Thinking about these matters, Richard’s eyes brightened. He walked up to the wall and used the control panel to shut down the rotating metal fan blades, retrieved the metal targets and the Miniature Magic Tracking Missiles, and prepared for future improvements.
Then he called for Jia Lie and had him send a few Servants to clean up the Wind Tunnel Laboratory, making it ready for next use. Richard stepped out of the laboratory.
Upon exiting, it was dusk, and the Sun was sinking in the west. The land was bathed in a golden hue, and the small lake in the distant estate shimmered like a gleaming copper mirror.
Richard took several deep breaths, stretched his body, and prepared to return to the Stone Building to work. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Harry and Cathy standing under a tree, gazing eagerly in his direction.
Since the completion of the Wind Tunnel Laboratory, Harry and Cathy had lost their supervisory jobs. When they visited Blue Lake Estate these days, they were given random chores, and oftentimes, there were no tasks at all, leaving them to wander the estate. They hoped to run into Richard when he was in a good mood, maybe receiving a few pointers from him. Now was such a time.
Richard glanced at the two, his eyebrows twitching. He walked towards them, about to speak, but he noticed that the expressions on Harry and Cathy’s faces were somewhat unusual.
They had obviously been waiting for him for quite some time, with the look of having something to say.
"What’s wrong? Is there something you need?" Richard asked.
"Yes, Teacher," the boy Harry started, his voice difficult, steeling himself to say, "Our other teacher wants to meet with you, there’s something he’d like to... discuss with you."
"Your other teacher?" Richard was slightly taken aback, then realized it must be a Wizard from Ash Academy, which he had heard about during his meeting with Marquis Vian.
He couldn’t help but be curious and asked, "Why does your teacher want to meet me, and what does he want to discuss? We haven’t had any contact, have we?"
"It’s , Teacher," Harry said, "Our other teacher—Mr. Vici, feels that what you’ve been teaching us is a bit impractical, so..."
Towards the end, Harry’s voice grew fainter until it faded away completely.
Cathy nudged Harry with her elbow and took over the conversation, addressing Richard, "Teacher, actually, it’s Mr. Vici’s teaching method—it’s a bit different from yours, and he wants to have a discussion with you."
"I see," Richard nodded after listening, already having a fair guess about the matter, and smiled, "Well, that does sound interesting."
Honestly, he had never expected that imparting philosophical knowledge to Harry and Cathy would lead to such trouble. However, he wasn’t particularly afraid of trouble that came knocking.
Not to mention, according to Marquis Vian, this Wizard from Ash Academy was only a First-level Wizard, and even if he were more impressive, it didn’t matter much. After all, Marquis Vian—who had requested him to instruct Harry and Cathy, their father—hadn’t said a word. Another teacher really had no place to intervene.
Richard looked at Cathy, who he now understood was actually the younger sibling—indeed taller than Harry because she had hit her growth spurt earlier.
But Cathy was not only taller, she was also bolder than Harry, more vivacious and sensible. By comparison, Harry did indeed seem more like a younger brother. Yet Harry wouldn’t accept that, privately, Richard had heard Harry emphasize more than once that he was the older brother, only to be ignored by Cathy rolling her eyes.
Richard addressed Cathy, asking, "When does your Mr. Vici teacher plan to come and discuss with me?"
"He said today, as soon as he’s finished with some matters at the academy..." Cathy started to say, but then a Servant from the estate ran over, reporting to Richard.
"Master, there’s a carriage parked outside the estate; they say they’re from Ash Academy, looking for you."
"Alright," Richard glanced at Cathy and Harry, "It seems your Mr. Vici teacher has already arrived."
"Teacher, you’re not going to fight with Mr. Vici, are you?" Harry asked with some concern.
"Rest assured, that won’t happen," Richard said and after thinking for a moment, added, "Of course, that is assuming your Mr. Vici isn’t looking for trouble on purpose."
With that, Richard strode towards the exit of the estate and then, at the entrance of the estate, he saw Wizard Vici standing beside a carriage.
To be honest, before seeing him, Richard had imagined the man would be a stuffy old man over sixty years old, wearing a dark robe, with a wrinkled face, a serious expression, and a look of displeasure at everyone he saw.
Who would have thought that the man was not old at all? In fact, he was quite young, around thirty years old. Dressed in a bright blue robe, neat and elegant, he looked a bit bored while waiting, leaning against the carriage and watching a flock of birds pass by in the sky.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, the man turned his head after withdrawing his gaze.
Upon seeing Richard, he sized him up for a moment and then looked towards Harry and Cathy, who were following behind Richard.
The man raised an eyebrow and quickly gestured with his hand, "Harry, Cathy, come over here."
Harry and Cathy glanced at each other, then looked at the man and then at Richard, not daring to move.
The man frowned deeply, turned his head towards Richard, and burst out, "So you’re that Wizard Richard, right? What on earth have you been teaching my students, scaring them ? Did you use corporal punishment on them?"
"I certainly did not. The way I instruct them," Richard spoke up, "is only to tell them some things and let them think for themselves." Then, looking at the man, he asked, "By the way, you’re Wizard Vici, aren’t you?"
"Yes, I am Vici," the man replied seriously, "Full name Bobbobovic Vici."
Hearing the man’s name, Richard was slightly taken aback, his expression a bit odd: "Bobbobovic Vici?"
"It’s Bobbobovic Vici, not Bobbobovic Vici," the man corrected irritably.
"It’s not Bobbobovic Vici, it’s..." The man became very angry, but then suddenly swallowed his words, "Uh, alright, it is Bobbobovic Vici, you got it right."
Richard shook his head and said, "I think I’ll just call you Wizard Vici."
"Whatever, I’m used to it," the man answered. "What I don’t get is, is my name really that difficult to pronounce?"
"I heard, Wizard Vici, that you’ve come to discuss with me about teaching Harry and Cathy?" Richard asked.
"Yes," Bobbobovic Vici said, "I’m quite skeptical of you, the second teacher. Do you have an ulterior motive? They’re just children, so why teach them useless things that could easily lead them astray, things that they completely can’t understand? Fortunately, I discovered this early and was able to stop you in time. Otherwise, who knows what wrong path you might have led those two children down..."
Afterward, Bobbobovic Vici continued to speak righteously and indignantly.