James couldn't stop himself from smiling after hearing Ezio's report. He was very proud of William's accomplishment of beating Aramis' disciple. Too bad he wasn't there to witness it first hand.
If he was there, he might have not been able to stop himself from gloating and irking his love rival until the two of them came to blows with each other.
"Still, my grandson is really a magnet for pretty girls," James said with a smile. "That young lady Priscilla is not half bad."
"I think the Young Master only sees her as a subordinate," Ezio replied. "He didn't show anything unusual when dealing with her. Everything is quite formal."
James rubbed his chin as he pondered something inside his mind.
"How about that girl Wendy? Has their relationship improved?" James inquired. "What stage are they at now? Has my Grandson managed to take First Base? Since he's got my genes, he should be at least on First Base, right?"
Fortunately, Ezio was wearing a hood and James wasn't able to see the stiff expression on his face. He wasn't the type to gossip about William's personal love life, but he still reluctantly answered his Lord's questions.
"While I'm not a hundred percent certain, I think the Young Master is giving Lady Wendy special treatment," Ezio answered as he organized his thoughts. "Master's adopted son, Thor, is currently under the Young Miss' care. They sometimes spend time together, but at most they only hold each other's hands."
"I see." James nodded. "How about his relationship with his friends? With Est and that interesting boy named Ian. Are they still at loggerheads with each other?"
"The Young Master has a very good relationship with Est. They usually have lunch together and discuss joint training between the Martial and Magic Class Divisions," Ezio reported. "As for Ian, yes, the two of them are still at odds with each other, which I find very strange. It is always Ian who takes the initiative to taunt the Young Master whenever they meet."
James chuckled as he listened to Ezio's report. A minute later, his smile disappeared as he asked another question.
"What about that boy, Kenneth? Did you confirm that he came from THAT place?" James asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yes." Ezio nodded. "I am very sure that he came from THAT place. As for his purpose, it is to spy on the Young Master."
"Does William know?"
"Yes. He just pretends that he is not aware of his roommate's hidden agenda. The Young Master even took him along when he went to assist the centaur tribe against the Wyverns. It was as if William was blatantly showing him his abilities. This is also something that I do not understand."
James leaned back on the chair as a frown appeared on his face. Ezio had already informed him that Kenneth was a spy. As to why he was spying on William, Ezio and James could only make guesses.
"Ask one of your subordinates to keep track of Kenneth's actions," James ordered. "If his purpose is to hurt William, eliminate him."
"Yes, Sir." Ezio bowed and disappeared from the room, leaving James with his thoughts.
"Are they the ones behind this plot?" James muttered as he stood up to look outside the window of his room. "Maybe they are linked, but not the masterminds behind the scene. Interesting, so they are finally keeping an eye on William."
A tinge of killing intent briefly flashed inside James' eyes before disappearing completely. He had endured for the past few years and remained lowkey. However, if anyone dared to make a move on his family members… he would definitely not turn a blind eye and eradicate the source of the problem without any shred of mercy!
-----
"What a haul," Owen playfully played with his beard as he looked at the injured Hipogriffs that were currently outside Celine's residence.
"Can they regrow their limbs and wings?" William asked.
"They can regrow their wings, as for their limbs…" Owen lightly touched one of the Hipogriffs that had lost its hind legs. "We will need to ask a favor from someone else. However, that person will definitely charge you a high price for his services."
"I don't mind about the price, but do we have other Life Mages in Lont aside from you?" William asked.
The reason why he brought the injured Hipogriffs back to Lont was due to the fact that Owen was a powerful Life Magus. He hoped that the old man would be able to restore the creatures back to their peak condition to be able to soar in the skies once again.
"Who said that only Life Mages, and Clerics are good at healing?" Owen smiled. "You already know him, William. In fact, you know him very well."
"I do?" William tilted his head to the side. "Okay. Let's go meet him. The sooner they return to their peak condition, the sooner I can return to the academy."
Owen chuckled and nodded his head. He then took William to one of the most notorious experts in Lont and that was none other than…
-----
"I see! You came to the right person." Jekyll flashed William a wide grin. "Regrowing and chopping off limbs is my specialty!"
William's face was stiff as he faced the sole-dentist of Lont. This was the one person that his enhanced perception designated as the scariest existence in his hometown.
"So how many Hipogriffs are we talking about?" Jekyll inquired. "Since they are magical beasts, it would take a very powerful regeneration potion to regenerate their limbs."
"Twenty-four," William replied. He was paying close attention to the reaction of the dentist that had almost become his instructor in the past.
"My stock of regeneration potions won't be enough. At most, I will only be able to fix four of them." Jekyll pondered out loud. "However, since you're already here, the problem is solved!"
