Chapter 131 - Admission Results of the Magic Academy

Nathan Evenhart:

Standing before me was the greatest monster I’d ever faced. Not a colossal beast or an armed foe, but a force of nature in human form. The kind of person whose mere gaze could make me tremble. Someone whose fury you would never want to provoke... my mother.

"Nathan Evenhart!" my mother exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the room, her eyes locked on me, revealing the gravity of the situation.

"What did I say? What did we agree on?" she spoke seriously.

I definitely went too far this time, especially since I had used the Aspect of Time to slow down reality and speak to that soldier.

Now I was locked in this room, listening to the lecture. I explained to her that my intention was just to handle things quickly without drawing too much attention. But mixing three elements using the power of the Special Eyes to create a storm cloud, while also manipulating the Celestial Eyes, was where I lost control. I could store my mana in the cloud and make it fire lightning bolts whenever I wanted. Aunt Margie even loved it when I created artificial clouds to irrigate the fields without the farmers knowing they were being helped by a mage.

Using the Aspect of Time alongside elemental fusion had made my mana volatile.

"It was an accident. I promise, next time I'll stick to just the lightning element. I wanted to test storing a thunderbolt in a cloud and controlling it remotely... but I ended up overdoing it," I tried to justify.

My family didn’t know about the existence of the Celestial Eyes, so I couldn’t mention that my mana went out of control because I had used both the Special Eyes and the Celestial Eyes together.

My mother stared at me, letting out a long sigh, clearly trying to keep her composure.

“It’s fine, Katherine,” Adrihna intervened, approaching calmly. "The earth mages have already repaired the damage, the barriers have been rebuilt, and the guard has woken up. He said there was no issue with what happened. Though, for some reason, the guard seemed a bit... off. He asked me to congratulate Nathan for passing the test and then left without further questioning."

Thank you for saving me, professor.

My mother crossed her arms and looked at Adrihna, visibly relieved but still upset. "Next time, Nathan, control yourself. You know how volatile your powers can be."

“These things happen every year," Adrihna responded. "Though he did cross some lines and drew more attention than necessary, luckily no one realized he combined three elements. Most people in the arena had already been dismissed, so they didn’t see much."

Aunt Margie, who had been watching from beside Chloe, took the opportunity to break the slightly tense mood.

"And what about that other issue?" she asked.

My mother frowned, confused.

“What issue?” she asked, looking between them.

Adrihna averted her gaze, clearly uncomfortable.

“Let’s just say he’ll have to represent the human kingdom in a ceremony... in front of everyone,” she said, a little hesitantly.

My mother raised an eyebrow, clearly irritated. "What do you mean, ‘represent the human kingdom’?"

“There was no way to hide what he did,” Adrihna continued. "As the examiner, I need to select a talented student to represent, and what he did... well, it stood out. Everyone saw it and was impressed by his spell. He ended up taking the spot that was initially meant for the princess."

My mother let out a heavy sigh, incredulous. "That is definitely drawing attention, Nathan Evenhart!" She looked at me with a mixture of exasperation and concern.

Yes, I’m in trouble.

"What will he have to do at the ceremony?" my aunt asked, trying to calm the situation.

"He and two other students, one from each kingdom, will have to read a speech prepared by the Academy. In addition, the talented students will have the opportunity to meet the king and queen of the human kingdom... and of the elven kingdom."

What? I thought. I have to see that drunk king again?

A wave of irritation rose as I remembered the last time I saw him.

I looked at my mother and Aunt Margie, who exchanged glances upon hearing Adrihna’s words. My teacher noticed the silence and put on a subtle smile.

"At some point, you all were going to meet," she said, casting a meaningful look at my mother.

"Why are they going to be there, Adrihna? I thought they usually sent representatives for these kinds of events," my aunt asked, clearly concerned.

Adrihna settled into a chair, reflecting for a moment before responding. "This year is special, since the human king’s daughter and the elven king’s daughter will also be in their first year. It was Queen Agnes’ idea to promote an official meeting, symbolizing the friendship that the two princesses would form. Both kingdoms liked the idea, so the royal families will meet at the event," she explained, lighting her pipe calmly.

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My mother sighed and sat down as well, visibly tense. "I’m not ready for this..."

"Don’t worry, Katherine. I’ll be there to serve as a bridge between you all," Adrihna tried to reassure her.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t following any of this. "Is this because we’re descendants of a High Elf?" I asked, and the three women all gave me looks at the same time.

"Exactly," Adrihna answered. "But there’s a small problem related to your talent."

"What problem?" my aunt asked, her attention heightened.

Adrihna took another puff from her pipe before replying. "I haven’t told anyone that he’s the only mage in the world who possesses all the elements of nature, including those of the High Elves. What do you think will happen when they find out? I’m unsure how to handle this situation..."

My mother frowned, her face filled with concern. "Will they want to accelerate the process?"

Adrihna nodded slightly. "Maybe..."

What process?

The only thing I knew was that, as descendants of High Elves, my teacher had been helping us obtain elven citizenship. In theory, I would have citizenship in two different kingdoms since my elven ancestor was part of the nobility. From what I understood, this could benefit me in the future, especially regarding my issue with the Special Eyes. Not even the human royal family would have enough authority to try and claim them, as I would be legally recognized as a citizen of another kingdom. This, in a way, would protect me from any future attempts at manipulation or control.

