My System Just Exploded, And You Ask Me to Become a God?-Chapter 49 --The Girl from the Pyrothian Kingdom, Vanessa

Chapter 49: Chapter49-The Girl from the Pyrothian Kingdom, Vanessa

Joad quickly glanced at the wound, then used a high-rank forbidden spell to erase all the entangled light elements around the little parrot’s injury. That golden arrow embedded in the wound? He pulled it out without a second thought.

While the little parrot was helpless against the rare light element, in Joad’s eyes, no element in this world posed the slightest threat to him. They were merely food for his high-rank forbidden spells.

After briefly cleaning the wound, Joad looked into his pocket with a conflicted expression. Resting there were several potions meant for recovery—expensive ones.

He had planned to sell them, but clearly, they could be put to much better use now.

Gritting his teeth, Joad pulled out one of the vials and poured the crystal-clear liquid onto the parrot’s wound.

"You owe me one for this, don’t forget it!"

He didn’t care if the parrot heard him or not. He opened his palm and began spreading the potion evenly over the wound with practiced efficiency.

Only after a while did he straighten up, letting out a weary sigh.

"By the Goddess of Magic... now I finally understand how exhausting it is being one of those potion makers at the academy."

Just then, the girl lying on the dormitory bed slowly regained consciousness. Her gaze, still hazy, landed on the unfamiliar ceiling above her, and her eyes filled with confusion and guarded alertness.

"Yo, you’re awake," Joad called out, raising a hand in greeting.

Startled, the girl immediately shrank back into the corner of the bed, and an awkward silence fell between them.

Joad froze, unsure whether to stand or sit.

Thankfully, the girl quickly assessed her situation and collected herself. She looked at Joad curiously and asked, "Did you... heal my injuries?"

"Who else?" Joad shrugged. "You think someone else in this room could’ve healed you? Maybe this dumb bird on my shoulder?"

The girl was momentarily stunned as memories rushed back into her mind.

She had entered the valley with the older woman who had accompanied her—and they had encountered that giant parrot.

What they hadn’t expected was that the parrot turned out to be a terrifying magical beast with power roughly at the archmage rank!

Neither of them could match its strength. They were forced to flee, and it was during this desperate escape that she’d run into Joad.

Now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense that this man had saved her life and even generously treated her wounds.

"Th-thank you!" she stammered, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket so that only her head poked out. She wiggled slightly and bowed her head to Joad in gratitude.

Joad was a little surprised. Although this girl hailed from the Pyrothian Kingdom, she didn’t carry the usual arrogance of her people. Instead, she was genuinely respectful—something that made her seem much more pleasant in his eyes.

He waved his hand dismissively. "No big deal. We’re all mages, right? When you’re out and about, you’ve got to look out for each other. As the saying goes—give a rose, and the fragrance lingers on your hand."

Vanessa blinked at him, her expression slightly strange.

These days, most mages were selfish and greedy, hoarding every bit of resource they could get their hands on. Someone as generous and open-handed as Joad was definitely rare.

After a short pause, she asked, "My name is Vanessa. What’s yours?"

Joad cleared his throat and said with formal dignity, "I am Joad, second son of House Whide of the Ilan Principality."

"Joad?" Vanessa leaned back slightly, clearly surprised.

"What?" Joad asked, catching the change in her expression.

"It’s nothing, really... It’s just... I feel like I’ve heard that name before..."

Joad wasn’t surprised. Back at the Royal Academy, the representatives from the three nations had practically torn the place apart. Word of those battles had spread quickly—of course it would’ve reached the Pyrothian Kingdom as well.

"Oh, right." Vanessa suddenly leaned a little forward from beneath the blanket and looked Joad in the eyes. "The lady who was with me earlier—what happened to her?"

Joad’s face grew solemn. He let out a quiet sigh. "She’s gone to a faraway place. Most likely... she won’t be coming back."

"What?!" Vanessa’s eyes widened in shock. Although Joad had tried to put it gently, she wasn’t a child—she understood exactly what he meant. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Let me make this clear upfront," Joad said, lifting a finger, "I didn’t abandon her on purpose. You saw that magical beast too, didn’t you? At archmage rank, it was terrifying. Just getting you out of its claws nearly cost me half my life..."

He went on to dramatically exaggerate the dangers he’d faced—twisting and embellishing the events to the point of absurdity.

By the end, Vanessa was so shaken that she had pulled the blanket tightly back over herself.

Seeing that it was getting late, Joad finally ended the storytelling and instructed Vanessa to get a good night’s rest. They could talk more tomorrow.

Then, he stood up and left the dorm room, returning to his own little cabin.

But the moment his left foot stepped inside, a shrill voice rang out next to his ear.

"How interesting. She clearly died by your hand, and yet you can lie with such a straight face and push all the blame onto me?"

Joad jumped in surprise and quickly turned his head to look at the parrot on his shoulder.

"You... can talk?!"

"No duh! I’m a grand magical beast at archmage rank! Do you really think I couldn’t learn a simple human tongue?"

With that, the parrot flapped its wings and flew to the table across the room.

It couldn’t stand staying on Joad’s shoulder another second.

Because while Joad looked like a handsome and lively young man, the mana radiating from him was terrifying—on par with those elderly archmages with decades of experience.

Not in the principality, not even in the kingdom had it seen such a monstrously gifted individual.

Joad smirked and sat down across from the bird. "Well, this actually saves me some trouble. Remember what I said to you while healing you?"

The parrot let out two guttural "coo" sounds, as if reverting to its primitive, bird-like instincts.

Joad instantly reached out and grabbed it by the throat. "Playing dumb now, are you? You really think that’s going to help?"

The parrot flailed wildly. With great effort, it broke free from Joad’s grip and tried to fly out of the room—but it hadn’t gone far when it suddenly plummeted toward the ground, as if caught in a powerful gravity spell.

It hit the floor with a loud thud, and even its beak cracked a little.

Its small, round eyes were full of confusion.

After a moment of sensing around, the parrot’s face twisted in disbelief.

"You... You actually cast a sealing spell on me?!"

Joad grinned maliciously.

"I didn’t have a choice, did I? If I didn’t, you’d have flown off already."

The parrot cursed angrily.

"By the Holy Eagle—what the hell?! One sealing spell is already overkill, but you—you sealed me in twenty different languages?! Common, Ancient Elvish, Goblin, Orcish—TWENTY?!"

"I may not be human, but you’re a damn hound!"