Chapter 481: Farewell and Pursuit

Bahadur is, after all, just a magic academy.

They certainly talk big, daring to openly proclaim they would enthrone Rod and have him carve out a kingdom.

Mm.

Or rather, are they really just an academy?

The witch Dimia and the dog-person Sharon both once studied at that academy.

From the girls' scraps of conversation, Rod could tell that, aside from the parts influenced by the academy's "human supremacy" doctrine, their student lives were otherwise fairly normal.

The halfling Lily also seems to have gone there once.

Oh, actually no — she was rejected despite scoring first in both the entrance exam and the practical test.

Perhaps—

All the information Rod had learned came through non-human channels.

And would the Bahadur Magic Academy, which upheld the principle of "human supremacy," never have let non-human races anywhere near their core teachings in the first place?

The cat-sprite witch Cat, thanks to her 【Materialization】 ability, had come into contact with figures at the professor level of Bahadur.

The 【Wish Stone】 she researched was a product unheard of on the continent.

"An organization that represents the most advanced magical prowess on the continent and ceaselessly pursues the 【Magical Singularity】 — perhaps it has secretly accumulated considerable strength?"

Rod shook his head.

Since they had already been targeted, there was no use thinking about it further now.

He looked back at the two Withered Ones before him.

Without a second's thought, he refused outright.

"Mr. Rod, please do not act on impulse. With Etherion's waning power, the forces reaching for this place will only grow. When that day comes, all living things will be plunged into misery — and it will all hinge on a single thought of yours."

The snake-person Withered One Dan didn't want to give up.

He even began a moral attack.

Rod sneered: "See those mercenary bands over there? I hired them all with my own money. Now I'll pay double for you two to come guard Shi Ying Town. If you don't come, then when living things are plunged into misery, it will be because of a single thought of yours."

Dan's expression stalled.

He shook his head.

"Perhaps our visit was too abrupt and put Mr. Rod on his guard. Our apologies."

He took out a wrapped gift box from his spell pouch and set it on the ground:

"This is a token of apology for disturbing you all. Please, Mr. Rod, take some more time to think it over carefully. Besides, even if a deal falls through, goodwill remains. We are not barbaric Withered Ones, and given Greta's relationship with this tree-spirit Young Lady, you can contact us at any time."

Having said that, he didn't wait for a response.

He called out to Greta, who was still happily chatting with the tree-spirit Vivienne.

The red-blotched Withered One Greta expressed her reluctance to part.

But she still left with him, shooting Rod a deliberately displeased glare at the end.

"You take good care of Vivienne, or I won't let you off!"

Rod narrowed his eyes.

This was rather far from what he had expected.

He had even prepared himself to throw a punch.

But the other side was a touch too polite, even leaving a gift when they departed.

You don't hit a man with a smile on his face — at least not right away.

Nor could he beat up her friend right in front of Vivienne.

【Rod: Tally, 'Shadow Track.'】

【Tally: Why not just say it out loud? You have to do it right here.】

Rod's gaze followed the two Withered Ones' retreating backs, then turned to Tally.

He saw her pouting with hands on her hips, looking at him with a face full of displeasure.

But the shadow magic in her hands was not slow — two hidden threads had already followed them.

【Tally: Are you being considerate of Vivienne? Master, you really do spoil her too much!】

This girl seemed to be jealous.

Rod walked over and patted her head.

She was unwilling, letting out an "ah-woof" as she slapped away the hand on her head.

"Why don't I ever see you spoil me like this normally? Humph!"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"The recent feeding frequency is way too low — add one more time every day! Otherwise I'll never pay attention to Master again. From now on, the one in bed will be a silent, disgusted, uncooperative Tally!"

Rod pictured the scene for a moment.

—In bed, a disdainful Tally, stubbornly turning her flushed face away, saying she wouldn't cooperate, yet unable to stop her hips from swaying.

It actually didn't sound bad.

"Then it's a deal."

"Huh?"

Tally panicked.

Switching faces at the speed of light, she instantly broke into a brilliant, flattering smile.

She spun around and leapt, her petite frame of about one and a half meters hanging from Rod's neck.

The succubus girl still clung to her creed that what Master liked most was contrast — petite must be paired with a magnificent chest.

Pressed against Rod's chest like that, the soft curves spread outward beyond the breadth of her back.

"Oh, come on~ I was just joking~~"

"No extra meal then?"

"What extra meal? Who said anything about an extra meal? Tally is already full just from smelling Master's scent; where would she need an extra meal?"

"Very well, then from now on, just smell."

Tally's smiling face froze, and she dared not speak.

At this moment, the spider-elf Watching Yuna on the side stepped closer and whispered, "Master, the Listening Fine Hairs have been deployed."

"Oh?"

Rod pried Tally's arms from around his neck, letting her drop to the ground.

He glanced again at the tree spirit Vivian, who was still watching her friend depart.

Her eyes, radiating pure, spotless white light, revealed no emotion whatsoever.

Those two Withered Ones wild-transformed back into their death-bird forms and leaped into the sky.

They slowly vanished on the horizon.

Watching Yuna displayed a respectful, sweet smile: "Anyone who might threaten Master or things Master loves should be placed under surveillance; whether to kill or not is entirely for Master to decide."

"Mm, well done. These two indeed require surveillance."

"Serving Master is all that Watching Yuna is."

The innate lack of racial emotion caused Vivian to easily overlook the surrounding environment and conversations.

Thus, this tree spirit girl waited until her friend on the horizon had vanished, then nonchalantly stuck close to Rod's side.

She raised her gaze, watching Rod's face constantly like a little puppy.

Rod smiled back at her.

"Go back with Watching Yuna first; I have some matters to attend to."

"Vivian, together, stay by the side, Rod."

"Not this time, next time. Next time I'll take you out to play, to see the forests of the outside world."

Ten minutes later.

Guided by the locations provided by Tally's 【Shadow Stealth】 and Watching Yuna's 【Listening Fine Hairs】, Rod successfully intercepted the Withered Ones Dane and Greta ahead of them.

The two death-birds in mid-air clearly paused for a moment.

Their flapping wings brought them down to land.

The two transformed back into their true forms once more.

The snake-man Dane was somewhat excited: "Mr. Rod, have you considered it carefully?"

He had thought that just now Rod, unable to lose face in front of the girl, had specifically waited until no one was present to agree to their demands.

Rod shook his head.

He grinned.

"Sorry, I forgot something I needed to do. In the past, whenever I encountered people from Bahadur Magic Academy, the custom was to beat them up first; you two are no exception."

The excitement on Dane's snake face cooled down at a speed visible to the naked eye.

(End of this chapter)