Blue was invited by assistant Russell to meet Julie after the exam concluded.

He followed and soon entered her office. There he noticed the keen gaze of her that seemed to be looking at him as if he was a piece of art. It seemed that the favorability point had increased to the next stage.

“By my estimation it should have just reached the ‘goodwill’ stage now.”

He concluded inwardly before sitting on the chair she gestured him to take. She then donned a serious expression before stating the reason of this impromptu meeting,

“Student Blue, I had talked with teacher Nicole earlier so now you don't need to worry about that matter. She has agreed to my requests. There shouldn't be any reason for you to reject me, right?”

“Yes, your ladyship. If the matter had been settled by you then I can be rest assured.”

“There's an issue that has popped up though.”

“Oh?”

“I have talked with my grandfather about you. He said that only after meeting you personally will he decide to approve my decision.”

“Goodness! I will get to meet the principal himself? Lady Auburn, I am… unsure of what to do now. Could the time for the meeting be right tomorrow? I am yet to be mentally prepared for such a grand occasion.”

“Hahaha, what grand occasion! You are being anxious for no reason. He is very pleasant to converse with so there's no need to feel uneasy.”

“That's from your perspective, your ladyship. To me he is the esteemed Baron Auburn. How could I not be anxious?”

“You're usually so brave and stalwart yet now you're acting like this. Nothing will happen, he isn't a man-eating monster or anything! Russell, escort him to the teleportation circle for principal’s office. Now, go with him and just be yourself. I am sure nothing will happen. Good luck!”

“Eh! The meeting is right now?”

He was now genuinely surprised. All of a sudden, he now had to overcome a crucial event. This was one of the rare moments where he was actually caught off guard.

That being said, he had long since made preparations for such rainy days.

“Baron Auburn, huh? Let's see how much you can push a righteous man like me.”

The teleportation circle flickered and his perception changed.

°°°°

Gregory finally saw the figure of that student. The young man knocked and took his permission before entering with a formal stance.

He took a deep look at the young man's visage and couldn't help but nod a bit.

He actually suspected him to have a special physique as even with his years of life experiences he had to admit that there wasn't anyone of the same caliber when just the physical appearance was considered.

That being said he already knew of the test results concluded during the entrance test two months ago. The result made him feel a bit odd but considering that it was just a young man ignorant of anything aura related before entering the academy he didn't ponder further.

“It is my great honor and privilege to meet you, esteemed Baron Auburn. I am Blue, a first year student of the academy.”

He greeted with a courtesy bow filled with reverence and formality.

“Hmm. I have heard of you before. Julie had much praise for you.”

“It is my great honor to be valued by her ladyship.”

Gregory didn't reply but only stared at him blankly. However, he wasn't being a boorish individual or anything because he was now reading student Blue’s mind instead. No matter how many flowery words he might have spewed in front of him, one glance at his thoughts would reveal the truth.

Stolen story; please report.

He listened to student Blue’s inner monologue right at the moment the exchange ended,

“To think the Baron Auburn I heard so much about was actually such a person.”

Gregory's focus heightened as he really wanted to hear the next part. Was he about to badmouth him? This was the speculation he had before he further listened,

“Just like Lady Auburn said, he is very pleasant to converse with. I really thought that the entire time I would be suffocating from pressure but he is more easy going than I imagined. As expected, Lady Auburn had gotten her goodhearted personality from him.”

Gregory became speechless.

“Is this young man serious?”

He looked at student Blue with a bit of a strange expression before it returned to the previous impassive face. He didn't expect that the first impression student Blue had of him turned out to be this.

“You have done well on the first two exams. I did read the report and it seemed that you have very good interpersonal relationships with your peers and teachers.”

“It makes me happy that they appreciated my intentions and even your lordship himself had taken notice of it.”

While the true thoughts of student Blue was,

“Isn't it better to make more friends? All of them will one day work with me, one way or another, on the same field of monster hunting. There's no reason or any need to not get along with your comrades in arms.”

“The teachers had also spent much of their time and effort to help me so much. This academy doesn't even take a tuition fee or anything. If I still behave rudely with such generous people then can I even be called a proper human?”

Gregory's expression became strange again from the amount of unexpected information that kept bombarding him.

This student really was a bit too much. Was there a need to see the world in such a positive way? His peers could also become his bitter enemies in the future or might scheme against him for their benefits while maintaining a facade of goodwill. Surely, a selective approach and caution was a preferable choice for everyone, wasn't that so?

And teachers were anything but generous. They were all working only to get the students in their factions and also to collect enough information about them in the early stages so that there was a counter plan in case of them ever turning hostile in the future.

What was that nonsense about tuition fees?

Where can he even get these young outer denizens to pay him in aura crystals? Do they even know what an aura crystal is? Because they were not taught about the currencies of the void, he seemed to have concluded that those paper cuts with numbers and designs stuck on it were still the player society’s currency.

“Too naive and… pure hearted.”

Gregory inwardly lamented but he still kept the conversation going,

“Julie did take you to that mountain so it was expected for you to get the first ranking. By the way, when did she first approach you?”

“After the first monthly evaluation, she gave me the opportunity to have a private discussion with her. It was my great fortune to have been able to impress her with my lackluster performance during that exam.”

This time when he read his mind he couldn't help give him an appreciative smile as student Blue’s thoughts about his granddaughter got revealed,

“Even now I wonder how I managed to catch Lady Auburn's attention. I was only able to get into the top five but it turned out she was a magnanimous individual who would value me even if I didn't manage to get into the top three.”

“That being said, she is really too generous. Till now, all I did was keep on receiving from her without being able to give her anything back. This is really a bit frustrating. I wonder, if I truly get to work under her in the future would I be able to do something for her? Sigh! I can only hope that Baron Auburn understands my sincerity.”

It seemed that further inquiry was unnecessary. He talked with him a bit about the upcoming first exchange event and gave him some prior knowledge about it before sending him back with a pleased smile.

Student Blue gave him a deep bow before finally exiting.

Gregory picked up the phone and called the impatient girl who must have been waiting for his decision with bated breath.

“So? Let's hear the verdict.”

Her voice laced with curiosity spoke up.

“A lush tree… very lush. Raise it well, water it adequately, protect it from pests, shield it from wind and rain. One day, it will bear many fruits for you to enjoy.”

He replied with a gentle smile.

“See! I knew my judgment wasn't wrong. That being said, he seemed to have impressed you a lot. Did my stern grandpa have a bit of a soft spot for him now!?”

“What is this silly girl even saying? That young man is just too optimistic about everything.”

“Eh? What did you even hear from him?”

“Sigh! He views everything too positively. It is good that he only has gratitude and goodwill for you right now but I am afraid that only this cruel void could shape him in a sturdy towering tree. It is now a matter of time.”

“Sure enough. Even without today’s test, I already guessed that. As you have taught me, I will make sure to keep him on the line then.”

“I can only say that it depends on how long you can still keep his current self which is attuned to your favor. Even if he is a lush tree for you right now, it might not be the case in the future. People change, after all.”

Gregory advised her from his personal experiences before ending the call with a few more words.

He then looked at the documents he previously put aside. Thus he started dealing with that matter again albeit exasperatedly.