To Ain, it sounded like normal, polite small talk, but to Sevis, who had known her for a long time, Rosalind was clearly trying to put Ain in his place.
First, she used the excuse that “the Arbiter is stretched too thin” to establish her own authority, implying that Ain should know his place. Then, she immediately used “unfamiliar with the procedures” to belittle him as a novice who needed guidance.
Sevis, of course, saw right through her little scheme.
If Rosalind had been lecturing anyone else, Sevis wouldn't have cared. But doing this to a guest he had personally invited was a direct slap in his face!
“I wouldn't dare...”
Rosalind bowed her head, her voice no longer as loud and confident as before.
Ain still hadn't quite figured out what was going on.
Sevis exhaled a long breath, looked at Ain with a faint smile, and said, “Don't mind her. She's just a worthless dog who can't even understand her master's wishes.”
“As my deputy, you can make her do anything you want from now on.”
The next second, Sevis's gaze returned to its usual coldness as he stared intently at Rosalind, who stood to the side.
“Even if you want to abuse her and throw her into the river to feed the fish, that's fine too.”
Ain's mouth fell slightly open.
Boss, isn't that a bit too 'subtle'?
“Rosalind, leave us.”
“Yes, sir.”
The girl gave a polite bow and walked toward the door.
Just as she was about to step out, Sevis's next words drifted into her ears.
“If you ever dare to bring your petty schemes into the open again, you can get the hell out of the family.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rosalind closed the door behind her.
Ain's impression of Sevis deepened once again.
This guy is literally a mafia boss!
“Ah, haha! My apologies, sorry to make you watch that. Now, let's get down to business.”
Sevis instantly changed his expression. The arrogance of yesterday and the coldness of a moment ago were completely gone. His friendly, approachable demeanor made Ain almost doubt his own memory.
In the original game, he had never been this cheerful.
He stepped away from the desk buried in documents, the click of his leather shoes echoing sharply in the quiet room.
Sevis walked straight toward Ain. As he drew close, Ain instinctively reached out his hands to stop him, only to feel a surprisingly soft sensation against his palms.
“Wait! Where are you touching?!”
Sevis seemed startled by Ain's action. He instinctively wrapped his arms across his chest, looking like a shy, defensive young girl.
Holy crap! Is he... is he gay?!
A sudden chill ran down Ain's spine. Although his reaction had been entirely instinctive, he never expected Sevis to react so dramatically.
And is this guy's skin seriously that soft?
Seemingly realizing his behavior was a bit out of character, Sevis quickly cleared his throat and explained, “Mowen.”
“Mowen?”
Ain didn't quite understand.
“Changfu, Kedui.”
In an instant, Ain understood.
These were the basic circuits for constructing magic!
He was speaking in code!
Sevis then recited a few more circuit names. By mapping the sequence of these circuits to the basic alphabet of this world, Ain pieced together the message Sevis wanted to convey.
Simply put, four words:
The walls have ears.
So Sevis had leaned in close just to convey information that wasn't safe to speak aloud?
Thank goodness. As long as he's not a creep.
This time, Ain took the initiative to lean close to Sevis. In addition to feeling the man's warm breath, he actually caught a faint, pleasant fragrance coming from him.
Is this guy really a man?
“The academy's higher-ups looked through Lillian's files today.”
This simple sentence made Ain's mind explode like a bomb.
On any normal day, this wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary.
But why did it have to be on Audit Day?
And right at this critical juncture, of all times!
If the higher-ups' target wasn't Lillian, that would be one thing. But what if she really was their target?
If his suspicion was correct, then a major question arose: why did the higher-ups have to use Audit Day as a cover to look up Lillian's information?
They clearly didn't want anyone else to find out!
Was the academy hiding something?
Logically, the academy shouldn't know that Lillian would lose control in Act Two. If they did, they would have taken measures long ago. How could they have failed to stop it?
So how did the academy find out in advance that Lillian was going to lose control?
In the original game's plot, Lillian suddenly underwent witchification without any warning, plunging the academy into chaos.
None of the instructors, nor anyone who knew Lillian well, had anticipated it.
I should be the only one who knows Lillian will lose control in Act Two!
No! There's one more person!
Lola!
She had asked him to save Lillian, which clearly meant she knew the girl would completely undergo witchification in the near future.
Yesterday, she had seen right through his thoughts, which was why she helped him summon the God of Light and obtain the Scale of Astral Judgment!
The Eye of the Astral Splendor didn't completely belong to the academy. The current situation seemed to be that both the academy and the Eye of the Astral Splendor had their own schemes, while the most crucial player—the Nightingale Secret Order—had yet to show its hand.
The plot had definitely been accelerated!
Right at that moment, Sevis suddenly spoke up out of the blue.
“By the way, I haven't told anyone else about the Scale of Astral Judgment.”
Ain was slightly surprised.
“Why? I snatched your treasure, and you're not even thinking about getting it back?”
Sevis let out a bitter laugh.
“I'm not worthy of it.”
After a brief silence, Ain said solemnly, “I told you, I will return it to you.”
“No, forget it. Let's not talk about that for now. There's one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“I managed to pry the information about Lillian out of Belinda during her interrogation. That's why I paid attention to the search logs of the inspectors today, and the two things happened to connect.”
“It seems Belinda also knows something about contraband drugs, but she refuses to talk.”
Ain's eyes lit up slightly.
That had to be information regarding the Nightingale Secret Order!
“Where is she?”
Sevis sighed and sat back down at his desk. “Her mouth is sealed tighter than a drum. Even though I used the Prosecution Office's specialized magical interrogation tools, she still hasn't let slip a single piece of critical information.”
“Heh, don't worry. I'll make her talk.”
Ain clutched a Card of Canal in his hand, a playful smile playing on his lips.
Humans lie, but fate does not.
Seeing Ain's confidence, the worry on Sevis's face instantly vanished.
“You have a way?”
Ain nodded.
Having witnessed Ain's strength yesterday, Sevis didn't doubt him for a second.
“Alright, I'll take you to her!”
Rate on N.U.
