“What do you think? The calculations should be correct but if you see that something is off, then tell me.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“Yes.”

“Then… wouldn’t it be better if you just take an airship back if you need to return? I don’t feel comfortable with the other method, something could always go wrong. What if you end up inside a flock of wyverns or in the middle of the ocean?”

“That’s why I’m asking you to go over my calculations, I’m sure we both won’t make the same mistake.”

“...Fine…”

A floating cat grumbled while moving large pages of papers to look through the numbers presented on them. Behind him stood a man wearing a newly gained crimson robe that now presented his new position of Deputy Professor, someone that had a special position within the institute.

“It seems correct to me, you should come out at those coordinates… but why do you wish to place yourself in danger? Doesn’t this seem a bit too extreme?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t have the leisure of time…”

“Time?”

The floating cat raised an eyebrow, its tail twitching with curiosity.

“You are always in such a rush, are you in some sort of hurry? or trouble?”

Roland hesitated, reluctant to divulge the complexities of his chaotic life to his friend. While Arion was aware of certain aspects, he remained unaware of critical details such as Lucienne being Roland's sister or his role in the demise of three higher-tier Knights during the recent dungeon incident. The Institute had decided to craft a narrative, portraying the events as if a formidable monster had emerged within the dungeon. They would blame the disappearance of Professor Ulfine on it and not even mention the Baskerville knights.

“Well, let’s just say that I have some urgent personal matters that need attending to. You probably don’t want me to bore you with the details…”

The cat’s eyes narrowed again as he tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind those words. The two had known themselves for a while and he could sense that there was something that Roland wasn’t telling him. Nevertheless, he was not one to push for answers when others were trying to change the subject of a conversation.

“Personal matters you say? Very well, I won’t pry into your business. Just be careful, Wayland. Whatever you’re up to, and make sure you don’t get yourself into more trouble than you can handle. If there is anything that I can help you with, don’t be a stranger.”

“I appreciate your concern, Arion. But I assure you, I’ve got everything under control.”

Arion simply nodded, though a hint of skepticism lingered in his eyes. Roland could sense that his feline friend wasn't fully convinced by his explanations. In truth, he remained uncertain about his next course of action. While his instincts urged him to return to Albrook immediately, leaving behind the complications of his current situation, he couldn't shake off the lingering concern for his sister's safety.

He hadn't anticipated encountering this problem upon arrival, and now he was feeling conflicted. It would have been ideal if he could delegate this responsibility to someone else, but for some reason, his older brother wasn’t answering his calls. On the other hand, Lucienne probably hadn't divulged any information about the incident at the institute. He was sure in his belief as he had kept his spider golem around her to keep watch.

She never attempted to contact her family members, and the likely reason for this was her character. She appeared to be the type of person who didn't want to burden others with her problems and instead kept everything bottled up inside. Even when the bullying began, she didn't reach out to anyone outside or confide in any of the teachers. She clearly hoped to resolve the matter by herself without bothering anyone else.

“But there is one thing you can aid me with…”

“Oh? What is it?”

“There is one thing that you can help me with, you already know the student by the name, Lucienne Arden, right?”

“Sure, she was part of that hearing you were in, what about here?”

“Yes, her. Could you watch over her while I’m not here and inform me if something out of the ordinary happens?”

“Hm… I don’t think there should be a problem with such a task…”

Roland couldn't simply depart and leave his sister without any form of support. While his spider drone was with her, it had very limited defensive capabilities. Arion would probably be a better option to ensure her safety within the institute. He didn’t believe that she would be put in harm's way, at least not until Viola Castellane arrived back from her suspension. It had been nearly five weeks since Roland's arrival, and the girl remained barred from returning for almost a month. This provided him with some time to craft a thorough plan and repair his armor, which had begun to fail him.

“Great, I’ll leave her up to you then. You’ll be easily able to keep watch thanks to one of my golems and the many more that are going to be placed throughout the institute.”

“Quite, was that a perk of becoming a Deputy Professor?”

It seemed that Arion was about to push the issue further but quickly decided to change the subject.

“I’m not sure, Thorne seemed to like the idea and they finally decided to go ahead with it.”

Roland's monitoring devices were eventually approved by the institute, but in truth, it was all thanks to the Headmistress, who had the final say in the matter. Many other faculty members opposed the idea, fearing it would infringe on their privacy. However, with the excuse of the numerous recent strange incidents, their objections were disregarded in favor of implementing the runic camera system. This was also one of the main reasons for the return of the forge master, as he would be responsible for producing this technology based on Roland’s schematics.

“Hope you have a safe journey then but I hope that you plan on returning soon, the whole department has been steadily growing since you appeared, I even got a few interviews that I need to attend to!”

“Interviews?”

“Indeed, the Runic Department is now getting more funding thanks to this project and the amount of students attending has tripled ever since you introduced that novel method of study.”

“Well, glad that I was able to help.”

“You did more than that! You practically saved it!”

Arion was delighted with the developments of the past month. The runic department had become the center of attention at the institute, and with Roland’s promotion to Deputy Professor, his former assistant professor position had opened up. It was likely that whoever sought to fill the vacancy had ulterior motives, given Arion and Roland's positive dealings with the Headmistress. It was a business opportunity for networking and Arion would need to watch out for it.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

After finishing things up with Arion he decided to take his leave. Once outside he could feel many gazes coming his way. This robe that was coupled with the new emblem was the reason for it. People identified him now as a person with a lot of prestige and he could tell that some even wanted to come closer and chat. Luckily, his runic armor and helmet under the robe gave him an air of mystery and intimidation, dissuading others from approaching him without reason.

However, Roland couldn't linger in the institute any longer. With his decision made, he needed to begin preparations for his departure. For this exact reason, he had taken some research papers to Arion as he would be traveling through one of the mage towers and not any airships. The math had been complete but considering he would be doing this type of magic for the first time, it was still nerve-wracking.

All of his belongings were inside his storage space and it was fine for him to leave. He already contacted Elodia that he would be returning soon and was informed that Agni was eagerly waiting for his return. The journey ahead could be dangerous but he was mostly sure that he would make it back in one piece and if he was correct, then perhaps in less than an hour he would be back in his old workshop.

As he made his way towards the mage tower of fire, the same one he had previously visited with Arion’s help, he could not help but glance at his display screen. There he saw through the eye of his spider drone his sister Lucienne who was chatting with some of her friends. Ever since he cleared out the incident with Viola and several smaller ones, she had started to enjoy her school life in this institute.

‘So she really did get it…’

Name:

Lucienne Arden L26

Classes:

T1 Mage L25

T1 Clairvoyant L1