A cold gust of wind blew past, and
From merging the Yellow Ribbon Academy to applying for loans for the academy's development, only to get humiliated at the Academy Friendship Society, then wagering against every academy in the district just to stop them from slandering him — and somehow the whole thing had turned into a personal quest to clear his own name. Every step had seemed perfectly reasonable, each one following logically from the last, and by the end the old fox bore not a shred of responsibility, sitting back and watching the show from a comfortable distance.
Just like that, the old coot had somehow hoisted him onto a stage. Now he had to fight for the honor of the invincible
The old man spoke with such righteous conviction. If it really were just a straightforward inter-academy wager, Lorist would have had nothing to say about it. The problem was that the old man had instructed
He glanced back at the gray-blue tower. Up in the dean's office window, white curtains fluttered gently in the breeze. Lorist shivered and decided he wouldn't go reason with the old man anymore. From now on, he'd keep his distance from that old fox — no showing up in front of him whether there was something going on or not, just to avoid drawing the old fox's attention.
As for the present, Lorist weighed the copper key in his hand and decided to go check out the instructor's residence the academy had assigned him. If it suited him, he'd move in as soon as possible.
In fact, the academy had already given him a dormitory room after he received the Ikado Medal. But that room was in the instructor building — the headquarters of the academy's Silver Instructors, with Silver Instructors living above, below, and on all sides. Lorist knew perfectly well he wasn't welcome among them, so he'd simply avoided the cold shoulders and returned the room to the academy. Instead, he'd moved in with his girlfriend, living freely on the outside.
Moon Lake lay to the south of
The wall dividing the two academies had already been torn down. Lorist followed the cobblestone path along the lakeshore and quickly arrived at the foot of the hillside, only to find it enclosed by a bamboo fence. Following the fence around, before long he came to the front of the slope, where he found a row of two-story wooden houses and a large gate.
A hired worker in servant's uniform led Lorist into the first of the wooden houses — a spacious office with five desks inside. Behind the farthest desk sat a woman whose hair was just beginning to turn white, her head bent over some writing. The worker pointed at her, indicating that this was Supervisor Scarlet, the person Lorist was looking for.
After taking the copper key from Lorist's hand and noting the "Moon 35" inscription on it, Supervisor Scarlet smiled warmly. "So you're our academy's legendary Black Iron Golden Instructor, Little Rock? I've heard so much about you. Hehe, I used to manage a few of the academy's shops in
Lorist felt relieved. After all, he'd spent ten years at Dawn Academy — he was something of a celebrity, big and small. There weren't many academy administrators he hadn't crossed paths with.
Supervisor Scarlet personally led Lorist to see the house. She was quite the conversationalist. "Your place, Little Rock, is close to the lakeside, so it might be a touch quiet. Number 34 next door is a bit of a walk from you — that's where Instructor Marlin lives. You should know him, right?"
Lorist nodded. Instructor Marlin was one of the retired military officers who had joined the academy three years ago. An easygoing fellow with two great loves: fine wine and horses. His catchphrase was, "My horse is my second wife." He was married, with a beautiful, gentle wife and an adorable daughter. When he'd come to the academy, he hadn't just brought his family — he'd brought along an old horse. According to him, this 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 the day she returned to the realm of the War God.
It was a villa of wood and stone construction — more like two and a half stories, with a small attic tucked under the peaked roof. As Supervisor Scarlet had said, it was indeed a bit quiet. This was the corner of the hillside closest to Moon Lake, and because of the terrain, there were no other buildings nearby. From the yard, all you could see was the half-roof of Villa 34 peeking out in the distance.
The yard was roughly forty-odd square meters, taking up all the level ground, with a row of waist-high holly trees forming a natural fence. Despite being near Moon Lake, there was still a well sunk into the yard. Lorist leaned over to take a look — square bluestone rings lined the shaft, and the bottom was carpeted with fine white sand for filtration.
"Finally got the door open. This new key needs a bit of oil to work smoothly — it's too stiff otherwise. Come on in and have a look."
The first room inside was a large sitting room, complete with a fireplace, sofas, and wall tapestries. They weren't expensive, but they lent a cozy, homey warmth. Lorist nodded approvingly. The furniture was already arranged — no need to go shopping, which saved a lot of trouble. For someone who hated dealing with hassles, this house felt tailor-made for him.
Supervisor Scarlet gave him a tour. "Behind this is the kitchen and dining room. The two rooms on the left are servants' quarters, and the two on the right are a washroom and storage. Under the stairs there's also a small nook for 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 bathroom and dressing room. The staircase from the sitting room led up to the small attic.
Supervisor Scarlet smiled and said that when Instructor Rock eventually married and had children, the attic could be converted into a children's room or a small bedroom — the kids would surely love it.
Lorist replied that he was single at the moment, and that marriage, career, and children were still a long way off.
Supervisor Scarlet perked up with interest and began asking what kind of girl Lorist preferred, what his requirements were — looking for all the world like she was planning to round up a few dozen girls for him to choose from as a wife.
