Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Dreams from the Past
“Look, that new kid looks just like a girl!”
“Right, what a pretty little lady.”
“Makes you want to bully him.”
“Hey, come over here, let big sister take a look.”
Hien had a dream, a dream about the past.
In the dream, he returned to that dilapidated church orphanage.
It was a cold and damp place with mold crawling up the walls and a musty smell permeating the air.
The nuns and bishops at the orphanage always wore stern faces, showing no care for these orphans.
They came here only to polish their image, to add a note of “charity” to their resumes. As for whether these children lived or died, they couldn’t care less.
When Hien was first sent to the orphanage, he was as thin as a withered branch, pale-faced with a hint of timidity in his eyes.
His delicate features became a target for the older girls.
In this world where women were superior to men, women’s magical aptitude was a hundred times that of men, and those girls who had awakened their magic took bullying Hien as a form of entertainment.
Until Rufia appeared.
“Let him go!”
Hien looked up to see a black-haired little girl standing not far away.
Her eyes were determined, holding a wooden stick in her hand. Though young, even a bit younger than him, she radiated an undeniable presence.
“Rufia, mind your own business!”
The tall girl said discontentedly.
“I said, let him go!”
Rufia’s voice rose an octave, a cold flash in her eyes.
A brilliant light suddenly gathered in her hand – magical power far stronger than these girls possessed.
Seeing this, the girls who had been bullying Hien stepped back several paces, fear showing on their faces.
Though they enjoyed bullying the weak, they knew Rufia was the girl with the highest magical talent in the entire orphanage – not someone they could provoke.
From that day on, Rufia became Hien’s protector.
She ate with him, played with him, and even taught him how to awaken magic.
Though Hien’s magical talent was far inferior to Rufia’s, with her help, he managed to master some basic magical applications.
Though their lives remained difficult, at least they were no longer bullied.
Hien once thought they would grow up slowly in such days, until one day, Rufia suddenly fell ill.
Her face turned pale, the magic within her body rapidly dissipating as she fell into a deep sleep. No matter how Hien called, he couldn’t wake her.
Hien panicked. He sought medical help everywhere, but the nuns at the orphanage didn’t care about an orphan’s life or death – they just had the internal healer give her perfunctory treatment.
Fortunately, after a while, Rufia woke up, but the situation remained dire. From then on, Rufia would fall sick periodically, with increasing frequency and longer periods of unconsciousness.
As if Rufia’s talent wasn’t a gift but a curse.
From that day, Hien made a decision in his heart.
From now on, it was his turn to protect Rufia.
Hien awoke from his dream to find himself lying in bed, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
He turned his head to see Rufia sitting by the bedside, looking at him with worry.
“Brother, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Rufia asked softly, her eyes full of concern.
Hien was startled and reached up to touch the corner of his eye – indeed, there were tears.
“It’s nothing, just had a very nostalgic dream.”
He managed a weak smile and shook his head.
Hien didn’t tell Rufia about the deity and the dream realm.
Those matters were too complex and too heavy – he didn’t want Rufia to worry about them.
“Knock knock knock.”
Just then, there was knocking at the door.
“Hien, Rufia, Lady Cynthia wants to see you.”
Irene’s voice came from outside.
Hien and Rufia exchanged glances, then got up to straighten their clothes and followed Irene to Cynthia’s office.
Cynthia was sitting behind her desk with two documents spread before her.
“These are your documents. Hien, this is your contract to join the knights as a special assistant. Rufia, this is your admission notice to Messiah Magic Academy. If there are no problems, please sign.”
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over Hien and Rufia before speaking indifferently.
Hien was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected that Cynthia, having just been attacked by someone yesterday with the mastermind still uncaught during such a tense period, could complete all the procedures so quickly. True to her word, she didn’t like dawdling.
He picked up the document and examined it carefully. There were no issues – it didn’t mention anything about mental power soothing, only agreements about completely following Cynthia’s arrangements during employment. He couldn’t help but admire Cynthia’s efficiency.
“Thank you, Lady Cynthia.”
Hien said respectfully, and Rufia also bowed to her.
“Hien, come with me first. I’ll introduce you to the knight members.”
Cynthia nodded and stood up.
She led Hien to the knights’ training ground, where all the knight members had already gathered.
They were all women, wearing uniform red and white magical uniforms, their gazes carrying curiosity and scrutiny.
“Everyone, this is Hien. Starting today, he will serve as my special assistant, helping me handle knight affairs.”
Cynthia’s voice was calm and authoritative, brooking no argument.
The knight members looked at each other and whispered among themselves, but no one dared question Cynthia’s decision.
Their gazes swept over Hien with complex expressions.
Like going through the motions, Cynthia dismissed the group and returned to the office with Hien.
Then she arranged for Irene to take Rufia to Messiah Academy.
Hien and Rufia bid each other a reluctant farewell at the door, with Rufia hugging Hien tightly, her voice somewhat choked.
“Brother, you must take good care of yourself.”
“You too. Take care of yourself, and once things stabilize here, I’ll come visit you.”
Hien gently patted her back, speaking softly.
He watched as the carriage carrying Rufia grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight.
“Time to go back.”
Cynthia had been standing nearby with her arms crossed. Unusually, she waited until Rufia’s carriage disappeared before speaking up – a thoughtfulness that even Irene, who had been with her the longest, had never seen.
“Yes.”
Hien nodded, collected himself, and followed Cynthia back to her office.
“Lady Cynthia, what should I do as your special assistant?”
When only Hien and Cynthia remained in the office, he slowly spoke.
The implication was that surely he wouldn’t spend all day by Cynthia’s side soothing her mental power – did he also need to handle assistant duties like daily care and work planning?
“The most important job is to cooperate with me in various experiments and tests regarding mental power soothing.”
Cynthia, who was processing documents on her desk, looked up at him and answered indifferently.
“Besides that, you can move around freely within the knights’ grounds, but you must respond immediately when I call for you.”
“I understand.”
Hien nodded.
“By the way, once I finish processing these documents, you’ll come with me on a mission. I want to test your abilities in actual combat.”
Cynthia seemed to remember something and added another sentence after speaking.