Who is the enemy, who is the friend.
This is a question that calls for deep reflection.
In this incident, is Rives Francis definitely an enemy? Is Mina, who gave the warning, definitely a friend?
Link didn't make hasty conclusions, but he did not merely regard Rivers as the enemy and the former victim Mina as a friend.
In fact, Link had no intention of personally retaliating against Rivers. He only wanted to remove himself and Jasmine from the whole affair.
If after talking to Jasmine later, she agrees with his idea.
But if Jasmine disagrees, then what Link needs to do is just get himself out of it.
Having sent off the frightened five, Link entered the reading room and calmly reviewed the notes on germination and cultivation that he had copied the day before.
Jasmine came quickly.
"Link, you called me in such a hurry, did you miss me? I'm so happy!"
After a night's delay, Jasmine had the leisure again to tease Link.
"No."
Link was indifferent, not showing any consideration, and spoke bluntly about the matter at hand: "If, I say if, the girlfriend who reported to you invites you somewhere, don't be eager to agree, let alone go in a hurry. Tell me first."
"You suspect she has a problem?"
Jasmine's response was quick, or perhaps, being a noblewoman and exposed to plots and tricks since childhood, she had long been suspicious, but just did not confirm her vague guess.
"Yes."
Link replied honestly.
"Did something happen?"
Jasmine asked with a slight frown, "Did the people Rives was looking for really trouble you?"
Instead of answering, Link counter-questioned: "If the people Rives was looking for did indeed trouble me, and if they had really taught me a lesson, what do you think would be my feelings? How should I view Rives? After being aimlessly threatened and beaten up without provoking him."
"Angry? Loathing?"
Jasmine pondered, conjecturing, "I'm sure your mind would've been heavy."
Link asked further, "At this time, if something happens to you, or someone tells me something will happen to you, how would I react?"
Upon hearing this, Jasmine's face stiffened, and she said coldly, "Report to the academy, look for the Intelligent Law Enforcement Puppet, and deal with Rives."
Link didn't ask any further.
Having heard about the relationship and conflicts between Rivers, Erick, and Mina who passed the message from Jasmine last night, Link faintly guessed the possible truth behind a series of things.
It's nothing more than a plot to kill with a borrowed knife.
The knife is definitely from the academy.
As for who wants to borrow the knife, it's either Erick or Mina, or both of them.
This point, Link did not care about.
What Link cared about was that he and Jasmine had undoubtedly become the excuse for borrowing the knife, becoming tools that can be deceived and sacrificed at will.
This made Link a bit annoyed.
Therefore...
"If my guess is confirmed, I will have a chat with Rives Francis and then figure out a way to make them fight."
Link laid out his thoughts, "We don't have to get involved in this muddy water, getting ourselves dirty and wasting time for no reason. What do you think?"
"Okay."
Jasmine nodded, she actually felt some sympathy for Mina's ordeal, hence, she hesitated to confirm her own hunches.
However, when facing those who want to harm her, Jasmine is still ruthless.
She took the initiative to ask, "How do you need me to cooperate with you?"
"No hurry."
Link waved his hand, looking indifferent, "Wait for them to make their move."
To be honest, Link didn't think too highly of himself, but the tricks of Erick and Mina were really not clever at all, and were easily seen through.
But then again, one's thirteen, the other's fourteen, what clever tricks could they possibly come up with?
People are different.
A very small number of people are extraordinarily intelligent at a young age, some can handle matters of great importance atsix, become a high officer at twelve, or engage in sophisticated debate such that even wise men are rendered speechless.
But for the vast majority of people without learning, with no experience of the world, their mental maturity could be hard to achieve, their considerations not steady enough. So how could they scheme or plot?
Link's reluctance to participate in the academy's social and recreational activities, in fact, has a bit of this factor in it.
On those occasions, and the people on those occasions, always gave him a sense of dissonance, like children pretending to be adults.
...
Time passed quietly in peaceful study.
In the evening, Link and Jasmine agreed that Jasmine would wait for him in the library while he went to the botanical garden to deal with some work.
Upon entering the botanical garden, Link crossed paths with Sophie Lucia from a distance, but neither spoke to greet the other.
Link went straight into the third row of the third greenhouse and randomly checked the status of the seeds. Then he applied the Birth Induction Technique once and the Ultra Model Sub-Elementary Misty Rain Technique soon after.
Sitting on the ground in a state of Shallow Meditation, Link restored his spiritual power and Magic Power, then performed the second Ultra Model Sub-Elementary Misty Rain Technique.
Today's work was over.
Whether the actual effect was as Link had envisioned, needed to be inspected the next morning.
Not in a hurry to leave, Link underwent a Shallow Meditation once more, adjusted his condition fully and then left the botanical garden, returning to the library.
Jasmine was sitting in the corner seat of the reading room, her expression a little sad.
It seemed that Link's guess was correct. That Mina really had invited Jasmine somewhere.
All sympathy was wasted.
Seeing Link's inquiring eyes, Jasmine nodded her head.
Link then gestured for Jasmine to leave the library with him.
"What now?"
Jasmine asked immediately outside the library.
"When someone invites you, of course, you should attend."
Link answered seriously.
With that, he pulled out his smart device and used up his once-per-semester free protection benefit from the Intelligent Law Enforcement Puppet.
Before long, an Intelligent Law Enforcement Puppet, greatly resembling a fixed-wing unmanned drone, flew in front of Link.
"Please enter Invisible Trailing Mode."
Link politely requested the Intelligent Law Enforcement Puppet.
It's always better to be too polite than not enough, and besides, nobody knows whether the entity controlling the Intelligent Law Enforcement Puppet is a sophisticated Tower Spirit with an emotional system, or a primary Tower Spirit without one.
If it turns out to be the former, being polite can bid well for his impression.
And so, Link and Jasmine confidently headed towards the small lakeside leisure house where Mina had arranged to meet.
There were many such leisure houses next to the lakeside grassland. All one needs to do is swipe an ID to get in, with a symbolic usage fee charged in gold or silver coins.
In a short while, the two arrived at the leisure house, opened the door and walked in.
Inside the room was a charming blond-haired, green-eyed girl waiting, and it turned out to be Mina Havcheck.
By her side on a small round table, laid two cups of clear water.
Seeing that Jasmine did not come alone, but was accompanied by Link, a flicker of panic flashed through Mina's eyes, but she quickly managed to hide it.
Jasmine showed no intention of speaking out, leaving everything to Link to handle.
Link stopped at the small round table, and sniffed both cups of water one after the other.
As expected, one of the cups of water had been spiked with a Hallucinogen.
Link stared intently at Mina's eyes for a long time, until Mina started to look uneasy.
Only then did he seriously say, "Wanting revenge is understandable, but you should aim it at those who harmed you. If you lack the strength, then build it up in silence. But bringing harm to others, wouldn't you become a perpetrator yourself?"