Chapter 446: Why Not Be a Proper Dragon

Chapter 446: Why Not Be a Proper Dragon

Since he was willing to offer better materials, Zheng Yichen didn’t hold back. The issue of mana output could be handled using the materials from earlier to create a version capable of withstanding use by the Dragon Clan. His own current Alchemical Avatar worked perfectly fine, and he hadn’t seen it collapse due to excessive mana release.

Of course, going all out definitely could cause such a problem, but if he didn’t mention it, who would know? Anyway, this current version already exceeded many other Alchemical Puppets on the market in terms of mana release capacity. He held the initiative, so…

“This is also a good chance to gather resources…” Zheng Yichen murmured. Although Augusta knew a bit about materials, he had provided quite a generous amount. If Zheng Yichen used them to make Alchemical Puppets, he could save at least half or more. Augusta, who had temporarily left, hadn’t brought up the matter of payment himself. Since that was the case, Zheng Yichen didn’t need to mention it either.

“I say, it’s just a Red Dragon. Was it necessary to follow so nervously right away?” Annie was communicating with Loris. She only controlled a small part of this Alchemical Avatar; the main part was still under Loris’s control. She couldn’t win that fight.

“It was necessary.” Loris said. Both of them had heard the entire conversation between Zheng Yichen and Augusta. So, it was better to be a simpleton… Since Zheng Yichen had already returned, she didn’t linger there either. She returned to the Purple Vine Guild and found Qin. Even though the gathering had ended, talk about Qin was still hot.

Today’s events had exploded on the Magic Weapon Forum. Both the fact that the Purple Vine Guild’s big boss was an extremely beautiful woman and the Red Dragon that later burst into the venue were hot topics. In contrast, matters concerning Zheng Yichen seemed less heated. Simply put, his news had already spread over half a month ago. At this point, it was hard to generate more buzz. On the other hand, the matters of the Purple Vine Guild and the Red Dragon Augusta easily attracted others’ attention.

All sorts of top headlines and hot posts emerged during this period. The development of the Magic Weapon Forum no longer needed Zheng Yichen to deliberately guide it as he had in the past to get started. Natural development was sufficient. As long as he appeared on the forum from time to time in his capacity as the Creator and hinted at some operational methods, a bunch of clever people would immediately implement them—like those news headlines appearing now.

Reportedly, several factions had already formed competing for the development of news posts. Zheng Yichen pondered whether he should take some time in the coming days to create a news module. Relying solely on browsing posts was too troublesome; one had to search for what they needed. Creating a news module would make handling this much easier. More importantly, it could generate more traffic… cough, more Mana!

“Staying? That’s fine.” Qin looked down at the young girl before her. She already knew this was Loris’s Alchemical Avatar. She had even proactively arranged for attendants. So, Loris wanting to stay afterward didn’t surprise Qin. Loris’s appearance had already attracted some people’s attention. If she mysteriously disappeared after the gathering ended, others might notice and cause trouble. Her choosing to stay presented fewer problems. Arrangements were simple too: just make her Zheng Yichen’s exclusive receptionist.

Qin had already made her appearance public. Everyone now knew the bar’s Madam Proprietress was the boss of the Purple Vine Guild. She would continue operating from the bar in the future, and Zheng Yichen would come there too. Placing Loris there was just right… As long as Zheng Yichen visited frequently enough, people wouldn’t easily bother Loris. Later, if she wanted to engage in other activities, she could choose to leave, just get through this phase first.

“Mm.” Loris gave a slight nod. This counted as officially using an Avatar to move about in the outside world. How long had it been since she last moved about freely outside? Hmm, several hundred years…

“I’ll take a walk.” After leaving the venue, Deya said to Achille. Achille nodded slightly and headed towards the direction of the Sanctuary Church within Kaja. He could guess where Deya wanted to go but had no intention of interfering. Interference was useless; better not say anything or try to advise. As for reporting her? That wasn’t his habit!

Saying she was taking a walk, Deya walked until she reached the place where Zheng Yichen lived in Kaja. Looking at the house before her, she hesitated. The nearby residents had changed. Places where ordinary people used to live were now occupied by others, most likely belonging to some faction. Although living here didn’t affect Zheng Yichen’s life, and he didn’t intend to have much interaction with these people, they stayed anyway, probably thinking being close gave them an advantage?

“Huh? Come in.” Zheng Yichen, who had returned to Kaja, saw the Saintess lingering at his door. He made a sound of surprise, opened the door, and turned to speak to her as she hesitated. After wrestling with it for a moment, Deya followed Zheng Yichen into his house. Honestly, Zheng Yichen’s identity did bother Deya somewhat.

