Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 85.2: Mage Academy

"Now, do you understand?" Nornesh boasted a smug grin, pleased by Kashi and Syèl's stunned expressions. These two had been flying on cloud nine ever since they got here. It felt good to finally put them in their place.

"Ah. I understand." Kashi looked at Nornesh with a strange gaze. "You must have been lonely."

*COUGH* Syèl nearly choked on the laughter he barely held back. Instead, he violently coughed, beating his chest as he succumbed to a heavy fit which only got worse as Nornesh's darkened expression.

Kashi, seemingly oblivious to the heavy atmosphere, suddenly looked at the empty crater where the lake once pooled. "Say, do you mind telling us how long it takes you to stabilize a pool of that size?" The daeben regarded Nornesh with a skeptical gaze. "Surely something of this scale would require months or even years?"

"Months?" Nornesh sneered. He saw through Kashi's basic provocation. But his pride as a dragon would not let him ignore it. "A pool of that size would only take me a week at most. However. Do not even think about it. I will not work for you."

"I see." Kashi sighed in disappointment. "I suppose I will have to build the Mage Academy elsewhere. I was looking forward to having a dragon as the headmaster too."

"What are you talking about?"

"What Mage Academy?"

Nornesh and then Syèl questioned. Nornesh saw the confusion in Syèl's eyes. So even the halben did not know about this. What was this blasted daeben planning?

Kashi looked at Syèl. The daeben's eyes shone with a peculiar glint as he said, "You know we are building an academy at Rosendun, right?"

Syèl nodded. "Yeah, sure. Shokō said it's gonna be the guild's next top priority project."

"Academy?" Nornesh cocked his head to the side. What in the blasted hells was going on? Why were Summoned, known for their extreme selfishness talking about building an academy?

"Yes. An academy." A weird smile played across Kashi's lips as he looked at the dragon. "The greatest academy this world has ever seen. Large enough to contain a full town. It will accept children from all over the continent for free. It will teach the basics of magic, combat, sciences, math, history, and ethics. An academy that does not discriminate by race, talent, gender or status. That sort of academy."

Nornesh smacked his lips. "You have a large appetite." The dragon looked at the youth with praise and disdain. He praised the daeben's sneaky dream of teaching the next generation to humbly follow the Empire. He, however, viewed the method with disdain. "I know you Summoned are rich, but not even you can afford something of that magnitude. Not unless—" Nornesh stopped talking when he saw Kashi's smirk. "Of course. You have your king's backing."

"More than the King's backing." Kashi wagged his finger. "We have the backing of the nation's taxes. Millions of hardworking men and women ensuring the future of the next generation."

'What the hell is he on about?' Seeing Kashi like this made Syèl's skin crawl. How was the daeben easily spitting lines you'd hear from politicians. There had to be a catch. Kashi was not such a good soul. Luckily, Nornesh shared the halben's unease.

"Skip the preamble." Nornesh could no longer listen to the daeben's nonsense. "What do you want to say?"

Kashi smiled. "Only that, while the Academy is a good all-rounder, nothing beats specialized schools. We want to build specialized Academies in both Merriheim and Serisis." Kashi took in Nornesh's blank stare. Despite the dragon's seeming indifference, the fact he had yet to kick Kashi out meant he was interested. "We will build a Mage Academy in Serisis. This place has the highest concentration of mana on the continent. There is no better place to build an Academy."