Planning

Emerald Heart Tavern.

Celine arrived at Elan's table with such speed that she startled him while he was reading a book.

"What's the rush?"

Celine quickly sat down in the seat. Seeing that he received no answer, Elan began to guess:

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

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

"Concerns only me?!"

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

Celine took a glass of fruit wine before she finally spoke of the matter.

"Richter has gone missing!"

Elan understood why she had been in such a hurry, but what he didn't understand now was why it concerned him.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Celine cast a glance at him.

"It seems you weren't the one who killed him..."

"What do you mean 'wasn't the one who killed him'? Isn't he just missing? How did he end up dead?"

Elan protested.

Celine continued to explain.

"It has been basically confirmed that Richter is dead. He never retrieved the items he left at the Transmutation School, and there were no traces left at his residence; many of his precious belongings are still inside."

"Even though we haven't found a body or anything of the sort, we have all reached a consensus. For someone like Richter, who had enemies everywhere, going missing is effectively the same as being dead."

"On top of that, we asked the Astrology School to perform a divination, and there is a high probability that he is already dead."

Elan raised an eyebrow:

"Oh! You didn't have the Astrology School prophesy who killed Richter? Why come here to frame me instead?"

"Could it be that you were afraid the prophecy would reveal someone formidable, so you specifically chose not to have them do it?"

Celine drank her fruit wine and said slowly:

"You don't need to be so sarcastic with me. Everyone knows that divining whether Richter is dead or alive involves a large number of connected objects; his friends, mentors, or personal items can all serve as mediums."

"As for divining who the murderer is, we haven't even found Richter's body. Even with a body, it wouldn't necessarily be possible to divine it, let alone without one."

Elan sat opposite her with an indifferent expression on his face.

"So, what does this have to do with me, exactly?"

After Celine finished her fruit wine, she countered:

"Let me ask you, was Richter from Cuilan Academy?"

"Yes."

"And are you the Dean of Cuilan Academy?"

"Uh..." Elan thought for a moment, then continued:

"If you mean the actual control of Cuilan Academy, that belongs to the formal mages; they are the real deans. I'm just the one who helps them schedule their classes."

"But if you're asking who the nominal Dean of Cuilan Academy is, then that would certainly be me."

Celine poured another glass of fruit wine into her cup and said in a gentle tone:

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

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

Celine interrupted him.

"Enough. Regardless of 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 realize the gravity of the situation and stopped joking.

"Have they confirmed when Richter went missing?"

"It was the night the examinations ended. Someone witnessed Richter entering his house, and no one knows if he ever came back out. Regardless, he went missing afterward."

Upon hearing this information, Elan relaxed again and joked:

"If I were the killer, I'd be laughing my head off. It's been nearly two weeks now. Even if I had buried Richter in the dirt, there probably wouldn't be anything left of him by now."

Celine looked at his indifferent expression and could only say helplessly:

"Suit yourself. It seems you aren't worried about the Transmutation School's investigation at all. They are acting like madmen over that potentially missing notebook."

"Let them come looking. If I were the one who found that notebook, I'd bury it ten meters underground and let them search for it."

After finishing a bottle of fruit wine, Celine continued:

"Right, there's one more very important thing. You know about that course called [Weapon Forging], right?"

Elan was also quite interested, saying:

"Who came up with that name? It's so short and vague that apprentices have no idea what the course is actually about. If he were in my academy, I'd definitely make him change the course title before letting it pass."

"Then you might be disappointed, because even if he were in your academy, he probably wouldn't change it."

"Oh? Who is it?"

Celine looked at her cup, which didn't have a single drop left, and after grabbing another bottle of fruit wine, she continued:

"Harbos Roins."

"Who is that?"

"Wait until I finish."

After pouring a glass of fruit wine, Celine continued:

"He is a Tier 4 mage. Do you understand now?"

Elan's pupils constricted as he spoke:

"Tier 4... What is he doing coming to our City of Apprentices?"

Once one enters the formal ranks, they can be called Tier 1, and Tier 5 is the highest combat power in the Alliance.

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

Elan still found it hard to believe; one had to know that even many large cities in the Alliance only had Tier 3 mages stationed there, and now a Tier 4 mage had come to the City of Apprentices.

"Really? What is the name of his school?"

"Forge School."

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

Immediately after, Elan realized:

"So you're worried that this lord might pass by and kill Richter, and then it would be awkward if the Astrology School's prophecy came true..."

Celine had black lines running down her forehead as she interrupted him.

"Can we stop talking about that? Don't you realize this is an opportunity?"

Elan asked with some curiosity:

"What kind of opportunity? A Tier 4 mage having a whim to teach here—what does that have to do with us Tier 1 and 2 mages?"

"The opportunity to control the City of Apprentices. You currently hold the title of Dean of Cuilan Academy; why not ask him to help you solidify that status?"

Elan was too shocked to speak, and it was a long time before he finally said:

"You... first tell me why he would help me? I'm not even familiar with him."

"No, you can join the Forge School. As far as I know, he has no one else on the surface in his school. If you request to join, combined with your title as Dean, I believe he would be very happy to have a dedicated academy under his command."

"And what about the Law School?"

"I have already asked on your behalf. The Third Seat has agreed to my plan. Whether or not to do this depends on you."

Celine revealed a smile and continued:

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