Chapter 99: A Brand-New Fate

The meeting was temporarily adjourned.

The matter of cooperation had not yet been finalized, nor would it be settled so easily.

Mapell claimed she needed to deal with Renault’s situation first, while also giving everyone a chance to rest and eat.

However, Lin Yue knew she was likely brainstorming reasons to convince those stubborn old foxes.

They would undoubtedly spend a significant amount of time weighing the pros and cons to ensure the decision maximized their interests.

Lin Yue had no interest in the proceedings.

Feeling bored, he didn’t intend to disturb Mapell and decided to wander around for a bit.

There were many areas governed by various chambers of commerce near the Royal Capital, and since he was hungry, he figured he would find a place to eat.

After arriving at a nearby district, he showed his token and asked for a quiet place to have a meal.

His presence gave the staff quite a fright.

Lin Yue now sat at a small stall, eating cheese that his palate wasn’t quite accustomed to as his mind began to race.

The events of today had already exceeded his expectations.

The Hawk Family being tied to the Keris Chamber of Commerce… He hadn’t actually considered such a thing.

After all, he had been kicked out of his home, and he had no idea how the Hawk Family would view a partnership involving such massive risks.

He wasn’t the “real” Lin Yue Hawk, so he naturally didn’t have much understanding of his background beyond the surface level.

He didn’t know what the Hawk Family truly needed.

However… Mapell’s slender back — conflicted, pained, yet still standing tall — reminded him of other things.

He had never thought he would feel such a strong resonance with a character who had failed in the main storyline and barely even shown her face.

This resonance surpassed even the goodwill he felt toward Liya.

No one could remain indifferent to the struggles they had once faced themselves, and Lin Yue was no exception.

After staying for a while, he figured it was about time to head back and find Mapell.

However, he was stopped by a moderately sized hand.

“You are…”

Lin Yue turned around and found the young boy with the scar on his face.

He seemed to remember the boy was named Xilun.

“This… Mister…” Even when facing someone he knew, the boy was shy, let alone a stranger.

“It’s you. What is it?”

Lin Yue picked up his wooden cup and took a sip of milk.

He felt that he really couldn’t get used to these dairy products.

This body seemed to have some mysterious Eastern bloodline that naturally rejected these foods.

He wondered what this boy wanted, having found him in such a vast crowd.

“I just… wanted to thank you.”

Xilun handed a small silver bracelet to Lin Yue, looking a bit embarrassed.

“This is a thank-you gift from Xiaoya and me. Thank you for helping us block that guy.”

Lin Yue smiled.

He didn’t consider himself a particularly great person.

In a situation like that, anyone with a conscience would have stepped in.

Furthermore, he couldn’t have left even if he hadn’t acted, so he had decided to help them.

He picked up the bracelet.

The silver texture shimmered with a rough luster under the fading light of the sky.

Looking back at Xilun, the scar on the boy’s face seemed softer in the twilight, but his dark eyes were swirling with a weight that didn’t match his age.

“It’s a very special gift. But you don’t need to go out of your way to thank me. Given the situation today, anyone else might have stepped in.”

“They wouldn’t.”

Xilun shook his head, his tone certain.

“I’ve seen that envoy bully people many times… No one has ever stood up like you did. Most people just watch or walk away.”

Lin Yue raised an eyebrow.

It seemed Renault had been using his position to bully others for quite some time.

He wondered how the man had managed to hook up with those low-level security officers in the guard.

He paused, his finger unconsciously touching his chin.

Logically, given the Keris Chamber of Commerce’s current situation, the attitude of the royal forces shouldn’t be like this.

It was strange.

“I used to be… one of the people who just watched.”

Xilun’s voice grew lower.

“Until one time, they started making things difficult for Xiaoya. I realized then that simply wanting to protect her isn’t enough. You have to truly have the power to stand in front of her. You have to truly have a way to take her away from a place like that.”

He looked up and stared directly at Lin Yue.

The darkness in his eyes seemed to settle into a resolve that didn’t belong to his years.

“I know my current strength is negligible. But at least today, because of your intervention, I was able to let her leave safely. And I… I finally dared to come back alone to find you afterward.”

“Why alone?”

Lin Yue asked.

A somewhat bitter curve formed at the corners of Xilun’s mouth.

“Because there are some words, some determinations… that I want to say myself. Xiaoya… she’s always worried that I’ll be impulsive, afraid that I’ll get hurt. But I don’t want to be the one she’s always worried about.”

