Chapter 795: A Kind Heart
Anna listened to the whole story with her head against his chest, her breath slow and even.
When he finished, she was quiet for a moment. Then: “So they can all recover what they lost — their senses, their bodies, a normal life?” A small exhale, warm with pleasure but threaded through with something wistful. “That’s so good. I wish I could see the world you grew up in.”
“You’d have to transform your soul into a light beam first.” Roland stroked her hair, down to the curve of her ear. “That’s too high a price for me. And besides — we’re building Neverwinter into something comparable, aren’t we?”
“That’s true.” She smiled against his chest, then tilted her face up. “Are you feeling just a little guilty right now?”
“What?” He blinked. “No, I was just—”
“You don’t have to answer. Just let me listen.” She settled again, and after a moment, said quietly: “You’re a little guilty and a little worried. Guilty because Phyllis is a woman, and a beautiful one. Worried that I’ll suspect something. Am I close?”
Roland opened his mouth, found nothing serviceable, and closed it again.
Anna moved, tilting up to look at him. Her expression was not teasing anymore. It had settled into something cleaner and more serious. “You’re honest, so stop worrying. I trust you.” A pause. “Roland — you made this decision to help them. The same way you helped the Witch Cooperation Association. The same way you helped me. How could I possibly suspect that?” Her voice softened. “It’s your duty as a king, isn’t it?”
The tightness in his chest eased.
If it were Nightingale, he couldn’t have been certain — there would have been edge in the question, a watching quality behind the ease. But Anna was different. If she said she believed, she believed. And in her eyes, he could see it: genuine support, no seam of concealment. She understood what the Taquila witches’ exile had cost them, and she approved of his decision to offer them something back.
She had always been this way. Since the day he met her, through everything that had passed between them — she had always been this way.
“From now on, tell me what you do in the Dream World,” she said. She blinked her blue eyes at him, her voice dropping close to his ear. “Promise me.”
“I promise.”
She smiled, satisfied. Then she climbed over him, held his face in both hands, looked down, and murmured: “Now you’re mine.”
She bit gently at his collar and worked her way down—
The sounds that followed were soft ones, and private.
When Phyllis brought the news back to the Third Border City, it hit like a stone into still water.
“As long as we cut away the consciousness contained in the light beam, we return to our original appearance?”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can feel again — touch, and smell!”
“Is KFC really that good? Better than roast meat with honey?”
“Could you take me there? Could you take me?”
“I’d like to go as well—”
“Me too—”
They crowded around Phyllis in a way that would have astonished anyone who had only seen them in combat: the same women who moved through demon swarms with the cold precision of siege engines, now pressing forward like they were trying to reach the front of a market stall. They had not been this animated in the face of demonic beasts. They had never, in four hundred years, been this animated.
“Stop!” Alethea’s voice cut through. She pressed a tentacle onto Pasha’s surface. “If we all march on the castle together, they’ll think we’re invading Neverwinter. And — is this a trap? Is any of it true?”
“Even if it were a trap,” Pasha replied, the words coming slowly from her, “I fear most of them would walk in willingly.”
She herself had not recovered from what Phyllis described. A highly developed world where souls could be restored to life. The answer to how the demons might be defeated. After hundreds of years of exile and erosion, something that looked like hope. The dizziness this produced in her was not metaphorical.
She had not dreamed in a long time.
Subconsciously, she wanted all of it to be true. But the want itself was the danger — a common person with no magic power becoming the savior of Taquila’s survivors was precisely the kind of story designed to disarm the cautious. That Alethea was vigilant was correct. That someone needed to verify what Phyllis had seen was obvious.
“This isn’t about doubting Phyllis,” Pasha said carefully, projecting her thoughts to the group. “After everything we’ve been through together, I trust her completely. I’m worried she may have been deceived. This needs examining.”
She transmitted to the gathering minds: Is King Roland truly willing to let others enter the Dream World?
“He said so — but not yet.” Phyllis hesitated. “That world has its own rules, just as this one does. To avoid drawing attention, the first to go must meet certain requirements. They’ll serve as pioneers, preparing the way for those who follow.”
“What requirements?”
Another hesitation. “He needs witches who can move quickly, conceal themselves, control, and attack.”
“Combat witches?” Alethea’s suspicion sharpened. “But you said the strength of this world far exceeds even the demons. Why would he need fighters from us?”
“He doesn’t intend to fight the whole world. He needs us for something more… targeted.”
“What kind of targeted?”
Phyllis looked faintly embarrassed. “Looting. From people who deserve it.”
Silence.
“Wait.” One voice, rising. “Does he think we’re gangsters? We are respected—”
The sentence drowned in sound.
“That sounds interesting!”
“No God’s Stone of Retaliation in that world — who could stop my continuous fireballs?”
“You’d make too much noise. His Majesty clearly needs something quiet. Shadow Dagger.”
“You can only reach ten steps, and your power is weak.”
“I provide cover for my teammates. Let’s go.”
Pasha pressed a tentacle gently against Alethea’s arm. “Don’t mind them. They’ve simply been bored for too long.”
Chapter 795: A Kind Heart
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Anna leaned on him while listening to how the God’s Punishment Witch accidentally entered the Dream World.
“So they can all recover the feelings they lost, and return to the normal life?” She took a deep breath and answered delightfully, but with a bit of melancholy and regret. “That’s so good… If only I could also see the world that you had lived in.”
