The next day, William woke up in the morning before the sun came out, feeling refreshed. He was surprised to see how much he recovered with one good night's rest.
…Whatever I took should most likely be on par with Water of Life, because this thing works like a charm… William thought before going to take his bath.
When he got out of the bath, he saw that the hobgoblins had woken up and were looking through the books on the bookshelf.
"Don't you guys have to go home or something?" William asked with an annoyed expression.
The hobgoblins turned and looked at William then they turned back to face each other with confused expressions on their faces.
"Gruga ruga?" The bigger and taller hobgoblin asked the smaller one as it pointed at William
The smaller hobgoblin that was the child goblin had a dumb look on its face and replied, "Gurge lugs gru ran guga…"
The two hobgoblins conversed with each other like this and William had to go to school today so wasn't tolerant of them. He yelled, "I said, don't you have to go home or something?!"
"Gru?" Despite William's yelling, the hobgoblins just looked at him in confusion.
William knew they couldn't understand him so he facepalmed himself and thought …Nova, do you have any way to tell these guys to piss the f*ck off?
「I do not have the required data, master.」
"Ugh!" William groaned and went over to the hobgoblins and pushed them out to the door as he said with a fake smile, "You guys can go back to your realm now, ok? I'm going back to school today so I don't want to be late. When I need to train, Athena will just resummon you."
The hobgoblins didn't resist as William pushed them out the door.
Bam…
He shut the door behind them and turned to walk away before he paused.
He turned around and opened the door again and observed the hobgoblins. The only thing they had on was animal skin around their waste. While the smaller hobgoblin also had on a dirtied classic black shoe.
"I'll lend you guys something to wear." William said then allowed them back into the room.
He gave them his old official attire to wear. The hobgoblins looked elegant in the black suits but the dumb expressions on their faces ruined everything.
William got dressed for school too and turned to the hobgoblins and wondered, "Don't you guys have names?"
"Gar?" They turned to each other and conversed between themselves on what William might have asked them.
…They don't even understand what I'm saying. This is pointless… William went over to the parent hobgoblin and grabbed his shoulders, "I will call you Goblo!"
"Goboro?" The goblin repeated.
"No, Goblo!"
"Dobolo?"
"F*ck!" William cursed. He moved on to the smaller goblin …The names are for me to call them, not for them to calm themselves. They don't need to understand…
He said, "And I will call you Gobun."
The smaller goblin looked at William with the same dumb expression.
"Ugh, this is useless." William just left the room and went to have his breakfast.
After he was done, he went outside to see Dunis, his coach driver and they set off for Denvern General School.
…
Time was about 8:30 am and people had just opened their shops.
William's carriage rolled down the streets of Denvern City and upon getting to populated areas, he realized people avoided the carriage as much as possible.
His eyes caught a lady that sold fruits and he lightly waved with a smile but she had an expression on her face filled with disgust. The early morning customers ran away and she immediately covered her goods with a cloth.
…What the heck?! William wondered what on earth was going on. He hadn't received this much hate from the people around before.
Dunis, the coachman, was old and had greyed-out hair with a long mustache. He was a citizen of Maen but his family had a history with the Dottmans, people from the Dott Federation, a region in the northern part of Arceope. He wore a black suit with a top hat and spoke in a low tone so William could hear, "The viscount never let you out of the walls of the manor to prevent this. The whole town has heard about his illness that put him in a dire state, and along with it comes the news of his cursed son."
"But… But that doesn't mean they should treat me this way…" William said scornfully and with a hint of hatred.
"The whole city has been mourning. The day before last, the bodies of a few of the missing children were recovered in sacs at the corner of the river. The viscount was the light of the people, with him, everything always had a good ending. Even the police rely on him."
"Father…" William reminisced on his father's good and flawless nature. Viscount Maxton was a knight through and through.
"Young master… some have started to believe every bad occurrence is because of your presence. They are angry and afraid. They need someone to blame. And I fear they will soon start to resort to drastic methods. Please be careful."
William started feeling guilty, "Don't you… don't you feel it's all my fault too?"
Dunis carefully replied, "The viscount has saved me and my family countless times. I owe him ten of my life. If it wasn't for him my son could've been sold in Nuchia as a slave when he was 15 years old. I fear too that my granddaughters might be the next victims but my son is only just a carpenter so this job allows me to ensure their healthy growth, better education, and a better life commoners only dream about."
Dunis was implying that he didn't have a say in the matter because he worked for the Viscount. William nodded, "...I see. You have no other choice."
"I apologize if my answer is not to your liking."
William replied with a meek smile, "There's no problem, Sir Dunis. I completely understand."
…I would be scared too. After all, we're all human… William thought and sank back into the vehicle to avoid eye contact with the people. He tightened his fists at the thought of him and his father's assassination attempt. He was sure this dark sorcerer was the culprit and his target of revenge.
…
William got to the school by 9:00 am. Classes started at 8.
When he got to his class, Miss Bethany sent him to the headmaster's office.
Knock…Knock…Knock…
William gently knocked on the birch door. A hoarse voice replied from the other side of the door, "Come in."
William opened the door to reveal the interior. The office was illuminated by the window on the right. The left wall had a wooden bookshelf and the desk at the far center had a few files and books on them. A portrait of Headmaster Gideon was hung upon the wall behind the desk. Several areas of the office had vases filled with beautiful flowers.
The rotund and bearded headmaster gently watered the flowers in vases, he straightened his back and greeted William with a calm smile, "Young master William, I'm happy to see you up and well. Please have a seat."
William walked to the desk and took a seat on the visitors' chair, "Thank you, sir."
Headmaster Gideon had a saddened look on his face and said, "Your father wrote to us that you fell ill."
…Father did that? William wondered before he answered, "I appreciate your concern but don't worry, I have made a full recovery. It was just some common ailment. You called for me, sir?"
"Yes," Headmaster Gideon sat on his seat opposite William with a stern look on his face when he continued, "I wonder if you still wish to continue schooling here."