Lakefront New Home

Lakefront New Home

A cold wind swept past, and Lorist shuddered. The hot blood rushing to his head began to cool, and as he came to his senses and thought it over carefully, he could not help but smile bitterly. He had been led around by that old fox, Headmaster Levens, again.

From merging Yellow Ribbon Academy, to applying for loans for the academy's development, to being humiliated at the academy gathering, to wagering against every academy in the Academy District rather than let them slander him—somehow, it had all turned into a matter of him proving himself. Everything had seemed perfectly reasonable, yet in the end, the old fox bore no responsibility at all and could casually stand aside to watch the show.

That old bastard had somehow shoved him onto the stage. Next, he had to fight for his reputation as an invincible Silver, for the academy's future development, and for the hopes of every instructor and student. The old bastard had laid everything out in the open, dug a huge pit, and made him willingly jump into it. He could not even entertain the idea of holding back. If he lost, the accusations and resentment of everyone in the academy would drown him alive.

The old bastard spoke so righteously that Lorist would have had nothing to say if it really were an inter-academy wager. The problem was that the old bastard had ordered Fatty Shi to post duel notices everywhere, obviously intending to make a killing off it. If Lorist went back to argue with him, the old bastard would surely say that tending one sheep or a flock of sheep was the same, that it was merely a small effort, and that it would make Lorist famous and bring glory to the academy, blah blah blah. Lorist would still end up being talked into it again.

He turned back to look at the bluish-gray tower. The white gauze curtains at the headmaster's office window fluttered gently in the wind. Lorist shivered and decided not to seek reason from that old bastard anymore. He would stay far away from that old fox in the future, whether he had business or not. Better not let that old fox set his sights on him.

As for now, Lorist weighed the purple-copper key in his hand and decided to first take a look at the instructor's residence the academy had assigned him. If it suited him, he would move in early.

In fact, the academy had assigned Lorist a dormitory as soon as he received the Ikado Badge. But that dormitory was in the instructor building, the stronghold of the academy's Silver Instructors, with Silver Instructors living above, below, left, and right. Lorist knew he was not welcome among them, so he simply did not go there to suffer their cold looks and returned the dormitory to the academy. He ran off to live with his girlfriend instead, enjoying a free and easy life outside.

Moon Lake lay south of Dawnlight Academy. It was an almost circular little lake, its clear waters rippling while willows drifted gracefully along the shore. It had always been a wonderful place for students to relax and court one another. To the north lay the former grounds of Yellow Ribbon Academy. Near Moon Lake stood a small hill that had once been covered in mulberry trees. Now the trees had been cut down sparsely, replaced by dozens of exquisite little villa-like pavilions. That had to be the Golden Instructor Residential District Headmaster Levens had mentioned.

The wall separating the two academies had already been torn down. Lorist followed the cobblestone path by the lake and soon reached the foot of the hill, but the hill was enclosed by a bamboo fence. Following the fence, he soon circled around to the front of the hill, where there was a row of two-story wooden houses and a large gate.

A hired worker in servant's livery led Lorist to the first room in the wooden houses. It was a large office with five desks. Behind the innermost desk sat a woman whose hair had begun to turn white, writing with her head lowered. The worker pointed at the woman, indicating that she was Supervisor Scarlett, whom Lorist had come to see.

Scarlett accepted the purple-copper key Lorist handed over and examined the words "Moon Thirty-Five" engraved on it. She smiled warmly. "So you're Little Locke, the Black Iron Gold Instructor our academy speaks of so highly. I've heard so much about you. Hehe, I used to be in charge of several academy shops in Molent City and rarely came to the academy, so I had only heard of you and never met you."

Lorist understood. He had spent ten years at Dawnlight Academy, and he was something of a celebrity no matter what. There really were not many academy management staff he had never met.

Supervisor Scarlett personally took Lorist to inspect the house. She was a very talkative woman. "Little Locke, your house is near the lakeshore, so it may be rather quiet. Number Thirty-Four beside you is also a little far away. Instructor Marlin lives there. You should know him, right?"