Lorist quickly thanked Supervisor Scarlet for her kind offer, making the excuse that he was at a critical stage of his cultivation and needed to prepare for the academy's challenge duel, so he couldn't afford distractions. That finally put an end to Supervisor Scarlet's matchmaking plans.
Back downstairs in the sitting room, Supervisor Scarlet asked what Lorist thought of the house — if the remote location was a problem, they could swap it for a similar one. After all, fifty-two villas had been built in the Golden Instructor area, but only thirty-eight of the academy's Golden Instructors had moved in, leaving fourteen empty. There were options.
Lorist said he was very satisfied with the house and had no need to swap. He planned to bring his belongings over in a day or two.
Supervisor Scarlet pointed to a green rope hanging beside the fireplace. "Instructor Rock, this rope runs to our residential area management office. Give it a few tugs and the bell will ring over there — we'll send someone over to see what you need. Since you've just moved in and don't have a personal servant yet, any odd jobs can be handled by the management office's hired hands."
As she spoke, Supervisor Scarlet tugged on the rope a few times. "Someone will be along shortly. Since you're moving in in a day or two, you'll want to have the house cleaned first. I noticed there's already dust on the stair railings."
Lorist was curious. "Supervisor Scarlet, isn't the management office a bit far from here? How does the rope reach all the way over there?"
Supervisor Scarlet smiled proudly. "It's actually quite simple. There are bamboo pipes buried underground, with copper wire running through them. This rope is just a ring hooked onto the copper wire. A few tugs move the wire, which rings the bell in the office. Each bell is numbered, so you know exactly which house is calling. I borrowed the idea from those big trading houses that have call bells built into their walls — they've got even more going on there, with over a hundred copper bells hanging on the walls."
Before long, there was a knock at the door, and a stout, strong-boned woman entered. Lorist took one look and broke into a grin. "Cory! It's you!"
This hired woman was none other than the caretaker who had looked after Lorist during his recovery right after he'd first transmigrated. They hadn't seen each other in years, and her once-plump figure had only grown more imposing. The original owner of this body — the young Little Rock — had been quite the unpleasant personality, putting on aristocratic airs day in and day out. Though Cory was his caretaker, she'd only done the job for the money, carrying out the bare minimum of her duties and barely bothering to exchange a word with him.
Then Lorist had transmigrated and become the new owner of this body. Though he still lay in bed recovering, he wanted to learn about this new world, so he'd raised Cory's wages and had her read books and newspapers aloud to him. Over time, they'd grown familiar, and Cory had come to feel that this young noble was actually rather pitiful — so far from home at such a young age. With that thought, a woman's maternal instinct had kicked in, and she'd taken to caring for Lorist with genuine attentiveness. Their relationship had steadily improved. If Cory hadn't had to leave due to a family matter, Lorist would have kept her on permanently to look after his daily needs.
"Oh, it's Master Rock!" Cory greeted him cheerfully.
"What happened to your family back then? Once I recovered and went to the academy administration office to ask about you, they said your family had something come up and you couldn't come back," Lorist asked.
"Mm, my mother-in-law got sick that time. I went back to take care of her for six months, then she passed, and I stayed home farming and working. That went on for one, two, three, four, five — six years. The kids grew up and could help around the house, so I came back to the academy to work as a hired hand." Cory counted off the years on her fingers, and Lorist had to suppress a smile. He knew she'd never been any good at math, and it seemed that hadn't changed a bit.
Lorist turned to Supervisor Scarlet and asked whether he could hire Cory as his personal servant. Supervisor Scarlet said that was fine, but Cory herself was unwilling. She said that since Lorist was living alone, being his servant would mean nothing to do beyond cleaning and washing, and she wouldn't earn any tips. Without tips, she couldn't save up money for her children — to help them find wives someday. So she wouldn't do it.
Lorist shook his head with a wry smile. "What a silly girl..."
He went with Supervisor Scarlet's second suggestion: hiring Cory on a long-term basis, coming every other day for half a day each time to clean, at a salary of five large silver coins per month. Everyone was happy with that arrangement.
Once Cory had agreed to come and clean, Lorist decided to stay a while longer. He gave her a spare key to the house so she could let herself in to clean going forward. After seeing Supervisor Scarlet and Cory off, Lorist took another look around his new home. From this day forward, this house would be his.
It had been ten years since he'd transmigrated to Galentea, and he finally had a home of his own — a home that belonged to him alone. This was his foothold in this world, the harbor where his soul could find peace. Lorist walked through his new domain one step at a time, his spirits light with joy. If it weren't for the sour thought of that old man Dean Levins ruining his mood, he might even have broken into song.
There were still decisions to be made. Standing at the window of the second-floor master bedroom, gazing out at the tranquil Moon Lake, Lorist recalled once more the first time he had seen her by its shores. His heart ached faintly. Over three years of feelings, and it had all come to this. Was the status of nobility truly so important that it could make her forget the vows they'd once exchanged and throw herself into another man's arms — that she could even give away the venture they'd built together as a stepping stone...
Since they were going to part, then let them part. Today he would put an end to it all. Lorist slammed his fist against the wall in bitter resolve, making his final decision.