Chapter 587: Ready To Take The Entire World By Storm

An Old Catkin dutifully trimmed the shrubs in the garden while humming a tune.

He was an official helper at the academy. Not only did he manage the gardens, but he did janitorial work as well.

The students of the academy noticed him a few weeks ago, and so far, they found out that the old Catkin was easygoing and very friendly.

Several of the students even started calling him Old Enzo as an endearment.

Aside from him, there were four Elves who had recently started working with the students from Terra Manor, helping them manage their Sacred Grove, where the medicinal plants and other rare herbs were grown.

In the Bestiary, several men and women in their early thirties were freshly hired as well.

But among the new employees in the academy, the most interesting ones were none other than the four Dwarves.

These Dwarves dealt with repairs for almost everything in the academy.

And they were very proficient in it.

These people were, of course, members of the Protector Clans, and they were allowed into the Academy in order to protect Ethan better.

After the negotiation between Enzo and Professor Rinehart, these people were integrated into the academy to serve as an added layer of protection and security not only for Ethan but also to the entire student body as a whole.

Enzo agreed to this condition. For him, keeping the academy safe was keeping Ethan safe.

Of course, the Catkins, who had accompanied him, also acted as security personnel in the academy, which made Lily and the people from Jaeger Manor wonder where they came from.

As someone who lived in Southshire, this wasn't the first time that Lily had seen Catkins.

But the Catkins in the academy felt and smelled different from the Catkins she knew of.

However, since they were hired by Professor Rinehart himself, she decided to no longer inquire about their origin.

Just as Enzo finished trimming the shrub, which looked like a giant eagle, a flying ship slowly descended from the sky and headed toward the Northern Area of the academy.

It didn't take long for him to see the insignia on the flying ship, which had the symbol of the Royal Family of Khaled Bor.

There were two other ships, one on each side, and both of them looked like battleships that could easily kill a Dragon if it ever blocked their path.

'It seems that the next few days are going to be interesting,' Enzo thought as he narrowed his eyes.

Ethan had already told him about this meeting a few days ago. And since he already knew about the topic of the meeting, the Old Catkin didn't feel like observing the newcomers.

His only role was a staff who would clean around the venue. But if any of these forces from the different Kingdoms of the Shire Continent were to harm Ethan, he would abandon his act and help their Young Master.

The other Catkins, who specialized in assassination, had also been stationed around the Northern Area of the Academy, which was off-limits to students.

This was where the meeting between the different rulers would be held and also where they would be staying.

Originally, Enzo thought that the academy would not be big enough to accommodate such a large gathering.

But, according to the Headmaster, the Northern Part of the academy was designed to easily accommodate over five thousand people.

The tower where the Brynhildr Statue stood was the center of this off-limits area.

Only those who had received permission from the Headmaster were allowed to enter this part of the academy.

"Well, then. I should start cleaning over there now," Enzo muttered as he turned to leave the garden.

However, before he could do that, Ruby and the other Fairies blocked his path.

"Old Enzo, did you bring your offering today?" Ruby asked with a sweet smile on her face.

"You little ones sure know how to extort an old man," Enzo replied helplessly as he took a bag of candy from his pocket and gave it to Ruby. "This is the only bag of candy I have right now, so all of you share it."

"Yay!" Ruby happily grabbed the bag of candies and bid the Old Catkin farewell.

"You're good, Old Enzo."

"Mmm. This is what you call protection offering. We won't trouble you while you do your work, so we need to be paid properly."

"Next time, be sure to prepare two bags of candies, okay?"

"See you later, Old Enzo!"

After chatting with him for half a few minutes, the Fairies finally flew away with their bag of candies.

Ethan had once told him that some of his very first allies in the academies were the Fairies, so Enzo should treat them as allies as well.

The young man had already informed Ruby that Enzo was one of his people. Unfortunately for him, the Fairies took this as justification to extort the Old Catkin for candies whenever he came to the garden.

