Fairness, Fairness, and More Fairness

"But then again, although my abilities don't quite match this award for now, I'll definitely work hard to improve myself, diligently study spells, and make myself truly worthy of the Outstanding Young Spellcaster Award, so I won't let you down."

Jia Xiu spoke at a blistering pace, his gaze as resolute as someone pledging to join the Party.

A recommendation letter, a laboratory, and a thousand Kroner in sponsorship.

Wasn't it just competing with the lord's son for an award? Hesitating for even a second would be disrespecting those terms.

If things went smoothly, he would not be staying in Creekwood Town much longer anyway. Once he got into Saint Delro Academy, who would care about some minor noble from a remote town?

Margaret had not expected Jia Xiu's attitude to turn around so smoothly. She froze for a moment, then smiled.

"I thought you were the stubborn type."

She found herself appreciating this young Warlock more and more. Not only was he exceptionally capable, he was rather interesting too.

Once he got into Saint Delro, she would definitely recruit him into her group.

Saint Dero Spellcaster Academy used a mentorship system. From the moment new students enrolled, they had to choose each other with their mentors.

Most new students had no opportunity to choose a mentor at all. They were basically stuck in the position of, "Please, any mentor, take me in."

Those with exceptional talent, however, would be fought over by several mentors.

Margaret was too young, and she did not have the air of a grand mage that her colleagues possessed. She could barely compete for good students.

That was why she was offering Jia Xiu help in her personal capacity.

She really did not want to keep picking up the students other mentors had passed over.

"Remember to come for the final judging in three days."

Margaret reminded him before leaving.

As the young mentor departed, Aunt Susan, who had tactfully stepped outside, returned as well.

Her curious eyes brimmed with a thirst for knowledge.

She looked Jia Xiu over, then glanced in the direction Margaret had left, as though she had understood something.

In a deliberately kind tone, she said to Jia Xiu, "It's all right, don't lose heart. You're young, after all. It's normal to be a little nervous your first time..."

"No, Auntie, what are you thinking?"

Jia Xiu hurriedly stopped Aunt Susan before her imagination could run any further.

"She's from the Caster Association. She came to notify me that I'm participating in the Outstanding Young Spellcaster Award selection. It's in three days."

"Really?!"

Aunt Susan let out a shriek.

"No, these clothes are too old. I have to dress you up nicely for the award ceremony."

"That won't be necessary, will it? It's such a waste of money."

"How is that a waste? It's on me. Auntie will give you a formal outfit. What a pity, though. Three days isn't enough time to make a new one..."

As she spoke, Aunt Susan began rummaging through the wardrobe.

Unable to refuse such warm enthusiasm, Jia Xiu could only cooperate and play dress-up doll for several hours.

He had the distinct feeling that Aunt Susan had found the joy of raising a child through him.

Soon, three days had passed.

The award selection was held in the Caster Association's hall.

Every prominent figure in Creekwood Town had arrived, and the air was thick with the scent of countless perfumes.

Jia Xiu wore the formal outfit Aunt Susan had carefully selected. It was not very comfortable, but it was already the most comfortable among the choices she had offered. At least he was wearing trousers on his lower half.

Aunt Susan had originally wanted him to wear the trendiest men's fashion: stockings and high heels.

The selection process was even longer than Jia Xiu had imagined. Every candidate had to be introduced one by one before the judges voted.

The judges were mainly members of the Caster Association, seated on the left side of the hall. Margaret sat in the front row.

The lord and his retainers sat on the right side of the hall.

There were twenty-five people on each side.

After each candidate was introduced, the judges would offer their opinions. Judging from their earlier behavior, the Association and the lord's retainers did not get along very well.

Jia Xiu did not care what conflict existed between the two sides. He was more concerned with finding someone to test a healing spell that made toenails grow sideways, so he could complete his research and gain enough experience to level up.

He had heard there was a cult stronghold outside Creekwood Town that worshipped the God of Deceit and Curses. Maybe he could pick up a related mission from the Adventurer Association and practice on some cultists.

He wondered whether any party would accept a Warlock who only knew Basic Healing Spell.

