Chapter 23: A Slap In The Face
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
What Cromwell could not tolerate was the attitude of these damned mages. Those high and mighty faces almost drove Cromwell crazy. He could not accept how these people who had tried so hard to butter up to him could now laugh so contemptuously at him.
Cromwell could not remember how he’d managed to pull through that morning.
Each time he was forced to show a friendly smile, all he received in exchange were several cold shoulders.
Until a moment ago, when he finally saw Kevin.
Cromwell, who had dealings with Kevin several times before, knew that if there was an honest person left in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, it would definitely be Kevin. In Cromwell’s mind, it was much easier to talk to an honest person.
“Mage Kevin, long time no see!”
“Uh… Long time no see, Mr Cromwell.” Upon seeing Cromwell, Kevin’s head began to ache. If possible, he wished he could say “Better not see!” instead.
It was a pity they’d already seen each other. Cromwell, who was like a drowning man clutching at any straw that could save his life, rushed up and shook Kevin’s hands—whether the latter wanted it or not. “Long time no see, long time no see…”
Lin Li, who was standing at a side, was of course ignored.
Cromwell had thought that now that Gerian was down with a serious illness, the person who should oversee the Guild of Magic would naturally be his nephew, Kevin. What reasons were there not to cozy up to the guild’s in-charge and instead engage in a chat with a mage in dire straits? Besides, as the heir to the Merlin Family, Cromwell could not afford to lower himself and initiate a greeting with a low-level mage.
Lin Li was good at taking hints. As Cromwell’s expression fell into his eyes, he knew exactly what was going on in his mind…
But it was better to accept being ignored lest he should be approached with a smiling face and too embarrassed to make trouble for him in the future.
Cromwell had thought of his plea before he came, but because he had to hold it back for the whole morning, he had almost gotten sick from keeping it in for too long. Now that he finally caught up with Kevin, he’d never give him a chance to resist. He had not let up ever since he had a grab of Kevin’s hands. He began with the friendship they had shared since childhood, and then went on to talk about the deep and long-standing friendship between the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic.
The bombardment of words and favor had made Kevin extremely drowsy and miserable.
“Brother Kevin, to be honest, I really admire you. Father once told me that you are the only young man in the whole Jarrosus City with a stronger gift in magic than me. I had not believed him then; only last year, when you had surpassed level-eight in the mage certification, did I realize Father’s vision was not wrong…”
Upon hearing this, an honest person such as Kevin himself could hardly restrain from cursing. You son of a watermelon—one should avoid the face of the person he was beating up! Didn’t he know about that?
Kevin glanced guiltily at Lin Li and thought, Surpassing level-eight surprises you? If you knew someone who had just been exposed to magic for three months surpassing level-eight, wouldn’t you be scared crazy right on the spot? Not to mention you, your father would probably be driven crazy too if he saw the crystal ball glowing for twenty-eight minutes…
Lauding me as a magic genius in front of this someone, isn’t he trying to push me into a pit of fire!?
Kevin finally saw a silver lining when the sun was about to set; he had waited long for Cromwell to ask about Gerian.
“I’m so sorry, the President has been overly exhausted recently, and so he has not been feeling very well. He’s resting in the Emerald Tower at the moment.” Kevin was awfully agitated when he delivered the sentence. It was as if the race that had been enslaved for thousand of years suddenly saw the dawn of victory at the end of the Dark Ages.
“That’s too bad…” Cromwell’s expression was aggrieved. “Then, can I see him? My father had told me to bring him a small gift when I left home this morning.”
At last. Kevin had waited for this sentence after being tortured for the whole afternoon…
“Visitation? Well… I’m really sorry. President Gerian is seriously ill this time, and it’s a malignant infectious disease. If you’re infected, it will lie heavy on our conscience. Why don’t you go back first and come back again a few days later?”
Kevin had repeated this for at least a thousand times in the past two days, but never had he felt this joyful saying it. The words came as he opened his mouth, and he spoke without feeling burdened, much less worried that he’d sleep-talk in the night. He even felt a stone lifted off his heart after he’d finished the sentence…
“…”
The smile froze on Cromwell’s face. This was not the result he had expected after all the meticulously prepared pleas, smiles, and flattery. For a moment, Cromwell stood at a loss, staring blankly at Kevin.
He could not comprehend how things had become like this…
“…” Even Lin Li was shaking his head as he listened from the side. Circumstance was a scary factor—even an honest person like Kevin was poisoned into lying as he opened his mouth.
The smile that was meant to be a sign of resignation was deemed an ineffable sarcasm in Cromwell’s eyes. Kevin’s refusal had his breath stuck in his chest, and he suddenly found an outlet to vent it out…
“What are you laughing at?!” Cromwell’s fair face was badly contorted, and a pair of gleaming red eyes were fixed on Lin Li in a glare. That bearing and expression looked as though he was about to devour Lin Li alive.
“Mr Cromwell…” Kevin was just feeling elated earlier on, and never imagined this was how things would progress in the blink of an eye. When realization finally hit him and he was about to step in, things were already too late. Cromwell’s eyes were fiendish, his expression contorted. His agitated outburst rained spittle on Lin Li’s face…
This is the end… Kevin knew things were bad as he recalled the two unlucky men outside Jarrosus Exchange. He had figured out Lin Li’s character after being together for a long time—his character was almost like Gerian’s. As long as he wasn’t provoked, everything could be talked about nicely. But once the fellow was provoked, he would not show any mercy to anyone he laid hands on. He would not move unnecessarily, but once he did move, he would definitely move in the direction of death.
Although the Guild of Magic had some frictions with the Merlin Family, they were after all the top influence in Jarrosus City. If anything happened to Cromwell here, it would not be up to Kevin to imagine the chaos that would happen in Jarrosus City.
“Do you have any manners at all? The things I’ve discussed with Mage Kevin were top secrets that belonged to the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic. What’s your status now? Have you forgotten your name after worming your way into the Guild of Magic, having the guts to eavesdrop on our top secrets? Won’t you scram yet?” What made Kevin troubled was Cromwell not knowing what he was doing as he continued his reckless clamor.