Lorist nodded. Instructor Marlin was one of the retired officers who had come to work at the academy three years ago. He was naturally forthright and had two great passions: drinking and horses. His favorite saying was, "My horse is my second wife." He was married, with a beautiful and gentle wife and a very adorable daughter. When he came to the academy, he had brought not only his family but also an old horse. According to him, the mare named Jenny had saved his life on the battlefield no fewer than three times, so he had to take her with him wherever he went, until she returned to the realm of the War God.

This was a wood-and-stone villa, probably two and a half stories tall, with a small attic beneath its pointed roof. As Supervisor Scarlett had said, the place was indeed rather secluded. It stood in a corner of the hill near Moon Lake, and because of the terrain there were no other buildings nearby. From the yard, he could only see half the roof of Villa Number Thirty-Four in the distance.

The yard was probably a little over forty square meters, taking up all the level ground. A row of waist-high holly trees formed its boundary wall. Although it was close to Moon Lake, there was still a well in the yard. Lorist leaned over to take a look. Square bluestones formed the well wall, while the bottom was covered with fine white sand to filter the water.

Two wooden sheds had also been built against the hillside in the yard. As Supervisor Scarlett used her key to open the villa's front door, she introduced them. "Those are stables. You can keep two horses there. If you have a carriage, you can park it in the yard or leave it in the carriage shed by the gate for safekeeping. If you have no horses, you can use them as utility rooms. There, finally got it open. These new keys need a little oil to turn easily, otherwise they're far too stiff. Come in and take a look."

The first room inside was a large living room, with a fireplace, sofas, and even tapestries on the walls. Though they were not valuable, they gave the place a warm, homely feeling. Lorist nodded. It seemed all the furniture had already been arranged, so he would not have to buy anything himself. That saved him quite a bit of trouble. For someone as afraid of hassle as he was, this house seemed tailor-made and suited him perfectly.

Supervisor Scarlett introduced each room in turn. "Behind this are the kitchen and dining room. The two rooms on the left are servant rooms, while the two on the right are the washroom and storeroom. There's also a small partitioned space beneath the stairs for storing odds and ends. Let's go upstairs."

Upstairs was a sitting room connected to the master bedroom and two guest rooms, along with a small study and a washroom. The master bedroom was spacious, with its own washroom and dressing room. The stairs leading upward from the sitting room went to the small attic.

Supervisor Scarlett smiled and said that once Instructor Locke started a family and had children, he could turn the small attic into a children's room or a small bedroom. She was sure the children would love it then.

Lorist replied that he was single at the moment and that marriage, career, and children were still far off.

Supervisor Scarlett immediately grew interested and began asking what kind of girls Lorist liked and what requirements he had. She looked ready to bring dozens of girls over for Lorist to pick one as his wife.

Lorist hurriedly thanked Supervisor Scarlett for her kindness and excused himself by saying that he was at a critical stage of training and also needed to prepare for the academy's challenge duels. He could not afford to be distracted. Only then did Supervisor Scarlett give up on introducing him to a girlfriend.

When they returned to the downstairs living room, Supervisor Scarlett asked Lorist what he thought of the house. If he found it too remote, he could exchange it for a similar one. Fifty-two villas had been built in the Golden Instructor Residential District, but only thirty-eight of the academy's Gold Instructors had moved in. Fourteen were still vacant, so there were houses available to switch to.

Lorist said he was very satisfied with this house and did not need to change. He would bring his luggage over in the next day or two.

Supervisor Scarlett pointed to a green cord hanging beside the fireplace. "Instructor Locke, this cord is the bell pull connected to our residential district management office. Pull it a few times and the bell over there will ring. We'll send someone over to ask what you need. Since you've just moved in and don't have a personal servant yet, you can leave any chores to the hired helpers at the management office."

As she spoke, Supervisor Scarlett pulled the bell cord several times. "A helper will come by shortly. Since you plan to move in tomorrow or the day after, you should have the house cleaned first. I took a look just now, and there's already dust on the stair railings."