“That means that you have to transform your soul into a light beam. It would be too high a price to pay for you,” said Roland, stroking her hair and earlobe. “And we can build Neverwinter into an ideal place which can be comparable to the Dreamland, can’t we?”
“That’s all right,” Anna chuckled. “But are you feeling a little guilty now?”
“Er?” Roland was a little stunned, “No, I just…”
“No need to answer. Just let me listen to it.” Anna put her head on his chest and whispered after a while. “Uh-huh. You’re a little guilty and worried. You’re guilty because Phyllis is a woman and also very pretty. And you’re also worried that I’ll be suspicious. Am I right?”
“Well…” Roland did not know how to respond to her answer which could not be more correct.
Anna tilted and said, “But you’re honest, so don’t be worried. I trust you.” She paused and said with a more serious tone, “Roland, you’ve made this decision to help them, just like what you did to help the Witch Cooperation
Association and me. How could I be suspicious of your kind action? It’s your duty as a king, isn’t it?”
Roland felt slightly relieved.
If it were Nightingale, he could not be certain that she would not be suspicious. But Anna was different. If she said she believed it, then she really did. And from her expression, Roland knew that she really supported his decision to find a home for the Taquila witches and help them to regain their lost consciousness.
Anna had a kind heart, which had never changed since the day he met her.
“But from now on you must tell me what you do in the Dream World. Promise me.” She blinked her blue eyes and whispered in his ear.
Roland nodded, “I promise.”
Anna contentedly smiled, slowly climbed onto him and held his cheeks with both hands. She murmured, “Now you’re mine.”
She gently bit his collar all the way down…
Their sweet breathing sounds could be heard coming from the bedroom.
…
When Phyllis brought the amazing news back to the Third Border City, the witches burst into a commotion.
“As long as we cut off the consciousness in the range of the light beam, we can return to our original appearance?”
“It’s not important at all. The most important thing is that we can restore the sense of touch and smell!”
“Is KFC really that delicious? More delicious than roast meat with honey sauce?”
“Could… could you take me to the Dream World?”
“Me too!”
“I would also like to…”
They surrounded Phyllis, eagerly asked her all kinds of questions and behaved totally different from their ordinary calm selves. They had never been so excited, not even in the face of a swarm of demonic beasts invading the underground maze.
“Stop! If we go to the castle together, they’ll suspect that we want to occupy Neverwinter!” Alethea shouted and put a tentacle on Pasha, “What do you think of it? Is this a trap by the king of the common people?”
“Even if it were a trap, I’m afraid that they would probably willingly walk into it,” Pasha replied with a bitter smile. Until now, she had not recovered from the shock after listening to the story told by Phyllis. A highly developed Dream World, a place where all souls could regain their new life, was a temptation which none of Taquila survivors could refuse. From the king of the common people, they also found the answer of how to defeat the demons, which they had sought for a long time. After suffering for hundreds of years, they finally saw a glimpse of hope. This incredible feeling struck her with a rare dizziness.
It had been a long time since she dreamed.
Subconsciously, Pasha hoped that all this was true, but she was not entirely convinced that such a good thing could happen. A common person with any magic power became the savior of Taquila witches? No wonder Alethea would be vigilant and suspicious.
Luckily she was aware that she had to send someone to verify what Phyllis had said.
That did not mean that she did not trust Phyllis. After breaking with the Union and going into exile, the survivors treated each other as sisters.
She was just worried that Phyllis might have been deceived.
After all, this sounded like a fairy tale and a sweet dream. She had to examine it with great caution.
Thinking of this, Pasha transmitted her consciousness to everyone’s mind, “Is King Roland really willing to let the others enter the Dream World?”
“He said so, but not now,” explained Phyllis. “That world has rules that must be followed just as in the real world. To avoid unnecessary changes caused by any exposure, the first batch of people must fulfill his requirements to enter the world. They’ll assume the pioneer mission and prepare for the admission of more people in the future.”
Hearing that, Pasha became a little less worried. If it were a trap, then he would try to let more people fall into it instead of giving the Pioneers a chance to warn others when they realized it.
“What kind of requirement?”
“Well…” Phyllis hesitated for a moment. “He needs witches who can move fast, sneak around, control and attack.”
“That means he needs combat witches?” Alethea questioned, “But didn’t you say that the power of that world is far above the demons? Isn’t his requirement too self-contradictory?”
“He doesn’t intend to let us fight against the whole world, but…”
“But what?”
“Well… to loot in private,” Phyllis answered with embarrassment. “Of course, the targets are evil people who deserve it.”
The crowd fell into a brief silence.
“Wait a minute. Did he think that we’re gangsters and thugs? We’re respected…” Her voice was overwhelmed by the sound of the crowd before she could finish her words.
“It sounds interesting!”
“Those guys have no God’s Stone of Retaliation, right? Is there anyone who can stop my continuous fireballs?”
“You’ll make too much of a loud noise. His Majesty obviously needs quiet actions. My Shadow Dagger is perfect for it.”
“You can only shoot within ten steps, not to mention your weak attacking strength.”
“I can cover for my teammates. Let’s go!”
Pasha soothingly patted the back of Alethea and said, “Don’t mind them. They have just been bored for too long.”