Daneel clutched the blanket to his nose and moved to the corner of the room to get away from the smell.
The man who entered didn't even seem embarrassed, simply hiccuping again and saying, "You brats left a note at my quarters? Couldn't you just wait there? I was just restocking my drinks...."
Taking another swig from the bottle in his hands, he nonchalantly crossed the puddle of vomit and promptly fell asleep where Daneel had just been sleeping.
It seemed that the concepts of personal hygiene and manners were foreign to this man, as he simply started snoring as if it were his own bed.
Feeling the urge to go to the bathroom bursting inside him due to sleeping for 24 hours straight, Daneel ran to the side and relieved himself. Noticing that he himself was starting to stink, he bathed after asking Faxul to grab some food from the cafeteria that was free for all students.
Finally, after filling his stomach and feeling alive again, Daneel hurriedly shook the man. There wasn't much time left for the deadline.
His snores continued unabated while the shaking had no effect. But as he was shaking, Daneel noticed two pieces of parchment sticking out of the man's pocket.
Taking them out, he was happy to see that they were the acceptance letters for the two of them. They decided to submit the letters first before deciding what to do next.
Located near the library was a building which housed the administrative wing of the academy. It was the clerk here who had helped them in finding the master's home before.
With expressions of relief on their faces, they handed in the acceptance letters. It had really been a close call.
"So he came to find you after all? Pity what happened to him.", said the clerk, Felicia, who had also seen Daneel's performance in the assessment.
Just as the system had said, being applauded by the crowd had made his name become known far and wide, at least in the academy. Most commoners and even staff had a soft corner for him, and they even tried to help him when none of the nobility or their cronies were watching. This was also the reason behind someone intimating Faxul that Daneel had collapsed in the library.
Although the changes in their attitude were slow, they were still there which made Daneel feel happy. Now, he had to figure out a way to use this shift in attitude to his advantage.
"Meet me outside in 10 minutes. My shift is up.", she said, before winking at the two of them.
Felicia was a pretty woman who seemed to be 23-25 years old. She was a bit on the plump side, with cute cheeks and a hooked nose.
She actually reminded Daneel of his mother when she was younger, so he had been comfortable in speaking with her since the day he had come to the building to ask why he wasn't allowed further into the library.
Waiting outside, he asked Faxul, "There have been no new announcements about the awards given to the top 3 in the assessment right?"
Seeing Faxul shake his head, Daneel heaved a sigh, feeling glad that what he had dreaded hadn't come true. Although he had been granted full access to the library as the award, it was possible that the announcement might be rescinded. After all, he had no contact with the court mage and he did not know how much of a sway his words had at the academy. If someone from the nobility noticed that this was actually much more valuable than the other gifts unlike what the others thought, complaining to the King or a minister might cut off his access. The library was too important to him, and he could not take the risk. Hence, he had put aside everything and disregarded all the pain to devour the library as soon as possible.
It was better to be cautious than to feel sorry later. Of course, the flood of notifications regarding the numerous spells that were ready for development had made him rejoice, feeling that he had made the right choice after all.
Soon, the clerk appeared with a basket of cookies and offered some to them before saying, "Do you know what happened to the poor guy?"
Seeing them both shake their heads, she continued.
"Jonah Castle tested for Crimson Comprehension 12 years ago. Although he looks like that, he is only 24 years old. With such legendary potential, he was the envy of all and he got the best resources because of being in the legendary batch. He passed out in just 4 years and entered the army, where he rose to the level where there were only 4 people above him in the whole army.
"All this he accomplished in just 8 years. He was set to become one of the youngest court mages in the history of Lanthanor, with even the present court mage and the King praising him multiple times in public gatherings.
"Then, disaster struck. His sister was accidentally killed by a prince who had been drunk and wouldn't take no for an answer when he made advances on her. Although she repeatedly screamed that Jonah was her brother, the guards ignored her and beat her to death.
"Enraged, Jonah went on a killing spree, beheading all of the guards. But when he got to the palace to take revenge on the prince, the King stopped him. He said that it was a mistake and that killing the guards should be enough."
A sad expression came upon Felicia's face as she told the story. Tears swam in her eyes and she seemed to be struggling not to cry.
"In his rage, he defied the king. He was captured by the court mage even though he had been his teacher. When he was imprisoned, his family was killed mysteriously by 'robbers'. The whole affair reeked of something fishy. Some people said that he was planning on defying the king even before the incident with his sister.
"Due to heartbreak over the events, his comprehension slipped to red grade. What surprised everyone was that he still chose to stay at the academy as a teacher. After vowing that he would not oppose the king, he was allowed to do whatever he wished.
"Although he may be gruff on the outside, he has a great heart. Just give him some time.", she said, before smiling sadly at the two of them and leaving on seeing that they were lost in thought.
Daneel was especially scared. The man had defied the king, and his family had been killed without mercy. Even the court mage had had to act against his own student, but Daneel suspected that this was because of the oath.
Like the King had said, he was still an ant right now and he was practically no threat. But what if he defied the king openly later when he was more powerful?
The same might happen to him. Thus, his primary priority right now was to find a way to sneak his parents out of the kingdom or to get them to a safe location.
He had to do this while simultaneously building a faction secretly to oppose the King in the future. And what better location was there for this purpose than the academy which was filled with the brightest talent in the whole Kingdom?
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