Inheriting a Lost Bloodline, My First Task is to have heirs?!

Chapter 90: Chapter 90 - Let’s make a deal, headmaster

The grandmaster kept his amicable smile but I saw his eyes change to show a hint of amusement and curiosity. He touched his long beard and asked, ”When it comes to deals, shouldn’t both parties present something of value to the other so that they would come to an agreement?” I changed my facial expression to that of a cold one to show that I am serious about why I came here. I then responded, ”That is correct. It has to be give and take though. Do you have any questions about it?”

He straightened his sitting position and changed his facial expression to a more serious one signifying that he is now meeting me as an equal in this negotiation. The first question he asked me was, ”I want to hear first what you expect out of this negotiation so I would know if the things you want are ones that I can provide.” I gave a polite smile and replied, ”I want very simple things, grandmaster. First, the freedom to leave the academe for personal reasons at any given time. No worries, I will attend all my classes as scheduled in the curriculum since they give me a lot of points. Second, I want a lock of full secrecy on all of my information and that of the people connected to me from the time this agreement takes effect until I graduate from this academe. I am honestly fearful for my safety and my privacy since I have not made any strong connections yet, you see? As for the guard you sent me, I don’t mind keeping Zen at all.”

The grandmaster’s eyes widened since he must not have expected that I have already met and talked with the secret guard that the academe have assigned to follow me around. He coughed a bit to hide his surprise and responded, ”So, you have met him, that amazing boy.” He cleared his throat to hide his surprise and went back to the previous topic and continued, ”The things you asked are easy to do with my position as headmaster of the academe. As for the lock of full secrecy, I do not know what you are planning to hide since you don’t have relatives in this world but that much I can do as well. Why do you have to make this deal sound so heavy like it is a matter of life and death?” I looked at him and smiled sweetly, ”This is a very heavy deal and it does involve the life and death of many beings in this world, grandmaster.” He looked startled when my last sentence sank into him.

I held Ioannis’ hand and looked at him. I signaled through my eyes that everything will be alright and he smiled at me. I started to envelop him with a sturdy barrier to protect him from the mana pressure that was about to descend in a bit. As for the grandmaster, he should be able to protect himself to some extent. He should not be a rare Rank 7 magician just for show. Once I’m sure that Ioannis’ is well-protected, I created a domain within the grandmaster’s room to isolate the three of us from the outside. I saw the surprise in the old man’s eyes as I casted one spell after another without chanting anything. All he could say with a bit of stuttering was, ”I feel only a miniscule amount of mana from you, so how?”

I simply smiled at him but did not answer his question. I geared the topic back to our agreement and started by saying, ”I think, I have to at least show you something worthwhile about me so it would be fair for you to give me the advantages that I want. Let’s start with me having created patents anonymously.” I gave him a copy of my seal stamped on a small piece of paper. I then told him to bring it in the magic tower for verification if he wanted to since I told people from the tower that I am connected to the academe. I continued my thoughts and said, ”I plan to continue creating patents and inventions in the future. One of these days, maybe someone from the magic tower or the patent office will request a meeting with me here. It should increase the academe’s reputation right?” The grandmaster seemed to be happy with the first thing I put on the table from my end. He responded, ”That’s an amazing thing you have brought up. Are there other things that you want to tell me?” I smirked and told him, ”I have set up a corporation. If you do not know what that means, it simply is a big company that will be managing several smaller companies under it. The first thing I did is buy land. That construction area near the entrance to the entertainment district is mine. I also set up a bank and soon an alchemy shop under my company.” I paused to let the fact that I have done a lot of things in my very brief stay in this world, sink in to the grandmaster’s mind.

After a full minute, I continued, ”Lastly, and I guess the most important of them all is...” I started cancelling my disguise and concealment spells one by one. Together with the change of my countenance was the gradual increase of mana pressure in the area. I saw the grandmaster touch his staff and chant several spells to set up layers upon layers of barriers around him. I guess he felt the incoming danger if he did not take such precautions as he saw me gradually change from a normal unassuming young girl to someone who has ethereal features that exudes an extremely high amount of mana pressure.

