making such a big deal out of skipping breakfast?"

"You know nothing about education," Quinn said enigmatically as he sipped his tea.

Time passed slowly, and it was time to let out of school in the afternoon.

He thought that once he finished teaching Celia this piano lesson, he could finally rest. What a long day!

(End of this chapter)