The next day after Ethan went to the Treasury, an unexpected guest came to visit him in the Dud Manor very early in the morning.
This visitor made Ethan feel anxious. She was smiling at him, but it was as if she wanted to eat him alive.
“Um, good morning, Lily,” Ethan greeted the cutest First Year in the Academy, whom he had fought in the Clash of Manors.
“Good morning, Ethan,” Lily replied. “Do you have time after class today?”
“I don’t have anything planned after class today,” Ethan answered.
Lily clapped her hands together. “Great! I would like to talk to you about something very important. So, can you go and visit me in the Jaeger Manor after classes? Don’t worry, I already asked Sir Eren for permission to let you enter our Manor.”
The corner of Ethan’s lips twitched after hearing Lily’s words.
Right now, the most dangerous place in the academy for him was the Jaeger Manor.
He had offended the entire Manor by using a Stink Spell in the arena, preventing their fighters from fighting to their fullest.
Whenever he walked into the academy and saw a member of the Jaeger Manor, he’d see them glaring at him, and some were even emitting murderous intent.
Ethan believed that if not for the rule that prohibited attacking someone in the academy grounds using spells, which was punishable by expulsion, he would definitely be in the infirmary right about now, spending his days bedridden.
“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lily,” Ethan replied in an apologetic tone. “Can we meet somewhere else?”
“Somewhere else?” Lily pondered a bit as if she didn’t expect that Ethan would reject her invitation.
After a few minutes of silence, the cute First Year walked up to Ethan and whispered something in his ears.
“Meet me at the outskirts of the Great Eagle Forest after classes end today,” Lily said. “I will wait for you in the clearing where the Manors set up their camps during the weekends. You are also not allowed to bring anyone or tell anyone that we are going to talk in private. If I don’t see you there later, you’ll be sorry~”
After saying those words, Lily took a step back before winking at Ethan. She then walked towards the door without looking back and left without another single word.
This left the teenage boy looking at the closed door with a helpless look on his face.
‘Just what is she up to?’ Ethan thought as he sighed in his heart.
He had a feeling that if he really didn’t go and meet up with Lily after class ended, something bad would happen to him, which he might regret in the future.
————————
“What’s wrong with you?” Chloe asked as she sparred with Ethan in their Martial Art Training Class. “Pay more attention, or I might accidentally hit you below the belt.”
“Sorry,” Ethan replied as he lightly clapped his cheeks in order to regain his focus. “Let’s continue.”
Chloe shook her head and eased up her fighting stance.
“That won’t do,” Chloe stated. “I have boosted my strength with Magna Amplifico. One wrong strike and you will really seriously get injured. Tell me, what’s bothering you? Maybe I can help.”
Ethan was very tempted to confide to his cousin about Lily’s invitation.
However, he didn’t dare to do it for fear that Chloe would get involved in something that she shouldn’t poke her nose into.
“It’s really nothing,” Ethan replied. “I was just thinking about that old man James in the Treasury.”
“That Old Scammer?” Chloe frowned after remembering the old man who was wearing an eye patch. “Don’t tell me you bought something from the Defective Goods Section?”
Ethan averted his gaze, which made Chloe’s eyes widen in shock.
“You bought something?” Chloe inquired in disbelief.
“…Yeah,” Ethan replied honestly.
“Unbelievable. I know that you might be naive, but you’re not gullible. How can you let that old man trick you, especially after what happened with George?”
“Let’s just say that he made me an offer that I wasn’t able to refuse. I’ll leave it at that.”
Chloe sighed deeply and gave her cousin a look of disapproval. However, after remembering that Ethan had spent 20,000 Merit Points in order to give her the Guardian Ring, which she treated as a treasure, she decided to no longer pursue the matter.
“Show me what you bought later, okay?” Chloe stated. “I am curious what kind of Defective Goods you bought from that Old Man.”
“Okay.” Ethan nodded.
A few minutes later, the two once again sparred with each other. Since Ethan couldn’t use any magic, he did his best to dodge Chloe’s attack.
However, since his opponent was boosted by the Magna Amplifico Spell, he was unable to keep up with her.
Fortunately, Chloe would stop her attacks right before she hit Ethan, making the latter suffer no injuries from their sparring match. 𝐎𝗏𝐞𝓵xt.𝗇𝓔t
“I pity the thugs who’d target you, thinking of you as a helpless ordinary girl,” Ethan commented. “They are going to receive a one-sided beating.”
Chloe smiled sweetly after hearing Ethan’s praise because she also shared the same thoughts. After joining the Martial Classes, the young lady dedicated herself to learning self-defense.
She was very competitive in nature, and seeing that Nicole, Alice, and Lily were very good at fighting, she decided that she didn’t want to be left behind.
Chloe trained just as hard as Ethan did during her free time and would often seek advice from their Knightly Professor, Sir Noel.
Although Ethan was certain that he could beat Chloe if she didn’t boost her body’s performance with the Magna Amplifico Spell, he didn’t deny the possibility of the young lady having a hidden ace up her sleeve.
After a short break, the two sparred once again, which allowed Ethan to temporarily forget his meeting with one of the strongest First Years in the Academy, whom he defeated by pure luck.
He wasn’t aware that while he and Chloe were sparring, several ravens were eyeing him from a safe distance.
Ravens that belonged to the members of the Jaeger Manor, who were looking for a perfect opportunity to strike.