CHAPTER 828: 828: DIVINE GAME – CARD SWAP 77

This year’s Divine Game was more sensational than any in recent memory.

On the way back, snatches of conversation about it floated on the wind.

Lightchaser, unlike usual, didn’t take the mechanical bike into the skies but kept it rolling along the ground. The elf always had these strange little moments of softness.

In Asaein, people couldn’t stop reliving the event, excitedly telling anyone who hadn’t been there how wild the crowd was, how satisfying the fights with the people sitting next to them had been.

"Honestly, I didn’t even plan to join the brawl. I’m not even from Moonlight Marsh, and that kid didn’t actually say anything that insulting... but after hearing her talk, I just really, really wanted to punch something!"

"Same here... I read on the forums that she’s got some kind of stripping skill? If only she’d transfer to Below the Cliffs."

"Bah! If she transfers anywhere, it should be to Bug Marsh!"

"You know what? I’m in love with this move."

"What move?"

Rita couldn’t help glancing back. A young orc raised his right hand, palm out, fingers spread, each hooked with a can tab. He bounced in place, flipped his palm upward, raised it high, and shrilled, "I am the God!"

Rita: .........

—"Hahahahahaha! Idiot!"

She turned her head to see Lightchaser’s profile—her teacher was watching too.

It was the first time Rita had heard Lightchaser laugh so loudly.

She wanted to jump off the bike.

Yelling into the wind, she demanded, "Why can’t we just fly up into the sky?!"

"Because I don’t feel like it. Problem?" Lightchaser shot back.

Of course, that left no room for debate...

...

She spent winter break in Asaein, working at the Burrowbug Tavern, then meeting Lightchaser to head to Junk Street together.

Winning the Divine Game championship came with plenty of perks.

For one, her pay went up—now the white marten sent her 50 gold a day. Crowds came in just to see her, and business boomed.

They also gave her a 2,000 gold bonus—because in one offhand sentence, she’d tanked Auberdine’s Burrowbug Tavern’s reputation by twenty years.

Her tips multiplied several times over.

All of it together still didn’t cover even a fraction of what she owed Lightchaser.

The tutors in Junk Street didn’t seem to treat her much differently, but Lightchaser clearly found them much faster now.

Her favorite tutor to set Rita up with was still that elderly dog at the far end of Junk Street.

When Lightchaser had work, she’d leave a shadow at home and give Rita special assignments—sometimes she could only dodge, sometimes only attack one specific point on the shadow’s body, sometimes she only got three strikes in total.

Life was much the same, but Rita couldn’t shake the feeling Lightchaser was plotting something.

The closer it got to Moonlight Marsh’s March term start, the better Lightchaser’s mood seemed to get—which was definitely suspicious.

Three days before the start of term, Rita was still at home waiting for Mistblade. She usually came over three days early to crash at Lightchaser’s place.

Not that Rita was dying to see her...

After the Divine Game, during celebrations with friends, Mistblade and her crew had called her a phoenix on repeat and kept asking if she’d been raised on fresh blood.

Annoying!

She’d just finished breakfast when a guest arrived.

In the time it took Rita to fetch milk from the kitchen, an old woman had sat down in her seat and was enjoying her portion of breakfast and wine.

Rita sighed, set down the milk, and went to make herself another plate.

Halfway through eating, she heard Wail say to Lightchaser, "She doesn’t seem that hard to handle. Pretty good temper, actually."

Rita: ?

Lightchaser: "Mm. Not bad. I’ll leave her to you, then."

Rita swallowed her bite of steak in a rush. "You’re not taking care of me anymore?"

Wail: "That’s right. From now until term starts in August, you’ll be studying with me."

Rita froze for a second, then nodded gravely and bowed her head to eat in silence.

"Not happy?" Wail asked.

Her head was practically level with her plate when Lightchaser’s cold laugh cut in. "She’s too happy. She thinks you’re her teacher’s teacher, so you must be even stronger. She’s just holding back a laugh."

Rita ducked her head lower.

"Good," Wail said warmly.

"Exactly," Lightchaser added, tone meaningful. "As long as she’s happy."

Rita had a bad feeling about this.

After breakfast, Wail took her away. She was allowed only two changes of clothes, the two daggers Lightchaser had given her, and any gear bound to her body. Her spell components and potions-filled backpack were left behind without discussion.

She was allowed to bring her new model snowman, as long as she promised not to use it for rewinds. It had [Crime Simulation] copied and stored inside.

Wail’s mount made Lightchaser’s bike look dull—a stardrake. Rita had seen it when Wail came to Gray Valley for the Divine Game, and the entire arena had practically drooled over it.

Its scales were pure white, dotted with dozens of deep-blue points of light. According to Wail, they could connect into different constellations that changed with the seasons and the drake’s mood. Only seven existed in all of Kasilanar.

When Wail summoned it on Lightchaser’s roof, Rita swore she heard the entire west district go "whoa."

She couldn’t help joining in with a "whoa" of her own. "Lightchaser, you should get one too!"

"Stardrakes eat ridiculously expensive things. Even feeding it the lowest-grade food, you’re looking at eight thousand gold a day."

"...Forget it," Rita said flatly.

Then she heard Lightchaser murmur in a tone halfway between longing and satisfaction, "Once I’ve paid Wail back... and once you graduate... I’ll get one."

Rita: ...Pretty obvious where that dragon money’s coming from.

She followed Wail up onto the stardrake’s back in silence, not feeling like talking to Lightchaser.

Except Lightchaser came along too.

Wail frowned. "Why are you tagging along?"

"I need to know where you’re taking my student. I said you could have her for now, not forever."

"You just want to ride my stardrake." Wail patted the drake’s side. As it lifted into the air, she added, "That’s five thousand extra for transportation."

Lightchaser: ...

Rita: ...She was starting to think Wail might actually gain strength by robbing people.

"Do I have to pay too?" she asked nervously.

If yes, she’d jump right now—she could fly herself, no matter how far.

"Oh, you’re fine," Wail said.

Rita relaxed and even shot Lightchaser a grin.

Lightchaser: ???

Was she... being too agreeable lately?