Although Alicia's father gave a good score to Baston's performance, the quest needed overall respect from everyone in the family. When Baston took a look at the old book, it gave him a bad result. He frowned but
there was no other way. The sparring before indeed gave everyone a better impression of him, but since the loosing side came from them, it surely left a bitter taste. Actually, he didn't have to win, but because his opponent was too weak, there was no more time to make a fake performance.
Having to look your own family got beaten by someone else was surely disturbing and annoying. Only a handful people like the butler and the family head that could recognize what the summary of the sparring. They knew Baston wasn't serious at all. It could be looked he just went to give a test to the youngster. The elders could see he gave much face to them, but it was very different for the young generation. In their minds, there was a hateful seed planted. They simply thought as a noble, they should not lose against the poor fat boy, yet the reality slapped their faces. The boys didn't want to
admit if Theodore was just weaker than Baston. They just thought the fat boy won with hideous tricks. If not, how could he possibly win over a noble like them?
"At least, it's not the worst…" Baston thought.
Right at the moment, he already took rest at his room. The door had already been fixed so he finally had his private space. In this free time, Baston was thinking if there was another way to increase his performance.
Having a bad result was actually not bad at all. The reward was only one information
which he didn't know if it was worth it or not. He remembered the first one he got was when he ran the quest for Angus. After fooling him with his bad reward, he didn't know what happened after that. Perhaps, the great wizard didn't remember it too, simply just shoving it away. Anyway, he also almost forgot about it if the old book didn't remind him.
"Knock… knock… knock…"
"Yes? Is there something?" Baston heard the knocked door and asked from inside the room.
"Of course…"
Just after replying Baston, someone suddenly entered the room. Baston himself was surprised that such a coincidence happened just after he was thinking about this man. In front of him, there was great wizard Angus. Unlike the bad impression from the first meeting, the old man was beaming with smile. There must be something happening in here but the fat boy didn't express the same smile as Angus. Baston had to keep check on his cold attitude, so people who knew about him from a long time didn't feel strange. What he did was a disrespect, but Angus wasn't concerned of this attitude. The great wizard
even thought this fat boy was getting more mysterious along the time.
"Long time no see, huh?" Angus started, "Can I come in?"
"As the lord of the house, I can't possibly refuse you…"
Angus only chuckled and went inside. Before he sat down, he casted a soundproof spell so everyone couldn't hear what they would be talking about. Baston was anxious because he thought the great wizard didn't mean well, but judging on his expression, it shouldn't be bad news.
"There are many I want to talk about, but I will explain it one by one…" Angus smiled, "Did you remember about what you talked at Prius Academy?"
"About what?" Baston tried to remember.
"About the infused mana potion with ice magic…"
"Oh, I remember... What about it?"
"The thing is I happened to tell my acquaintance about this thing. Since he liked to research, he then proceeded with the experimentation. I almost forgot about it, but he contacted and told me that he wanted to meet whoever the one that shared this precious information to me…"
"No…" Baston simply replied.
Angus was baffled because the fat boy quickly answered him. He already knew Baston might not agree, but he never knew the boy was so determined of rejecting it. On the other hand, Baston was thinking back about the reward. Back then, he thought it was useless one but, in the end, it held an important information. Regarding this, he rejected it because once the man asked further about it, he was sure he couldn't answer it well. It just came out from the old book so he himself knew nothing about its theory. His name shouldn't be mentioned so no one would expect something more from the poor him.
"Well, I never know you really don't want to get famous," Angus laughed, "Then, there's only a second option which is to sell this kind
of invention to my acquaintance. The price is about 300,000 pounds. Because I already know him well, he can offer more about 450,000 pounds. How about it?"
"Alright, but I don't have a bank card…"
"It's alright. I will accompany you to make your own bank account so if there's a situation like this in the future, someone can easily deposit money for you."
Even though Baston looked cool from outside, he couldn't wait to scream happily at this moment. He finally struck a second chance of money. The first one was quite amazing, yet the second one was much better. He wondered if he could be already called a rich boy. Although he was happy, he
realized his status was from poor class at the moment. If he opened his own bank account, the official must already know he had money to redeem his status. By then, his status might go up to commoner class but his wealth would be drained quickly to pay his debt.
