“Heh...”
Olivia chuckled softly. Her voice carried a magnetic quality, though it sounded somewhat out of place in a room piled high with wine bottles.
“From all the academy's reports and rumors, I really didn't know you were such a... interesting person, Greg Sass.”
“Well, now you know.”
Greg remained unbothered, even playing along with her words. “So, if there's nothing important, may I leave now? My cat really is hungry.”
“What's the rush to leave? It's not like I'm going to eat you.”
Olivia seemed to find his reaction quite entertaining.
She finally deigned to put down her wine glass and reached out to press a button on a nearby controller, pausing the magic film playing on the wall.
Then, giving the swivel wheel of her high-backed chair a gentle kick, she spun smoothly around a full hundred and eighty degrees to face Greg head-on.
The pair of jade-like feet resting on the desk were finally pulled back, casually stepping onto the soft beast-hide carpet.
“Actually, I summoned you here today mainly for two things.”
Olivia leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees and propping her chin on her interlaced fingers. Her molten-gold eyes locked onto Greg. Though her posture remained relaxed, her gaze grew clear and sharp, as if her previous drunkenness had been nothing more than an illusion.
“Two things?” Greg's guard rose even higher.
“First.”
Olivia held up a slender finger. Her smile was bright, yet Greg felt a hint of ill intent behind it.
“It's to thank you.”
“Thank me?” Greg was genuinely baffled.
What could he possibly have done to earn the Headmistress's gratitude?
Olivia nodded as if it were obvious.
“The Magic Tower Exchange was far too boring for me. Thanks to your sudden disappearance for over a week, I was given the perfect excuse to leave early.”
Greg: “...”
Damn it!
So the culprit who caused this plot shift and brought this giant trouble back early was me all along!
“And the second thing?”
Greg pushed down his exasperation and pressed on.
“As for the second...”
The smile on Olivia's face diminished slightly, her molten-gold eyes shimmering with a complex light that Greg couldn't decipher. She leaned back into her chair, picked up her wine glass again, and gently swirled the amber liquid inside, her tone turning somewhat profound.
“I truly didn't expect... that inside my academy, there was a monster like you hiding in plain sight.”
Greg felt a sudden chill in his heart, his pupils contracting almost imperceptibly.
He was just about to ask, “What do you mean by that?”
when the female voice he had heard before falling unconscious suddenly overlapped with Olivia's current voice...
Without a doubt, the person back then was definitely Headmistress Olivia!
Although he couldn't be certain whether Olivia had personally witnessed him using dark-attribute magic, as a Great Archmage, she must have picked up on something from the combat traces left at the scene.
Greg's heart sank.
If Olivia used the information she held to threaten or control him, given his current strength and circumstances, he would have almost no room to resist.
Anyone could figure out with their toes how many factions would covet, investigate, or bear malice toward him if the news got out that dark-attribute magic, lost for thousands of years, had reappeared in the world.
As if reading his instantly tense nerves and the apprehension flickering in his eyes, Olivia chuckled softly, a hint of playfulness in her molten-gold eyes.
“It seems... you aren't as foolish as rumors describe after all. You appear to have already guessed what I'm referring to.”
Greg remained silent, neither admitting nor denying it. He simply kept his eyes fixed on Olivia, waiting for her next words.
This feeling of having a leverage held over him was terrible.
“Don't be so nervous, little guy.”
Olivia waved her hand with a relaxed tone, almost comforting:
“It's not like I'm some devil. Don't forget, besides being the Headmistress, I am also a... well, a cowboy full of a sense of justice!”
What does being a cowboy have to do with a sense of justice?!
Greg complained inwardly, though his expression remained calm.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if attempting to purge the suffocating tension from his chest.
He knew the initiative rested entirely in her hands right now.
“Alright, Headmistress.”
Greg's voice regained its composure, even taking on a slight, resigned calm:
“Tell me, what do you actually want me to do? Or rather, what price must I pay to keep you silent... about what happened that night?”
“Heh, it seems you really are a smart guy who catches on quickly.”
Olivia nodded in satisfaction, downed the remaining wine in her glass, and casually set the empty glass down on the snack-covered desk with a soft clink.
“Then I won't beat around the bush with you. My requirement for you is actually quite simple.”
She paused, her molten-gold eyes staring straight at Greg as she uttered each word clearly:
“Go become the Representative, Greg Sass.”
Greg: “...?”
He froze for a moment, an obvious look of shock and confusion washing over his face.
He was naturally no stranger to the term 'Representative'.
Every year level at Glory Cael Magic Academy selected a Representative and a Vice-Representative, who embodied the top two overall performing students in that year.
This was not only the highest honor, but it also meant a greater allocation of resources, more authority, and, to some extent, serving as the face of the academy.
The Representative of his year level was none other than that aloof beauty, Princess Vivian Kahn.
But... asking him to become the Representative?
The demand was so absurd it was laughable.
Competing for the Representative position with his notoriously terrible image?
Saying it out loud would probably make all the teachers and students laugh their heads off.
Olivia went through all this effort just to get him to compete for the title of year-level Representative?
There was definitely a deeper purpose behind this.
It couldn't possibly be that the Headmistress was bored and wanted the amusement of watching a delinquent student pull off a comeback, right?
“Headmistress.” Greg frowned slightly, his tone carrying unvarnished suspicion. “What is your real motive?”
Olivia sat up straight and said solemnly, “Seeing a student get back on the right track—that is the purpose. Don't forget, I am an educator.”
Greg replied expressionlessly, “Right. But compared to being an educator, you actually prefer to think of yourself as a... spiritual cowboy.”
Olivia curled her lips, seemingly slightly annoyed that he had pierced her facade so quickly, though she didn't deny it.
She shifted into a more comfortable posture, crossed her legs, and lightly tapped her fingers on her knee.
“Tsk. Sometimes, having a student who is too smart isn't entirely a good thing for an educator.”
She muttered under her breath before fixing him with a serious expression. “Alright, to tell you the truth, my real goal is—”
She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice, yet it carried an undeniable weight.
“I want you to become one of Glory Cael Academy's representatives to compete in the next Five Academy Tournament.”
Rate on N.U.
