“You guys wanna come in?” Devlin offered.


    Eurig and Letha declined. Eurig wanted to check on his father''s condition. He was feeling better so Eurig wanted to stand by him in case there''s anything he needed help with.


    Letha was basically the head of the orphanage. So she had to go back and take care of her brothers and sisters. Plus, she wanted to continue studying the magic books Raynel and Janis bought for her. She was determined to ace the qualifying test at the academy.


    Having heard that, Devlin did not insist. After watching his friends walked back the tunnel, Devlin climbed the stairs out of the underground tunnel.


    To his horror, a surprise was waiting for him at the entrance. Or rather, two surprises.


    “EHHH?! Teacher? F-FATHER?!”


    Janis looked at him with a sly grin on her face. As if this moment was worth all the troubles he had given her.


    “Clean yourself up. Then go to the study. NOW!”


    Devlin had no choice. “Y-yes father.”


    ###


    ‘Heh, this must be how I looked earlier. So pathetic!’ Janis lamented in her heart.


    She was so glad that Devlin came home late, and did not witness her state earlier. Or he would mock her for all eternity.


    “Where have you been?” Raynel asked calmly. But it felt like there''s a sharp sword hidden in his tone.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Devlin pondered about his answer for a moment. “Urm…just playing with my friends?”


    “Oh, ‘playing’ is it?! So all those people you beat up in the underground ring was your friends. I see now.” The mockery in Raynel''s voice was visible even if you saw it from the moon.


    Devlin panicked. His father already knew.


    “Well?”


    “Huh? Well, what?”


    Fumes started coming out of Raynel''s ears. “I want you to tell me what you''ve been doing these past few days.”


    “...but you already knew…”


    “TELL ME!”


    Defeated, Devlin started to regale his father with the tales of his adventures. By the end of it, Janis wondered how Raynel could kept calm, for she had turned every shade of color ever existed.


    The story actually began over a week ago. And it involved Eurig’s father, Nidhi Chapman.


    A week ago, Chapman Trading Firm received a shipping job. A slaver had hired Chapman zeppelin to transport the slaves to Tentigo, an island Northwest from Pulcra.


    During the inspection however, Nidhi somehow found out that these slaves were to be sold to a Dark Warlock. And they are to be used as sacrifices. Hearing that, the honest Nidhi rushed to report the Dark Warlock to the authorities


    Slaves are criminals. And although it''s a punishment, their wellbeing is strictly monitored. Protecting them from abusive owners. That, coupled with the crime of trying to revive Black Magic practices, cause the Vario mages to capture the Dark Warlock.


    That should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, the slaver was a part of the underground network. She demanded compensation. Which have been vaguely stipulated in the fineprint of the contract.


    Since it was a Blood Contract, Nidhi cannot escape the consequences. He had to pay. Thus, he became a slave himself.


    Of which, the only way to win back his freedom was to fight it out in the Battle Royale. Where winning the Royale gives you the right for one wish.


    Nidhi cannot fight. Eurig tried to fight, but he was too weak. He could only last until the second round. And Letha only learned the theoretical part of magic. So she can''t fight either. So who else is left to fight?


    The heroic Prince Devlin Alden of course.


    When he received the news, he sneaked out, and jumped straight into the ring. And one by one, the scum fell. It was a really inspiring scene.


    As a bonus, Devlin even managed to kill off a few bandits that constantly terrorized the slum and the orphanage. Even Letha curses at the dead bodies of those bastards!


    Long story short, he won. Devlin managed to free Nidhi from his contract. The whole thing took just a day to settle. He could''ve come back last night. Or early this morning.


    Unfortunately, misery loves company. The gang of bandits wanted revenge. They kidnapped a few of the orphans, and demanded Devlin to surrender. So the trio had to go and rescue them too.


    Thankfully, it didn''t take long. The bandits were eradicated. The orphans are safe and sound. At the end of it, it was too late of a night to go back. So Nidhi invited him to spend the night in Chapman''s mansion. To which he readily agreed.


    Raynel stayed quiet through the entire story. Janis was the one who reacted. She rushed towards Devlin, and activated her magic to check Devlin for injuries.


    “Hihihi, that tickles, teacher.” Devlin said as he squirmed to try to wriggle free from Janis''s ticklish magic skill.


    Janis was unrelenting. She immediately used Bind magic so that Devlin would stopped moving around.


    “There. Now be quiet while I checked on you.”