Chapter 144: Collaboration

“Big Brother, I knew you were awesome, but I didn’t know you were this awesome,” William flattered his Big Brother which made the latter pat his head affectionately.

“I thought that you would be keeping a low profile once you arrived at the capital, but it seems that you’re not someone that wants to get ordered around,” Matthew replied with a smile.

“Haha, I just want to keep Mama Ella with me all the time. I didn’t think things through and made myself stand out by accident.”

“Uh-huh, I’ve already sent grandpa a letter informing him that both of us have become Head Prefects. I’m sure that he’ll be laughing out loud once he reads it. He will definitely not keep silent about it and brag about it to his friends and acquaintances.”

“Yikes.” William could already imagine his grandpa’s smug expression as he told his friends that his two grandsons were the Big Shots in the Hellan Royal Academy. 

Est and Isaac were only listening from the side, but they were surprised to find out that this person was related to William. Also, Matthew was their senior and also a Head Prefect in the Royal Academy. Est made a mental note to gather information about William’s “Big Brother” once he returned to his dormitory room.

“Ah, Big Sister Leah, you’ve grown more beautiful since the last time I saw you,” William complimented his Big Sister. He then glanced at his Big Brother and gave him a knowing smile. “Big Brother, If you don’t keep watch over Big Sister, several bees will be attracted to her.”

“Don’t worry, even if they come in swarms, I’ll just burn them all to the ground,” Matthew answered with confidence. 

In the years that the two of them had stayed in the academy, several students, from different grades, would always confess their feelings to Leah. This was another reason why Matthew did his best to become the Head Prefect, so he could protect his fiance from these obnoxious bugs. 

Yes. Leah became his fiance after her father, Sebas, and his Grandpa James, helped with the matchmaking. The two of them would get married at the end of their Fourth Year at the Royal Academy once they returned to Lont. 

If not for the fact that the two were truly in love with each other, Sebas might have convinced his daughter otherwise. 

“Your way with words has greatly improved over the years, Little Will.” Leah teased. “There are many in our Department who have found you to their liking. Should I play matchmaker for you? Your Big Sister knows a lot of beautiful ladies.”

“You can’t!” Est wasn’t able to stop himself from voicing his protest out loud. When he realized what he had done, his face immediately flushed in embarrassment.

William was surprised by Est’s sudden outburst, but he just smiled and winked at his Big Sister Leah. 

“Big Sister, I’m not in a hurry to find a girlfriend right now,” William replied. “I came here, to the Royal Academy, to learn things, not to form a romantic relationship with anyone.”

“Oh?” Leah raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Big Sister, if possible, introduce me to them some other time.”

“I thought you didn’t come here to form romantic relationships with anyone?”

“Forming a romantic relationship and forming connections are two different things,” William argued. “It is best to know a lot of people so that you know who to talk to in case you need to ask for a favor.”

“Alright.” Leah nodded her head in understanding. “I’ll introduce you to them when you’re not too busy with your duties.”

“Thank you, Big Sister, you are the best.” William gave her a light hug, and the latter hugged him back.

Kenneth returned with some snacks and refreshments and served them on the table. After becoming the Head Prefect of the First Years, William was given a bigger room that fit his position. Naturally, he asked the instructors to allow Kenneth to remain his roommate, so the two were still living together.

William and his guests ate their snacks while having random conversations. After half an hour, Matthew stood up from his seat and bid his goodbye.

“We can’t stay here for long because I still have duties waiting for me back in the Fourth Year Division.” Matthew patted William’s shoulder. “However, if you have questions in regards to being a Head Prefect, don’t hesitate to ask me. I will inform the guards to allow you to enter the premises.”

“Thank you, Big Brother,” William replied. “When I encounter difficulties, I’ll immediately go to you and ask for your help.”

“… Just don’t go causing trouble.”

“Of course not. I’m a good boy.”

William and Matthew exchanged a knowing glance before the latter nodded his head and left the room with Leah.