In this world, being a poor class surely had many disadvantages. Kids like Baston might be subsidized when attending the academy,
but once you graduated, you have to pay the past debt. Of course, you couldn't just thank the kingdom and quickly left. All the resources you used when you were still kid must be paid handsomely. The money couldn't just be thrown endlessly because someone had to bear it. The nobles surely didn't have big heart to do it and the royalty had many bigger expenditures when organizing the kingdom. Even the merchants wouldn't be stupid to make donation without a purpose. In the end, only poor people could be responsible for themselves.
At the moment, Baston was pondering if having such big money was advantageous or not. If he opened his own bank account, the money would be quickly drained away for his debt. Most of it would be used and he would finally become a commoner class. Although it felt same, at least being a
commoner had their own benefits. One of them was you could go to everywhere since you regained the freedom. If you were from poor class, some places or cities wouldn't accept you. One of many reasons was they didn't want to bear such a problematic people in their cities.
Because of complicated reasons, Baston finally decided to hide his identity and strength first. In order to do that, it was better to be a poor class for now. If time permitted, then he would reconsider to increase his own status. When he told Angus about it, the great wizard only nodded understandingly. Whether the old man knew what the fat boy meant or not, Baston didn't care. At least, he still hoped to get the money from different way.
Angus was surprised at first when Baston wanted the money, but rejected the idea of opening the bank account. The great wizard only needed a few seconds to find out what Baston planned to do. In his mind, the fat boy was still looking for Joker. If the boy made the bank account, the money would be
soon used to pay the debt. By then, his status would change into commoner, but his
identity would be leaked to the enemy. It would be safe to be a poor person despite many disadvantages. No one would pay much attention to a poor class and that was why Baston picked the choice. At least, Angus thought so.
There were many things to talk, but since Baston was the guest of the house, Angus didn't have to worry about him leaving early. It would be too hasty if he spoke about Joker right now. In the end, he left the fat boy first to rest. After all, Baston had just finished his sparring so he must be tired. Before Angus went outside, Baston asked him about the matter of entering the library. At first, Alicia had already asked for him but there was
still no exact news. Since Angus was here, it would be better to get the permission from him. For the great wizard, it was just a small matter so Angus would only need to talk to the butler. There was no secret information inside, so there wouldn't be a trouble.
Baston felt relieved once he heard Angus. He didn't need to wait for a long time here before getting into the library. Today, he could go there directly but since he would stay here for many days, there was no need to hurry. It would be better to find a way to increase the respect needed on the quest first. He started thinking if he was unable to make a good impression on younger generation, then he needed to increase the older generation's impression on him. Surely, it would offset the bad and the good.
"Excuse me…" the butler knocked the door, interrupting Baston's thought, "My lord invited you to the dinner tonight. He hopes you can attend so everyone can know his guest better."
"Alright, thank you very much…"
"You're welcome. I will put your clothes here. In the meantime, you can rest first or look around until the evening. If you have any
question, you can call me directly."
The butler then excused himself and closed the door quietly. It seemed the treatment had increased a little. He didn't know whether it was because his sparring or Angus, but he would gladly enjoy it. Not to mention the
butler, the lord of the house invited him to stay for a dinner together. He wouldn't waste this opportunity to know everyone better. Since it would have an impact regarding the quest, he had to do his task well.
Baston waited until the evening before he attended the dinner. The tables were divided for elders and youngsters. Angus and Alicia's father sat on the same table while Alicia, Theodore, and the rest sat at another one. It was clear the young should mingle with the same age while the adults had
their own business. Baston wanted to go to Alicia's side but the butler directed him to the same table as Angus and the others. At the moment, he really felt awkward because he shouldn't belong here.
The fat boy thought he got the wrong seat, but unknowingly, Angus was the reason why Baston had this privilege. After recounting the story of his heroic deeds with Joker to the family head and the elders, everyone was flabbergasted by such ability. The fat boy looked ordinary but his behavior along the trips was extraordinary. He was different from the brave young one since everything he did seemingly after precise thinking. The fact that he could contend one by one with Joker, which even Claire and Teres could only watch, made the older generation of the family viewed him highly.
While the guest was confused, Theodore and the rest were very dumbfounded. They thought after just winning over a simple sparring, Baston's status was suddenly elevated. Unlike the winner, the loser which was Theodore felt disappointed in himself. The rest of boys stared at Baston
indignantly since everyone believed they couldn't lose against him. There must be a trick played before and that was what they believed inside their heads. On the other hand, Alicia seemed to know much. She believed it wasn't so simple like that. Her father wouldn't be too amazed over such a childish battle, so in the end, there must be something grander about this.