High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1164: Chapter 226 Inside and Outside the Window

Nicholas had become increasingly silent.

This fact, beside Fifi who studied with him every day, was only noticeable to a few others like Zheng Qing. Although the majority of the class did not mock Nicholas as intensely as the students from other classes or from Alpha did, they did not stand behind him to cheer him on either.

Since Nicholas had thrown his ”self-defense” onto the newspaper, the focus of public opinion had shifted from ”an ordinary Jiuyou student’s view on the Fishman disturbance” to the academic conflict of ’Freedom and equality.’

Alpha public opinion held that Nicholas, under pressure from inside Jiuyou Academy, lacked credibility in his newspaper defense. The commotion intensified when the Beta Town Post released the full interview record, asserting that it had not taken things out of context. Voices from inside Alpha Fortress labeled Nicholas as a ”liar,” ”coward,” and ”untrustworthy person.”

Similarly, in Jiuyou Academy, supporters of Nicholas were scarce. On one hand, Nicholas had initially entered Alpha Academy before Jiuyou, seemingly bearing some form of ’sin’ and his speech about the ’Fishman event’ further evidenced this; on the other hand, Nicholas’s easy change of stance under media pressure also provided leverage to Jiuyou Academy, as if the academy did not permit students to express their own views.

It sounded contradictory but it was indeed the case.

On Thursday’s potion class.

In the corner of the Magic Potion classroom, Fifi used wooden clippers to cut a herb and handed it to Nicholas. To prevent the other classmates from hurling abuse, the witch had specifically requested to be in the same potion-making group with him.

”Star Grass, spicy and warm, and fragrant. It connects internally to the heart and spleen, and externally reaches the limbs. It can detoxify and relieve pain.” The witch whispered and handed the herb to Nicholas: ”Chop it up and scald it with boiling water.”

Nicholas, with a stiff smile on his face, took the herb segment and silently began his work. This deepened the worry visible on the witch’s face. She anxiously looked around.

Everyone in the classroom was focused on their own crucibles and potion jars, no one was watching them.

Being ignored and treated as worthless; Fifi didn’t know which was worse, but she knew she disliked both. She wished everyone would face Nicholas with normal attitudes like she did.

From the podium, Professor Li Qihuang’s faint voice came, as if from a distant horizon, ”...After grinding the Star Grass, stew it in boiling water, then mix with onion juice, and stir clockwise with a jade spoon for nine and a half circles, add three portions of warm wine. Here, we usually use Shaoxing yellow wine as it’s mild and helps the medicine’s effect to evaporate slowly...”

Nicholas followed the professor’s instructions meticulously in mixing the Magic Potion. Fifi, on the other hand, became somewhat flustered, either mis-measuring the weight of the yellow wine or stirring in the wrong direction.

After several attempts, she became increasingly despondent.

”Am I really so useless?” The witch pursed her lips, her eyes reddening slightly. She was annoyed not just with the small jar of Magic Potion in front of her but more at her powerlessness in Nicholas’s situation.

The stiff expression on Nicholas’s face finally relaxed quite a bit.

”No, absolutely not,” he said very firmly. ”If you as the class president think you are useless, then I should throw myself into the Mariana Trench to be a snack for the big sea monster.”

”You haven’t passed the Registered Wizard exam yet; the Sea Demon King wouldn’t want a snack like you, it would be beneath him.” The witch couldn’t help but smile a little, her mood finally lightened a bit. At any rate, Nicholas was still able to joke, which was a good sign.

The warlock cooperatively tugged at the corner of his mouth and turned to look out the window.

”Don’t worry, I’m strong.”

He murmured, looking at the blurred face reflected in the windowpane, muttering silently to himself, ”If there are two things I’m good at in this world, one is taking care of my sister, and the other is learning to be strong.”

”Um, now there’s yet another thing... guarding your peace of mind.”

Thinking of this, the warlock grinned, revealing a joyful smile.

In the corridor near the window, a figure clad in a white robe was walking past slowly. Sensing the gaze from behind the window, the white-robed wizard casually glanced at him.

Nicholas felt as if his eyes were pricked and he suddenly retreated.

...

...

Sir Friedman withdrew his gaze, feeling that the face behind the window seemed familiar.

But considering the scene before him, it seemed like a group of first-year Jiuyou students were attending a magic potion class. Sir Friedman didn’t think he knew any first-year Jiuyou students—except for Zheng Qing and Matthew. The former repeatedly embarrassed his subordinates, and the latter was his cousin; naturally, he was familiar with them.

The steaming mist in the magic potion classroom made that face somewhat blurry.

After a long thought, not until he reached the end of the corridor and was about to turn, did the Duke finally recall to whom that familiar face belonged.

Nicholas Green Oswald.

That half-werewolf, who entered the academy with him and possessed half of the Oswald family’s bloodline. He once thought that this half-werewolf possessed certain qualities that other hybrids did not have, even considering inviting him to join his lounge activities. But later events proved that some qualities could never be compensated for.

After all, a hybrid is just a hybrid, no matter how noble the mixed bloodline is, it can’t conceal their other half’s vile essence.

Like the recent uproar.

An honorable wizard would never change his stance under inexplicable pressure, let alone fabricate lies in the newspaper. Every time he thought about this, Sir Friedman felt an impulse to extract the Oswald family’s bloodline from Nicholas to prevent tainting the glory ”Under the Moon”.

But this was First University, not the ancient castle of Karen’s family, neither was it those lawless hunting grounds outside the school. Apart from practice classes and the hunting competition, First University did not allow students to extract magic from each other’s law books.

”What a terrible world.”

Sir Friedman’s somber gaze swept over the corridor and passed the murky world outside the window, making his mood worse for a time.

Nicholas reminded him of the disturbances by Fishman Tribe, which in turn reminded him of the turmoil caused by the horse-men outside Alpha Fortress. The same methods, different outcomes, made him see the disappointment in Augustus’s eyes.

The same disappointment, which he had never seen in Augustus’s eyes when looking at the overweight Sepulano.

This gave the Duke an inexplicable sense of urgency.

And that was why he was present in this stairwell now.