High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 326: Chapter 250: Consolation_1

A little blue elf slightly tilted the long-necked bottle in its hand.

A stream of blue liquid broke free from the confinement of the bottle’s neck, cheerfully flowing down and hitting the empty bottom of the glass, frothing a layer of delicate bubbles.

Zheng Qing carefully handed over a glass full of Green Bee to Thomas with the utmost respect.

”Thank you... I remember the first time you drank this, you kept complaining about its spiciness... Have you adapted to it now?” A broad smile spread across Thomas’s face, his green eyes sparkling.

”Not bad, not bad.” Zheng Qing stood rigidly beside him, looking somewhat uneasy.

”Thank you.” As Thomas received a green pear from the little elf, he turned to the publicly-funded student, ”How’s that group of elves you saved on the charter plane...I heard they’re still alive?”

The little fox, originally perched on Zheng Qing’s shoulder asking for fruit from the elves, suddenly jumped back into Zheng Qing’s arms on hearing Thomas’s question. It dangled its large black eyes toward its owner, implying, ’Do you have other foxes outside?’

”Yeah, a friend helped... We prepared a potion using the Royal Bee Jelly of the Sand Hour, they should hang on for quite some time.” Zheng Qing gently scratched the little fox’s chin while patiently explaining, ”The Royal Bee Jelly of the Sand Hour was the reward I received from the incident at Lin Zhong Lake the other day...”

The little fox squinted its eyes satisfactorily, its tail slightly raised. The bow on its tail had already been untied by Zheng Qing, and not a single hair was left out.

”Wow, that’s quite generous.” Thomas looked at him with surprise. ”Although wizards like other unique beings... there are few wizards who would waste such a precious resource to save targets that don’t have much value... You should know, the marginal return on your investment is very low.”

”This isn’t an investment,” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but defend, ”and besides, isn’t life priceless...What has become of this school... it’s become somewhat unrecognizable.”

Thomas set down the pear in his left hand, swapped the glass in his right hand to his left, lifted a finger, and scratched his chin.

”It’s nice to be young,” he earnestly praised, ”still harboring all sorts of beautiful dreams of this world... Are you worried about the speech given by the propaganda department?”

Zheng Qing gritted his teeth and nodded vigorously.

Thomas swapped the glass from hand to hand again, frowning, he slowly said, ”You need to get used to these things... you guys are adults now, you have to learn to view the world as adults and not always behave like children.”

Seeing Zheng Qing’s wide eyes and open mouth, as if ready to retort, he quickly interrupted saying, ”Don’t be impatient, listen to me first... ”

Zheng Qing took a deep breath and closed his mouth.

”Throughout the summer, the Wizards’ Alliance has been very passive.”

”... The Investigation Bureau has cracked down on several labs conducting illegal dimensional fluctuations, there have been riots in the Black Prison, the silent tide has surged much earlier than in previous years, plus the schools have been pulling forces from the New World causing all sorts of rumors... not to mention the dual incidents involving Four Seasons Pavilion and the school charter plane.”

Upon mentioning the school charter plane, Thomas’s expression dimmed a bit.

”It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand... But you should be able to comprehend that enough unfortunate incidents have occurred this year, and everyone needs some positivity to cheer them up.”

”The Wizards’ World needs some positive energy, the Wizards’ Alliance needs a hero, and the school needs to shift everyone’s attention from certain corners to other stages.”

”What could be more aligned to the needs of the three sides than having a publicly-funded student, who just started school this year, become a hero?” Thomas handed his empty glass to a little elf and spread his hands.

”So, adults can freely lie?” After a long silence, Zheng Qing finally spoke in a sarcastic tone, ”From childhood, you told us what is right and what is wrong; then when we grow up, you show us through your actions that there is no right or wrong, only interests... What a ridiculous story.”

”Indeed, it is quite ridiculous, but that’s the real world... the world outside of the textbooks.” At this point, Thomas suddenly laughed and teased, ”Stop looking so sullen... you should know, except for the ink you used for signing, you haven’t lost anything in this deal.”

”Yeah, I should be the one reaping the greatest benefits,” said Zheng Qing with a hint of regret, ”All I need to do is to adjust my worldview slightly, and when I wake up tomorrow, the world will be a much better place.”

Thomas was taken aback and finally fell silent.

Zheng Qing looked up again at the boisterous First Hall, capturing the sights that could only be seen in dreams during his childhood, gazing at the faces full of vitality.

