Just as Chen Cheng was slapping himself, Wisdom Shield, who had regained his composure outside the tent, nodded at the Knight of Light. He then walked up to the two women, Melinda and Isabel, bowed in a gentlemanly salute, and said:
"Miss Isabel, thank you very much for saving me and my Knight of Light."
Then his eyes turned tender as he looked at Melinda before him, a smile on his lips.
"Melinda, you are still as beautiful as ever. I could have..."
Before he could finish, Melinda calmly cut him off.
"That is enough, Cousin. What you need now is to return to the city and tell the people loyal to you that you are safe and sound, not praise my appearance in front of me."
As she spoke, Melinda's eyes drifted toward the tent, seemingly intentionally yet not quite.
She was worried Wisdom Shield would discover Chen Cheng's identity inside.
She knew Wisdom Shield's true mood had to be terrible right now. If he discovered Chen Cheng's identity, he might very well have someone simply dispose of Chen Cheng.
Wisdom Shield also knew that now was not the time for romance. He knew his reckless actions must have drawn the attention of everyone in the city, especially with the Church's knights mobilizing on such a massive scale.
What he needed now was to return to the city, to let those nobles, bishops, and commoners see him with their own eyes and see that he was still so healthy and strong.
Only by returning quickly could he let certain schemers lurking in the shadows understand the wrath of an earl.
Torey led over a tall white horse. Wisdom Shield leaped onto its back, but just as he was preparing to leave, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he addressed Fini behind Melinda.
"Cadet Kekebor Fini, I am sorry that I cannot personally present your reward to you. However, once you return, you may apply to the academy for a Paulownia Wood Staff. Let that serve as both my reward and my apology to you."
After that, he rode away from the camp under the escort of numerous Knights of Light.
All the cadets, soldiers included, looked at Fini with envious eyes. A Paulownia Wood Staff was the lifelong pursuit of many advanced mages, yet she had obtained one while still merely an apprentice mage.
The Paulownia Wood Staff was crafted from the core of thousand-year-old moonlight paulownia trees unique to Moonlight Forest, then forged over several years by an advanced forgemaster.
Moonlight Forest was not human territory. It belonged to the Moonlight Elves.
The Elves cherished the trees that had raised them, so anyone who wanted paulownia wood could only obtain it through illegal logging.
Because this wood grew in Moonlight Forest alongside the Moonlight Elves and absorbed the moon essence scattered during their cultivation all year round, it was an exceptionally fine material for conducting magic. When made into a staff, it became a mage's greatest aid.
The reason Earl Huidun had offered such a precious reward was also because his losses this time had been too great. He clearly also meant to use a thousand pieces of gold to buy the bones of a horse.
Once all the knights had completely left the camp, Melinda could no longer hold herself back and directly lifted the tent flap.
Earlier, when she and Isabel had found Chen Cheng and were preparing to bring him back, the powerful fluctuation of fire elements coming from deep within the forest had immediately drawn their attention.
There were still many cadets here, so for their safety, after handing Chen Cheng over to Fini, who had arrived behind them, the two women rushed toward the source of the violent fire-element disturbance. There, they encountered Torey, who was fleeing with the unconscious Wisdom Shield.
After returning to camp, they found the camp defenses already taken over by the Knights of Light, as well as the Knight of Light discussing Wisdom Shield's whereabouts.
By then, Chen Cheng had already been brought back by Fini and placed in the large central tent to rest. When Wisdom Shield was brought back unconscious, he was naturally arranged to stay in this same large tent.
Fortunately, the only people who had carried Wisdom Shield into the tent earlier were Melinda and Isabel. Otherwise, if anyone else had seen Chen Cheng, a slave, sharing a tent with an earl and even lying in a neighboring bed, Chen Cheng would definitely have been dealt with.
After lifting the curtain, she saw Chen Cheng sitting on the bed in a somewhat dazed state. Seeing that he had awakened, the heart Fini had been holding in her throat finally settled, while Coles, standing at the back of the crowd, looked at Chen Cheng with venomous hatred in his eyes.
In truth, no one yet knew what had happened to Chen Cheng. They merely vaguely guessed that he had been attacked by a powerful Magic Beast while trying to save Fini.
They did not know that Chen Cheng had faced a Level Six Earth Tyrant Bear, nor did they know that he had killed it.
At that moment, Coles endlessly cursed the Earth Tyrant Bear in his heart. It had looked so imposing and was even a Level Six Magic Beast, yet in the end, it could not even kill some mountain savage.
However, when he saw Melinda fussing over Chen Cheng and showing concern for him, he took out an Image Recording Crystal and recorded the scene in an ambiguous manner.
He had seen very clearly that Earl Huidun was deeply in love with Melinda, while Melinda treated Wisdom Shield neither warmly nor coldly.
"Just wait, dog slave. Let us see whether you die this time or not."
He had been excited earlier that Chen Cheng and Wisdom Shield were recovering in the same tent. From what he knew through rumors circulating in noble circles, Earl Huidun—
With the temperament of someone so obsessive about noble etiquette, having a slave like Chen Cheng dare to lie in the same room opposite him was absolutely an insult to his noble status.
He simply could not understand why Wisdom Shield had not dealt with Chen Cheng. But that was no great matter. As long as he placed this Image Recording Crystal before Wisdom Shield, that slave Chen Cheng was as good as dead.