As Jia Xiu pondered this, the lengthy selection process finally reached its most important stage.

The votes were announced.

They were revealed in ascending order of rank.

"Bruce, three votes."

"Wright, seven votes."

"Jack, eleven votes."

The earlier candidates were all just there to make up the numbers. Creekwood Town was only a small town, after all. Where would it find so many outstanding young spellcasters?

"Hannas, twenty-five votes."

The moment the lord's son's vote count was announced, the people seated on the right immediately erupted in cheers.

Hannas rose from the candidates' seats and gave his supporters a slight bow, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.

"Jia Xiu, twenty-five votes."

The hall fell silent in an instant.

The silence lasted several seconds before Hannas finally asked in disbelief, "Were the votes counted incorrectly?"

The host replied, "They are entirely accurate, Lord Hannas."

"How is that possible? Him? Jia Xiu? A—a tailor shop errand boy!" Hannas shouted furiously.

His words did nothing to hide his contempt for Jia Xiu.

His father, the Baron of Creekwood Town, was far more composed. Without saying anything, he looked directly at Margaret.

He had thought it would be easy to polish the résumé of his most useless son. Who could have expected him to provoke this young woman from the big city?

She would not yield to pressure, and her background was considerable.

Still, he had prepared for this situation. He waved a hand, and the servant standing nearby immediately approached.

The Baron whispered, "Get all the potions ready."

At the same time, the host was reading out the rules.

"By tradition, when candidates receive the same number of votes, they may engage in a spell duel to determine the final winner. Do you two agree to duel?"

"I agree. Of course I agree!"

Hannas said eagerly.

The onlookers were even more excited than he was, immediately beginning to chant, "Agree! Agree!"

They were terrified Jia Xiu might surrender before the fight even began.

There were not many entertainments to be found in small-town life.

"I agree," Jia Xiu said calmly.

The hall instantly burst into cheers.

Jia Xiu had not agreed because the chanting had pressured him into it. On one hand, he had to win the award for the grand promises Margaret had offered him.

On the other hand, he needed a test subject.

"Neither duelist may use items above ordinary grade, nor may they use lethal spells. Falling to the ground, losing consciousness, or surrendering will count as defeat. Any questions?"

The host finished reading all the rules.

"No questions. Very well, please proceed to the designated rooms and wait."

Jia Xiu entered the room provided by the Association and cast Modified Healing Spell twice to warm up.

As far as Basic Healing Spell alone was concerned, he believed it would be difficult to find anyone more proficient than him.

Instant cast, high accuracy, and long range.

While researching the "code," he had discovered that healing spells possessed a very novel trait: extremely high accuracy and the ability to ignore defenses.

Perhaps that was because, until now, no one had ever needed to defend against a healing spell.

As he was warming up, Margaret entered, her brows tightly furrowed in displeasure.

"I saw people from the lord's estate carry several bottles of potions over to that brat. He's openly doping, and the referee isn't doing anything! This local lord has absolutely no manners."

She wanted to reveal her background outright and use her status to pressure the Baron.

But there had been some trouble at home recently, and plenty of eyes were watching even when she went out on assignment. If she did that, it would most likely become ammunition for her father's political enemies.

Though such behavior was very common among nobles, it was still, in name, improper conduct that violated noble virtues.

"Cough, cough!"

Margaret suddenly coughed twice.

Then she fished a ring from her pocket and dropped it onto the floor.

Feigning surprise, she said, "Oh my, who dropped this rare-grade ring here?"

Rare was a top-tier item grade second only to legendary. Even the Creekwood Town Baron's family would be hard-pressed to possess a ring of that level.

Margaret picked up the ring. "It's actually a ring that can cast Dominate Human Spell, and it even has an enchantment that makes it look like nothing more than an ordinary-grade item. I suppose no one wants it, then."

She deliberately emphasized the words "no one wants it."

After finishing her little performance, she placed the ring on the table and left the room.

Jia Xiu glanced at the ring on the table.

It was hard to say—if both sides were cheating, did that count as fairness in some sense?