Chapter 266: Meeting Them All At Once (Mixed)

The Lady and Main Heir to the Noble House of Crowel arrived in Kraelonia Academy precisely an hour before the sun stood fully above the skies—that was to say, it was still morning, but the appropriate time for a visit that a banquet could also be made in her honor.

Her crow, Freya, was perched on her arm as she descended from the carriage and was greeted by the sight of the esteemed Headmaster, formerly part of the party of the Hero as an Assassin of great renown. It was enough to make her skin prick slightly, if not for the Bodyguards that accompanied her.

It wasn't only the Headmaster that met her, but even his wife—another person part of the Hero's party in what was decades ago. There hadn't exactly been a Hero since then, to even see a former member of said party was an honor and a fascinating one that she could suppose most of the Students in the Academy weren't able to appreciate.

Each person in the committee that welcomed her was someone of note, that albeit the very lacklustre 'welcome' in terms of design and even other things, it was a respectable one. But the woman wasn't here for anything relating to garnering social events. She was here to find... him.

"Our warm greetings to Lady Crowel for giving us the chance to welcome you today to Kraelonia Academy." the Headmaster said with a small incline of his head that was soon followed by the other faculty doing the same.

Neutral they might be, but their respect still held.

The Lady offered the same regard and a smile, "Honoured  Headmaster, it would be an honour to be simply referred by my first name, Lady Andromeda is fine—my last name reminds me of my father, although I do come in his stead." She wouldn't stay too long here.

She glanced at her immediate surroundings and didn't find who she was expecting to come... but she could also do it by her own if the man was busy.

"Very well then, Lady Andromeda. Shall we escort you to the dining hall? We have done our best to prepare for your arrival and perhaps it is where you can also find said candidates to patron." The Headmaster said.

She thought he was a man of few words, but perhaps his position necessitated this. He was straight to the point, which was refreshing, however. She gave a small curt nod and soon found herself and her Bodyguards, accompanied through the Academy with one of the faculty giving their explanations about the architecture.

The Lady tried to appreciate it all the same, but her heart pounded even as she touched the necklace that hung around her neck. Freya nudging her head on her cheek to comfort her, sensing the anxiety she held within her.

She would find the person who her father wanted here.

.. .

And it happened all too quickly.

One moment, Timothy was staying all by himself and focused on just resting—recovering from the strenuous amount of energy that taxed him while he escaped the furious blows from three Mage Students. He was in the same room as them, Elliot, Kyse and even Ellynn just across on another row.

It was supposed to be a quiet time where he could recompose himself until a squeak had emerged from their Professor Lavelda's lips as some messenger or staff arrived in their room. The Wizard pushed up her spectacles and fixated her gaze on him, "Ah, Timothy, it seems that there is someone requesting your presence. Do tell us if Gesth Carter is a familiar name to you?"

Timothy jolted up in his seat and nearly squashed the bag rested on his back. It was him—that old man that had wanted to see Han. He almost forgot it down the line, but his memory was jogged and soon conclusions came in his mind as to the reason for the old man's visit. It was related to family, and it had to do with Han, so it was easy to put one and one together.

"Timothy?" The Professor asked again.

A good number of the Students gave him looks. Surely the Professor could have approached him if she wanted to. And yet she was content in staying in her seat and discussing this with everyone free to hear of it. He took a deep breath and sighed, "I'll go meet with him, Professor, if that's alright?"

"Of course. It's in the faculty, right?"

If Timothy didn't meet with the man, then he would find Han through other means, and the idea of it didn't dwell on him well. So it was best for him to see the man now and perhaps tell the truth? He wasn't so sure—but he left to meet with them.

He didn't even exactly wait for the messenger which might have been a mistake, but the faculty was easy enough to find it, right? He didn't want to head back to the classroom, because surely there was a sign for it and he wanted to get this over with.

Even if he hadn't exactly had someone to return to.