He felt a small figure deep within his heart slowly sinking into the water.

As Thomas had said, this was a transaction, and he was just nothing more than a gilded weight.

”A trade...” the young publicly-funded student muttered, suddenly looking up at his former interviewer, asking, ”What about you? Aren’t you even a little angry?”

”Angry?” Thomas raised his eyebrows in surprise.

”I mean, they’ve bestowed the honor of that Thunder Curse on me...” Zheng Qing looked into his green eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, his face flushed with embarrassment, ”I always feel like I’ve stolen something.”

”Ah, about that...” Thomas smiled, his gaze drifted slightly as he explained, ”The school has approved one of my whimsical requests... I’m truly very thankful. As for the Wizard Council, they’ve promised to help me with one of my experiments... After completing this experiment, I’m one step closer to becoming a grand wizard. Is there anything more important for a real wizard than progressing further on this road?”

Zheng Qing followed Thomas’s gaze to look overhead.

Apart from the profound void and the deep, dark nothingness, all that was there were a few flickering orbs of light moving along a pre-defined path, leaving behind slight traces of light.

”Thank you.” The young scholarship student said sincerely, ”Thank you from all perspectives.”

”No problem!” Slapping him on the shoulder, Thomas laughed heartily, ”Everyone has their youthful days.”

”What’s so funny!” Xin Fat Man ran over from not too far away, his face flushed and out of breath, ”Excuse me, sir, why does my badge look less shiny than Nicholas’s? Has the school changed the materials they used to make the badges this year?”

Orange Cat Tuan Tuan lay on Fat Man’s head, its paws tightly gripping the top of his head. Its tail, like a flagpole, stood erect at the back of his head, making him look incredibly comical.

Little Fox was clinging to Zheng Qing’s lapel, laughing uncontrollably.

Zheng Qing’s gaze passed over Fat Man, to rest on the repeat student behind him.

Indeed, unlike the other freshmen, the two badges adorned on Nicholas’s chest appeared to be coated in a glaze, giving off a slight rainbow sheen under the pale light.

It looked significantly more valuable than the matte metal badges in the hands of the new students.

”Nicholas?” Thomas looked at the tall, thin wizard boy behind Fat Man, a hint of confusion crossing his face, ”Don’t tell me you don’t know, either?”

An awkward expression appeared on Nicholas’s face.

”Not... I didn’t... I didn’t pay much attention... to this,” he stammered, ”My usual studies are pretty intense... and I have to take care of Liz.”

”Ah... how is Liz doing now?” Thomas showed a gentle smile.

”She’s doing really well, thank you,” Nicholas heaved a sigh of relief, his words finally coming out smoothly, ”The potion provided by the Potion Research Institute has been very effective; she was fine all summer.”

Zheng Qing had heard that Nicholas had a sister named Liz.

But judging from their tone, Liz appeared to be suffering from some serious illness?

Life is definitely tough.

The young scholarship student looked at Nicholas and couldn’t help but sigh.

”That’s good.” Thomas nodded, then turned to explain to the newcomers, ”The materials of the badges haven’t changed... they’re all made from a mix of meteoric iron, mithril, and purple gold, produced by the Alchemy Research Institute. Just that the school has added some protective spells to the badges. If a wizard wears them for a long period, the spells will strengthen under the wizard’s magical influence... The manifestation of this change is that their color will become more magnificent.”

”I knew it, my older brother graduated a long time ago, but he still wears these two badges,” Zhang Ji Xin chimed in, understanding dawning on his face, ”No wonder... his badge has already become translucent, shining like a diamond.”

”Really?!” Xin Fat Man brightened up, ”Why didn’t anyone tell us about these...”

”You’re already an adult, don’t expect to be told everything.” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but laugh, recalling something someone had once said, ”Be proactive in everything and learn to be self-reliant.”

Xin Fat Man gave Zheng Qing a sidelong glance, a ’look who’s talking’ expression on his face.

”Of course, the Merlin Medal also has this effect.” Thomas looked at the young scholarship student and smacked his lips, ”I’ve heard that wearing the Merlin Medal for a long period can also enhance a certain physical quality of the wearer...”

”Wow.” The others all gave Zheng Qing envious looks.

Zheng Qing pinched the three hard metal pieces in his pocket, immediately starting to wonder how to wear these ’amulets’ in a way that wouldn’t attract attention.