Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2969: No Means No

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City

Except for me, the other three hadn’t the slightest clue what a ‘criminal rehabilitation and reintegration program’ even was. They didn’t even know what half of those words meant. To people who lived and thrived in the absolute bizarreness of the Way Beyond, concepts like bureaucratic reform held zero meaning. It was like trying to explain modern-day societal problems to an old boomer—either they completely fail to grasp the concept, or if they do, they respond with something the modern world would consider the most offensive thing you could possibly say to a person.

As far as Aqualas and Veerott were concerned, their friend had simply found another way to stay by their side. Meanwhile, Petra—who had actually been around the city for the past few days—knew better. Unlike the duo, she had heard whispers of this program and had seen the card apprentices enrolled in it with her own eyes.

Though those apprentices looked perfectly normal on the surface, Petra’s innate ability told her a completely different story: their actions were far more mechanical than natural. Having walked this world since before the very birth of civilization, she immediately recognized the grim truth. Despite whatever strength those individuals possessed, they occupied the absolute lowest rung of the new empire’s hierarchy.

Therefore, Petra was both utterly astonished and deeply satisfied to see Seraphina throw herself headfirst into that fire pit. A cruel anticipation washed over her; she couldn’t wait to see the look on Aqualas’s face when she finally realized the horrific reality of what her friend had actually just volunteered for.

That aside, Petra was genuinely beginning to worry if her truth-detecting skill was flat-out malfunctioning. The ability stubbornly insisted that Seraphina was being entirely sincere about wanting to enter the program.

Having lived through countless eras, Petra knew exactly how vital hierarchy was to any race or civilization; she couldn’t fathom why anyone would willingly throw themselves from the absolute top of the food chain straight to the bottom. It defied all logic.

Now, more than ever, she was absolutely certain of one of two things: either her innate skill was broken, or Seraphina had found a way around it.

Petra had never interacted with or studied a card apprentice long enough to realize this glaring shortcoming in her skill. Supreme beings and monsters simply didn’t lie habitually the way card apprentices did. As for the demons and devils approaching her, as the direct extensions of the Card World’s Will the Supreme Beings absolutely loathed them with the fury of ten thousand burning suns. Therefore, they were strictly killed on sight by her.

Therefore, in her mind, Petra was leaning heavily toward the latter explanation: Seraphina had somehow found a way around her innate skill.

Then, a sudden, chilling thought crossed her mind. Petra snapped her head to look toward her ally—the man widely believed to be the smartest card apprentice of the current era.

She realized with a jolt that if someone like Seraphina could devise a method to bypass her innate ability, then a genius of her ally’s caliber definitely could as well. The moment that realization struck, only a wafer-thin barrier of doubt kept her mind from suffering a total meltdown. She desperately clung to the hope that Seraphina simply possessed a highly specific, unique skill or rune that made her an exception—otherwise, her own legendary, innate ability was truly and completely broken.

She had come so far and grown so genuinely attached to her new life—and the people in it—that she absolutely refused to let it all be one massive lie. It wasn’t just that she was unprepared to learn the truth; she actively didn’t want to know it. Right now, all she wanted was to enjoy her current existence.

She couldn’t bear the thought of returning to her solitary life in the Way Beyond, where her days were spent trapped in a endless loop of either comprehending the Stone Rule and its meanings, or building massive subterranean ecosystems just to stave off her crushing boredom. If not for the spirit of the Stone Rule stream keeping her company, she would have been utterly, terrifyingly alone.

This was one of the primary reasons she had forgiven Bloodette and wanted to take her under her wing, even if it meant directly opposing her old faction members. She had desperately wanted to rebuild a life alongside young Bloodette. Instead, the girl had chosen to purge her own emotions, leaving Petra stuck surrounded by a bunch of mere card apprentices. Yet, to her bored mind and lonely heart, their chaotic, vibrant way of living provided constant stimulation, while their earnest company slowly warmed her ancient heart.

Therefore, even if this were built on a foundation of lies, she desperately wanted it to last just a little bit longer—in the exact same way someone clings to the fading edges of a beautiful dream, terrified to wake up.

The trio of friends pinned me with their burning gazes, but I was far too occupied trying to decipher what Seraphina was actually after. Absolutely nothing I knew about her character—and nothing she had done up until this exact moment—aligned with the words coming out of her mouth right now.

Running out of time and patience, I dropped the polite facade entirely.

“Cut the crap,” I snapped, looking her dead in the eye. “You literally forced Anna to step down as the Southern Heir just so you could take the title for yourself. Now, you expect me to believe that you genuinely want to throw it all away to join my criminal rehabilitation and reintegration program? Fat chance!”

Listening to my words Serahpina frowned, so did her friends while Petra looked like wanted to grab my collar and shout, let her join the program.

“Your Highness, I think there is a profound misunderstanding here,” Seraphina said, her voice remaining entirely level. “I never forced Anna to step down as the Southern Heir.”