Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 307 - 297: Lies? Or Misunderstandings?

"Ahem, this..." A voice sounded not far away.

Andrew released Barbara, but still held her hand as they turned to look.

They saw Sabye standing on the side like an oversized shining light bulb, with an expression as if he had just been splashed with a bucket of dog food, the kind that sticks wetly to one’s hair and face.

Andrew didn’t know what happened before he returned, but since Sabye and Barbara were standing together in the arena, it indicated he was not scared off by the Saint Son and Saintess opposing them.

This made Andrew change his perspective on Sabye quite a bit, so he sincerely said, "Thank you."

Sabye, however, shook his head with a wry smile, "It’s me who should say thank you..."

He had mustered the courage to enter the arena with Barbara, but upon facing Capella and Yorkshire directly, even before the fight started, Sabye was already feeling overwhelmed.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t brave, but because the aura from those two opponents incessantly told him: once the battle started, within the time of three breaths at most, he would likely be killed!

For this reason, when Sabye saw Andrew returning, instead of feeling disappointed that he lost his chance to fight, he was full of relief for being saved.

However, this relief carried a slight bitter taste.

Sabye finally realized a fact: that he, as a top student of Warm Fire Academy and one of the most influential figures within it, was not at the level of a true Tier Four prodigy.

"At that level, there is the opposing Capella and Yorkshire, the third young lady and Orleans, and... Andrew. But not me," Sabye thought, "I really am not as good as Andrew. In this Royal Court negotiation, the only one who could partner with the third young lady is him!"

Strangely, after truly accepting that he was not as good as Andrew, Sabye felt a sense of peace return to his heart despite his bitterness and disappointment.

He never had any deep vendetta against Andrew, only that he was once instigated by Havier to give Andrew a hard time, and ended up failing miserably.

His discontent and defiance towards Andrew were partly due to youthful competition, but also because, in Sabye’s view, Andrew was ultimately an "outsider," coming from the obscure corner of the Inner Sea Desert, so why should he receive such high regard from the Commerce Association’s higher-ups? And even the favor of the third young lady?

To put it bluntly, someone like Andrew, with unclear origins, shouldn’t be so easily trusted!

That was Sabye’s previous thought.

However, after coming to the Royal Court, seeing Andrew decisively defeating Yorkshire, and throughout the negotiation process so far, Andrew had repeatedly demonstrated unique methods that other Tier Four prodigies didn’t necessarily possess, helping maintain stability for the Warm Fire Commerce Association.

Sabye saw this and, deep in his heart, any xenophobic notions towards Andrew had unknowingly dissolved.

Now, he shook his head, swept away some of the bitterness and disappointment, and actively asked Andrew, "By the way, what happened last night? What occurred?"

Hearing this question, Barbara also turned to look at Andrew.

Sabye’s question was actually everyone’s question present. However, what those from the Warm Fire Commerce Association wanted to ask was mainly what happened last night, while the Female Assassin and Flame Turtle wanted to know how Andrew managed to escape.

One by one, gazes focused on Andrew once more.

For the Royal Court negotiation, only the last, decisive match remained.

Currently, Andrew and the King were still at a standstill, and the Female Assassin no longer used Andrew’s tardiness as an excuse to prevent him from participating.

On the flip side, Andrew hadn’t overwhelmed the Female Assassin or completely suppressed those sky-piercing massive ice pillars!

The sunlight reflected off those ice pillars, emitting a stunning, magical glow.

Andrew took a deep breath of the cold-tinged air unique to the Royal Court and slowly said, "Last night, I was attacked by that Female Assassin and then captured alive."

As he spoke, Andrew’s gaze fell once again on the King’s face.

Although Andrew didn’t know the King was the Female Assassin, he knew there must be some connection between the King and the Female Assassin.

In fact, Andrew now had a strong feeling: that Female Assassin was probably somewhere in this scene, watching him!

Andrew’s sense was right because the Female Assassin—actually the King—was indeed looking back at him at this very moment.

After Andrew forcibly suppressed the Royal Court’s grand formation with the "Ice Prison Gemstone," the Female Assassin was furious, but she now showed no expression, not responding to Andrew’s words.

Like Andrew, who was trying to search for the Female Assassin’s position at the scene—the Female Assassin was also trying to confirm whether President Beiru had come to the Royal Court. She still felt that unless President Beiru had intervened, Andrew couldn’t have escaped that Extreme Cold Ice Prison!

At this moment, the Female Assassin stayed silent. Catherine, however, spoke up in shock, "Female Assassin? Andrew, are you saying... the one who attacked the Shield of Flowing Fire? That person... that person is also in the Royal Court?!"

Andrew nodded. However, while his attitude towards the King remained stern and sharp, he found it hard not to avoid gazing at Catherine when answering her question.

"By the way, where is Aunt Susan?" Andrew suddenly realized Susan wasn’t present, and his heart tightened.

Dean Charlie spoke up; without mentioning Susan’s severe injuries, he simply said, "Susan is still unconscious, but she’s out of life-threatening danger now—don’t worry."

Andrew finally let out a breath of relief. Then, something dawned on him, and he continued, "Last night, Aunt Susan emerged from the snow mountain, seemingly tricked into going there and then ambushed by that Female Assassin, who gravely injured her.

If not for letting her guard down, given Aunt Susan’s pace and body technique, she wouldn’t have directly confronted but rather used her speed for a fight-and-retreat strategy, even that War God Level Female Assassin couldn’t have easily wounded Aunt Susan."

Dean Charlie acknowledged with an "hmm." Ever since the incident last night, he’d had a question in his mind: why did Susan leave the Royal Court?

It was agreed between him and Susan, as the group leaders, to stand guard and ensure Andrew and Barbara’s training wasn’t disturbed.

Yet Susan had independently left where she was supposed to be.

Now hearing Andrew’s explanation, Dean Charlie thought to himself, "So that’s it, so it was a trick that lured her out? Who exactly could it be?"

Andrew added, "When Aunt Susan fell last night, she had tears on her face, appearing very sorrowful. I suspect that the person who tricked her into the snow mountain was someone she knew well."

Dean Charlie responded with another "hmm," then asked after a moment of silence, "So, Andrew, after being captured last night, you were continuously trapped in—"

"Extreme Cold Ice Prison," Andrew answered.

"I see." Dean Charlie nodded.

On the surface, it seemed like an offhand question, but in reality, it was to personally confirm that Andrew was indeed trapped in Extreme Cold Ice Prison, which only heightened his curiosity, "Why did the Second Miss just deceive me by saying Andrew wasn’t in Extreme Cold Ice Prison? A misunderstanding?"

Andrew was unaware of Catherine telling Dean Charlie that "Andrew was not in Extreme Cold Ice Prison."

But when Andrew was previously trapped in the Ice Prison, he had already vaguely sensed that Catherine seemed... somewhat strange?

It should be known that Andrew had sunk underground with only a strand of consciousness, while his physical body remained in the Extreme Cold Ice Prison until his escape.

If Catherine had truly checked, there shouldn’t be a possibility of missing him simply because Andrew had sunk underground!

Catherine murmured, "The Female Assassin is actually in the Royal Court..." still appearing very surprised.

After a moment, she shook her head and said, "No matter what, since Andrew has returned, whether he was late or not, that’s not the point. Next, it will still be Andrew and my sister teaming up for the third round of this negotiation match."

She had been inactive for a while, but now she spoke up to support Andrew and Warm Fire Commerce Association.