Jekyll rested his hand on William's shoulder which made the narcissistic Half-Elf shudder.
"The main ingredient for the regeneration potion is Troll's blood," Jekyll said while keeping the perfect smile on his face. "However, ordinary trolls are no good. Get me Mountain Trolls. Their blood has stronger regeneration qualities. It will be best to capture them alive, so we can have an unlimited supply of Troll's blood."
The dentist clapped his hand as if he just realized something.
"This will be the price for helping you regrow the limbs of the Hipogriffs," Jekyll stated. "Capture as many trolls as you can. The more, the merrier!"
Jekyll didn't even wait for William's reply as he kindly told him to leave. He was currently in the middle of an experiment, and he didn't want to be disturbed. The Dentist only made an exception because William was James' grandson.
After having the door shut right in front of his nose, William turned his head to see a grinning Owen leaning against a tree.
"Did it go well?" Owen asked.
"He asked me to capture Mountain Trolls," William replied.
"Trolls blood?" Owen pondered. "I see, that is the main ingredient of his regeneration potion. Now it makes perfect sense. I've been wondering how he made those miraculous potions back then."
Jekyll was an alchemist to outsiders and a Mad Alchemist to those who had known him for years. His experiments ranged from the bizarre to the unexplained. Sometimes, even he didn't know the outcome of his experiments.
Even so, Jekyll had earned his place as one of the most feared individuals in Lont. A Dentist by day, and a Mad Alchemist by night. He was a person that was feared by both children and adults alike.
William and Owen parted ways because the Life Magus still had to make his rounds around town and cure the ailments of the citizens.
William, on the other hand, went to find his subordinates. He decided to use the opportunity to hunt Mountain Trolls and train his Knights at the same time. However, before they officially set out on their hunting expedition, he needed to do something first.
The red-headed boy knew that just by using their strength, it would be impossible for them to catch a Mountain Troll in the wild. He had fought one in the past, and knew how formidable it was.
Because of the level of difficulty, he decided to look for Conrad in order to raise their chances of success.
"Conrad, I have something very important to tell you. Follow me," William ordered.
Conrad nodded his head and followed his Commander towards the East Side of Lont where the Wyverns were stationed. After seeing William's incredible feats, Conrad's admiration of him had grown by leaps and bounds.
Although it wasn't as fanatical as Dave's worship for the Half-Elf, his feelings weren't too far off. If possible, he also wanted to remain as William's subordinate in order to raise his position within the Knight Order.
After arriving at the temporary Wyvern's Nest, William faced the Wyvern that Ella had kicked in the head inside the Whimsical Forest.
The Wyvern eyed William with an unresigned expression. Although it was reluctant to become a Mount, it had no choice in the matter. Their leader had already submitted to a human. If he were to rebel, the Blood Wyvern would show no mercy and eat him.
With the threat of death looming over its head, the Wyvern decided to unwillingly accept its fate.
"From now on, this Wyvern will be your partner," William said. "However, whether you are able to tame him is up to your ability."
Conrad eyed the Wyvern with a burning gaze. He had always wanted to become a Dragon Knight, and Wyverns were also considered dragons among the nobility. Hunting a pure blooded dragon was very hard.
Also, they were very similar to the pegasus who would fight tooth and nail with those who dared to use them as a mount. They were very prideful creatures and they would rather die than have someone ride on their back.
This was why Wyverns became the next best thing. Although they were prideful creatures, they would not go as far to commit suicide like the dragons if someone where to ride on their backs and trample on their dignity.
Those who were able to tame and ride Wyverns were called Dragon Knights, and that was Conrad's greatest dream. To become a Dragon Knight and show everyone that had ridiculed him in the past that he was not some helpless boy that couldn't do anything without his family's backing.
"Go, try and mount him," William ordered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Conrad smiled and tried to mount the Wyvern's back, but the Wyvern pushed him away. The beast didn't hurt him, but merely prevented him from climbing on its back. The teenage boy tried again, but the Wyvern rejected his advances.
William watched this scene with a calm expression. However, deep inside, he was laughing very hard.
Before he went to find Conrad, he had already talked to the Wyvern and gave it an order. Unless he gave the signal, he would reject Conrad's attempt to mount him.
Although this was a very shameless move on William's part, he still did it. Why? Because he knew that Conrad was desperate for power. He had already seen how ambitious the boy was.
William didn't dislike ambitious people. In fact, he welcomed them wholeheartedly. If Conrad really wanted to rise in the ranks of the nobility, he needed to earn merits and other achievements. For that, he would need power and influence.
And right now, the only one that could give him the power and influence he wanted was none other than William.
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