Emperor's Reckoning

"He would refuse?" Anna muttered.

The headmaster sighed as he nodded. "He has the ability to refuse. Even though he is young, his character is supremely powerful."

"Supremely powerful?" Anna raised her brows before she smiled wryly. "Headmaster, I know that he is incredible, but you don't have to overrate him that far."

The headmaster chuckled before he shook his head. "I hope that I am—overrating him."

"Huh..." Anna raised her brows.

"Have you met him before, Anna?" asked the headmaster.

"Briefly, on the second floor of the First Hall," said Anna as she thought about Lyon. "He doesn't look like he was the leader of the group, to be honest."

The headmaster laughed. "Everyone who met him for the first time will think like so, perhaps it is on purpose?"

"On purpose?" Anna muttered before the headmaster stood up.

"He dared to grab me by the collar and slammed me against the bookshelves in the library," said the headmaster as he smiled looking at Anna's widened eyes. "I'm not joking, Anna. If he dared to do it to me, he most presumably has the power to back it up."

"B-But, you're the face of Alchemy Union!" said Anna.

"Exactly," the headmaster nodded with a smile before he turned and left.

Anna was stupefied in the garden. The serenity of her surroundings was of no help to her agitating heart. She only could watch the back of the headmaster shrinking as he left further.

Nit was guarding the little house just like he was instructed to do. However, his mind was nowhere near as focused as he was supposed to be. The sudden visit from the headmaster still lingered and pounded his imagination of what they were talking about in the garden. The headmaster himself rarely went out of his way from the library and to the hills. He was always occupied with his own sets of tasks.

"Young Nit, thank you for keeping an eye out," said the headmaster.

"Hm?" Nit raised his brows before he looked at the old-timer smiling at him. "Headmaster!"

He quickly adjusted his attitude, "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Well yes," the headmaster chuckled, "If you did, then you are facing the wrong way."

"Hehe," Nit smiled wryly. He was talking about sensing rather than seeing the headmaster but either way, it didn't matter. "Can I ask what was it all about?"

"No," said the headmaster as he shook his head, "It's a private matter that you must not pry on further."

(Private matter?) Nit furrowed his brows.

The headmaster reached for Nit's shoulder, "Let's leave it at that."

"Uh-huh," Nit responded before the headmaster left him.

"Oh right, young friend Nit," the headmaster turned after a few steps.

"Yes? Is there anything I can help with?" asked Nit before he saw the headmaster approach him. "I've heard that you and Anna will be going to that cave?"

Nit nodded, "Yes, that's true?" he raised his brows.

"You are also going with the kunpeng hunters, right?" said the headmaster before he continued, "I need you to help me here."

The headmaster smiled. "Please I implore you."

Nit's shoulders immediately stiffened. He would have never thought that someone as esteemed as the headmaster himself would use the word 'implore', let alone to someone like him. The headmaster's network must be substantially large and heavy, with a whisper of his words he might summon a cultivator stronger than him without any problem.

"Please behave yourself when you are around young friend Lyon." said the headmaster. "He might be younger than you, but don't mistake his aggressivity. He might kill you."

Nit's pupils were shrunken to a dot. His eyes were trembling as the headmaster laid down those words. Though the headmaster's face said it all, he still couldn't believe that he was being serious.

"You can consider this a warning, if you don't like him at the very least, don't stand in his way. He will not hesitate to sever your head if you did so. Alchemy Union is nothing in his eyes. Stay cautious," said the headmaster before he left.

Nit was left dumbfounded.

---

Meanwhile.

"Huh?" Lyon's nose twitched before the muscles in his face contracted. "ACHOO!"

His sneeze brought the dome to a halt. It was so loud everyone could mistake it for a dragon's roar.

"Lyon, are you alright?" said Cecile as she grabbed his shoulder.

Lyon's nostrils' twitched before he rubbed it with his hand. He closed his eyes as he pushed both brows of his together. "Someone must be talking about me behind my back."

