The three friends ignored the instructor's presence completely, but that was not something he minded.
Instead, he was listening carefully to Greg and Malia's words that were expected of him as a part of his employment with the Drake clan. He was duty-bound to follow their rules.
Jason, Malia, and Greg had decided to sit down before telling their story.
Many things had indeed happened since their last meeting, and Greg explained everything slowly, while Jason instructed Malia and showed her how to transmit her thoughts to him.
This was easier said than done, and it was only after 20 minutes that she got the hang of it.
In the end, this was faster than Jason expected, and he was glad that Greg's storytelling was as slow as it had been years before.
This worked in his favor as Jason was able to multitask, and he didn't show any outward signs of doing something other than listening intently to Greg's recitation of the things they had faced since their last meeting.
Apparently, they had been treated well, and there were not many accidents that had happened after they had voluntarily decided to join the Drake family's clan.
The resources they received were not bad, and Malia had already broken into the Lique stage, while Greg estimated that he wouldn't need more than a year to achieve the same.
This was great to hear, and from his friend's body language, Jason was able to tell that everything except 'voluntarily decided' had been the truth!
Everyone knew about the truth, and the instructor was also aware of the fact that Jason would know what had really happened.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Nevertheless, it was also evident that the young man with a child in his arms couldn't just say, "Please take me to those your clan has forced into submission. With a soul contract that is no better than enslavement!"
Paul was similarly disgusted by what the Drake family had turned into, and his soul contract was less demanding and its clauses less exploitative than that of those the new generation had to sign.
Nevertheless, his contract had still been harsh, and he had been forced to sign it at a young age because his family situation had demanded it.
Otherwise, Paul wouldn't have become who he was!
After Malia had comprehended what to do in order to transmit thoughts to Jason without letting others notice, she released a thin thread of mana that was unstable and crude, yet enough to do what it should.
It was slowly moving towards Jason as Greg finished his story-telling.
There were many things both the siblings and Jason were curious about, but Greg knew that asking Jason with Paul hovering around them would be disadvantageous and risky.
Thus, he asked simple questions Jason could answer by cooking up a story.
Only a few minutes had passed when Jason thought that it was time for him to ask another question.
"I would like to meet Aunt and Uncle too, how have they been? Do you know where I can meet them later?"
Hearing his question made Malia stop transmitting her thoughts midway, but it took her only a short moment before she continued to explain every single clause the Drake clan's soul contract had stated.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})[I know the contract is harsh and nobody would sign it under normal circumstances, but they had killed several families to demonstrate what will happen if we disobey!]
Malia's thoughts sounded enraged and frustrated at the same which was completely understandable.
Nevertheless, she returned to state the other, more unique clauses only talented youths had to do.
Apparently, exactly as Jason had expected, both Greg and Malia were forced to obey everyone in the Drake family, and even the higher authorities from the Drake clan.
There were only a few things they didn't have to obey, which was the only thing that prevented the young prodigies from killing themselves.
As a matter of fact, nobody was forced to satisfy the sexual desires of the clan members, which was something Jason had been worried about.
If Malia had been violated throughout the last two years, her will to live would have been completely shattered by now.
Fortunately, the Drake family was more focused on nurturing a combat force and not interested in raising slaves to satiate carnal desires.
Meanwhile, Greg told Jason that their parents were able to roam through the Drake kingdom freely after he and his sister entered the nurturing grounds.
Apparently, this was some sort of reward the youngest generation had received, and it was already fortunate that they hadn't been killed after the enslavement-like soul contract had been signed and put into effect.
It was similar to encouraging the young prodigies to become stronger in order to protect their families that seemed to be scattered throughout the entire kingdom.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})As such, defending the entire kingdom had become a necessity.
Jason couldn't help but think that it was an extremely clever tactic employed by the Drake clan.
The young generation had a reason to become stronger; to protect their family, which meant that they had to protect the Drake clan and kingdom!
After Malia had finished explaining every clause of their soul contract, she also told him where exactly their parents had gone.
Their location could have changed, but Malia doubted it.
Jason was glad to hear that they were alive and not restrained in any way, but he didn't dare to meet Mark and Gabriella right now.
Somehow, he felt too guilty about the entire mess that had been created because of his master, and himself.
There were multiple ways to opt out of a soul contract, but most of them were not feasible for the soul contract Greg and Malia had been forced to sign.
'Terminating the contract is not possible, dying is not an option either!... But annihilating the entire Drake family and clan is not something I could have done either...even if I were strong enough.'
In the end, there were more humans who had been forced to obey the Drake clan than those who had followed Jael Drake of their own will.
Thus, the three options Jason had in mind were not feasible.
He had a few other ideas in his mind, but he couldn't just test them right now.
If something were to go wrong, it would be devastating and would blow his cover.
As such, both Greg and Malia would have to endure everything a little bit longer.
This wouldn't be a problem as long as they were not sent to participate in a civil war or somewhere dangerous, where it was likely for them to sustain injuries or even die!
Fortunately, both Greg and Malia were too weak to attend dangerous missions, and it would probably take a few years before the first really dangerous missions would be allocated to them.
Knowing this, Jason was able to retain his composure for now. A few years were more than enough for him to figure out a solution and save his friends.
'If the simple ways don't work, I'll have to experiment with solutions to overthrow the Drake family's soul contract!'
The options were endless and he was in no rush to test their efficiency.
As long as the Drake kingdom wouldn't cease to exist by getting attacked and conquered by others, the Flers would be fine too!
This complicated lots of things, but Jason knew what he had to do.
Canir had to exit this state of anarchy and enter a state of complete power balance without him intervening too much, allowing Jason to become stronger, as fast as possible!
Unfortunately, Jason knew that this was a far-fetched dream, and for now he could only enjoy the time he could spend with his friends for as long as possible.
The Great Argos war might be over, but that didn't mean the dangers had ceased to exist!
Everybody was oblivious to the fact that the enemies lurking in the shadows had started to move, and nobody knew who was going to make the first move.
Was the Great Argos war only the starting line of Argos' doom, or the beginning of something new, something beautiful that brought forth a bright future everyone could look forward to?
