Sitting upright, Cale sat in the lecture hall and listened to the voice of his usual professor. He held his pen in one hand while resting the other on his notebook, as he kept taking notes. Jarle was seated right next to him and did the same, while Cedrik held his head and peeked at Cale's notes.

They were currently discussing the legal situation in Bellator, which had dozens of tricky angles and special regulations, making it difficult to keep track of everything. After a few moments, Cedrik pushed his notebook into Cale's field of vision so that Cale could look down and read the message.

<Why is it that, as a native, I find the legal situation the most difficult to understand?>

A grin flitted across Cale's face and he leaned back, so that Jarle saw the movement and also turned his attention to it. Cale, on the other hand, responded with a short note.

<Because we're smarter?>

<Bold.>

Jarle, who covered his mouth with one hand, also grinned at the comment and turned back to the professor. Cale, on the other hand, devoted himself entirely to Cedrik's notebook and drew three brains on the page, two of equal size and one significantly smaller, labeling the smaller one with his name and smiling. A slight protest could be heard from Cedrik as Cale turned away and listened to the lesson again.

The last few hours flew by, and just as Cale was about to pack up his things, he sensed the Eldest's mana.

<"It's me">

<"Good afternoon, my honorable lord">, Cale said with an ironic undertone and slung his bag over his shoulder.

<"We need to talk.">

<"That's good, I need to discuss a few things with you as well.">

<"Should I start or do you want to?">

<"You start.">

<"Head Merensen would like to move the conversation forward. Summer 5 at 10 a.m. in Norgram, Merensen family home.">

<"Well, that was unexpected">, Cale replied and discreetly followed his colleagues, saying goodbye to his teacher as he left. <"That's next week.">

<"I know.">

<"Well, we don't really have a choice. After all, we want something from them.">

<"I agree. Besides, I want to avoid the whole issue dragging on or becoming too problematic for them, which is why I want to be as accommodating as possible.">

<"Well then, you have my blessing.">

<"Perfect, thank you. Have you decided what name you want to use when you arrive?">

<"I think I'll stick with Zod Adenia.">

<"All right, then I'll write that you are an advisor to the Magistrat.">

<"Thank you.">

<"By the way, Aaron arrived safely and apologized to me for his delay. It was interesting to hear how he felt about yesterday's situation.">

<"I hope it wasn't too bad">, Cale said worriedly as he stepped out of the building with a whole crowd of soldiers.

<"On the contrary, he apologized for speaking so badly about you. What did you say to him?">

<"I was just being myself. I'd rather Aaron learn one of our many secrets than follow our ancestors prematurely because of a stupid mistake.">

<"How thoughtful of you. But it seems to have done him good, he's suddenly much more open, at least towards me.">

<"That's good to hear.">

<"I plan to tell him my side of the story shortly before we leave for Frignez. I think that will give him enough time to calmly assess the situation.">

<"Does he know that we will be meeting with the chiefs?">

<"No, both the three chiefs and I are asking for discretion. There will probably only be five of us.">

<"I can live with that.">

<"What did you want to say?">, the Eldest finally asked. Cale's gaze fell on Jarle, who was holding the door open for him, so he hurried outside with long strides and marched across the courtyard with his young colleagues.

<"I received an invitation to the concert in Oriann, Freigoud Province, from him. From King Leonhardt.">

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

<"By my beard!">

<"This is the ultimate opportunity to strengthen my position in the palace.">

<"That's insane. The king himself invited you. Is it because of Karekama?">

<"It seems so, yes. I'm not quite sure what he expects of me, but I imagine he wants to get an idea of who I am.">

<"That's very risky.">

<"I know, one misstep and it's over. On the other hand, I don't want to make my intentions obvious.">

<"It would probably be wisest to play the quiet, attentive soldier - don't you think?">

<"Yes, I think so too. If I behave conspicuously, it will just come across as strange. Any tips on what I should pay particular attention to?"

<"Hmm...">, the Eldest said briefly as he thought about what might be important. <"I guess being honest and at least expressing your own opinion a little would be two things I can advise you to do. Leonhardt really doesn't like it when people just believe everything he says without thinking for themselves.">

<"Seems like you've put your foot in it once.">

<"Not me personally, but from what I've gotten to know about him so far.">

<"I see, all right. I'll keep that in mind.">

<"Things seem to finally be taking their course. No feedback from the gods yet?">

<"Not yet, no.">

<"Unfortunate">, the Eldest said as Cale headed for the exit of the property. At the edge of the path, he spotted the mana source of his mentor, Mamoru Meyrl, who was coming towards them.

<"Quite so. Sorry, I have to focus again, Eldest.">

<"All right, we'll be in touch. See you later.">

<"Until next time">, Cale replied, turning his attention to his two group members, who appeared to be discussing today's lesson topic. Cale listened to them discreetly as they walked through the archway and glanced to his right, where he expected to see Mamoru. However, when he spotted the man, his mouth fell open.

