Chapter 97: A Reason to Be Obdurate

During dinner, Baiyi and Mia were the only two in the dining room. Munching on the bread that Baiyi bought back earlier, Mia asked curiously, “I thought I heard Sis Tisdale’s voice just now? Why isn’t she joining us for dinner?”

“She made a mistake and is being punished right now,” Baiyi answered coldly while handing her a piece of jam filled bun to her.

Instead of taking the bun, Mia shook her head and asked again, “Why do you want to punish Sis Tisdale? She’s usually very obedient! Did she make you angry?” She stood up from her seat and ran over to Baiyi’s side before holding on to his arm and shook it lightly. Cautiously, she pleaded, “H-How about we ask her to come join us for dinner first? It’s so late now, I’m sure she must be very hungry right now! I-I’ll let you play with my ponytail, please don’t be angry anymore, okay?” Hastily, she lifted her ponytails and placed them in Baiyi’s open palm.

In truth, he was not angry with Tisdale at all. After all, she was a good girl with a kind heart. It was just that she was too naive which was why he could not and would not let her take such a risk by herself.

“Finish your dinner first,” Baiyi said as he released Mia’s ponytails. Picking up a sliced omelet with his fork, he proceeded to feed Mia her dinner, “We’ll discuss her issues later.” His words was not only directed at Mia but to the Merchant who was in the Void as well. Since earlier, he had been begging Baiyi piteously.

“I beg you, Sir Hope! Please rescue Undine! I really can’t bear to see such an outstanding descendant of mine fall into the hands of that group of barbarians! Please! I’d rather you kill her than let her be ravished by those varmint!” The Merchant’s voice was already thick with tears.

Faced with his tearful begging, Baiyi could only let out a helpless sigh, “I understand your feelings, Sir Merchant. It’s not that I don’t want to rescue her but how do you expect me to do it? I’m not even sure if the link between Mia and I is really as unlimited as we think it is. The Northern Wasteland is too far away from Arfin city! I really don’t want to take this risk. It’s even more impossible for me to bring Mia there. Not only would it put her in danger, it might affect our entire plan of escaping from the Void as well! I can’t risk this opportunity that we’ve waited for for thousands and thousands of years, can I?”

Undoubtedly, Baiyi was right. Not having any other reason to refute, the Merchant could only sigh and groan in a corner of the Void by himself. With such negative mood, the spirit in the Void became dampened in sorrow and even Mia could somehow sense the anguish in the environment. Dismayed, she hastily finished her dinner and started to bug Baiyi to bring her to see Tisdale.

“Can you forgive Sis Tisdale, Mr. Hope?” Mia did not forget to ask on the way up the staircase, “If you really can’t, let me do the punishment together with her!”

“Let’s see what she thinks now. This is all for her own good,” In a low voice, Baiyi replied. Hearing Mia’s remarks, he could not help but recall Tisdale’s question just now. If she had not put herself in danger to rescue Mia, would the Voidwalkers still have the opportunity to break out from prison?

Entering the room, Tisdale was still bound in the same spot as she was earlier. Without a word, Baiyi lifted the spell and handed her a plate of food as he said, “Sit down and eat your dinner.”

Right away, Tisdale reached out a hand to wipe the tears off her face and rubbed her pair of puffy red eyes. With her head down, she did not dare to let Mia see her expression at all. Throwing a quick glance at the plate, she refused to take it and just stood there motionlessly instead of sitting down as instructed by Baiyi.

“S-Sis Tisdale? Why are you crying?” Worried sick, Mia trotted past Baiyi and ran over to hold Tisdale’s hands tightly. With a concerned tone, she reassured her, “Mr. Hope is no longer angry at you. Let’s eat first, alright?

Instead of answering, all Tisdale did was to lift her hand up to gently stroke Mia’s head. Then, she turned around and gave a deep bow to Baiyi before using a tearful but determined voice to announced loudly, “I-I’m sorry, teacher, for disappointing you. However, no matter what, I’ll still go rescue Sister Undine! E-Even if you no longer want me as a student…”

“YOU!!” A gush of outrage rushed up, filling Baiyi’s head. He really did not see it coming at all. How could the usual obedient and clever Tisdale suddenly became so stubborn and willful? To even threaten him openly?

“I-I’m sorry, teacher…” Tisdale’s body began to tremble slightly, “Sister Undine’s very nice to me. After my father’s death, it was her who cared for me and helped me everytime when I was in trouble. It was also thanks to her that I could hang on until now to be able to meet you… I’ve promised her before that if she’s kidnapped, I’d go rescue her just like how I did Mia. This is the promise between her and I, just like the promise between you and I. Now that she’s in danger, I can’t possibly stay here and let her go through the suffering alone!”

