"Since everything's been resolved, I'll take my leave now," Ron said and bowed slightly to the two men before turning to Vosbites. "Sorry to trouble you, Headmaster."
Vosbites had originally intended to discuss more about the Nether Orchid, but seeing that Commander Webster was still present, he merely nodded at Ron. "Take care, Your Highness."
"In that case, I won't stay and bother you either," Webster said calmly, as if he had only come to deliver a message. With that, he turned and exited the office through the window.
Ron left the office burdened with thoughts, walking along the academy's paths with a heavy heart.
The assassination attempt, in his mind, was already over.
After all, of the three assassins, only one remained. Even without outside help, the passive skill Vigorous Vitality from his title emblem was enough to deal with the final assassin.
Whether it was a Tier 5 or Tier 6 assassin, they were doomed either way.
What truly worried him was the fact that Commander Webster had lied.
There had clearly been three assassins, yet Webster claimed only two, both of whom were "dealt with."
With Webster's strength as a Legendary-rank, he couldn't overlook a third assassin.
And even if he had somehow missed one, he should never have kept that from Ron.
So it was clear — Webster had done it on purpose.
And he'd come all the way to the academy just to inform Ron, as if afraid Ron might call for reinforcements.
Analyzing the situation, Ron could only come to one conclusion—
Webster wanted to use someone else's hand to kill him.
To kill Ron — using the assassin's blade.
That was what troubled Ron the most.
Logically speaking, Webster was directly under Emperor André III. He shouldn't be pulling this kind of move…
Unless, of course, his cheap old man had ordered it himself.
But Ron had only just become a Chosen One. André III shouldn't be so impatient.
Even the Church of the God of War hadn't made a statement yet. As the emperor, why would André III make the first move?
So this was very likely Webster acting on his own.
Ron sighed and walked straight out of the Magic Academy gates.
He couldn't count on the Chaos City Magic Academy. The leader of the Radiant Mercenary Corps had ulterior motives, and the patrol squad couldn't be trusted either...
In the end, it all came down to relying on himself — or rather, his system.
In the end, he simply wasn't strong enough.
To live a peaceful life, the prerequisite… was to become a top-tier powerhouse.
Ron shook his head, expression calm, but his heart was alert as he scanned the streets for any trace of the assassin.
On his way to the academy earlier, he had briefly encountered the Tier 6 assassin and remembered his face.
But he couldn't be certain if the assassin had used disguise magic, so the scanning now was more for self-assurance than anything else.
If the assassin did get close, the system would definitely warn him.
"System, if the assassin launches a sneak attack, will the title emblem's passive skill trigger instantly? What if the assassin's momentum carries him toward me?"
[System: "Too complicated to explain. Just know that once Vital Bloom activates, the host will be completely safe."]
"..."
Although the system's "You wouldn't understand even if I explained" attitude was frustrating, since there was now a safety guarantee, Ron eased up.
In the end, he made it back to the shop without being attacked.
"Welcome back, boss!"
Nora, her short, shoulder-length purple hair swaying, was seated behind the counter, counting coins. Seeing Ron return, she immediately stood up and greeted him sweetly.
Still lost in thought about the assassin and Commander Webster, Ron absentmindedly greeted her and headed straight up to the second-floor study.
He sat down at the desk and sank into deep thought.
If Webster truly wanted him dead, there had been plenty of opportunities on the way back for the assassin to strike.
On the surface, Ron was only a Tier 2 mage and a Tier 1 warrior — he wouldn't stand a chance against a Tier 5 assassin.
He rubbed his temples. He just couldn't figure it out.
"Could it be… that after Webster killed the other two assassins, the last one got scared and ran away?" he muttered to himself.
But then he shook his head.
The system task was still incomplete.
The mission required all three assassins to either be killed or abandon their mission.
If the third assassin had backed off, the mission would have completed by now.
Which meant the final assassin was still lurking, waiting for the right time to strike.
"If I stay inside the shop all day, that guy probably won't dare come in..."
Now that he was a Chosen One, many people were already suspecting the two miraculous plants in Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop were connected to the Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta.
Under such suspicion, who would dare charge into a flower shop, possibly guarded by a deity?
"So I still need to go out and draw him in…"
"And tonight I'm supposed to go out with Nora for our… uhh… supply run…"
"But will that put Nora in danger…"
"No, the assassin's target is clearly me. And once he strikes, Vital Bloom will lock on. It'll be fine…"
"Ah… I really just wanted to have a nice walk with Nora tonight, but now I can't even relax…"
Knock knock knock.
The study door was gently knocked.
"Come in."
The door creaked open slightly, and Nora peeked her face through, her cheeks slightly pink. "Boss… It's already evening… Shouldn't we get dinner?"
Only then did Ron snap out of his thoughts. Glancing out the window, he saw the sky already painted with a glowing sunset.
Truthfully, he had no appetite… not even the desire to cook.
So he stood, stretched, opened the door, and smiled at Nora. "Let's not eat at the shop today. Let's find a place outside."
"Eh?" Nora blinked. "Are we going to the barbecue place next door?"
Ron shook his head. "What did you want to buy tonight? Let's head to that area and just grab something to eat nearby."
The assassin could strike at any time — no way he'd lure the assassin toward Lyle's shop.
Even if Vital Bloom guaranteed safety, there'd still be chaos.
Lyle's barbecue place was becoming more popular by the day; it was better not to cause him trouble.
"Oh, okay," Nora nodded obediently. "Then I'll go change real quick—"
"Hey—"
"Huh? What is it, boss?" Nora turned back, confused.
"Just wear that," Ron looked her over. She wore a clean white shirt and a simple skirt of the same color. Thinking of his own robe full of patches, he added with a sigh, "You're someone with a 10-silver weekly salary now. Let's buy you some new clothes tonight and toss that old robe."
It was only now that Nora realized — going out with the boss, wearing that patched-up robe of hers next to his neat outfit…
So embarrassing!
Her face flushed a deeper red as she shuffled closer to Ron and whispered, "Th-then I'll do as you say, boss..."
"Let's go."
The two of them went downstairs.
Ron flipped the shop sign to "Temporarily Closed."
Then he and Nora stepped out onto the street.