Chapter 58: A Deal With The Headmistress
"Do you mind telling me how, my dear student?" Evelina asked with a smile on her face.
Adrian sighed, hearing her question.
The academy was constantly under her watch, so him discovering a place that was meant to be hidden, would definitely not go unnoticed by her.
"I just got lucky," he gave an answer that was even unconvincing to his own ears.
"Is that so?" She asked.
"Yes."
She stared at him silently for a few seconds before asking, "you expect me to believe that?"
"Not really," Adrian shook his head, "but I’m guessing that you’re not going to force the answer out of me either."
He knew that her question was from curiosity alone and she didn’t really care that he had somehow discovered the dungeon, after all, she couldn’t gain access to it.
And it definitely wasn’t because she couldn’t find someone stronger than herself to date.
"I see," headmistress Evelina muttered, "you truly are interesting for a mere butler."
Adrian said nothing to that, the headmistress finding him interesting didn’t bother him in the least bit.
After all, having someone of her rank by his side or even just curious about him would be useful in the future.
She was mostly a neutral figure in the manhwa, but it wouldn’t hurt to get her by his and Renelle’s side, and he knew just how to do that.
"Headmistress," Adrian suddenly spoke up.
"Hm?" Evelina turned towards him again.
"I heard you were looking for a student?" He asked.
"And where did you hear that?" She asked, her interested smile returning.
"Rumors," he said, again, an answer that didn’t seem believable at all, but one she just accepted.
"Oh?" She said with a raised brow, "and you wish to volunteer?"
"No," Adrian shook his head in reply, "but I know a student who’ll pique your interest."
"Is that so?" Headmistress Evelina asked curiously, "and what do you hope to gain from this?"
He was silent for a while after her question, thinking through it, he could just be plain and say that he wanted her to support his lady,
But, again, she was someone who remained mostly neutral throughout the manhwa, only acting when either the academy was in danger or when she was forced to.... by the King.
So he wouldn’t be able to get her to pick a side, at least, not yet anyway.
"A favor," he said instead, "If the student turns out to be interesting enough, then I’d like the headmistress to owe me a favor."
It was the headmistress’s turn to go silent as she thought of his request. She knew that the kid had a lot more planned than just a simple favor and yet, she was curious enough about the student he would recommend.
"only if the student is interesting enough," headmistress Evelina finally replied, "if they’re just a waste of my time, then you’d have to take their place as my student."
Adrian just nodded, he was sure that she’ll interest the headmistress enough once she awakens, which he just has to ensure happens before the first years arrive.
And he already had the plan to achieve that.
"Alright then, Adrian," the headmistress walked to the edge of the building as she said, "I guess I’ll call it a night."
Before Adrian could respond, the headmistress suddenly stepped off and when he looked down, she was gone.
His eyes twitched a bit as he realized that she just wanted to show off, but he said nothing.
Instead, he also disappeared, reappearing directly in his dorm room, but not before leaving a couple of clones on patrol, close to Renelle’s dorm.
The headmistress might have ’eyes’ everywhere, but it wouldn’t hurt to be safe, especially given that the cult had a way or two of bypassing it.
And both he and Renelle were definitely on their radar now after the gift he sent them the last time.
Speaking of the cult, they would probably try making another move to retrieve Isla soon given that they needed her for a plan of theirs, but he already had something in place for that, so he wasn’t too worried.
What caused the slightest frown to appear on his face, was Alvìss’s experiment with Conan.
Handing the kid over to the insane genius, especially given the type of experiment they were running, was a gamble.
Although Adrian was sure of its success, there was also the slightest chance of failure, and if that chance came to fruition,
The consequences would be beyond what he was currently capable of handling, alone.
With a sigh, he sat crossed leg on the bed and closed his eyes, as much as he didn’t want to leave anything to chance, he had no choice but to hope that the old man was capable of enough not to kill he kid.
With that, he slowly started breathing as he recovered his mana.
****
Meanwhile, in the capital’s market, inside a certain shop with a sign that told exactly of the seller’s permanent mood, a low hum could be heard.
"And that’s your ninety ninth death."
If one heard those words, they’d think the person was talking about some sort of game or maybe even figuratively, but no.
Alvíss meant that literally.
Strapped to what seemed like a makeshift hospital bed was Conan whose eyes were completely blank and lifeless.
He was dead.
But just as with the previous ninety eight time, he suddenly recoiled as his head jerked upward and he let out a scream.
He sounded so very much in pain, but that didn’t stop the old man from continuing his experiment.
He approached the kid’s convulsing body and stabbed something into it, forcing it to calm down.
Alvíss then brought the same scanning magic tool he had previously used and the readings it showed caused a grin to appear on his face.
The grin got wider by the second until it evolved into a maniacal laughter as he muttered, "it works."
He then resumed laughing as he watched the kid’s body that remained still, confirming that Adrian’s words were right, this is a lot more interesting than opening the kid up....
Well, fully opening him up.
"You’re a genius Alvíss," he said between laughs, "A FUCKING GENIUS!"