Chapter 1450: Fire and Smoke
Amidst the silly bantering and ridiculous arguing, a small smile tugged at the corner of Jay’s lips. Despite what he’d said earlier, he actually missed this time very much.
The stupid conversations, the sarcastic jokes, and the relentless teasing that had defined their youth. Even in the worst situations, facing powerful beasts or swarms of hundreds of enemies, they never passed up the chance to throw jabs and laugh together.
But those moments had become increasingly rare. Under the pressure to rebuild their kingdom from ashes, the grief of losing the King and the former archknight, then the trauma from losing Lory, everything happened so much and too much, at the same time, yet they didn’t have the luxury to mourn because millions of their citizen depend on them.
Thus, everyone threw themselves into their responsibilities, using work as a way to cope with the lingering trauma, overwhelming grief, and unspoken guilt.
Thankfully, Lory had returned, not shattered by her trials, nor hardened by bitterness, but still radiant with spirit, kindness, and even stronger than before.
Her presence became a balm form their wound, and because of that, they could finally begin to untangle themselves from the grief and guilt that had long burdened their hearts.
"Yo, Jay, what do you want to report?" Fargo’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, yeah—about that." Jay straightened, gathering himself. "Lydia Boyd told me Jasmine Wu was selected for the new batch to receive the Saintess’s blessing."
"What?" Fargo blinked. "Hold on—let me turn on the loudspeaker."
Jay waited a moment, then repeated, "Well, we all know what happens to girls like Jasmine Wu when they’re selected for the Saintess’s blessing. Lydia wants to know how we’re going to proceed with the rescue plan. Oh—and there are thirty healers chosen this time."
"That’s a lot," Lory murmured.
"Yeah," Jay said grimly. "The number keeps going up—and so does the frequency."