Chapter 316 I Knew I Shouldn’t Have Taken This Mission
‘Finally, it’s over.’ Ethan sighed in relief as their Martial Arts Instructor, Sir Lionel, declared the end of the second batch of mock battles.
Ethan didn’t completely come out of this battle scot-free because his classmates weren’t that weak. Not to mention, there wasn't much he could do since he was unable to use any kind of Magic.
Some were able to land their hits on him after getting past his defenses.
But due to his strong body constitution and Nicole’s timely assistance, he was able to shrug off the weaker spells that had managed to land on his body.
Overall, this mock battle helped Ethan better understand that he would need to be more resourceful when fighting large groups on his own.
Of course, if he had Magical Powers when fighting them, things would have ended differently.
“Good job taking that punishment,” Nicole commented as she patted Ethan’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you use Magic?”
“Have you forgotten that I’m a Dud?” Ethan replied. “Duds can’t use magic.”
Nicole wanted to roll her eyes at the shameless guy, who was still calling himself a Dud despite all of his achievements.
In fact, many in the academy believed that Ethan wasn’t really a Dud, and the appraisal stone might have made a mistake when assigning his Manor.
However, Professor Rinehart assured them that the Appraisal Stone hadn’t made a mistake. When asked if Duds could pull off the things that Ethan did in the past, the Headmaster merely brushed them off, simply saying that Ethan was a special kind of Dud.
As to what a “special kind of Dud” meant, he refused to elaborate any further.
Ethan had also stored one of Luna’s compressed Magical Powers in his heart, but he didn’t plan to use it unless it was a last resort.
Since he was now able to retain and use Magic for a longer time, he believed that using Luna’s reserved magical powers in a mock battle would be a waste.
He would rather use it when fighting against Conall-Level Opponents, allowing him to launch a surprise attack against them when they least expected it.
The moment Ethan stepped down from the Arena, he found himself facing Clara, who had several questions just for him.
“That was a good battle, Mr. Gremory,” Clara said. “My name is Clara, and I am the Team Leader of Nightfall Academy in the Legacy Gate expedition. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Clara offered her hand for a handshake, and Ethan accepted her gesture.
“I’ve already been told of your purpose for coming here to the academy,” Ethan stated. “You still haven’t found the Monster inside the Legacy Domain?”
“No,” Clara replied as she gave the young man an appraising look. “We have every reason to believe that someone snatched it up.”
“I see.” Ethan nodded. “That’s a good excuse to excuse your incompetence.”
The handsome young man threw a mischievous gaze at the Fourth Year beauty, making the latter stiffen.
Cedric, who was standing behind their Team Leader, couldn’t help but frown after hearing Ethan’s subtle jab by calling them incompetent.
“Yes.” Clara nodded after regaining her composure. “We are indeed not as competent as you, Mr. Gremory. I’m sure you can teach us a thing or two about the proper way of capturing Magical Beasts.”
Sebastian and Ethan’s Other Half couldn’t help but praise the Fourth Year for taking Ethan’s taunt well.
They knew that this was Ethan’s way of annoying the delegation of Nightfall Academy, who had come all this way in order to make things difficult for him.
“Can you please answer some of our questions?” Clara asked with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“But I do,” Ethan replied. “I still have classes. So, if you will excuse me…”
Ethan was about to walk away, but three Wizards, wearing purple robes, blocked his path.
These Wizards were Magistratus. It was obvious since they were the only ones allowed to wear purple wizard robes, making it easy for people to identify who they were.
“Young man, it will be best if you cooperate with Lady Clara’s investigation,” one of the Wizards said. “Her questioning will not take long. You can still go to your class afterward.”
Just as Ethan was about to give his reply, a cold tone filled with killing intent descended upon the three Magistratus who had blocked his way.
“And why should he do that?”
Professor Barret suddenly appeared beside Ethan and gazed at the three Wizards with a gaze that reeked of power.
“I didn’t know that the Magistratus of today has deteriorated to the point of becoming bullies,” Professor Barret stated. “It seems that I have to talk to the Council about this. I’d hate to be associated with lowly thugs like you. Also, who is your commanding officer? I believe that you’re not authorized to exercise your authority like this.”
The three Magistratus paled after seeing Professor Barret.
How could they possibly not recognize him?
There was a large portrait of him hanging in the Common Room of their Headquarters, making sure that everyone recognized who he was.