At first, Enzo didn't have any offerings to give, so he hurriedly went to find Ethan. He was then given a few bags of candies, allowing him to form a good relationship with the Fairies.

Since then, Enzo had been gathering information from the fairies. Aside from wandering around the academy, the Fairies were quite free spirited and sometimes interacted with the students.

This allowed them to hear gossip, rumors, as well as secrets that weren't supposed to be known by anyone.

The fairies supplied Enzo all of this information because, just like the students, they liked to gossip as well.

Of course, this information wasn't free, and most of it had to be paid for by sweets, since it was the only currency the Fairies accepted.

Enzo had learned a lot from them, making his investment worth his while.

As he headed toward the Northern Side of the Academy, he happened to see a familiar group of people walking in the hallways.

They were none other than Langston and his cronies, who had kept a very low profile after his father got demoted to a Marquess.

This blow had humbled the handsome blonde teenager, so he no longer went out of his way to make more enemies in the academy.

"Old Enzo, our Manor needs some cleaning," Langston said as soon as he saw the Old Catkin. "Won't you help clean it up for us later?"

"Of course," Enzo replied with a smile. "I'll be more than happy to clean up Schwartz Manor."

"Mmm." Langston nodded. "You're easy to talk to compared to the other staff of the academy. I'm sure that the Head Prefect will appreciate your effort."

After saying those words, Langston went away with his cohort, leaving Enzo behind.

The Old Catkin didn't particularly hate nor like Langston. In his eyes, he was still a child who was bound to make more mistakes in his lifetime. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Fortunately, it was still not too late for him. He could still change, which was a good thing.

As the Old Catkin continued to walk toward his destination, a ghost child suddenly popped out of the wall beside him and blocked his path.

"Old Enzo, I've been looking for you," Lyle placed his hands on his waist. "The Forbidden Area of the library is collecting dust. Aren't you supposed to clean that up as well?"

"How many times have we talked about this, Lyle?" Enzo scratched his head. "I'm not allowed to enter the Forbidden Area of the Library. If you really want it to be cleaned, you should bring the matter to the Headmaster."

"Geh! That unfilial descendant of mine doesn't listen to me and treats me like a kid!" Lyle snorted. "I've been asking him to do a few things in the past, but he just won't budge.

"I'll just tell you a secret passageway that will lead you to the Forbidden Area of the Library. How about it? You scratch my back, I scratch your back."

"Sorry, not interested."

"Awwww, man! You're just as uptight as that brat Rinehart!"

Enzo couldn't help but chuckle after hearing the ghost child call the Headmaster of the Academy a brat.

To be fair, compared to Lyle's age, Professor Rinehart was indeed much younger. Calling him a brat was a valid point.

"I'll go now, Lyle," Enzo said. "I need to do some cleaning."

"Heh~ do some cleaning?" Lyle smirked as he circled around the Old Catkin. "More like doing some snooping and spying. Old Enzo, you sure have a way with words. Do you want to make a bet with me?"

"No," Enzo replied. "I don't like gambling."

Lyle clicked his tongue before sticking it out.

"You're no fun!"

After saying those words, Lyle flew toward the wall, where he disappeared completely.

With the nuisance gone, Enzo once again continued his journey.

Even so, he couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that the longer he stayed in the academy, the more he felt like this was the most ideal place to nurture Ethan.

He wanted Ethan to grow into someone who could inherit the prestige and pride of his family, allowing their family name to once again resurface to the world and make all those who still remembered it shudder.

There was once a time when his family name had shaken not only the Shire Continent, but Midgard as well…

Making them one of the taboo topics that was rarely spoken outside of closed doors.

'Just give him a few more years,' Enzo thought. 'By then, he will be ready to take the entire world by storm.'

The smile on Enzo's face widened. He longed for the time when he would once again proudly wear the emblem of Ethan's family as he traveled across the battlefield and assassinated those who were foolish enough to go against his will.