….

Looking at this young man, Lin Yue couldn’t help but think of Ailun from the game.

Both of them had “lun” in their names.

Could there really be a setting where names determined personality?

“Mister… I can tell. You’re a Mage, aren’t you?”

“What exactly is a Mage? Is Avelina… truly as mysterious and powerful as they say?”

Seeing the light in the boy’s eyes, Lin Yue glanced away and remained silent for a moment.

‘I want to become someone who can put her at ease. Not someone who hides behind her, nor someone who runs away with her… but someone who can truly hold up a corner of the world when the wind and rain come. Even if it’s only a distance of one step, even if I can only block the wind for a little longer. That is the way I choose to stand in front of her.’

The twilight deepened, and the lights of the Royal Capital flickered on one by one.

The boy’s words were simple, yet they were like a stone thrown into the lake of Lin Yue’s heart, sending out ripples.

‘The way to stand in front of her…’

Lin Yue murmured the words, but the figure that appeared in his mind was Mapell.

She fought for her ground at the conference table and remained strong and decisive in front of the shareholders.

Did that fox-like girl, who always seemed to handle everything with ease, also spend countless nights alone, chewing on the gap between “wanting to protect” and “being unable to do it”?

Lin Yue smiled bitterly to himself.

He hadn’t expected that he wouldn’t be as calm or as single-mindedly focused on his path home as he had thought.

Perhaps he really had been changed by these people.

“Here, this is for you.”

Lin Yue was touched by the boy’s earnest heart.

He handed over a dagger he had been carrying, which he had repaired himself.

Although it could no longer be called a weapon — since its hardness and sharpness could never return to what they once were — Lin Yue had kept it with him.

It could be said to be something of a lucky charm.

“As a Mage, it’s strange to give you a dagger, but… just think of it as a guidepost for your path forward.”

“This… I couldn’t possibly…”

Lin Yue smiled and stood up, his mind made up.

“It’s fine. I’ve come this far in the same way.”

Yes, he had come this far.

From knowing nothing to being barely able to establish a foothold in this world.

The choices he had made weren’t the most optimal, but… he had decided to face the stirrings of his own heart.

In the past, he lacked the ability.

He could only watch that goal, which looked like a bottomless abyss, and try to fill it in bit by bit with a shovel.

Now, not only did Mapell need him, but he also needed Mapell to deal with the potential plot changes in the future.

“…”

Or perhaps, this was just an excuse to convince himself.

Lin Yue placed his hand over his heart and looked at the logo of the chamber of commerce, which was still shining brilliantly in the afterglow of the setting sun.

His gaze softened slightly.

‘I really am…’

The amethyst glowed with the light of the setting sun.

Within the mist, a clear corner of that chaos was gradually being torn open.

Pupils that resembled the starry sky looked toward the horizon.

Everything was for that fated conclusion.

No matter how the positions of the stars were changed, one could only change individuals, not the world.

But chaos… chaos possessed infinite possibilities.

“Miss Carolarth, did you need something from me?”

Outside her door, a flickering figure stood respectfully.

The fluctuations of power emanating from him far exceeded those of an ordinary person.

If one felt carefully, they could sense two opposing forces — mana and battle qi — flowing through him.

It completely defied the common logic of the world.

“Your subordinate doesn’t seem to be enforcing the law impartially…”

The woman in the purple robe, known as Carolarth, put her eye mask back on.

It was like her natural mask.

The corners of her mouth gradually tightened.

The figure at the door shifted and then gently knelt in a salute.

“I understand. Please wait a few days.”

“A few days?”

Carolarth’s tone grew cold.

“Tomorrow… until tomorrow will be enough.”

Carolarth snorted coldly.

The crystal ball in her hand gradually became clearer over time.

A nightingale flew in from the window.

She gently tucked a note into its harness, then turned her head and said, “Forget it. I have to return to the Astrology Association for a few days. I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer.”

The nightingale perched on her wrist.

She stroked it gently with her finger and muttered to herself.

“Lin Yue Hawk…”

“The intersection of our fates… does not seem to have ended.”

She slowly took several blue-glowing stones out of a drawer.

They were the one-in-ten-thousand pieces of equipment Mapell had previously given to Lin Yue — Energy Stones.

She held them up slowly.

The icy-blue transparency was like the threads of fate.

“Where will the storm of chaos lead the wheel of destiny? To destruction, or perhaps…”

“A brand-new path?”