Barret Ashbridge, the strongest Magistratus of his era and has gained the alias ‘The Executioner’ due to his achievement of having killed more Rogue Wizards and Witches than the entirety of the Magistratus combined.
He was a ruthless person until his retirement. Even the King of Eastshire didn’t want to get on his bad side because of his powers and connections.
“Aiya~ you’re going to get a good beating,” Sir Lionel said with a happy expression on his face, as he looked at his old friend, who was talking to him just a second ago.
Peyton scratched his head because he didn’t really want any of this to happen.
If not for the fact that he owed Nero a favor and that his friends were properly compensated by the Headmaster, he would not have accepted this mission.
“Your Excellency, I apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness,” Peyton said before giving Professor Barret a respectful bow. “We were just tasked to ensure that the talk between the delegation of Nightfall Academy and Brynhildr Academy runs smoothly. I’ll talk to them and make sure that they don’t do anything like this again.”
Professor Barret nodded. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ll make sure to report to the Council that you and your men have been bribed by Nero. I’m sure the Judisticiars will have a Field Day with you guys.”
The smile on Peyton’s lips stiffened after hearing Professor Barret’s reply.
He then glared at his men for provoking someone that they shouldn’t have provoked.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have taken this mission,’ Peyton thought bitterly.
His men were feeling the same as him and even lowered their gazes as if they were kids who had been caught by adults for doing a bad thing.
Seeing that the momentum was no longer on their side, Clara decided to salvage the situation by greeting Professor Barret.
“I apologize for this, Professor,” Clara said as she respectfully bowed her head. “I should have waited for Mr. Gremory to finish his classes before inviting him to have a proper talk. It was a lapse of judgment on my part, and I apologize for the inconvenience that I have caused for the both of you.”
Professor Barret gazed at the Fourth Year and sighed.
“I’m sure that you’re tired after making such a long journey,” Professor Barret replied. “Come with me. I’ll take all of you to your temporary residence. You can talk to Mr. Gremory, as well as the other members who went on the expedition with him, after dinner.”
The Ex-Magistratus was talking in a calm manner, but it was evident that he would not allow for any objections whatsoever.
Clara was certain that if any of them dared to reject his offer, he would kick them out of the academy, which was something that she didn’t want to happen.
“Thank you, Professor,” Clara said. “We will do as you say.”
Professor Barret nodded before shifting his gaze to Ethan.
“Run along now, and go to your other class,” Professor Barret stated. “Make sure to free your schedule after dinner. It will be best to end this farce as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Professor,” Ethan replied before shifting his gaze to Lilian. “Let’s talk later, Lilian. You can join us for dinner when the time comes.”
“Really?” Lilian immediately brightened after getting Ethan’s invitation. “Then, I’ll be joining you for dinner later.”
Ethan nodded. “I’ll see you at the academy’s Dining Hall.”
The young man then walked away without a second glance.
It wasn’t his idea to invite Lilian to dinner.
The one who suggested this was none other than his Other Half so that he could form a stronger connection with the young beauty while she was visiting the academy.
‘Just relax, Ethan,’ Sebastian said happily inside his head. ‘With two wingmen by your side, you can’t possibly fail.’
Ethan wanted to say a few words in reply but decided that it was useless.
Since the two people from the Peanut Gallery wanted to matchmake him and Lilian so badly, he decided to do it his way.
He didn’t really think of having more than one fiance in his lifetime.
However, things had changed.
After finding out that his true background wasn’t that simple and after having the chance to face off against Lily’s older brother, Conall, he realized that he was still pathetically weak when put up against a true Powerhouse.
If he was already having trouble dealing with Conall, then he was sure that facing off against Lily’s Father would practically be a suicide.
The young man knew for certain that meeting Lily’s parents was only a matter of time.
If he couldn’t prove himself worthy of her, then there was a chance that they would forcefully break their relationship despite their feelings for each other.
‘I won’t let that happen,’ Ethan thought with a determined look in his eyes. ‘After going to the Oswald Barony, I will devote myself to training when I return to the academy.’
The young man wasn’t aware that Cedric was looking intently at him from afar. He had volunteered to go to Brynhildr Academy to see Luna, but more than anything else, he wanted to challenge Ethan to another duel.
As to whether Ethan would accept his challenge or not, he would only know two days later.
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