As soon as he left, Est was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. He was quite sensitive when it came to people observing him at a close distance. Because of this, he wasn’t able to tell William the real reason for his visit.

Now that the third and fourth wheels were gone, Est finally decided to get right down to business.

“William, I came here to ask a favor from you,” Est stated. 

“Is this about Ian?” William snorted. “Fine. I’ll allow him entry, but only when he is with you. I don’t want him to go out of his way to visit the Martial Division just to bother me.”

“Thank you.” Est chuckled. “However, that is not the main reason for my visit.”

“It’s not?”

“No. I’m here to propose a collaboration.”

“A collaboration?” William tilted his head in confusion. “What do you have in mind?”

“It’s something like this,” Est started his explanation.

Est told William that there would be monthly and quarterly assessments for each Head Prefect and they would be required to visit a dungeon or a domain once a month. For dungeons, having a party of five to six people was ideal.

Est asked William to become part of his party permanently and not join the other parties that would later come to him and ask him to join them.

William understood the gist of Est’s proposal and readily agreed on it. He had fought side by side with Est and the twins in the past. By his standards, the three of them were very capable individuals and forming a party with them would bring benefits for him.

He then looked at the delicate looking boy who was seated next to him and asked for his opinion.

“How about you, Kenneth?” William asked. “Do you want to join our team as well?”

“Can I?” Kenneth answered. For him, as long as he was together with William, in order to observe him, he didn’t mind tagging along in their party for dungeon and domain explorations.

“Of course you can.” William patted his chest. “With this, there are already five of us. However, I’m feeling a bit down.”

“Feeling down?” Est inquired. “Why?” 

William sighed, “A party made up of only boys. Are we going to form a boy band? How about we get a girl to join our party so that we will have a muse.”

Although the three children didn’t understand the term “boy band”, they realized that what William said held some truth. Est and Isaac had mixed feelings about William’s statement. 

They wanted to say something, but in the end, they held back and just sighed internally. 

“How about you invite Priscilla to join us?” Kenneth proposed. “With her skill, the strength of our party will improve by leaps and bounds.”

“Priscilla…” William crossed his arms over his chest as he considered his roommate’s proposal. In regards to fighting ability, Priscilla is a good choice. However, William wasn’t sure if adding her to their team was a good idea.

“Let me consider it first,” William said after careful thought. William then looked at his dependable Mama Ella.

“Meeeeeeeh.”

“She’s good, but she’s not loyal?”

“Meeeeeh.”

“How about her character?”

“Meeeeeh.”

“So-so?”

“Meeeeeeeeh.”

“I see. Let’s observe her for now then.”

Ella nodded her head in acknowledgement. Priscilla was a neutral person according to Ella’s view. She could shift from being a good friend to becoming an enemy. Although she didn’t say outright that Priscilla would become her baby’s enemy, there was a fifty-fifty chance for that to happen.

Ella wouldn’t take the risk and allow Priscilla to join their team after she had carefully observed the person’s behavior. Only when she had determined that Priscilla didn’t pose any threat to her baby then and only then would she give William the “Go” signal and allow her to join their party.

Seeing William’s positive response to his invitation, Est felt that their victory was assured. With such a powerful Shepherd on their side, getting a passing grade was already in the bag.

“The first dungeon exploration will begin at the end of the month,” Est stated. “Since we are only First Years, there are only three dungeons available to us. The Orc Fortress, The Hound Bastion, and the Goblin Crypt. I’ll come and find you once I get more information about the dungeons. Until then, I’ll keep in touch.”

William didn’t hear everything that Est had said. His mind froze when he heard the dungeon name “Goblin Crypt”. 

Ella, who was lying beside William, opened her eyes wide. She then looked at her baby and found William looking back at her. Both of them were thinking about the same thing and it was mainly due to the fact that they had entered the Goblin Crypt through the Ring of Conquest.

‘This needs further investigation,’ William thought as he unconsciously rubbed the ring on his finger. ‘I wonder if this Goblin Crypt is the same Goblin Crypt that I have been visiting for the last thirteen years of my life.’

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