"Mamoru?", Cale cried out in a horrified voice, causing Jarle and Cedrik to look up as well. They also spotted the soldier, who had a large burn scar on his face and was missing part of his hair. "By the gods, what happened to you?"

Without warning, he ran toward the man, who had come to a stop and was smiling weakly at his charges. Cale was the first to reach him and immediately looked at him with wide eyes before Cedrik and Jarle joined him.

"A little slip-up on yesterday's patrol, that's all."

"That looks like more than a little slip-up, it's a real burn. Did you get into a fight last night or something?"

"You could say that", Mamoru evaded the question as Jarle reached out his hand. Cale immediately grabbed his arm and prevented Jarle from touching him. With a warning glance, Cale signaled to his comrade not to touch his face. While the two stared at each other without comment, Cedrik spoke up, so Mamoru didn't really notice the situation.

"That looks really bad, does it hurt?"

"Not really, no. It hurt a little at first, but after some cold water, it was fine, and now you can hardly feel it anymore."

"If you say so."

Mamoru gave the young soldier a friendly grin, while Cale let go of Jarle and turned his gaze back to Mamoru. As the two men looked at each other, Cale realized that his smile was only feigned, which gave him goosebumps.

"Didn't you two have an appointment?", he finally asked, causing Jarle and Cedrik to exchange glances.

"Ah, yes", Jarle said. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"I have something to discuss with my daughter, so I shouldn't be away too long today."

"What a responsible father", Cedrik said with a slightly amused undertone. "Shall we go then?"

"Yes, see you tomorrow", Jarle confirmed, and Cedrik also said goodbye to them. Cale watched silently for a while as the two men walked down the street until they turned a corner and were no longer visible.

His gaze wandered back to the tall soldier, who had put on a hypocritical smile that gave Cale the chills. He didn't really care that Mamoru was keeping a low profile, but he did have a problem with Mamoru killing himself through his own stupidity. He had filed Mamoru away as a useful person and didn't want to risk getting a new, possibly more awkward supervisor. Since there were other soldiers around them, all of whom were giving Mamoru strange looks, Cale spoke up quietly.

"Liar."

"Excuse me?", Mamoru replied irritably, so Cale turned to him and repeated the statement in a whisper.

"Liar. That looks like a awful burn, how can it not hurt? Have you been to a doctor, Mamoru?"

"It's not that bad."

"If it's not too bad, then give me your arm", Cale demanded, holding out his hand as his gaze fell on Mamoru's left arm. Mamoru had been trying his best not to move for the last few minutes. At first, Cale also thought that the pain was coming from his face, but when he noticed his stiff arm, he understood why Mamoru was acting that way. As expected, the man couldn't even lift his arm. "What's this nonsense? Are you wearing your uniform over your injury? Have you even had it checked out? Does your group know about this, Mamoru?"

"I'm your supervisor, not the other way around."

"Yeah, obviously you need it more than I do!", Cale scolded, grabbing his left arm, causing Mamoru to grimace in pain and take a step back. Cale, on the other hand, began to run cold water over the man's skin, slightly soaking his clothes, but allowing him to get an idea of how bad it looked. "Be honest, how much does it hurt?"

"Quite a lot", Mamoru confessed hesitantly.

"Do your people know?"

"They were there when it happened."

"I mean, do they know about your arm and how bad it really is?"

There was no answer, so Cale's eyes moved from his arm to his face without interrupting his cooling.

"You didn't tell them? Are you out of your mind...", Cale began, but took a deep breath to keep himself from yelling. "Mamoru."

"Don't look at me like that, I'll bandage it up tonight and it'll be fine."

"You can barely use your left arm, don't overdo it. Let's go see a doctor, right now."

"Zod", Mamoru interrupted his plan. "It's sweet of you to worry, but it's really not that bad."

"Are you kidding me?", Cale retorted angrily, but in a muffled voice so that no one else could hear him talking to the man standing above him. "Are you afraid of doctors or something?"

"That's nonsense."

"Then I don't see any reason why you're doing this!"

He continued to run the water up and down and carefully wrapped the burned neck, which Mamoru seemed to find pleasant. But since the man did not respond to his statement and instead looked silently toward the lake, Cale sighed.

"If you don't want to see a doctor, can I at least take a look at it? I'm not a healer or anything, but I do know a thing or two about burns."

"It's fine", Mamoru replied dismissively, shaking off Cale's arm, but Cale didn't let go and clasped his wrist.

"Mamoru, please. I promise I won't ask any questions, but I don't want to let you go like this. How are you going to get through the evening?"

The supervisor with the dark burn on his face gave Cale a dry look as he weighed up what to do next. Cale didn't care what the man decided. If necessary, he would follow him around all evening and cool his burn, which would probably be an uncomfortable situation for both of them. But after a good minute of silence, Mamoru finally gave up and relaxed his body.

"All right. Just don't tell anyone. Please."

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