Planning

Emerald Heart Tavern.

Celine hurried over to Elan's table, startling him as he read a book.

"What is it?"

Celine quickly took a seat. When Elan received no answer, he began to guess.

"Is it about establishing the Pharmacist Association? Didn't I tell you last time that I couldn't find anyone on my end..."

"It's not that, Elan. This only concerns you."

"Only concerns me?!"

Elan closed his book and placed it on the seat beside him.

Celine picked up a glass of fruit wine before finally saying it.

"Richter has disappeared!"

Elan somewhat understood why she had been in such a hurry, but he still did not understand what it had to do with him.

"What does that have to do with me?"

Celine glanced at him.

"Looks like you weren't the one who killed him..."

"What do you mean, I didn't kill him? Didn't you say he disappeared? How did that turn into him being killed?"

Elan protested.

Celine continued explaining.

"It has basically been confirmed that Richter is dead. The things he left at the Transmutation School were never taken away, there were no signs in his residence, and many valuable items were still inside."

"Even though no body has been found, we have already confirmed it. For someone like Richter, who had enemies everywhere, disappearing basically meant dying."

"On top of that, we had someone from the Astrology School make a prediction. There was a high probability that he was already dead."

Elan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! You didn't ask the Astrology School to predict who killed Richter? Why are you accusing me instead?"

"Could it be that you were afraid the prediction would reveal some terrifying figure, so you deliberately chose not to ask?"

Celine took a sip of fruit wine and spoke slowly.

"You don't need to be so sarcastic. Everyone knows that there are countless things that can be used to establish a connection when predicting whether Richter is dead—his friends, mentor, and possessions can all serve as mediums."

"But predicting who the murderer is? We haven't even found Richter's body. Even with a body, it might not be possible to make a prediction, much less without one."

Elan wore an indifferent expression across from her.

"So? What exactly does this have to do with me?"

After finishing her fruit wine, Celine asked him in return.

"Tell me, was Richter from Cuilan Academy?"

"Yes."

"Then aren't you the dean of Cuilan Academy?"

"Uh..." Elan thought for a moment before continuing.

"If by controlling Cuilan Academy, you mean the Formal Mages, then they are the real deans. I merely help them arrange the class schedules."

"But if you're asking who holds the title of dean of Cuilan Academy, then it is definitely me."

Celine poured herself another glass of fruit wine and spoke gently.

"Elan, I know you are dissatisfied with the academy being controlled by others, but you really should not express it like that."

"How could that be? I think the Apprentice Market is far more important than a tiny Cuilan Academy..."

Celine interrupted him.

"Enough. No matter what you say, the Transmutation School is taking this investigation very seriously."

"They discovered that one of Richter's Notebooks is missing. It may contain knowledge unique to the Transmutation School, so they will definitely come looking for you."

Elan seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation and stopped joking around.

"Have they confirmed when Richter disappeared?"

"It was the night after the assessment ended. Someone saw Richter enter his own house, but no one knows whether he came back out. In any case, he disappeared afterward."

After hearing that, Elan relaxed again and joked.

"If I were the murderer, I'd be overjoyed. It's been nearly two weeks already, right? Even if I buried Richter in the ground, there probably wouldn't be anything left on him by now."

Seeing his indifferent expression, Celine could only speak helplessly.

"Do as you please. It seems you really aren't worried about the Transmutation School's investigation. They have gone mad over that possibly existing Notebook."

"Let them come looking. If I found that Notebook, I'd bury it ten meters underground and let them search for it."

Only after finishing an entire bottle of fruit wine did Celine continue.

"Oh, and there's another very important matter. Do you know about the [Weapon Forging] course?"

Elan was quite interested as well.

"Who came up with that name? It's short and broad, so apprentices have no idea what the course even teaches. If that person were in my academy, I would definitely make him change the course name before approving it."

"Then you may be disappointed. Even if he were in your academy, you might not be able to make him change it."

"Oh? Who is it?"

Celine looked at her completely empty glass, took another bottle of fruit wine, and continued.

"Harbos Roins."

"Who's that?"

"Wait until I finish."

After pouring herself another glass of fruit wine, Celine continued.

"He is a Fourth Order mage. Do you understand now?"

Elan's pupils contracted slightly as he spoke.

"Fourth Order... What is he doing in our City of Apprentices?"

After entering the Formal Rank, one could be called First Order, while Fifth Order was the highest combat power of The Alliance.

"He founded a school... For some reason, he decided to come here to see whether there were any outstanding apprentices, so he opened a course."

Elan still found it hard to believe. Even many major cities in The Alliance only had Third Order mages stationed there, yet a Fourth Order mage had now come to the City of Apprentices.

"Really? What is his school called?"

"The Forge School."

"Fine, it certainly echoes the name of that course."

Then Elan realized something.

"So you were afraid that this lord happened to pass through and killed Richter, and it would be awkward if the Astrology School predicted it..."

Celine's face darkened as she interrupted him.

"Can we stop talking about that? Do you realize this is an opportunity?"

Elan asked curiously.

"What opportunity? A Fourth Order mage had a sudden whim to teach here. What does that have to do with people like us, who are only First or Second Order?"

"An opportunity to take control of the City of Apprentices. You now hold the title of dean of Cuilan Academy. Why not ask him to help you make that title a reality?"

Elan was too stunned to speak. After a long while, he finally managed to say.

"You... First tell me why he would help me? I don't even know him."

"No, you can join the Forge School. As far as I know, aside from him, there is no one openly affiliated with his school. If you ask to join, coupled with your title as dean, I believe he would be more than willing to have an academy under his command."

"What about the Law School?"

"I already asked for you. The Third Seat agreed to my plan. Whether to do this or not is up to you."

Celine smiled and continued.

"If you succeed, it will be the starting point for our Law School's return to the City of Apprentices."