Chapter 69 : Chapter 69

Chapter 69. Turning the Tables

Fran looked at the five-story building before her. Its broad walls were covered with intricate patterns, and numerous sculptures decorated the surrounding area.

This building looks incredibly impressive.

None of the other buildings in the academy exceeded three floors. Although many of them had large footprints, none were built taller than that.

Yet the building before her had five stories.

It was the academy’s administrative building, and the Headmaster’s Office she was looking for was inside.

Fran yawned as she stepped over the threshold.

She had not rested at all the previous night. She had only managed a brief sleep in the morning and did not arrive here until the afternoon.

The moment she entered, she heard loud arguments echoing through the hall.

“…That idiot actually switched schools! I have never seen anyone so disloyal to their school!”

“He switches schools today, and when his headmaster gets removed by the Alliance, he will have to switch again!”

“Was it not enough for him to stay quietly in his own little corner? He just had to rush to become a high-tier mage!”

“Fine! Let’s all leave! I want to see how he arranges this year’s courses!”

…

As Fran stepped inside, she saw a group of elderly people in the distance moving furniture.

Some of them looked to be sixty or seventy years old, yet they carried large crates with one hand while muttering curses as they walked.

They were hauling items out of a room and piling them in the corridor.

Although Fran found it strange, the place she needed to go was on the fifth floor. The stairs were nearby, and she would not even pass by that area, so she ignored it.

When she reached a door with a plaque reading 【Headmaster’s Office】, she stopped and looked at the entrance curiously.

The door handle shone brilliantly, as if it had just been polished.

But the door itself was covered with a layer of dust, as though no one had cared for it in a long time.

She knocked.

A familiar voice came from inside a moment later.

“Come in.”

Fran immediately realized it was not Habos.

Instead, it was someone she knew, though she could not quite recall who.

When she stepped inside and looked carefully, she finally recognized the man sitting behind the desk.

It was Elan from the Emerald Heart Tavern.

“Hey, my friend. What brings you here?”

Elan said this proudly, clearly in a very good mood.

Fran could not understand why he was here and asked,

“Why are you here—”

Before she could finish, Elan interrupted her.

“Of course it is because I am the headmaster of Cuilan Academy.”

“You are the headmaster?”

“Of course. Otherwise, why would those Enforcement Team members give me face? If I were just a tavern owner, where would that influence come from?”

“Did you not say you were the person in charge of that region?”

“I am the person in charge of the Cuilan Academy region! Why would the Alliance care about matters in the Apprentice Market?”

Fran scratched her head, still somewhat confused.

However, one thing had become clear.

The headmaster of Cuilan Academy was someone she knew quite well.

And she even had a business relationship with him.

“So… are you still handling the Order Contract?”

“Just give it to the woman sitting in my position,” Elan replied casually.

Fran thought for a moment before explaining the reason she had come.

“Um… Habos from the Weapon Forging class told me to come here today.”

Elan glanced at her strangely and asked,

“So you joined the Forge Furnace School?”

“Yes. Why?”

To Fran’s surprise, Elan sighed and said,

“That was not a good choice for you. You should have joined the Sword Chant School.”

Fran did not understand what he meant.

“What do you mean?”

“The Forge Furnace School is newly established. It does not have the complete apprentice advancement system that the older schools have developed over many years.”

“In other words, if you had joined the Sword Chant School, you might already be making your final preparations to become a true mage.”

“But now that you have joined the Forge Furnace School, that process will probably take much longer.”

“Right now, aside from Lord Habos, the Forge Furnace School probably only has me… Oh wait, no. There is also a mechanical master that Habos somehow recruited from who knows where. Since I just took this position, I still have to discuss course arrangements with her.”

Elan had been summoned by Habos late the previous night.

Habos had told him directly that he now possessed knowledge that could be promoted on a large scale. It was time to agree to the transaction.

Habos worked extremely quickly.

Elan had only arrived at this building that morning, and before noon those old men had already gathered outside his office door, shouting curses.

Elan believed that the reason Fran had come was probably because she had been persuaded by Habos.

Something like “our school’s spells are unbeatable,” perhaps.

He assumed Fran had joined the school because of that.

As far as he was concerned, there were two matters to deal with.

First, he needed to discuss the Forge Furnace School’s curriculum with the incoming mechanical master.

Second, he needed to receive the apprentice Habos favored.

As for the possibility that Fran herself was the mechanical master—

It never crossed his mind.

In Elan’s view, Fran was merely an apprentice. If she could already master spells well, that was impressive enough. Where would she find the time to study mechanical engineering as well?

As for the mechanical master Habos had mentioned, Elan had never met her, so he could not judge.

Still, he did not have high expectations.

He simply could not imagine how mechanical engineering could help Habos develop his school.

So even though Elan technically belonged to the Forge Furnace School now, he still spoke badly about it.

However, what was done was done.

Fran had already agreed to join Habos, and there was no turning back.

As he spoke, Elan used his Mental Power to activate a round disc in his hand.

A few seconds later, Habos appeared inside the room.

Habos first looked toward Fran.

Seeing her pale and exhausted expression, he asked,

“What happened to you? Did you not rest well last night?”

“Yes… I was a little too excited.”

Fran certainly was not going to explain that she had accidentally encountered a true mage while going out last night, killed her, and then spent the entire night dissecting the corpse.

Habos turned to Elan and said,

“This is the genius I found. A mechanical master. I saw her use a machine she built to cast the first-tier spell I taught her.”

“WHAT?!”

“I will discuss some matters with her first. When she returns, you can talk with her about the course arrangements.”

Elan stared in stunned silence.

He had never imagined that Fran was actually a mechanical master.

He watched her leave the room with an expression of pure shock.

Even after a long time, he still had not recovered.

So Fran could brew potions, wield excellent swordsmanship, forge weapons, and also possessed considerable expertise in machinery.

How did she learn so many things?

Wait…

Fran was the one who was supposed to cooperate with me to design the curriculum?

It was called cooperation, but Elan understood very well that this was actually Habos’s condition.

Strictly speaking, it was not cooperation at all.

He was the one assisting in establishing the course.

Which meant that, in theory, he would have to follow some of Fran’s instructions in the future.