Chapter 656: Bad News
Northern sat comfortably on a portable wooden chair. Three identical chairs surrounded a round coffee table.
As if to announce their purpose, small ceramic cups sat directly in front of each chair. Annette was filling one with coffee for Northern right now.
She closed the jug's nozzle, set it at the center of the table, and sat down across from Northern, staring intently at him.
Northern, on the other hand, closed his eyes, breathing in the coffee's earthy aroma.
It reminded him of a special kind of almond that he'd only seen in one area. Actually, they weren't almonds but smelled like the ones from his original world.
It had been the first familiar scent he'd perceived, and every time he went to that tree to rest, he took the opportunity to drown himself in memories of the past.
Annette watched as he curled his lips, breathing in and out with delight written heavily on his face.
"Will you cut that crap and have that drink?" Her tone resounded with venomous intent.
Northern opened his eyes.
"That is not a way to talk to your benefactor. I am very sure all of you in the Dark Continent owe your lives to me."
Annette grinned evilly and folded her arms as she leaned back in her chair.
"You think so? It was all you?" Her tone was cocky.
Northern's countenance became gloomy.
"Raven had more to do with our freedom than you did."
'I knew it!'
Right from the moment she suddenly smirked, he knew she was going to mention that name.
They probably never went around here without mentioning it. She was perhaps like a martyr to these people.
And the thing about martyrs is, they raise faith instead of quenching it.
Raven was probably like some hero in the hearts of these people. But him? He was the one who killed Koll and sealed back Kyros.
If he hadn't sealed Koll's master, forget escaping the Dark Continent-all of them would probably be lifeless by now, their bodies food for ravaged mob monsters and the soil.
At least they were grateful. Maybe he was just jealous that all Raven did was deceive and trick them, with an excuse to carry the burden alone.
She killed thousands mercilessly, all for the sake of their freedom.
'I hope she's suffering where she is...'
...in fact, dead.
If she wasn't, she would be the day she stepped into the Central Plains... too bad for her he couldn't reverse what had been done.
"Your look changed. What, are you jealous?" Right on the nail, Annette hammered her words. "You must be feeling very inferior to the Dark Continent hero."
Northern stayed silent, his expression unreadable for a few minutes, then he smiled politely.
The smile was so awkward and unsettling, it made Annette question the identity of who sat before her.
"Raven? Inferiority? I cannot feel inferior to Raven. Why would I? I am stronger than her." "You don't know how much more powerful she has grown in the past few months." "And you don't know if she's dead."
"Ohhh, I know she isn't." Annette's cocky smirk returned for a moment, then was replaced by a serious demeanor.
Northern was also affected. She knew about Raven's wellbeing.
That could not be. Everybody who could leave the Dark Continent that day had left, except Raven and Terence.
Anyone else who couldn't be accounted for was definitely dead. So, Northern wasn't entirely sure how she could be so certain.
And judging by the look on Annette's face, it didn't seem like she was joking. But just to be
sure...
"You are kidding, right?"
The rigidity on Annette's face only became more pronounced. Northern remembered seeing her in this mood only during battle.
He glanced around the room at the skyscrapers of stacked papers.
'Well... this is some kind of battle...'
He looked into her eyes, his own faintly glinting with an intense light.
"How are you so sure? Did someone reach you from over there?"
"Yes. Raven herself."
The atmosphere suddenly seemed to drop massively in temperature. Northern did not like
that news.
But his face had yet to reflect to what extent. He tilted his head slightly, asking Annette with subtle indignation.
"So... Raven reached you... why? How?"
Immediately after he blurted out the question, the answer came to him.
"...Terence," he added.
It had happened before-she had reached him through his dream.
That darned fan girl.
'Why do all the broken abilities have to be given to the worst people?'
Northern's insides seethed with frustration.
Annette nodded and added to his answer.
"I don't know how the Saintess did it, but she was able to bring both Raven and herself into
my dream. We three had a long chat."
A corner of her lips curled up.
"She even asked after you."
"Fuck her," Northern retorted almost immediately.