Timothy sighed and then moved across the hallways, rather caught up in his own thoughts that he hit a wall. Groaned and then moved around to the corner and soon met up with some people that made him blink. 

.. .

It was a little too late to say that some people were just rash—and though Liam had earned a disgruntled look from his senior, Gesth. He did put the name of the King on the line for this and used their position. Byron had insisted they move as he tracked down the person or at least the place where he knew his rats were, and really it was the place because no surviving rats came back and the most he could do was affirm from others where exactly their brethren had died.

And soon they were off, even Gesth, who was a tad upset because he was waiting for this 'Timothy Cook' to arrive. But that was the least of their troubles, because as far as Liam was concerned—the Crowel House was also after the one and only Crown Princess. It spelled trouble for him and so much to the dismay of the two Professors that had met with them, they were allowed to roam, if only accompanied by one of them.

Sadly, it wasn't the Cleric, but this was also standard procedure.

.. .

And so Han practically ran across the hall and then stopped. If only to summon a map and check for the location of Timothy—or else he would have gone to his classroom and find that the young man was gone.

Which actually turned out to be true.

Maybe Timothy decided to go back to Dewrowan Tower and rest? Surely he'd need to serve Iola some food, so that made sense, too. But there was logical reasoning and then there was a convenient way, so this time... he checked the map first. And soon Han followed after the blinking target and maneuvered through the hallways with his eyes only on the map. He had [ Instinctive Dodge ], [ Basic Reflexes ] and [ Basic Agility ] to protect himself from bumping into someone.

And he quickly had made good use of it and jumped back before he could have hit a person, albeit it wasn't necessary when said person also avoided it and soon stopped in their tracks. "Oops, my apologies." Han was quick to apologize until he looked up and saw exactly who it was he had nearly bumped into.

He blinked and stared for a moment.

There were four men in front of him, one of them was Professor Owen Liddell, the second and third were the people he met on the street and then there was a burly man who seemed familiar, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint why. 

"Oh, uh… good morning, Professor… er, sirs?" What was the appropriate thing to say to them now? Maybe nothing. He couldn't act too chummy, right? First, he'd find Timothy to return the necklace and then he'd have some lunch. "I'll be right on my way," He bowed his head and began to move out of their way, moving rather quickly, until someone spoke up.

"Excuse me, young man." the old man said. "May I have a word with you?"

"That's not him." Another person said. He wasn't sure if it was the Professor or the fourth guy.

Either way, Han continued to walk forward. This wasn't about the gold that this guy gave him, right? Did these folks come here to verify his backstory? Surely that wasn't it. 

Sweat dripped on his back. 

Han was on the verge of running—and he was already somewhat far enough to pretend that he had heard nothing at all.

"This is not what we're here for, Senior Gesth!" the younger man cried out.

"Excuse me!" the old man's footsteps were heading in his direction. 

Now it didn't exactly make any sense, but his reflexes and instincts kicked in and Han scampered off the hallway like a dog that had noticed its master arrive and made his way out of there—and yet the footsteps behind him didn't stop.

What did this old man want?! Han reached covertly towards his inventory and pulled out his purse-strings, "You can have your money back, old man!" He threw it backwards and sprinted even faster.

Yes, it made him look suspicious. But he already ran, so why should he stop?

He could hear the heavy thud of the coins, but he never looked back and kept his eyes on the map. Timothy had stopped at just around the corner and that was definitely where he ought to be instead of being chased down by some stranger that maybe wanted his gold back. He really didn't care about them right now.

Han skidded forward and then made it into the next hallway, "Timothy!"

The man would come across the sight of Timothy surrounded by the rest of the Professors and even then some strange new people. Although based on the posse surrounding the Lady, he immediately guessed that it was the Crowel House.

He received glares from the Professors and especially the Headmaster.

"Uh… good afternoon?" He blurted out.

"You!" the old man's voice came right behind him.

Han jumped forward and avoided them—almost forgetting about that one.