: 189. Cheaters always win.


    Inside a room on the middle deck of the emergency spaceship.


    Nnd’s consciousness returned to his body, and he shared the details of his conversation with the professor to Denise.


    “…That’s how it is, Denise. I’m going to meet with Miss Selena Williamster, and you’lle with me. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll just have to pay 100,000 gold coins to procure a teleportation quota for you. I won’t leave you here.” Said Nnd.


    Denise slowly nodded, her mind filled with questions:


    “Hmm…I trust you… But why do I feel like you’re a bit anxious… is something wrong?”


    Denise had spent the most time with Nnd.


    Even though Nnd remained seemingly calm, the anxiety simmering deep within him was noticeable through the finer details, and Denise had picked up on it.


    She couldn’t pinpoint exactly how she could sense Nnd’s anxiety.


    Perhaps, this was the unique bond of being a Companion Witch.


    Nnd pondered for a moment, activated ‘Soul Perception’ and said in his mind:<div>


    “I have a bad feeling about this, Denise. That Star Fleet is too weak. If I were the Commander of Deep Space United Mining, I would have dispatched more interster ships to seize control of the magic ship. The Star Fleet we encountered doesn’t have the strength to warrant the risk they’re taking. It’s strange. I suspect their true intention isn’t to take over the magic ship, although, I can’t be sure of their actual motive.”


    “Oh…” Denise nodded, not fully understanding, shaking her head.


    She turned her back, searched through her clothing, and produced a magic pouch that was warm to the touch.


    “This is where I keep our gold coins separately. Everything we have is in here.”


    With a slight blush on her cheeks, Denise handed the warm and slightly scented magic pouch to Nnd:


    “Here, take this for now. It might be awkward trying to get it outter in front of others.”


    Nnd weighed the hefty magic pouch in his hand.


    Even though he had rightfully earned the majority of the gold coins in the pouch, Denise’s unconditional trust made him feel gratified.


    Nnd tucked the magic pouch safely away, squeezed Denise’s hand gently, their understanding going unspoken.


    The blush on Denise’s cheeks deepened…


    “Knock, knock, knock.” The door was rapped upon, a Deep-sea Wizard paid a visit.


    Nnd got up, opened the door, exchanged a few words with the Deep-sea Wizard outside, and then left with Denise.


    The Deep-sea Wizard led the way, guiding Nnd to the cabin where Selena resided.


    Halfway there, Nnd watched the surfacing magic ship through the porthole and cast a Deconstruction spell.


    [System Message:]


    [Estimated to consume 18.34 million Energy Points, which could increase the degree of deconstruction to 100%]


    18.34 million points?


    … Damn, the Deconstruction consumption just rose by at least 5 million points after less than 10 minutes of conversation with Erica? What on earth is the Metallic Ancestor Dragon up to?


    Nnd frowned slightly, consuming a significant amount of Energy to activate Harmless Deconstruction.<div>


    “System, system, I want to know to what extent the Metallic Ancestor Dragon has transformed the magic ship. Could you please add some type of ‘Transformation Progress Bar’?”


    After a moment of slight disorientation, the ever-responsive Deconstruction Core System provided an update:


    [Sessful Harmless Deconstruction!]


    [Target’s panel information updated, added content rted to ‘Strong Metal Fusion’:]<div>


    [State Name] Forced Fusion


    [Type] Metal System Dragon Magic Effect


    [State Source] Metallic Ancestor Dragon Talsale


    [Forced Fusion Progress] 12%


    Talsale’s will and the power of his bloodline are expected to forcibly merge with the magic ship in 11 hours and 11 minutes.


    …


    It would take more than 11 hours before Talsale couldplete the fusion with the magic ship.


    By then, only the magic ship and its passengers would remain on the vast ckfold Sea, no longer any Enforcement or Combat Witches.


    In such a situation, Nnd, as a passenger, had a high chance of ending up at a disadvantage if he had a conflict with Talsale, and his only hope would be Mabel and Kndi.


    Wait a minute.


    Nnd paused imperceptibly.


    What would happen to Mabel and Kndi after he and Denise left?


    Regardless of what Talsale intended to do after forcibly merging with the magic ship, members of the Elemental Judgement, such as Mabel, Philia, and Betty Davis, as well as the ‘Green Herb Ointment’ Lady Boss Kndi, would be in a precarious position.<div>


    Nnd had just established a good cooperative rtionship with these witches and didn’t want his efforts to go to waste.


    Especially Mabel.


    This wealthy witch had a soul contract with Nnd. The Metallic Ancestor Dragon may possess extraordinary abilities in terms of soul contracts that are little known. If it realized something from the contract and became interested in Nnd, a petty human being, that could mean trouble…


    Nnd decided to help out Mabel, Kndi, and the others.


    If they refused to avoid the magic ship, Nnd could only silently wish them safe travels. Along the way, he would terminate his soul contract with Mabel, to eliminate any future threats.


    Nnd nodded subtly, deciding to discuss this with Mabel and the others once he and Denise had their teleportation sorted.


    “We are here,” The Deep-sea Wizard leading the way stopped and opened the door, inviting Nnd and Denise into the room.