He did not believe Wisdom Shield could remain so generous toward a slave after seeing this.
Yet no one saw that after leaving the camp, Wisdom Shield turned back to look at Melinda, who was hurrying anxiously into the tent.
Teacher Adolf's final instructions constantly echoed in his mind. He had to set his mindset straight. He was no longer a small earl content to rule one corner. He had to become the king who shattered every obstacle before him and ascended the throne.
Then his gaze became resolute, and he led the knights back toward the city.
After Melinda and Isabel examined Chen Cheng's body and found nothing seriously wrong, Isabel nodded at Melinda, then led the many cadets out of the tent.
Fini, who had been called out with them, still wore a worried expression.
Looking at Melinda, who had been left alone before him, Chen Cheng awkwardly scratched his head.
"Um, Teacher Melinda..."
Before he could finish, Melinda stepped forward and tightly embraced him. Just as Chen Cheng was about to speak, his cheek suddenly became wet.
Drops of tears then rolled down Melinda's cheeks and fell onto his. Chen Cheng unconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked one, only to find it salty.
Only then did he realize they were Melinda's tears.
"Do you know? When I heard that you were being pursued by that Earth Tyrant Bear, my heart nearly leaped out of my chest.
"In this world, aside from Teacher Adolf, you are only the second person who has truly entered my heart. Although your status is low, you are the only one who truly thinks about what I need. I do not want anything to happen to you, understand?"
At that moment, Chen Cheng listened to Melinda's rapidly beating heart and felt the tears she had shed upon his cheek.
His gaze changed as well. The distance he had held before was gone, and he softly hummed in her embrace.
Though he did not know Melinda's past, he could infer some things from her words. He knew that what Melinda needed now was someone she could confide in.
Feeling Melinda loosen her embrace somewhat, Chen Cheng freed himself and gently wiped the tears from her face and the corners of her eyes.
Then, amid that warm and ambiguous atmosphere, the fellow said something startling.
"Teacher, according to those third-rate stories told by wandering bards, should we be having a passionate kiss next?"
As he spoke, Chen Cheng revealed a roguish grin.
Melinda's delicate, tear-streaked face flushed crimson. Then she reached out and smacked him on the head.
"Where did you hear such a third-rate story? I only think of you as a little brother, a little brother. Do you understand?"
Seeing Melinda like this, Chen Cheng let out a long breath inwardly. He was not stupid. He knew that Melinda's inexplicable gratitude toward him had transformed into an equally inexplicable stirring of affection.
Yet at the same time, he always remembered what Isabel had once told him. In this world where rank and status were clearly divided, without recognition of his identity, he was unworthy of loving anyone.
After seeing that Melinda had already vented her emotions and that the blush on her face had faded considerably, Chen Cheng continued flirting to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
"Honestly, Teacher Melinda, you looked truly beautiful just now, so delicate and moving. I almost fell for it and got bewitched by you.
"But who told me to be a genius? At the final moment, I saw through your test. My heart devoted to magic is as steadfast as ever."
Melinda, having recovered herself, rolled her eyes at him. Then she reached out, grabbed Chen Cheng's ear, and twisted it.
"You still dare claim your heart for magic is steadfast? How did I teach you in class? You actually dared to forcibly inscribe such terrifying magic inside your own body.
"Do you know that without energy-storage magic to sustain them, inscribing those spells is simply courting death?"
Feeling the pain in his ear, Chen Cheng knew Melinda had untied the knot in her heart. At the same time, he knew she truly cared about him.
He also knew that amid their playful bickering, the two of them had made the right choice for now. Chen Cheng then showed a happy smile.
But after smiling, his heart suddenly lurched. He was being bullied, yet smiling so brightly. Could it be that somewhere deep down, he had some strange fetish?
After tossing some unspeakable images out of his mind, he pleaded for mercy for a while and made promises before Melinda finally released his ear.
After their brief horseplay, Melinda relaxed and then said seriously:
"The condition inside your body is very bad. But do not worry, Sister will definitely find someone to heal you.
"And you must promise Sister that there absolutely will not be a next time."
Chen Cheng nodded and promised:
"Do not worry. Little brother definitely will not do something so uncertain again. Besides, I can solve the problem inside my body myself. If you ask someone for help, Sister, you will owe them a favor."
Melinda wanted to ask after hearing that, but remembering that this was Chen Cheng's own fortuitous opportunity, she gave up on asking.
"There are some things that you only need to know yourself. And as for owing favors or not, the person Sister will find for you is a professor at the academy. Besides, if that professor truly learns of what you did, he will definitely come running to treat you."
Having said that, Melinda asked again:
"Does what happened to you today need to be kept secret? Do not worry. If it does, Sister definitely will not let anyone other than the three of us know about it."
Previously, Melinda had only wanted to make decisions for Chen Cheng herself. But now she knew that Chen Cheng had his own mind, and some matters still needed his own decision.
Chen Cheng considered it for a long time before speaking.
"It is fine. Let nature take its course. Besides, I am a member of the academy now. Showing some talent should be beneficial, right?"
After hearing this, Melinda thought it over and nodded.
"Although you are the first person of your status to become a cadet, the academy's rules are there. Within the academy, there is no distinction between high and low status, so there is no problem with you displaying some talent now."
"And even if there is trouble, is Dean Adolf not still above us?"
As she spoke, Melinda giggled.
Before you continue