"Well, young master, you are a popular man," said Kesya with a grin. "Some hot faires might be talking about you, ooo~ perhaps is that Anna girl."

"Perhaps," said Lyon as he nodded.

Ivy let out a sigh before the matriarch rubbed her back.

Lyon scratched his scalp before he stood up, "Renduval!"

His shout immediately courted all attention in the dome.

"What?" said Renduval as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I believe that you can do this!" shouted Lyon as he gave him a thumbs up.

"What?" Renduval jerked off his shoulders. "I haven't started yet!"

"Yeah well, I'm leaving," said Lyon as he waved.

"Na?!" Renduval was petrified and took a step back.

However, Lyon— who had his eyes hardly opened —put his hands behind his head. Regardless of the azure cloak that he had earned, he was bored by the test that took too long.

"Oi!" Renduval called out but Lyon acted as if he heard nothing.

"Welp! That's our cue," said Kesya as she quickly followed her emperor.

One by one the group followed him and left Renduval to his own. Only the two elders and Princess Cherie were left in the spectators' seat. Meanwhile, Princess Hilde was tasked with looking after Lyon. She definitely didn't want another Afurnae.

"Hah!" Lyon let out sighed heavily. "Damn that place is so hot! They should have an AC or something."

"AC?" Kesya muttered. "Is that one of the items that you have in your world?"

"AC stands for Air Conditioner, it is an item that you use to, well, conditioned the air," said Lyon as he shrugged. "I haven't looked into it that much, but the point is, that thing can blow cold air."

"Uwah! Sounds so cool!" said Zet.

"Yeah it is," said Lyon as he smiled before he frowned. "Wait a minute, is that a pun?"

"What's a pun?" asked Zet.

"Fuck off," said Lyon as he squinted his eyes.

"I'm going to take a stroll to the First Hall, you guys do what you guys do," said Lyon.

"I'm coming with you, big brother!" said Zet as his eyes glimmered. He was not even particularly excited about the First Hall.

"No,.you're not," said Porealus as he grabbed his redhead. "Your grandfather is missing, and so is mine!"

Porealus immediately dragged Zet out of the scene.

"I will go to the library," said Ivy before she and the matriarch left.

"Hilde, do you want to come with us?" asked Cecile with a smile.

Hilde sighed, "I don't have a choice, your husband is too wild to be left unsupervised."

Cecile chuckled, "What's this, are you trying to be his wife or something."

Hilde had a cold shivering breath crept up from her spine to her nape. Her cheeks blushed before she crossed her arms, "D-Don't be stupid."

Cecile chuckled as she saw Hilde's flustered self following closely behind her husband.

"That's quite unusual, I thought that you don't like the First Hall," said Hilde who caught up to him.

Lyon didn't bother to turn his head as he answered, "I happen to find a way to make things more interesting."

"What? Since you have become the alchemist of Alchemy Union?" asked Hilde.

"Nah, that's not even something that I was planning to do," said Lyon before he raised his voice a little, "If only someone picked me up before I went all that trouble!"

The group chuckled.

(They're laughing, unbelievable) thought Lyon before he smiled. (Well, I guess that's why I can get along with them just fine).

"Then what do you find interesting in First Hall?" asked Hilde.

"You will see soon enough," said Lyon as he smiled.

"Are you looking for pills?" asked Hilde. "They do refresh their stocks every day, so what you might find yesterday, might be there today."

"You said it as if I was looking for drugs, Hilde," said Lyon as he chuckled. "But nah, we are just strolling from the first floor all the way up to the auction floor."

Hilde was stupefied before she caught up to him once more, "What do you mean? We can only go as far as the second floor, even that, we need Renduval's bronze badge."

"Medallion badge, badge medallion, why can't you guys stay consistent," said Lyon as he sighed.

(That's you!) thought Hilde as her lips twitched before she frowned. "Wait a minute, don't tell me you have Renduval's badge?"

"Even better!" Lyon smirked at her.