Exiting the room, Orson found the orange-haired beastkin girl waiting at the door. Upon seeing him, she bowed respectfully.
“How old are you?” Orson asked, looking at her.
The beastkin girl didn’t respond.
“No need to worry. I just want to compare when you reached Tier 7 to my own progress.”
Hearing this, the beastkin girl looked surprised. After a mont, she replied, “Twenty-two.”
“Your figure still looks like that of a teenager. You must’ve had a tough childhood,” Orson said, his expression softening with sympathy. “But working under the Angel of Death, your life must be much better now, right?”
Shaking his head, he walked away.
“Why am I ddling in soone else’s business?” he muttered to himself.
—
Elsewhere, as he exited the Orchid Tavern, Orson spotted the Doctor leaning casually against a wall.
The Doctor also noticed Orson coming out. He turned around and walked up to Orson’s side.
“How did it go in there?”
“Not bad,” Orson said, gazing into the distance. “I got so useful information and formulated a few theories of my own.”
“That’s good.” Hearing this, the Doctor felt relieved.
As long as there was progress, there was hope of uncovering the mastermind.
“Doctor, I’d like to ask you for another favor.”
“Na it.”
“I have so other matters to attend to. Could you assist Litte on my behalf?”
“Your little brother?”
“Yes,” Orson nodded.
The Doctor’s expression turned hesitant.
“I can help, but are you sure your brother will accept my thods?”
“I’ll convince him,” Orson said.
“Alright then.” The Doctor nodded reluctantly. “But if there’s a clash of principles and your brother kicks out halfway, I won’t stay.”
“Don’t worry. He won’t do that.” Orson smiled.
Although Orson wanted Litte to beco independent, and Litte herself had repeatedly insisted on handling the matter, the complexity of the situation had already exceeded Orson’s expectations.
If he left it entirely to Litte, she might not be able to handle it successfully. On the contrary, it could end up causing him significant trouble.
Even if Virgil were to act as Litte’s second-in-command, Orson still wouldn’t feel at ease.
The Angel of Death’s earlier remarks had explicitly warned him that the tasks he had entrusted to Virgil had already been exposed.
He would need to have Virgil keep the secret organization dormant for a while.
“Alright, I’ll head back for now. I’ll arrange for you to et Litte later. Just wait for instructions.”
“Got it.” The Doctor waved as Orson left. The two parted ways outside the Orchid Tavern.
When Orson finally returned to the academy, it was late afternoon, nearing evening. He first inford Virgil, instructing him to help coordinate between Litte and the Doctor. Then, he wrote a letter to Lucius back ho, warning him to stay vigilant.
After all, the Angel of Death had explicitly ntioned that an assassination attempt would target soone close to him in three days.
Within the academy, Orson wasn’t too concerned. The security was incredibly tight, and any non-teaching powerhouse above Tier 7 had to register upon entering.
Moreover, the academy hadn’t experienced a violent incident in many years. Orson doubted anyone would choose to strike there.
As for those close to him, the only person Orson could think of was Lucius, far away in the Duchy of Antica.
With the impending war, as the commander of the frontline forces, if Lucius were assassinated—even if only injured—it would deal a severe blow to the soldiers’ morale.
The more Orson thought about it, the more plausible it seed. As a result, he had skipped the Student Council entirely that day.
It wasn’t until evening that soone knocked on his dormitory door. When Orson opened it, expecting Litte, he was surprised to see Olivia and Lianca standing there.
“Um... Olivia, Lianca, what brings you to my dormitory?”
“Because soone hasn’t shown their face to since noon, leaving worried,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes at Orson.
She then gestured to the food container in her hand.
“I heard Litte went off-campus today, so I was worried you didn’t have anything to eat. I made you sothing and brought it over. Lianca was hungry too, so she ca along.”
“Mm.” Lianca, who was standing nearby, also nodded at this mont.
“Ah, thank you both,” Orson said, stepping aside to let them in. “Please, co in.”
The three of them sat at the dining table as Olivia unpacked the dishes she had prepared, setting them out.
Looking at the sumptuous spread before him and then at Olivia, who sat across the table smiling warmly at him, Orson felt a wave of warmth in his chest.
Is this what married life feels like?
Eating als together at ho with your wife—it’s pure happiness.
Though the presence of a sowhat obtrusive younger sister-in-law initially lingered in his mind, Orson quickly chose to ignore it.
“I’m sorry for today. I had so things to take care of and ended up coming back to the academy late. It’s kind of you to go to the trouble of cooking and bringing food over,” Orson said apologetically.
“It’s fine.” Olivia placed a piece of braised beef into Orson’s bowl.
“I was worried you’d be too busy to eat, so I ca. If you weren’t busy, my gesture would’ve been unnecessary.”
“Though honestly, I wish you weren’t so busy...” Olivia murmured softly.
“Huh? What was that?” Not catching her last words, Orson asked again.
“Nothing! Just eat your food!” Olivia said, placing another piece of at into his bowl. “Finish your work quickly and spend more ti with .”
“Or, if there’s anything I can help you with, just let know.”
“It’s fine. I can handle it.”
“Hmph, I knew you’d say that.”
anwhile, Lianca silently ate her food, watching the two interact so intimately. For the first ti, she felt like a complete outsider.
Reviews
All reviews (0)