112 Devotion

"Oh! Thank you for the reminder! In that case..."

Adrian immediately turned his head, his face shifting into the most sincere smile. "Hey, you big oaf! You low-IQ gorilla, I’ve got a massive banana here—care for a taste?"

Seemingly infected by the smile on Adrian’s face and the friendly tone in his voice, the wildebeest’s face also curled into a grin.

Then.

The wildebeest tilted its head back slightly and slammed forward with a violent headbutt.

*Thump!*

After the loud impact, Adrian tumbled heavily back into the hay. He gasped for air, struggling for a long moment before he could catch his breath. "F*** you! You damn old fraud, every single syllable you utter is a lie!"

"No, I did not lie to you. Just like the porcupine that kept you company two days ago, the wildebeest truly cannot understand a word you say. However..." The wizard spread his hands, "I did tell him that whenever you open your mouth, it is never anything pleasant."

"Your reminder was truly timely!" Adrian struggled to sit up. "Now, Mr. Wizard, can you have your incorruptible bodyguard untie me?"

The old wizard gestured, and the wildebeest slowly crouched down, loosening the vines around Adrian’s body.

Once the restraints were removed, Mr. Adrian exhaled a few long, ragged breaths and quickly began working the soreness out of his hands, feet, and body. From his practiced movements and the vine marks left on his exposed skin, it was clear that this gentleman had been deprived of his freedom for quite some time.

"Please, Mr. Adrian."

After waiting quietly for about a minute, the wizard gestured toward the rock where the laptop sat. "Time is precious."

"Yes! Time is precious! Time is far too precious!"

Adrian rubbed his wrists, his eyes bloodshot and his head heavy. He stumbled toward the laptop. "Have some mercy, Mr. Wizard! I haven't slept properly in three days and three nights! Just an hour ago, I was still watching videos with you! Helping you find data! Translating the steps for moving beehives! Hey, tell me, Mr. Wizard, have you ever heard of sudden cardiac death? Why aren't you tired at all?"

"God watches over me; God grants me strength," the wizard replied calmly.

Miraculously, there was truly no sign on the wizard’s face that he had been working around the clock for two or three days.

"Why doesn't your God take care of me while He’s at it?" Adrian asked, his voice dripping with deliberately feigned confusion. "After all, I am currently helping you spread His glory, aren't I?"

"No, God has already watched over you. God sent you to our tribe at the most appropriate time."

"Aha! 'Watched over'!"

Adrian’s previously listless voice suddenly climbed to a high pitch. "Thank you so much for this 'watching over'! Thank you to your f***ing God! Thank you, God, for letting me come to this godforsaken place! Thank you, God, for letting me find a fraud like you as a guide! Thank you, God, for letting me run into your band of damn kidnappers!"

"And! My dear Mr. Wizard, you seem to have mentioned the tribe! If I recall correctly, your uncle, the respected Chief, seems to have already expelled you from the tribe, hasn't he?"

"Child, I merely came here myself so as not to cause a schism in the tribe."

"So, it was exile? Ah, what noble character!" Adrian switched to an operatic tone. "To maintain the peace of the tribe, the great hero, the wise wizard, left the land that raised him, self-exiling to this most barren of plots, silently watching over a few dozen of the stupidest gorillas in this forgotten corner..."

"Child, this is still the land of the tribe, and they are still children of the tribe."

"Ah, exactly, so you do remember!"

At this point, Adrian’s expression tightened, and his tone returned to seriousness. "Mr. Wizard, three days ago, you yourself told me that your uncle the Chief dislikes any talk related to modern technology, and he is even less fond of hearing about gods and ancestors... And yet, you have done both, and to such an extreme. If the Chief finds out, perhaps you might be spared for the sake of kinship, but what about me? What will happen to me? Please, let me go! I have no desire to become a missing person!"

"Child, you will be fine. Besides, what I have done is not extreme at all."

"Give me a break, pal! I was born at night, but it wasn't last night!" Adrian’s face was full of the expression of one who had seen through the wizard's motives. "Is it not extreme enough? Gods! Faith! Brainwashing! Boiling water! Moving beehives! Showing the tribesmen the real benefits step by step! Do I need to guess what the next step is? What will the Chief do? Sit in his tent and wait for you to come and seize his power?"

"Child..." The wizard did not deny Adrian’s words, but he shook his head slowly. "You are mistaken. It is not that I desire power; it is that God has bestowed power upon me."

"To the Chief, is there any difference? Will he just sit there and do nothing? Oh, wait—maybe the Chief really could do nothing. For instance, next time the bandits—the Jackals, right?—come around, he could just stop caring about you!"

At this, Adrian’s voice grew increasingly urgent. "Please, pal, it’s the 21st century. Even if everything goes your way, what does it matter if you use divine power to topple royal power in this corner? Yes, you might be able to oust an uncle who wants to keep every trace of the outside world out of the tribe and keep the chieftainship in the family forever, but can you single-handedly lead the tribe into modern society? Do you have guns? Do you have Euros?"

"Mr. Wizard..." Adrian pleaded earnestly. "Let me go, let me return! As soon as I get back to France, I guarantee I will contact the UN World Food Programme, humanitarian organizations, medical and education groups—how about that? Let's make a deal!"

"That will not be necessary. The experience of our ancestors has already told us that help from outsiders is never reliable, and is often fraught with danger..."

When speaking of these lessons steeped in blood and tears, the wizard’s expression remained quite calm. "Furthermore, now we have the care of God, and we have the guidance of a prophet."

"You are truly..."

"That is enough, Mr. Adrian..." The wizard raised a hand, stopping Adrian’s next words. "You have rested enough. Let us do something more meaningful."

Having said this, the wizard stepped aside, leaving the space beside the rock table and the laptop clear.

At the same moment, the wildebeest drew a sharp short blade.

The old wizard gestured to the computer once more, saying, "Mr. Adrian..."

"No need to say it! I know, I know... I can recite it by heart!" Adrian said irritably. "When using the computer, don't touch the keyboard! Don't use voice commands! Don't try to contact the outside world! Damn it, you B.C. wizard, didn't you only finish middle school? How do you know so much about this modern tech?"

The wizard pointed at the computer, offering no reply.