Blue received much care from the two sisters while Luna sat in a chair close to him as she observed him deeply.
Nicole and Julie were now briefing him about the conclusion of that incident while reassuring him from any harm because of it.
“To think one was suicidal and another had Daemonic traits, sigh…”
He gave a tired sigh as he couldn't “believe” that there were such individuals so close to him at that time.
“Student Blue, you should put this matter behind you now. In a player’s long life many tragedies are commonplace. It will be difficult for you right now but many years later it will appear as a small trial in your path as a player. So don't be too despondent and keep your focus keen on the future.”
Julie gave him some encouragement in a gentle tone as she looked at him with slight pity in her eyes. He replied with a “conviction” as he donned the persona of a young man undeterred by hardship,
“Please rest assured, Lady Auburn. I am not so mentally weak that I would crumble because of it. With so many people’s expectations in me I naturally don't want to disappoint them.”
Julie gave him an appreciative smile before taking her leave. Nicole also went with her as it seemed that they still had much to discuss. It seemed that Thomas's ending had rattled the academy.
Blue also said farewell to Luna as she stated her intention to need a good rest. He, after all, didn't go easy on her first time. Though she is now free from any injury on the surface, no doubt her emotions were in a state of turmoil.
He had gone back to his cloud house after he was “rescued” by them and the briefing also took place here thanks to his “unwell” condition. As a victim wouldn't he prefer to be at ease in the comfort of his living place than being ushered to a formal setting haphazardly?
Thus those girls looked after his comfort.
It was these small considerations from them that made his mood pleasant as it indicated the progress he had been making on his targets.
After she went away only the two sisters kept him company and later Laura got to hear his “tragedy”. He still had to grind on her main mission so he didn't leave behind any opportunity to do so thus his “tragedy” was also used by him to keep manipulating her in the direction he wanted.
He, however, was surprised the very next morning.
He got a text from Julie to meet her when the club hours started. He wondered if there was some clue he had left behind during the whole incident.
It goes without saying that the sinister plot cooked by those two had his involvement.
There were many things he had to take care of before, during and after this incident. The “victim” front he showed sometimes to those girls was nothing but an act to not to leave behind a loose end.
Blue then met her with many calculations in his mind and a slight uneasiness.
°°°°
Julie had finished wrapping up the investigation of yesterday’s matter.
There was only little to do for her after soul searching that offender. Since student Blue was about to be affiliated with her House Auburn in the future the matter of his reputation was of great significance.
Anyone who attempts to tarnish it would only provoke the ire of her family.
That being said, she was somewhat regretful for not being able to capture that other offender named Thomas alive. By the time she got to him he was already dead. On top of that the way he killed himself made it so that his body was extremely damaged and near ash when she arrived at the scene.
She couldn't even collect any intact body parts for a four elemental investigation and to make things worse because his time of death was way earlier she couldn't do anything about his soul that had already left for the Netherworld by then.
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The timing when she received the news was indeed a bit too late.
She then made a document file about the entirety of what she had been able to uncover and after having consoled student Blue she later went to her grandfather to give him that document file,
“Here's the report. It is quite concerning that we have been pampering that student with Daemonic traits within him. Though I feel a bit guilty for saying this, I am glad that he showed his true colors so early or else we might have had a menacing cultist among our midst.”
Her grandfather read the report as he replied to her,
“Someone’s true heart always tends to deceive those who they thought knew of that person well. There are obviously exceptions but unfortunately those exceptions are always a hand few among the vast population. That young man is also part of the exception.”
He put down the report after having finished reading it before taking out something from his subspace.
Julie watched with curiosity as he brought out a compass. It was a small locket compass made of gold on a silver chain. However it was anything but an accessory since the compass had aura swirling in it.
“An Artifact?”
She asked with some puzzlement as she didn't understand why he brought it out all of a sudden.
“I want you to give this to him. It should help prevent a situation like today.”
Julie was somewhat surprised at her grandfather's generosity. It was an Artifact, after all. Something so precious and rare that those commoners would cause a bloodbath whenever one appeared in the union. Not just the union, such a thing was considered a precious commodity within all the four cosmic empires regardless of races.
As a noble and the successor of the noble title of her family, she had an adequate amount of Artifacts in her possession that was befitting of her status.
“What kind of power does it have?”
She asked with much curiosity after receiving it. She didn't think that her grandfather would give anything too valuable to student Blue when he was still yet to truly be under her family.
Regardless, she already understood that she underestimated how much pleased he was with that young man’s personality. If it was someone else other than student Blue then she was sure that her grandfather wouldn't even bother to take a second look.
“It can point to the direction where the Artifact’s owner was about to face something inauspicious and also to the direction which leads to auspiciousness.”
After hearing her grandfather’s reply she found it to be appropriate for him. All Artifacts had their own unique power and even though he said it in a summarized manner the real effect of it was obviously more profound and complex. It was just that he was able to glean only this much information from the Artifact's aura present in it.
If he had bound the Artifact then all the information and its usage would be revealed to him down to the last word. However if he did so then he wouldn't be able to give it to someone else until the day he breathed his last. Being bounded naturally meant being life-bounded. Giving such a thing to others was akin to asking for an accident to happen.
Since all Artifact involved at least one of the four elements it wasn't something treated to be wilfully. Anything related to the four elements was very serious and the higher the level of a player the more they acutely understood this fact.
“Is it an Artifact of the luck element? Though its overview sounds very straightforward, it should be profound. Well, this should keep him from being unexpectedly harmed again.”
Julie pondered out loud and continued to converse with him about it before finally retreating for the night.
She decided to give this to student Blue tomorrow. Given the incident and his somewhat unstable mental state, though he acts bravely outwards in front of others, she had told him to take a rest for a few days and not to bother with the lessons. That other victim, Luna, also got the same order from her. Obviously this tragic incident was to be kept a strict secret among those involved and those who had already discovered.
After some pondering she had kept the other eight student's memories erased just like those two offenders had initially planned. It saved her some hassle after all. That being said she did make sure it was more refined than whatever those two naive idiots had planned before.
This Artifact was important to show off the value her family was placing on him. This would serve two purposes. First, it would keep him safe like the intended effect her grandfather wanted and secondly, it would increase his goodwill and gratitude towards her.
She was the future Baroness after all. Her personality was inclined to being calculative.
The noble society was incredibly harsh towards those who didn't shed their naivety. A future head of a noble family had no choice but to be a shrewd individual if they wanted to keep their head afloat in the muddy waters.
The only ending for those who couldn't do so was to either surrender to another noble house willingly after being schemed against to the bitter end thus becoming a vassal or to be in a perpetual debt where they would keep being pushed around and forced to do the debtors bidding.
From the time the union was formed there had been no instances where a noble house entirely perished or lost their nobility. It was a rule set by the esteemed Grand Duke himself so nobody dares to break this cornerstone.
There were, however, ways to increase the nobility rank but such a thing was a very daunting task since a core denizen's involvement was assured in such a matter.
In her opinion, the title of a Baroness was too small for her true ambitions.