After the conversation, my mother and Aunt Margie asked me to leave the room as they needed to have an ‘adult talk.’ Chloe accompanied me, and as we walked, she spoke with a tone of both concern and slight reprimand:

"You really overdid it this time..."

I let out a sigh, still thinking about the lecture I had just received. "Yeah, I know... it was an accident. I just wanted to test a new technique."

In truth, I wanted to test using the elemental combination again while activating the Celestial Eyes’ Aspect of Time.

Chloe glanced at me, trying to hide a smile. "Nathan, using three elements at once isn't something you should just do on a whim. Especially not in a crowded arena."

"Alright, 'mom'," I said, and she turned red.

"I'm just worried..." she muttered, turning to the side, trying to hide her flushed face.

I laughed at her.

"I thought I had it under control," I tried to justify, but she just rolled her eyes.

"You always think that," she said, shaking her head. "But at least now you’ll get the chance to see the king and queen of two kingdoms. That’s no small thing."

I shrugged. "Seeing that drunk human king again isn’t something I’m looking forward to."

She laughed at my remark, and we headed together toward the cafeteria to grab something to eat.

Nikolaus Wolves:

It was nighttime, and I sat gathered with Count Laurence, Baron Franklin, and other nobles. The room was dimly lit by candlelight, and a map of the Evenhart territory lay on the table, marked with various notes.

Half of that territory is just forest...

Over the years, we’ve been gradually sabotaging the place. I even turned a blind eye to the local gangs operating in my lands. It was an effective strategy; if they were caught and imprisoned, there’d be no trace linking them back to me.

A key player in this was Baron Gideon, someone I used to stir up the criminals. He bought slaves without caring about their origin, forging debt slavery documents. He couldn’t pull this off in his own duchy, but taking citizens from another was easy, as there was no formal documentation.

Gideon also had connections with brothels that would buy young girls without questioning where they came from.

By using these methods, I fueled crime without being directly involved—just guiding the right people to do business with each other.

I also kept the drug trade alive, thanks to my land bordering another duchy. We smuggled as we pleased since I controlled that part of the border. My plan was slowly poisoning this place, selling to local gangs who handled distribution.

However, it seemed the more I expanded, the more cornered I felt.

The Evenharts have been more active in recent years, and it’s becoming a problem. They've intensified their surveillance and crackdown on the gangs, making business harder.

The ruling family took a severe blow during the border war, and that was when I saw my chance to take control of the underworld in this duchy. It started small: I approached bankrupt barons, offering them money to store drugs and contraband on their lands. The goods were protected while I acted as the middleman, selling to the local gangs. This way, I established multiple storage points across the duchy, and the nobles made money by turning a blind eye. Gradually, I gained their trust.

Things are getting complicated… my business is suffering.

For some time, I’ve been operating on the edge. My economy was entirely dependent on the underworld due to my high expenses, but in the past few years, everything has been falling apart.

It seems ever since that damned heir appeared, my life has only gotten worse!

I slammed my fist on the table in frustration, and the nobles looked at me, startled.

"Forgive me... I just got lost in thought," I said, laughing to cover it up.

They returned to analyzing the report.

"So, the day has finally arrived," Count Laurence said.

"Yes. Our assassin is already in place at Apsalon," I confirmed.

One of them sighed, clearly anxious.

"What if they suspect us? After everything we’ve done..." he asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

“Suspect us? Impossible," I replied with a cold smile. "Have you forgotten? It's been 10 years. For a decade, we've pretended to be loyal allies, publicly supporting Duchess Margaery. I even donated a generous sum to her economic projects, always presenting myself as a dedicated champion of her cause. They might not like us, but suspect us? No. When the boy dies in an ‘accident,’ there will be no reason for doubt. A professional assassin will ensure everything goes as planned. In the end, the duchy will fall into our faction's hands, as it should."

The others finally seemed to relax.

"We've spent years offering support in various ways," I continued. "I even sacrificed parts of my own business by handing over the locations of gangs, always 'for their benefit.' We've played our part well. Don’t worry, the boy’s death will be carefully staged as an accident. Nothing will go wrong."

For years, we had meticulously planned different ways to seize control of the duchy. We had two strategies in motion.

To claim the duchy, we needed to break Chloe’s engagement. For that, she would either need to get pregnant by someone else, which would annul her betrothal... or her fiancé would need to die.

"There’s no turning back now," Baron Franklin said grimly.

“We've pooled all our fortunes to hire someone capable of killing a high noble,” Count Laurence added nervously.

They were understandably anxious about committing such a heinous crime. In the kingdom, the punishment for killing a high noble was death—not just for the perpetrator, but for their entire family. No one dared touch a high noble, as they were the original families, the first kings of our continent. But we had hired one of the best mage-assassins.

The price we offered was so high that even I briefly considered becoming a mercenary assassin...

"He’s someone from outside the Three Kingdoms, and that’s why he was the only one who accepted," I explained.

"I hope that when this is all over, we can recoup our money by exploiting the forbidden areas of the territory," Count Laurence said hopefully.

I walked over to the table, where there was a document with a picture of our target. Being part of the political nobility, we had access to this kind of information.

"Don’t worry. Soon, Nathan Evenhart will be dead," I said, stabbing a knife into his photograph.