Lorist was curious. "Supervisor Scarlett, this is quite far from your management office. How does this bell cord reach all the way there?"

Supervisor Scarlett smiled proudly. "It's actually very simple. Bamboo pipes are buried underground, with copper wires laid inside. This bell cord merely hooks onto a pull ring on the copper wire. Pull the cord a few times and it tugs the wire, which rings the copper bell in the office. The bells are numbered, so we can tell at a glance where the signal comes from. I borrowed this method from the summoning bells embedded in the walls of those big merchant houses. They have even more business to handle, with over a hundred little copper bells hanging on their walls."

Before long, there was a knock at the door, followed by a sturdily built female helper entering. Lorist took one look and smiled. "Keli, it's you."

This female helper was Lorist's nurse from when he had first crossed over and was recovering from his injuries. They had not seen each other for years, and her once plump figure had become even more formidable. The original owner of this body, Little Locke, had been quite unlikeable, putting on aristocratic airs every day. Though Keli had been his nurse, she had only performed the care required of her for the money and could barely be bothered to speak to him.

Then Lorist had crossed over and become the new owner of this body. He still lay in bed recovering as usual, but in order to learn about this new world, he had increased Keli's wages and asked her to read books and newspapers to him. Over time, as they grew familiar, Keli began to feel that this little noble was actually rather pitiful, so young yet so far from home. Once she thought of it that way, her maternal instincts took over, and she began caring for Lorist attentively. Their relationship grew better and better. If Keli had not needed to return home because of family matters, Lorist had even wanted to hire her long-term to take care of his daily life.

"Ah, it's Young Master Locke!" Keli greeted Lorist happily.

"What happened to your family back then? After I recovered, I went to the academy management office to ask the person in charge of hired workers. He said you had gone home because of family matters and would not be coming back to the academy," Lorist asked.

"Yes, my mother-in-law fell ill that time, so I went back to care for her for half a year. Then she died, and I stayed home farming and working. Then one, two, three, four, five, six years passed. The children grew up and could help with the household work, so I came back to the academy as a helper." Keli counted the years she had spent at home on her fingers, making Lorist want to laugh. He knew Keli was not very good at arithmetic, but he had not expected her to still be the same after all these years.

Lorist turned to ask Supervisor Scarlett whether he could hire Keli as his servant. Supervisor Scarlett said he could, but Keli was unwilling. She said that Lorist lived alone, and if she became his servant, there would be nothing to do except cleaning and washing. That meant she would not earn tips, and without tips, she could not save money for her children's future wives. So she refused.

Lorist shook his head with a bitter smile. "What a foolish big sister..."

He chose Supervisor Scarlett's second suggestion instead: hire Keli as a long-term servant to come clean every two days, half a day each time, for five large silver coins a month. Everyone was happy with the arrangement.

Foolish big sister Keli said she would come clean tomorrow morning. Lorist decided to wait a while, then gave Keli a matching house key so she could let herself in to clean in the future. After seeing off Supervisor Scarlett and Keli, Lorist looked over his new house once more. From now on, this house would be his home.

He had crossed over to Galintea ten years ago, and at last he had a home of his own—a home belonging to him alone. This was where he had gained a foothold in this world, and it was also a harbor where his soul could find peace. Lorist inspected his new territory step by step, feeling immensely pleased. If thinking of that old bastard Headmaster Levens had not spoiled his mood, Lorist might even have felt like singing aloud.

There were still some matters he needed to settle. Standing by the window of the master bedroom on the second floor, gazing at the tranquil Moon Lake before him, Lorist once again recalled the first time he had seen her at Moon Lake. His heart ached faintly. More than three years of love had come to such an end. Was noble status truly so important that it could make her forget their former vows and throw herself into another man's arms? Could she even give away the career they had worked so hard to build together as a stepping stone for advancement...

If they were going to separate, then so be it. Today, he would go and put an end to everything. Lorist slammed his fist against the wall and made his final decision.