Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2605: Who Is Stalking Whom?

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Southern Capital

"So why are you still not moving out of her way?" Colleen asked, frustration seeping into her voice. She genuinely did not know how to deal with me, especially with force being her last resort.

"Because I want my day in court and to clear my name," I replied. I deliberately avoided saying that I did not want the Southern Region to suffer because of me. Openly admitting that would have been unwise, given how many powerful enemies I had made, each one capable of terrorizing an entire region. I was not afraid of them, but I refused to let the Southern Region become collateral damage.

Colleen and the others stared at me in disbelief. None of them believed I was naïve enough to think that surrendering to the central government would earn me fair treatment or due process. To them, it was obvious that I was saying this because I had no intention of revealing what I was actually planning.

"Young man, stop with these charades. The Southern Region is not so helpless that it needs to sacrifice a child for its own safety. Let the adults do their job. You focus on growing what you do best and making us all proud," Colleen said firmly. The words were admittedly a little cringeworthy, yet they warmed my heart all the same.

She wasn’t finished. "The Southern Royal family promised to be your sword and shield, and we will uphold that vow until our dying breath. I know your intentions are noble, but what you are doing right now borders on insulting our honor. Wyatt, I am asking you to let us do our job."

As I listened to Colleen, an overwhelming, aspirational warmth spread through my body, rising from my heart. In that moment, she truly lived up to her title of Soldier Queen.

Though Colleen’s words were good to listen to, the truth was impossible to ignore. If the Masters set their sights on the Southern Region, it would not take them long to choke its economy to a crippling halt. The first and most to suffer would be ordinary families, households, small businesses, and obviously the Southern treasury. I could not allow that to happen, and the only way to prevent it was for me to surrender and resolve the immediate crisis.

As for my personal safety after surrendering, it was the least of my concerns. With my current strength, my identity as a Demon Merchant, and the Card Celestial watching over me, I was not worried on that front. Even so, I could see only two possible endings to this path: either I would confront the Masters head-on and kill them/ die in the process, or I would be forced into hiding, my name etched onto the top of the central government’s most wanted list right above Gideon Grim’s.

However, just as I was about to press my intent to surrender even more forcefully, Ann’s soul whisper reached me.

’Wyatt, stand down. There are many forces at play here. Follow our arrangements. We know what we are doing. This isn’t our first rodeo with the Masters. We clash with them every other day. This time it’s more serious, yes, but we still know what we’re doing. Step back and watch us do what we do best—’

’Drive this region into an economic crisis?’ I cut in sharply.

I simply could not bring myself to trust the Southern Royal family to handle the governance of the Southern Region when their opponents were the Masters. The last time I had trusted them... I was doing it again now, trying to shoulder everything by myself. I knew I needed to place my faith in the Southern Royal family and let them do their job, but when it came to me, their track record did not inspire confidence.

In the end, I stepped aside, moving out of Madam Ambella Art’s path and allowing her to detain the central government demigods. Yes, I chose to trust the Southern Royal family one more time. They, too, had witnessed the Clown Mask’s future vision, and I believed the Southern Princess had her own designs when it came to dealing with the Masters based on what Ann said.

Thinking back on it, the Southern Princess had spent the past few weeks traveling across the five regions, meeting reputable world leaders on various diplomatic missions. She even used my VR-Slime cards as gifts. Then finally, under the pretense of the second demon invasion and Gideon Grim she arranged many assemblies with these world leaders. At the time, I had assumed it was solely about the distribution of the Silver Milk Powder across the five regions. Now, however, I couldn’t help but suspect there was far more at play.

If the worst came to pass, I would release relief funds for struggling households and businesses. I would also use the situation to relocate people and card apprentices to Freedom City in Lil’ Red Storm, increasing trade between Freedom City and the Southern Region. With Dalia and the Devil Merchant Code at my beck and call, I was confident I could compensate for any import-export shortfall.

It wasn’t a long term solution but it would help the southern citizens to continue with their regular lives without any hitch until the three mischiefs have dealt with the Masters.

Seeing me finally relent and follow her arrangement, Colleen’s expression brightened into a satisfied smile, as though she had just achieved a great victory. She slowly floated over to my side and said, "Don’t worry. We know what we’re doing. If we couldn’t handle issues this small, the Masters would have swallowed us long ago. Have faith in us."

I simply nodded in response, having placed my trust in the Southern Princess. Time and again, she had proven herself a formidable adversary. I trusted that she would never gamble with her family’s survival unless she was confident of winning.