Roland was surprised that Garcia's first instinct was to call the police rather than report to the Martialist a.s.sociation. Although the Martialist a.s.sociation was a separate organization that was independent from judicial inst.i.tutions, they required their members to adhere to a strict moral code and therefore, punishments to a corrupted martialist would be more severe than that imposed by law. It seemed that Garcia was particularly lenient with him.

Roland twitched his lips and felt an urgent need to clarify this matter. He had not done anything wrong, so neither the police nor the a.s.sociation should be involved.

Anyway, he had to first calm Garcia down.

"Call the police?" Roland echoed in a falsely surprised tone. "Why?"

"You ask me?" Garcia said exasperatedly. "What did I tell you the other day? An awakened man could easily lose his head over his power! That's why a martialist should discipline his mind and control his emotions. I don't want to interfere with your private life, and I don't care how many girls you take home as long as they aren't underage. But these girls... they're still minors! l.u.s.t is the first sign of corruption. Do you still not understand?"

So Garcia was more furious about him living a life of debauchery than about taking three young girls home?

"I know, but why would I bring you here if I'm truly corrupted like you said?" Roland said on a sigh. "Don't you think that it doesn't make sense at all?"

"Er..."

"In fact, whether this is true or not, taking three girls home would inevitably outrage the public. A wise man should make it as secret as possible. However, I invited you here. Don't you think that is a little strange?"

Garcia blinked blankly, slowly putting the phone down, and asked, "Then why?"

Roland heaved a sigh of relief and replied with utmost sincerity, "This is what I'm going to tell you. Miss Garcia... I need your help."

Half an hour later.

"So, you don't have any inappropriate relations.h.i.+ps with these girls, but instead, you're their... part-time tutor?" Garcia demanded while squinting at Roland.

"Exactly," Roland said truthfully. "They're all college students living nearby. I have to teach them as well as Zero, and it takes too much of my time. People will get suspicious if I keep them here for too long. Normally, girls of their age should have been in school, so I have to constantly bring in new students."

Roland had been always cautious about taking in the G.o.d's Punishment Witches. No more than three or four witches were allowed to visit him in Room 0825 at a time so that the neighbors would not be alarmed.

"So they're the 'relatives' whom you needed to take care of during our first meeting?"

"Oi Oi, this is something I said more than half a year ago. Why do you keep reminding me of that?" Roland wondered reproachfully. He then said, "They aren't my real relatives, but we're from the same town," Roland lied unblus.h.i.+ngly. "Dawnen, Saint Miran, and Dido used to live in the same village as me. They were still little kids when I left my town."

This explanation would sound obviously flawed in his original world but was actually quite reasonable in here since the Dream World had Zero's memories.

"Then why didn't their names show up on the registry?"

Roland paused just at the right moment and said, "Because of... their gender."

"I see," Garcia mumbled and fell into silence. When her eyes rested on the three witches again, her demeanor softened. Garcia asked, "Are there many people... like them?"

"Quite a few although things have gotten a little better in past decade," Roland said quickly as he realized that his plan was going better than expected. "People in my village are aware that I joined the Martialist a.s.sociation. They probably didn't want to stay there for the rest of their lives, so they came to look for me."

"Your... Roland is telling the truth!"

"Please let us stay!"

"I want to go to school."

The three witches pleaded.

Garcia turned away and looked like she was hesitating.

"Neither tutoring nor learning by themselves would solve the fundamental problem. I want them to live a normal life like everyone else. I think you're the only person who could help us," Roland said slowly. Even if Gacia could not help him, the Clover Group must have some power to smuggle them in.

Garcia was apparently thinking the same thing. After what seemed to be a long internal struggle, she sighed deeply, and said, "I'm sorry but I can't help you."

Upon seeing every sign of an interruption from Roland, Garcia explained immediately, "I severed my relations.h.i.+p with my family. Plus, the Clover Group has yet to abandon their plan to demolish this apartment. If I go see him, he would use it as a leverage. I would betray the trust those protesters have put in me."

Roland fell silent when he saw Garcia's clenched fists. He felt guilty to see Garcia be sorry for not being able to help the girls. Roland said, "I understand."

"But you can talk to him yourself," Garicia said and looked up at him. "My father will be holding a party for the outstanding martialists in the city center hotel tomorrow evening. He knows I would not go but he still sent me an invitation. By doing so, he at least shows to the media that he's trying to mend our relations.h.i.+p," Garcia said while smiling bitterly. "Although he didn't invite you directly, you can go there on behalf of me. Just give the party organizer a call and they'll let you in with my invitation card. A proxy could mean an acceptance or a declination. If I choose you as my proxy, he'll know that I declined his offer."

Roland instantly knew what Garcia meant. If Garcia asked her master Lan to represent her then that would be an acceptance.

"Talk to him in person..." Roland mumbled while stroking his chin.

"Are you scared?"

"Regardless, I have to go. I'm so close," Roland answered. As the King of Graycastle, he had attended numerous parties and gained a large amount of experience in dealing with distinguished figures. "I'm just worried he won't help us. He'll probably feel very affronted that you've rejected him."

"Don't worry. My father isn't an unreasonable person. He cares more about business gains than personal loss," Garcia said while smiling. "And you aren't any ordinary martialist. Even Prism City has noticed you. You should give yourself more credit."

Roland dimly understood what Garcia was referring to and said, "I'll do my best."

"To tell you the truth, I'm very glad for you," Garcia said as she rose to her feet and extended her hand to Roland. "You're on the right track. Sorry that I misunderstood you. I'm very proud to have such an excellent martialist like you as my companion." Garcia paused for a second and then went on, "Also, you can just let me know if you need help in the future, and don't call me Miss Garcia anymore. It doesn't suit you."

Roland slowly reached out his hand and shook hers.

Although Roland lied to Garcia, his goal was still to win the Battle of Divine Will, learn the truth of this world, and liberate humanity from the fate of endless war.

This was the path he had chosen.