"Why do you want to study alchemy, Rody?" the middle-aged man asked as he arranged for Rody to stay in a room.
"The reason is as helpless as why you are the dean... I don't have the talent for studying magic, so I had to choose the basic alchemy as a skill for making a living in the future," Rody replied, pleased with the accommodation. Four people shared a large hall, each with their own small room. After settling in, he smiled and asked, "Dean, as you can see, I am a very diligent student, eager to use your magical key to access the academy's library. Could you satisfy my thirst for knowledge?"
"I am glad for your enthusiasm for learning, but the magical key isn't in the dean's pocket," the middle-aged man said with a smile and a shake of his head.
"Where is it then?" Rody was surprised. The dean doesn't have the key?
"It hangs around the swan-like neck of the beautiful female tutor you mentioned. Anyone she disapproves of, including me, the dean, cannot enter the library," the middle-aged man said, spreading his hands and shrugging helplessly.
"Are you even a dean?" Rody felt dizzy. To be a dean yet so powerless seemed absurd.
"Let me tell you a secret: in our magic academy, the dean actually has the lowest status," the middle-aged man said, laughing. "Have you ever seen a dean in any other magic academy personally receiving new students?"
"I sympathize with you," Rody said sincerely, patting the middle-aged man's shoulder.
"Dean Buke, there's a new student for registration. As a dean, how can you neglect your duties? Hurry back to the reception to welcome the new student!" Suddenly, a magical voice call rang out from outside, a pleasant female voice summoning the middle-aged man. The content made Rody sweat.
"I'm coming," the middle-aged man hurried out.
"Is the term 'dean' here confused with 'worker'?" Rody wondered if in Felik's capital, 'dean' meant 'servant,' seeing how the man was ordered about.
Out of curiosity, Rody followed to see what was happening.
Indeed, there was a beautiful female tutor, as curvaceous as the succubus sisters. Despite wearing a snow-white robe, her chest was prominently high, like a mythical mountain in the Silent Forest, sparking endless imagination. She wore a silver circlet with a magical wave pattern on her head, her golden hair half-tied back, and beneath her light brows were eyes as blue as sapphires.
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The beautiful female tutor, not more than twenty-five, had an air of elegance. Seeing her, Rody felt as if a white orchid was blooming before him.
Beside her was a young girl with a cute fringe, very shy, lowering her head and barely looking at anyone. Rody knew at a glance that she was a new student, like him, one of the rare fifteen new students this year.
"This is Juliana, or Gillian, however you call her, it's the same. Gill, this is Dean Buke," the beautiful tutor introduced.
"Welcome, Gillian," Dean Buke greeted her with a handshake, smiling. "Gill, if you like, you can participate in a game of a gambling nature. If you win, you'll not only have your tuition waived, but also receive at least five gold coins a year as a scholarship."
"Aunt Paggie, I…" the shy Gill looked for help from the beautiful tutor. Rody noticed she was also quite attractive.
With her looks, she had the potential to grow into a great beauty, especially if she dressed more fashionably.
"Gill, you should call me Teacher Margaret at school," the beautiful tutor said gently. "This is a test set by the king to assess new students' abilities. You should participate, as it's also a life lesson. It's simple: we give you a gold coin, and in half a month when school starts, if you can earn more than two gold coins, you pass."
"Yes, earning two gold coins is passing, three to five is excellent. If you earn more than ten, you can attend the king's salon dance. If you earn over a hundred, the king will personally meet and grant you a title," Dean Buke explained in detail.
"Do I get a gold coin for participating?" Rody burst in, startling the timid Gill.
"If you can't earn two gold coins, we'll take back the original coin. If you earn more than five, we won't take it back, and we'll double your earnings and give you a yearly scholarship of five gold coins," Dean Buke said. Seeing Rody, he asked, "Rody
, didn't you just refuse to participate?"
"You didn't mention providing the initial capital," Rody quickly extended his hand, waiting for Dean Buke to place a weighty gold coin in his palm, feeling delighted.
"Can I do anything with this gold coin?" the shy Gill peeked at Rody and asked softly.
"As long as it's not illegal," Dean Buke was saying, but Rody had already hurried back to his dormitory to plan his money-making scheme. The beautiful tutor and the young beauty Gill were astonished. This man had no interest in beautiful women, focusing only on money. Was he blind? The beautiful tutor, confident in her looks, knew students often got distracted by her. Usually, it took at least five minutes for someone to take their eyes off her. But this new student barely glanced at her, completely ignoring her presence.
The next day, at the edge of the market near the main street, there was a small stall.
Such a stall without a shop, placed on the edge of the street, was unheard of in Felik's capital, let alone the entire continent. Not having a shop but just a shelf on the main road to sell items? At first, nearby shopkeepers came to see and sneered secretly. Who would buy from an untrustworthy stall without a proper shop? It was a pipe dream.
All morning, people passed by out of curiosity, but no one stopped or asked.
Rody leisurely read an alchemy book, unfazed by the cold reception.
At noon, he hung up a big sign with bold red letters: "New student registration, work-study, quality goods, guaranteed quality, affordable prices, limited quantity, first-come, first-served."
People were curious, knowing the magic academy's tradition of testing new students' abilities for scholarship.
Despite their curiosity, few came to look.
After a while, Rody hung another sign: "Goods sold only to women, men please refrain from speaking." To the uninformed, it seemed his business was booming and troubled by men. In fact, only nearby shopkeepers knew that not even a fly had visited his stall.
Eventually, out of curiosity, someone came to look.
What they found shocked everyone.
"oh my god, are you selling or robbing? You're slaughtering people with these prices!" a chubby man with a dazed entourage exclaimed in shock upon seeing Rody's goods.