Thinking of their past friendship—if it could be called that—it seemed fine before. Looking back now, it felt more like being used. This troubled her greatly, especially since she had been used without any ulterior motives of her own. That made it even more upsetting.

“…” Watching Deya’s changing expression, Zheng Yichen shook his head. “Don’t overthink it. Back then, I did use you… hmm, or rather, I wanted to use you to influence the Sanctuary Church, but the main purpose was more as cover. My stance isn’t on your side.”

“I know.” Deya sighed. The mental knot still made her feel blocked and uncomfortable. At least Zheng Yichen had acted decently enough. Although it was using, he always framed it within the context of cooperation, and the relationship maintained a degree of friendship, not advancing to a closer friendship.

Deya wouldn’t have minded taking it further. Her status destined her to have difficulty finding friends who could speak with her as equals. Higher-ups in The Church? Those were colleagues, not quite friends. She didn’t mind going further, but Zheng Yichen always stopped at this point, probably anticipating the current outcome from the start.

It was using, but not excessively… Of course, that still didn’t change the fact of being used.

“Actually, if you didn’t have your current stance, we really could have properly and formally gotten to know each other.” Seeing her tense expression, Zheng Yichen placed a poured cup of water in front of her. “I’m quite curious about you too, you know.”

“Curious?”

“In my impression, someone like a Saintess probably wouldn’t have much freedom. But after learning about you, I realized it’s not like that at all.”

“That kind of Saintess you mentioned does exist. That type is more symbolic, so they don’t have much freedom. My kind… is more of a profession.” Deya thought for a moment before answering. “It’s normal for Professionals to have freedom during their personal time while serving their organization, right?”

“So, I was just too young.” Zheng Yichen laughed lightly, poured himself a cup of water, and sat down. The topics that followed were trivial, basically him saying whatever came to mind. To this version of Zheng Yichen, Deya felt he was much better now. Zheng Yichen from before seemed stiff in his behavior. That stiffness, linked to his true identity, felt deliberate. Now, this casual Zheng Yichen, using an Alchemical Avatar without worrying about being found, showed his true nature. Getting along was much better than before.

If they had interacted like this from the start, it would have been nice. Now, the barrier in her heart wasn’t something easily removed. Deya could only smile helplessly. Barring surprises, from now on, any meeting would likely be strictly business. As for this current one, she’d treat it as the last normal meeting.

“Since your Saintess identity is a profession, have you considered changing jobs?” Zheng Yichen asked, propping his chin. Hearing this, Deya looked at Zheng Yichen for a long while, then couldn’t help showing a rather amused expression. In the past, she had wanted to pull Zheng Yichen to change his stance. Back then, knowing about the Witch’s Curse, she thought it would be simple. Little did she know Zheng Yichen was an exception, still not showing the effects the curse should have by now.

Although frustrating, it wasn’t surprising. The timing of the Witch’s Curse taking effect wasn’t fixed. It could be as short as a few months or as long as decades. According to some research by the Sanctuary Church, the timing depended on the progress of the relationship between the Witch and her beloved. Witches weren’t fools. Knowing such a curse existed, even if willing to throw themselves into the flame, they would try their best to avoid such a fate during the process, finding ways to delay.

Zheng Yichen’s situation likely fell into this category… Or maybe because he was entangled with multiple Witches? The Cursed Witch was connected to him, the Fate Witch too… two Witches. That was already an unprecedented special case. Anyway, Deya had completely given up on pulling Zheng Yichen to her side. She’d wait for him to make his own new choices in the future. She just didn’t expect Zheng Yichen to try to pull her to his side at this moment.

“Even though it’s impossible, I still want to ask why you said that.”

“Hmm~ Does it count if I like you?” Zheng Yichen raised an eyebrow slightly.

Deya’s hand holding the teacup stiffened. Her gaze at Zheng Yichen held a touch of peculiar awkwardness. “For a Saintess, jokes like that aren’t good. And you’re a dragon, I’m human.”

“So, this world is messed up! Dragons clearly have enough power, yet they can’t change their form! So inconvenient!” Zheng Yichen complained indignantly.

“Being able to change would be abnormal…” Deya now wondered if Zheng Yichen had a screw loose. He was a dragon. Why think about things that, for a dragon, were just strange? Why not be a proper dragon, and instead want to be human?

…Was it because of the Witches?