Who was the man who hit her? Cindy must have been thinking out loud. She looked at the clothes that man was wearing. Judging from the materials used, that man's clothes must have come from a famous boutique. Clearly, he was a nobleman.
Cindy immediately looked down, she felt scared. Not because she was afraid of meeting a nobleman, she was just afraid that her identity would be recognized by others. Although Baron Esperen was just a small ruler, Cindy's father's relationship was no joke. Anyone would be recognized by Baron Esperen.
That man who had just collided with her picked up the fallen book. Cindy immediately came to her senses and picked up her fallen book. There weren't too many, only two kinds.
"Thank you, Young Master-nim." Cindy thanked him while keeping her face down.
The man could see the titles of the books that had fallen earlier. The two books were about the history of magic. He felt it was true that the girl he met must be a prospective student at the academy.
"You haven't answered my question, Miss. One more thing."
That man impolitely raised Cindy's head by holding her chin. Of course it was very surprising. Cindy's gray eyes widened. She was very surprised by the man's sudden treatment.
Cindy reflexively brushed off the man's hand. She also apologized. "I'm sorry, Young Master-nim."
With chuckled, he said, "Ah, you're meeting a nobleman for the first time? No wonder you don't recognize me. Only, are you a descendant of a noble too? If so, there's a possibility that you're an illegitimate child or a blood relation that has been severed."
"Your eyes are like someone I know. If you really are a noble child, then you must have known that I am not a 'Young Master', Miss. Tell me, you want to be a student of the academy, right?" The man continued to urge her.
Cindy shook her head violently. She was afraid of her identity being discovered.
"Hey, I'm not threatening you. You know, I'm one of the nobles of the central faction and they are short of... well talented people. If you really want to enter the academy, I can be your sponsor." The man awkwardly said that.
Cindy immediately looked up, seeing the man's appearance. It was not a very handsome appearance, but the man was also decent. Average brown eyes and hair, and an overly manly face. Now she understood why that man felt a little strange when called young master. It was obviously because the man was definitely a title holder himself, not a young master anymore.
"E-eum... I-I'm an aspiring mage at the Marithus Kingdom Magic Tower, sir. T-then, excuse me ...."
Cindy wanted to leave from there. However, her hand was intercepted by him. He took her to the edge of the bookstore because the place where they were standing was blocking the road.
The man led her to what appeared to be the terrace of an eatery, right next to the bookstore. Cindy's hand was released because the man saw that the books Cindy was carrying had to be carried with both hands.
"Wasn't the test for mages done some time ago? Don't trick me because you don't want to get involved with the nobility." The man kept pressing her.
"I'm not lying, sir. I've already passed the previous test, but I still have to undergo another written test. Also... I've gotten another noble sponsor."
Cindy said while avoiding the man's gaze. She was a little uncomfortable. If it was true that he was a noble of the central faction, namely the crown prince faction, it would be appropriate not to know about it because Count Rubel introduced her to the nobles of the queen's faction. The nobles of the crown prince faction mostly rejected her.
The man looked surprised. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, sir. I am serious."
The man clucked and moved to leave. However, before that, he turned around to face Cindy again and said, "I am Viscount Noland. Remember my name."
DEG!
Cindy watched the man leave with a racing heart. Her heartbeat was irregular. Of course she knew that name very well.
***
The renovation of the K-Night Guild's main headquarters had been completed. The five-story building was restored to its former glory. Of course, it was thanks to the mages working there.
Dean even wanted to recruit more mages for a separate task. However, right now he was only focusing on recruiting attacker-type mages rather than restorers. Because in the future, he felt that he would face a bigger war.
Inside his new room, Dean opened a secret window that led to the lake at the back of the building. Fortunately, there was no damage in that part. Even in the daylight, the gravestone displayed there was still very beautiful.
It was the grave of Willy, his favorite pet. Dean didn't want to be away from Willy. Therefore, he made a very beautiful grave for the pet that was like his best friend.
Dean felt a change in the scent around him. A shock made him close the window. Someone was teleporting to his room directly.
Shhh...
Oh, not a person, but two people.
The first person to appear was Cindy. The girl even revealed her disguise magic. Her pink hair was left open without a hood. She went straight to Dean without saying hello at all.
"Leader-nim! I need the data of the nobles of the crown prince faction in the Marithus Kingdom from you. Can I get it?"
Without even stammering, Cindy smoothly asked to the point. Dean immediately directed her to a desk that was smaller than his. There were more piles of documents than Dean's desk.
"Thank you, Leader-nim. Please tell Leon to let me take some of his documents!" Cindy went straight to the smaller desk.
The desk belonged to Leon. Although the room belonged to Dean, most of Dean's work was done by Leon. So he added another desk some time ago.
The other teleportation stopped. This time a handsome young man with neat hair appeared. Kalypt was still wearing his guild robes as if it was his job now.
Dean didn't say anything. He still folded his arms across his chest just to see what the two people suddenly brought.
"Dean-nim, you have to listen to this." Kalypt, too, without preamble and greeting, immediately handed over a strange box.
"Recording magic tool?" Dean muttered under his breath.
Kalypt said, "It looks like Adhitte-nim is about to start the execution of the illegal battle arena's premises."
"Yeah, I know because I have eyes there too."
Dean replied simply and picked up the recorder. He didn't listen to it directly, just placed it on a nearby table.
Kalypt was silent watching Dean's movements. He didn't do anything. However, because of Dean's appearance, Kalypt felt like there was something.
"Dean-nim, are you short on sleep?"
Not as friendly as usual, Kalypt asked in an accusatory tone. He could see the obvious eye bags on Dean's face. This was worse than Dean's previous work.
"This is it!"
Cindy's shout made Kalypt and Dean immediately look at the girl. Cindy held up a large piece of paper that looked like A3 in size high up. It looked like a paper map.
"Right, that person is Viscount Rei Noland! A close nephew of Marquis Zen Hemlock!"
Cindy's words made Dean frown. He wanted to ask the girl, but Kalypt raised his voice first.
"Yes, he is a close relative of the Marquis. Did you meet him to the point of finding out about him?" Kalypt asked in a friendly tone again now.
Cindy approached the two of them. She pointed at the paper. There was a picture of a noble family tree there.
"If I convince this person. Surely Marquis Hemlock can become my sponsor, right? That way, I can easily approach Crown Prince Xavier. I can investigate up close!"
Dean wanted to retort, but Kalypt was already ahead of him.
"Now you've improved, huh? Well then, give it a try. Surely they can support you if you approach that person."
Cindy immediately nodded. "Right. I'll study for today and try another strategy. Thank you for the documents, Leader-nim! I'll be back!"
Quickly, Cindy was already casting teleportation magic again. She said goodbye to the two people there and left alone.
Dean gave Kalypt a sharp look. "Why don't you tell her the full story? That Viscount Noland is also the sponsor of Baron Esperen. What if he failed because he was harassed by Baron Esperen?"
Kalypt smiled kindly. He replied, "I want her to be bullied by Baron Esperen first. Then another hero will help her. From there, Cindy will develop well in terms of mentality and strength."
Dean couldn't get enough of Kalypt. That man was too mysterious and had so many ideas like he knew something about the future.
"Why did you go that far?" Dean muttered, but it could be heard by Kalypt.
"Of course. Otherwise, this story wouldn't be so exciting."