The Worst One shook his head and responded, "I can’t tell you about such important information without expecting something in return, can I?"
"How about this? In exchange for my help, you’ll give yours. We can be certain that we both get what we want this way."
MidnightFire was stunned once more.
’He has predicted everything.’
The thought spiralled through her like a cannonball.
Although she had mentioned cooperating with him, the truth was that her aid against the Zahara Clan’s descendants would leave him indebted to her.
His entire charade was a carefully orchestrated play to resolve his troubles without paying that price.
"Fine," MidnightFire said. "As long as the information you offer is enough."
It hardly surprised her when she realised that she was dealing with yet another descendant of the Zahara Clan. What stung was that she had been outsmarted by the WorstOne before their meeting even began.
Still, she was more interested in learning about how the Zahara Clan’s Descendants had schemed against her.
"It’s a deal," The Worst One nodded.
He said back on the chair.
"The reason you were schemed against by the Zahara Clan’s Descendants was because of me. Their goal here was to capitalise on the chaos happening within the academy to eliminate me."
"They were the ones who anonymously purchased portions from the Star Auction Auditorium and gave them to the repairman. I suspect that Ivory was the medium through which they had used to purchase it."
"The repairman hid away the portion in his crew’s food storage unit. This led to the food poisoning that drove them to the hospital. Because of this, the security systems in the Magical Swordsmen Department were easily compromised."
"This is when Ivory had framed me and challenged me to a duel. The rest is history. They thought I was an easy target and took full advantage of the opportunity to get rid of me. But they had made a terrible miscalculated."
MidnightFire fell silent.
She hadn’t expected that her current crisis was simply a part of an elaborate scheme to eliminate the Worst One. And her instructor had also been a victim of it, too.
"Thank you for sharing this information with me. I’ll conduct my own investigation to verify everything you’ve said. If I uncover that the Zahara Clan’s Descendants truly had a hand in my present predicament, then I’ll ensure that they will forever regret their action," MidnightFire said.
"But if I uncover that you’re lying to me, then I’ll ensure you regret it."
The Worst One nodded.
"How are you going to help me?"
He moved on to the next topic as though not taking her warnings seriously.
"I’m not sure. I was hoping that we would discuss this so I could know where I would be most helpful," MidnightFire responded.
"I would have suggested that we start by getting in touch with the repairer to find out how they had gotten their hands on the portions. But the academy might have already begun its investigation, and the fact that neither the Ivory nor the Zahara Clan’s Descendants are in trouble meant that they haven’t uncovered anything," The Worst One replied.
"This leaves only one person. Mr Fredric."
"You want to interrogate him?" MidnightFire asked in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to propose such a bold idea.
"No," the Worst One shook his head. "We can’t interrogate him, at least not by ourselves. The best way to do this is to have Instructor Sarafina, who is also affected by this, meet with him, and gather as much information as possible from him."
"I know what method would work for her, but you can easily figure that out. Once we have a confession, then we can interrogate Ivory and also try to get more information out of her."
"Even if she confesses nothing, once we turn in the confession to the Instructor Committee, he will surely be dealt with. Even the Instructors of the Beastmaster Path wouldn’t be able to stop the Zahara Clan’s Descendants from being punished."
"That’s my plan. What do you think of it?"
"That sounds like a good plan," MidnightFire responded.
"I’ll speak with Instructor Sarafina and explain everything to her. I’m certain that she would also want to meet with yo-" Before she could complete her words, the Worst One swiftly interjected.
"No. It’s best if we don’t meet right now. It will prevent any sudden problems from arising."
"My instructor has been complaining that you have been avoiding her. I hadn’t expected it to be true. But I won’t blame you, as she tends to be scary at times," MidnightFire chuckled.
"She had known from the start that you were framed and had planned to prevent the matter from escalating; however, you had surprised her by emerging victorious. And the rest was too much for her to handle."
"Nonetheless, I’ll do my best to explain it all to her. I’ll inform you of the details once we are done. Is there anything else you would like to add?"
"No. That’s all I have to say," the Worst One responded. "However, there’s one more thing that I want you to help me with."
"Oh! What’s it? As long as it’s something that I can be of help with, I promise you that I’ll do my very best," MidnightFire replied, her voice tinged with a mixture of curiosity and interest.
"I want to purchase a new storage bag. It should be around 10,000 square feet or more. However, I don’t have enough merit points to buy one now, but I promise to pay you back if I could purchase it on a loan," the Worst One said, his voice serious.
"I see. We offer a variety of storage models. You can get not just bags, but bracelets, rings, and various forms of storage, each priced according to its craftsmanship," MidnightFire replied.
"Normally, these items are available only to registered members of the Star Auction Auditorium; however, given the current circumstances and our special cooperation. I’ll make an exception for you. I’ll send you a list of these items later for you to choose from."
"You can have them at a fifty per cent discount, so you don’t need to hold back."
"Thank you," the Worst One responded, his voice tinged with gratefulness.
MidnightFire chuckled even loudly.
"I never expected our conversation to take this turn. If others knew that a descendant of the Zahara Clan was thankful for a discount, they wouldn’t believe their ears."
"I believe it’s only natural for anyone to act this way when receiving help," the Worst One responded.
"You are really more interesting than the rumour had said about you." She looked at the figure before her with a greater mix of curiosity and interest than before.
"No,’ the Worst One shook his head.
"Okay. This meeting is over. The VIP card I gave you is valid for two weeks. During that time, you can use it to purchase any meal you desire from this store. If you don’t need it, you can sell it for 50 merit points. Consider it a gift for accepting my request," MidnightFire replied.
"Thank you," the Worst One responded.
"I’ll send you the time of our next meeting, so please come online frequently so you don’t miss it. It’ll be a little troublesome if I have to always prepare someone to wait at your doorstep to deliver a message to you."
"I will," the Worst One responded.
He summoned his system’s interface and logged out.
The Worst One scattered in countless specks of light and vanished.
The jovial and interested look on her face vanished instantly, and her expression turned serious.
This meeting had allowed her to get a glimpse into one of the academy’s most infamous personalities, and she was surprised that none of it matched all the things she had heard about him.
Remembering that she had been outsmarted by him once more, she couldn’t help but feel mildly depressed.
However, the meeting had exceeded her expectations and enabled her to uncover the mystery behind her current crisis, while also providing a way to solve instructor Sarafina’s dilemma.
The only issue was that her instructor might be enraged after learning about this vital piece of information.
MidnightFire was sure that if this issue weren’t swiftly handled, there would be a storm let loose within the Warrior Department.
She logged out. Her body vanished in countless flickers of light, and then it vanished.
I took off my headset and sighed in relief.
I had managed to gain an upper hand in the meeting only by pure luck.
If she had known about the reason behind her current dilemma beforehand, or if Instructor Sarafina had been present, then the outcome would have been entirely different.
Chioma was both rich in merit points and the leader of the Star Auction Auditorium. So, I had no issues requesting a loan for a new storage space from her.
I hadn’t expected her to want to build a connection with me.