"Seriously? Mana Beast Cuisine Club, Dream Theater Society Club, and the Alchemy Club? The last one is normal, but the first two... are you sure?"
Raelis had read the brief descriptions of both those clubs, and they looked pretty interesting.
Mana Beast Cuisine Club: Exotic chefs who believe flavor and mana go hand in hand. Taste tests are not optional. Signature dish: Basilisk-eye smoothie.
Dream Theater Society: A group of students who explore lucid dreaming, memory magic, and dark theater plays.
It seems interesting, since the others are so plain, Raelis thought with a hum.
"Now then, can I have two weeks off?"
"Sure... I’ll talk to the headmaster about this," Julian replied, exhausted. "Oh, before you go, if you’re going to be doing nothing but training, then visit me. I can be your sparring partner on the weekends. Aside from that, I’m a pretty busy man."
"Busy drinking and gambling?" Raelis mused.
Julian raised a single finger. "I drink. I don’t gamble. But that’s beside the point. It takes a lot of willpower to push through teaching you runts, so I need a moment to myself, you know?"
"Whatever you say..." Raelis brushed it off and stood up, approaching the classroom exit.
But just as he was about to leave, he halted, as if waiting for something.
And he didn’t have to wait long.
"Oh! Right, Zeri Varekan has put a 100-gold bounty on you and Clea. Do be careful on your stroll outside~"
Raelis froze, turning around in shock. "Are you serious?"
"I am very serious. Because she’s the emperor’s pet, nothing is going to happen to her," Julian replied with a slight smile and tapped his cane on the ground, causing the potions Raelis had made to be bottled and stored inside a few boxes.
"Shit..." Raelis muttered. He definitely hadn’t expected her to do something like that. At least, not that openly.
But now that she had, going outside of the academy without the Black Lotus mask was going to be an annoying ordeal.
At the same time, while he had said he would be training the entire time, he was going to pay his mother a visit since he hadn’t seen her in a few weeks.
Still, there was one more thing that had caught Raelis’s attention earlier, but now, it was brought back.
"You keep calling her the emperor’s pet. Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?"
"Pfft... oh please. I’m one of the 50 Mystics of this empire. I’m not saying I’m immune to the guillotine, but not calling a pet by its name is not something I would get executed for," Julian replied. "But she is powerful, and for you at least, she’s overwhelming."
He smiled. "But if you continue growing at the pace you are now, you’ll be able to defeat her maybe in the second year."
Raelis waited a few moments to make sure that was all, then made his way out.
Walking through the halls, he had a conflicted look on his face.
A bounty... she’s not being very subtle, is she? Raelis mused.
Considering 3 Silver Coins could last a family of four a whole month easily, 100 Gold Coins was overkill.
With that much, someone might be able to buy a small estate.
He was more worried about her following Clea. He could only imagine what the two were doing.
With how much they hate each other... I just hope Clea doesn’t get too hurt.
Raelis thought about it for a little while longer as he finally arrived at the dormitories.
He went up to the topmost floor, and just as he was about to enter his room, he heard a whistle from the distance.
Turning toward the noise, he spotted a familiar face.
It was the playboy archer, Cael, and he seemed to be relaxing in the lounge, sitting cross-legged on a couch.
He waved a few times with a smile, and as much as Raelis wanted to start training, he decided to go along with it.
Raelis approached with steady steps. Then, he took the seat opposite Cael and tilted his head.
"What is the matter?"
"No need to be so stiff," Cael said, raising his hands dramatically. "Don’t worry, I’m not the emperor. I’m not even a noble. I’m a hunter’s son."
Do I really talk that formally? Raelis thought, puzzled.
"What’s up?" Raelis changed his tune.
"Nothing much. I just saw you’ve been hanging out alone most of the time," Cael replied with a faint smile. "So what do you say we go out?"
"Out to the city," Cael corrected himself, unfazed. "There are a few pubs we could go to. You’ve never had alcohol, have you?"
This guy really reminds me of Julian.
"I don’t like alcohol," Raelis said, recalling the past.
When he had turned 18, his siblings made him a poison tester in a way. But instead of feeding him poison, they made him drink never-ending amounts of alcohol.
In the end, the palace healers had to step in since Raelis’s stomach was practically burned.
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down his spine.
"Not an alcohol fan, huh? Well, it’s an acquired taste, I guess. The only reason I like it is because my accuracy increases when I’m drunk. It really helps me when I hunt Mana Beasts," Cael said with a chuckle.
Raelis brow’s twitched. I don’t think that’s how it works.
"How about this then... I need to buy a new quiver since I broke mine the other day. Do you want to go with me to the crafting district?"
"I... Sure," Raelis accepted. "When are we going?"
Cael smiled. "We can go now if you’re ready?"
Raelis let out a sigh. "Hold on. Let me grab some money."
With that, he went back into his room and took a sack of coins.
In total, he had 2 Gold Coins, 28 Silver Coins, and lastly, 50 Copper Coins.
He had spent a majority of his money on knives, and now, he would do the same.
Since he only needed five, he was going to buy the best knives he could with what he had.
Therefore, he carefully stored his sack of cash in his back pocket and stepped outside, making sure to lock the room.
He approached the relaxing Cael and nodded.