Silence ensued, and his voice surprisingly came again.
"...And fuck you too."
Annette was short of words, slightly opening her mouth in utter shock. She knew Northern
and Raven had bad blood; she knew it was intense.
But she had assumed that time had passed, that the issue between them would have
dissipated.
Because nobody could better handle Raven than Northern, and nobody could better handle Northern than Raven.
Although this was her own opinion, she didn't think it was healthy for the world for these two drifters to live independent of each other, or worse... become enemies.
The entire continent might be bathed in the blood of their battle, and that would only be the
beginning.
She had personally seen what each of them was capable of and could confidently say that they were way ahead of their era.
Northern took a prolonged drink of the coffee and set down the cup, looking at the jug for a
couple of beats before extending his hand.
Before his hand could touch the jug handle, Annette slapped it away, hissing at him.
"You think you can come into my office, drink my coffee, and abuse me?"
Northern gave her a blank look.
"I didn't exactly know it was your office. If I had known, I would have stayed away."
He leaned forward, scowling slightly.
"What is she even doing in a dream anyway? Isn't she supposed to be serving her jail time, or
better still, dead for homicide?!"
Annette chuckled mockingly.
"You think the Luinngard Empire would throw resources like that away? Besides, it's the Saintess we're talking about. A mortal divination of Ul herself. If she were to be in this continent, governments, nations, and citadels would war to have her. She's an embodiment of power, from rift prediction to being able to detect the strongest drifter-she's literally a walking detector... anything and everything detector. Future, past, present, name it..."
"I wonder if they paid you to do a promotion for them."
"Oh, and Raven? She became the leader of the Empire's Knights."
"I don't give a... wait, what?!"
Northern almost fell off his chair. He steadied himself, raising one hand toward Annette.
"Wait, wait, wait? What did you say just now? She what?"
"She became the leader of the Knights of the Luinngard Empire."
Annette seemed to put more emphasis into it this time.
Northern grimaced... very, very darkly.
"How? How is that even possible? Shouldn't she be serving jail time?"
Annette shrugged her shoulders.
"I mean, it's Raven-of course she wouldn't die."
Northern crossed his fingers on the table and sat with seriousness. This was the worst news he
had ever received since coming to this world.
He wished his friends well but not his enemy.
He wanted them to taste the wrath of all things evil. First-hand, very cruelly.
The fact that she was doing well made him irritated; it disgusted him, it made him boil.
Suddenly, everything didn't feel nice anymore!
Northern, with a face of disgust, slowly rose from his seat.
He exhaled and said to Annette, "I came here because I needed to receive keys to Professor
Heimburger's office, around here."
The atmosphere around him changed vividly.
"Oh? Right."
Annette also stood up, walking to her table before she suddenly stopped and looked back
slowly.
"Did you say Professor Heimburger?"
Northern nodded.
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
She tilted her head, leering deeply into his eyes.
"You really do not know?"
A slight frown creased Northern's brows.
"Know what? What am I supposed to know?"
Annette laughed out loud before slowly folding her arms over her chest, her expression
regarding Northern more seriously.
"When I first arrived at the academy with a couple other drifters from the Dark Continent, I
was going to tear the whole place apart. Heimburger saved them... that guy really is a great
negotiator."
Northern's expression was unceremonious. He didn't yet get the point she was driving
toward, and his mood felt sour.
"He negotiated this position for me. It was a good deal, I thought at first, but that bastard just
devised a plan to keep me busy and never able to act."
Northern's expression had grown darker; he just wanted her to make her point already. He was very annoyed thanks to Raven's wellbeing, but he was trying his best to suppress it.
"This caused me to look deeply into him, and then I discovered..."
She took a short pause, looking at Northern.
"Professor Heimburger is a non-drifter and the only living founder of the Academy out of all
three. I'm saying that dude is over three hundred years old without being a drifter."
Northern's eyes slowly widened.
"You find it odd too, don't you? How is he able to-" she paused her speech as she saw
Northern's expression curve into a mischievous grin.
... It wasn't quite the expression she was expecting.