After listening to her words, Baiyi took in a deep breath to calm himself down. A sense of invisible pressure emitted out of his body and it was so terrifying that Mia who was filled with questions did not even dare to make a sound. Instead, she went to hide behind Tisdale and secretly stuck her head out to look at the side of Mr. Hope that she’d never seen before.

Faced with such terrifying and intimidating pressure, although her heart was beating fast with dread and her legs were quivering in fear, Tisdale bit down hard on her lips and stood upright at the same spot. With just the mere perseverance and willfulness in her heart, she refused to back down and proceed to engage in a face-off with the Fifth Walker.

“Just let her be,” the Archmage who was watching in the Void could no longer stand it anymore, “This is Tisdale, the girl that we like and admire. Be it her loyalty or her determination, they are directed not only to you but to her friends as well. I believe that if Mia is in the same situation, she would throw everything away and head over to save her without any hesitation at all, no matter how dangerous the situation is”

“She has a truly loyal heart. Don’t let that heart turn cold!” The Archmage added.

Shaking his head in dejection, Baiyi revoke the aura of heavy pressure and returned to the usual state that the two girls were familiar with. He knew that he had lost, a powerful force losing out to a determined heart.

With no other choice, he asked in the Void, So, what do you guys think?

“I object!” The Lich was the first one who gave his opinion, “We can’t risk the only chance of getting out of the Void just to accompany a capricious little girl! No matter how cute or outstanding she is…”

“I’m against it as well!” The Painter said, “It’s too risky! I’d be okay with it if you had your full power but right now, you’re only at a mere Intermediate Level! You won’t be able to protect them at all!”

“I support this decision!” The Archmage interjected and bluntly, he turned towards the Painter and asked, “Are you looking down on my disciple right now? He is the Fifth Walker okay? Who are you to question his strength and power?”

“I support as well!” The Sorcerer echoed the Archmage’s view, “A proper training is the best shortcut to toughen a person’s innate capability. This will be a very good opportunity to train Mia’s power. As for the safety issue, I stand in line with Sir Archmage. Those who are not familiar with Sir Hope’s power should not jump into conclusion and belittle his ability. You’d only make a joke out of yourself!”

“Even though Sir Hope may be powerful enough to protect these two girls, I still object to this decision,” the Thane opined, “It is because this is a meaningless affair. Who can guarantee that Undine would still be alive by the time we get there? It is possible for Sir Hope’s hardwork to go in vain. This is just a waste of time!”

“I support Sir Thane’s view,” the Incubus who was usually taciturn voiced out in the face of a crucial decision, “Be it Undine or Tisdale, there’s nothing that we could gain from associating ourselves with them. There’s no need for us to waste our time on this matter.”

“How could this be ‘a waste of time’? She is the Merchant’s descendant! A kin of our partner! That is a freaking life you’re talking about okay? If we don’t use our power for salvation and protection, what’s the purpose of us seeking for power in the first place?” The Paladin spoke in an agitated tone.

The Caveman who was by the side chimed in as well, “I don’t understand why you guys are fighting over this issue actually. I’m very familiar with the Northern Wasteland, remember? Sir Hope who had seen my memory is too! This is just like a stroll through the park for us! Why are you guys so worried?”

Soon after, many more Voidwalkers joined in the argument to express their views as well. Their remarks revolved around those few words— gains, sentiments and safety— and all of their points were valid so it was hard to make a decision.

It was until the usually taciturn Second Walker, the Knight, opened his mouth to say, “Why don’t you guys be quiet for a moment and listen to Sir Hope’s opinion? As the representative of all of us Voidwalkers, shouldn’t we place our trust in him more?”

Immediately, the Void fell into complete silence, anxiously waiting for Baiyi to make the final decision.

I’ve made up my mind. I will take these two girls with me on the trip, Calmly, Baiyi announced his decision, Perhaps some of you guys may think that this is a stupid decision that will not bring us any gain at all but I beg to differ. As a human being, we can’t base our decisions solely on personal gain. This time, I will follow my heart. With the power and strength that I have, I deserve to be obdurate for once!

At any rate, I’m the Fifth Walker of the Void. If I can’t even solve such petty problem, how am I suppose to deal with more pesky troubles later in the future?

As he was speaking, his confidence instantly reached the hearts of each and every Voidwalker. Even the Fairy who was in the middle of a game paused its progress for a moment and exclaimed with a smile, “As expected of my hubby. This is exactly what I like about you…” In a flash, she went back to her battle with the barbarian’s tanks.

As soon as he finished his words, he lifted up his head high. He directed his word towards Mia as he announced, “Mia, what do you think about going out for an outing just the three of us? Yeah, that’s right, let’s go to the Northern Wasteland! It’s a very interesting place out there!”