Recruitment

Ten adorable little coins that had barely warmed his hand vanished again. Watching Angie's departing back, Du Pont felt utterly melancholy.

Sigh, I'm your teacher's good friend. As her fine disciple, how could you ask me for money? That's just not cute at all.

But he ultimately could not say those words aloud. After class ended, Du Pont and Charles returned to the dormitory to split the spoils.

"These sixty are what you lent me." Du Pont counted out sixty gold coins. Charles had been silently watching the whole time, but when Du Pont finished counting and pushed the coins over to him, the chubby boy did not take them. "Come on, I didn't really help much today. I've already made quite a bit. You should keep these gold coins."

"What nonsense are you talking about? One thing at a time." Du Pont smiled. "The two of us worked together pretty well. Otherwise, how would Conner have fallen for it? I just didn't expect that kid to get thrown into solitary confinement by the combat instructor."

"That's what high-ranking instructors are like. They handle matters impartially and aren't afraid of anyone. They don't give a damn about any family. I heard even the Haluar Council can't do much about them." As he spoke, Charles put away the gold coins and lowered his voice. "Actually, there's something I haven't told you."

"Hm?" Du Pont looked puzzled. "Say it if you want to. Forget it if it's inconvenient."

"It's not a big deal. At the end of the month, an instructor will take me on as a personal apprentice. After this month, we won't be classmates anymore." Charles could not stop himself from laughing as he mentioned it. "Haha, I finally won't have to keep playing with mud! And I won't have to worry about being assigned out of Haluar and running all over Faerûn anymore!"

"Wow, that's great news. It's not easy for someone from our Architecture Department to get taken on." Du Pont sincerely congratulated him. "Which instructor offered? I'll try signing up for their class too. Maybe we can become apprentices together."

"Hehe, believe it or not, she's interested in you too." Charles said quietly. "It's Boulder Instructor. Last weekend, I was talking with her about the details of becoming a personal apprentice. After combat class just now, she sent me a message saying that if you're interested, you can go interview with her as well and become her personal apprentice."

Upon hearing the name Boulder, an image resembling a winter melon appeared in Du Pont's mind.

Boulder was a dwarven surname. Boulder Instructor also had another name, Ruru. She was half dwarf and half elf. Though her face was not particularly unattractive, her figure was hard to describe. She did not even seem to be five feet tall.

Thinking of that, Du Pont was shocked. "Holy shit, you could actually bring yourself to do it?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Charles looked utterly confused. "Bring myself to do what?"

"...Don't tell me you don't know that some instructors take apprentices not only because they value talent, but also because they want toys? Didn't Boulder Instructor do anything to you when she took you on?"

"Of course not. Don't talk nonsense, she's really nice." Charles looked unconvinced. "She personally taught me Bear's Endurance. Usually, we just had a meal together, then chatted in a quaint little courtyard. After that, I got too sleepy and fell asleep."

Having said that much, Charles began to feel a chill as well. "Wait, you mean I might have...?? No way, right? My looks are nothing special either..."

"Well, it's perfectly normal for those rich and powerful people to have unusual tastes." Du Pont realized he had misspoken after saying that. "Ahem, but that's just my guess. Being taken in by an instructor is a good thing no matter what. You won't need to turn in scrolls anymore, and you can read private books whenever you want. Your advancement will definitely be much faster."

"Yeah." Charles scratched his head. "Forget it, I still won't miss this opportunity. At worst, I'll endure it for a few years and run after graduating. No matter what, it's better than eating from the communal pot here."

"Right, that's what I think too."

"So, Boulder Instructor's invitation...?"

"Forget it. I'll rely on my own hard work." Du Pont shook his head. Eating meals under that winter melon would be worse than trying to get on Dorothy's good side. At least she's a proper mature beauty, and she only bothers me once a week. If I become a personal apprentice, I might end up as a miserable slave. "We should talk more when the time comes. Maybe things aren't as bad as we think. Oh, and I have some ideas about Annie. I'll bring them up when I treat everyone tonight. Just cooperate with me."

"Mhm." After saying that, Charles bid him farewell and left, walking away with a heavy heart.

Watching him go, Du Pont could not help sighing inwardly.

I hope he grows sturdier in the future. Otherwise, that little body of his might not last very long.

At dinner, Du Pont, who had returned victorious today and earned several hundred gold coins, naturally became the center of attention. He generously treated the entire class to a meal, spending a full thirty silver coins.

The braised food left over from that morning was also served as an extra dish for his classmates, earning unanimous praise.

"Though this stuff doesn't look great, it has a unique flavor. And it doesn't get stuck in your teeth."

Conner's little clique did not come to dinner, and Annie did not come either. Once the people from the other schools had dispersed, Du Pont raised his fruit juice. "Today, we dealt a heavy blow to those Evocation School bastards who look down on us. Cheers, everyone."

The academy did not sell alcohol, and even the fruit juice had honey added to it. Naturally, no one refused as they raised their cups. They all drained them happily, gave Du Pont a thumbs-up, and praised him even more. "I never knew you had such skills, Du Pont. That was really clean and decisive. Even the instructor praised your actions extravagantly. I haven't heard of anything like that in my three years here."

"It's a shame that idiot Conner didn't dare get on the stage. Otherwise, we'd have beaten his face into a bloody mess!"

"I'd say that kick of Du Pont's was really heavy. He sent Pete flying and foaming at the mouth in one shot. If that idiot Conner who treats an armband like an official position had gone up there, wouldn't one kick have smashed his eggs to pieces?"

Everyone burst out laughing after saying that. Du Pont laughed as well. "All right, we're classmates. There's no need to go for the kill. Conner is annoying, but that doesn't mean we need to turn him into a castrato singer. Spare people when you can."

"Spare my ass!" The speaker was Saphis, one of the classmates who had backed him up earlier. "Most people already look down on us. Those sons of bitches from the Apprentice Association are even worse—they bully the weak and fear the strong, always treating us like soft persimmons to squeeze. They keep waving academy rules around and making a big deal out of everything. Last time, I was in a hurry and didn't get dressed properly, and they lectured me for half an hour. I really wanted to kick that idiot to death."

"Exactly." Hearing him say that, the other students began chiming in, recounting the discrimination they had suffered before. At that moment, Charles frowned. "The others are one thing, but that bitch Annie joined forces with Conner to bully her own people. At least she has enough self-awareness to be too embarrassed to come eat with us. Otherwise, I'd have given her a good scolding to her face!"

"Yeah. She's the only girl in our class, and we usually gave way to her. We even all voted for her to be class representative. I heard she gets a special allowance every year too. It would have been one thing if that bitch hadn't appreciated it, but she even worked with Conner to put you two in an awkward position. That little bitch is rotten to the core."

"All right, she isn't here, so we shouldn't talk about her behind her back." Du Pont gave a light cough, cutting off everyone's complaints. "But you're right about one thing. We can't let Annie remain class representative. That position may not be useful for much, but if the head of our class sides with outsiders, then we'll become even more of a joke when people already don't think highly of us. What do you say? Should we all sign a petition and remove her?"