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Chapter 91: The Sage’s Help

Fresh morning breezes brought along the cheerful chirping of birds, marking the start of a new day.

Roy always enjoyed waking up early, bathing in the morning sun, stretching lazily, and eagerly welcoming the day ahead.

However, today, when he opened his eyes, it wasn’t the dawn he expected, but two heavy, soft, and plump masses.

He remembered chatting with Nia yesterday, and he wasn’t quite sure who dozed off first.

It seemed he really did spend the whole night with her.

But this girl really had the worst sleeping habits!

After waking up, Roy speechlessly found the girl had turned into a koala bear, with his head nestled in her embrace, and her long white legs sprawled across his.

Her clothes were already thin, and now, her delicate skin was practically pressed against him, causing Roy’s blood pressure to spike first thing in the morning.

He struggled for a long time, trying to lift his head from her grasp, but she was still holding on tight.

In the faint morning light, the girl was sleeping incredibly sweetly, blissfully smiling, as if the sorrowful cries from last night in the storm were nothing but a dream.

This was the true semblance of this girl.

Looking at her vibrant happiness, Roy shrugged off the idea of waking her up.

He had to make an effort to carefully extricate himself without waking her.

But just as he shifted his body, the girl beneath him groggily opened her eyes.

“Don’t move… it hurts…?”

Those bright green eyes met Roy’s utterly baffled expression, and after a brief hesitation, Nia quickly realized how awkward their position was, and her heart raced.

At that moment, Roy just happened to be straddling Nia, their legs tangled in a way that looked—well, rather suggestive…

Thankfully, before Nia could shout, Roy interrupted her.

“Wait! Calm down!”

“You hugged me while asleep last night! I was just trying to get away, okay?”

Whether Nia understood didn’t seem clear; she nodded like a chick pecking at rice, her face going even redder, but she didn’t scream.

Roy, relieved to dodge that close call, couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy.

In a situation like this, being misunderstood by a girl could result from poor character or slow reflexes!

Just a bit of quick thinking could help him get through it!

But just as he let out a sigh of relief, the door burst open.

“Master, there’s someone here to… see you…”

The little maid burst into the room and just happened to witness the scene, her initially calm light blue eyes now widening in shock.

Roy froze.

But this time, Alice was quicker than him, immediately saying, “Alice saw nothing.” With a swift turn, she shut the door in one smooth motion.

Roy facepalmed, letting out a sigh.

A lifetime of reputation, ruined in an instant.

It seemed like he was in for some serious misunderstandings with the little maid.

But with a guest present, now wasn’t the time to deal with misinterpretations.

After a quick wash, Roy headed to the living room to meet the guest.

Upon hearing Alice mention someone wanted to meet him, his first thought was that the Emerald Rangers sent someone to bring Nia back.

He already had a full process mapped out from rejection to helplessness, but to his surprise, the visitor was someone quite significant.

A legendary archmage, the principal of the Magic Academy, that hero who experienced the Third Magic Tide a hundred years ago, Sage Booker.

Just like you can’t have a fantastical tale without a kindly old man with white hair, Booker was quite the archetype.

Wearing an old magic robe, leaning on a staff, he wore a gentle smile; if not for Roy’s knowledge of the man’s identity, he’d have mistaken him for the grandfather next door.

In the original story, Booker was more of a background character. He had long since retired and rarely made appearances, and even the principal position seemed more like a symbolic title.

Fortunately, Roy had come across this name in Roline’s diary, giving him more insight than most.

“Sorry to disturb you so early.”

“No need for such courtesy, Principal. As the mentor of my late father and mother, I naturally welcome your visits anytime.”

Indeed, eighteen years ago, Booker had not yet retired and had personally taught Carl, Roline, and even Nia’s mother, Janthea.

Booker casually sized up the black-haired boy in front of him, stroking his beard with some nostalgia. “Apart from looks, you don’t seem much like Roline at first glance.”

Roy felt a jolt of surprise at those words.

No way! If Carl didn’t catch on, how did this guy figure it out so quickly?!

But the next moment, he forced a smile. “But in terms of getting into trouble, you surely inherited that from her.”

Roy finally relaxed a bit.

“The old man will get straight to the point. Little girl from the Verdant Council, Roy, you plan to keep her here, right?”

Roy frowned slightly.

In the original story, the Sage never meddled in matters regarding Nia.

To be honest, he had a few ideas on how to persuade Janthea, but if this archmage decides to meddle, it would complicate things immensely.

To put it bluntly, as a student, going against the principal put him at a disadvantage.

Moreover, objectively speaking, Nia did sneak in with forged identity documents; she was essentially a suspicious illegal entity…

But the following words from Booker surprised Roy.

“No need to be nervous, old man is here to help you.”

Roy was a bit skeptical. “Help me? You’re not planning to chase Nia away?”

“Haha, I’m not that heartless. It would be a shame to send such potential away just like that. Besides…” His slightly weathered eyes glimmered with understanding. “If you just let that child go back, Janthea will definitely regret it later.”

“If that’s the case, why don’t you persuade the head of the Verdant Council yourself?” Roy was confused.

As the principal of the Magic Academy and Janthea’s mentor, him stepping in should yield better results.

But upon hearing this, Booker slowly shook his head, chuckling at himself. “No, I fear I am the least trusted person in her eyes right now.”

“The same words spoken by different people yield different results. Whether it is me or Nia, being too close to the matter prevents Janthea from calming down.”

“And an outsider who has no stake cannot gain Janthea’s trust.”

The old man fixed his gaze on Roy, speaking with seriousness. “So, only you, positioned between the two, can break the deadlock.”

It seemed the principal had some undisclosed matters with Janthea that prevented him from stepping in.

The diary did indeed mention that Roline and Janthea shared a friendship.

He wasn’t wrong; being the son of a former friend put him in a rather unique position.

The key issue was still how to convince Janthea.

His understanding of Janthea was just snippets from the original story.

And as Janthea’s mentor, Booker must surely know more.

Seeing the old man’s genuine desire to help him out, Roy decided to seize the moment.

“Principal, you must know the real reason why the head doesn’t allow Nia to leave the Verdant Council, right?”