Once all my disguises and concealment spells are gone, I stood up from the sofa and walked slowly towards the grandmaster’s desk with a smile. He is currently sweating buckets as he tries to keep the barriers protecting him from my mana pressure from cracking. I leaned forward a bit in front of his table and placed a letter sealed with hardened wax that clearly shows my kingdom’s crest. A crest that humans thought was a myth and only existed in books but I know the grandmaster is very familiar with it.

The higher your magician rank, the longer one’s lifespan is so he should still be familiar with the old empire of Eieneos and the crest they used. With trembling hands, the grandmaster took the letter from his table and used his index finger to touch the wax seal with a crest on it. He slowly looked up to me as if he was about to cry and as if he finally got an answer to a fervent prayer after a very long time. As for me, I walked back to the sofa and sat next to Ioannis again. He looked at me and smiled dotingly.

It took several minutes for the grandmaster to open the wax seal carefully and read the contents of the letter. I gave him all the time he needed and kept quiet. After quite some time, he spoke in a much more polite tone than necessary between an elder and a young girl, ”You finally came, our empress. The academe will support you in any way we can and adhere to any of your wishes. I will personally see to it. Just say the word and you may consider it as good as done.” I looked at him and said, ”I am not an empress just yet. I have things I need to do first before I accept that title. Just think of me as the only heir to the empire as of the moment. I want to keep everything about me a well-kept secret from everyone outside the school. I will move as discreetly as possible for things that I need to accomplish outside and I will make sure not to tarnish the academe’s reputation as I do so. This is my plan for the near future till I graduate from this academe in about two years. As for people that will find out who I am with their own abilities, I will personally deal with them as I see fit.”

He hurriedly stood up from his seat and walked towards me. He then kneeled on one knee in front of me, ”I, Grandmaster Fredrick De Austere, 5th Headmaster of the Academe of Gnosis, offer my loyalty to the heir of Eieneos and vow to assist her in all her goals for the future of this world. If I break this vow, all mana will leave with my body, my body will turn to ash, and my soul shall perish, never to be reincarnated again.” I was quite surprised with his reaction and the mana vow he made. Isn’t this too exaggerated?

Out of the blue, I heard Lia’s voice and she volunteered to give me information for the first time, ”Your parents... Well, the parent’s of the princess... That is the soul in your body right now, were the ones that established the Academe of Gnosis more than four centuries ago. They believed that everybody who wants to study should be given the right to but I guess it has changed to be a school for the elite in the last few centuries.” I answered Lia in my head by simply saying, ”Hmm... I see. As for giving the right for everyone to study, I can work on that. I also believe that people at least should know how to read, write and also do basic math to save their own lives. Men should also be allowed to learn skills outside of just how to get pregnant, give birth and take care of children.”

As I was discussing things will Lia, I totally forgot about the old man who was kneeling in front of me. Ioannis had to hold my hand and squeeze it for me to realize that I have been too quiet and have not responded to the grandmaster. I hurriedly told the grandmaster, ”Please rise, Grandmaster Fredrick. You do not need to kneel to me. It defeats the purpose of hiding my identity if others see you do this. I gratefully accept your vow of loyalty. As a gift, I will give you this...” I handed a control glass ball to the grandmaster which holds the power of a Rank 10 attack and defense barrier. I then told him, ”This is my gift to this academe for my stay for the next two years.” He bowed gratefully and said, ”We thank you for your generosity! This is a rank 10 barrier! Nobody in this world has been able to create one. Won’t we be in trouble?” I simply answered, ”I have thought of that and placed a limiter on it. For people outside the barrier, they will think that it is just Rank 7 which is just equal to your current rank.” He looked at me with some sort of devotion in his eyes and then started chanting a spell on the ball I gave him and then he threw it up in the air. The mana inside the ball burst out and I felt the barrier envelope the whole area of the academe grounds.

He tried offering a lot of other benefits but I told him that I will need to do it the same way as other students do it so as not to divulge my identity. I told him that I don’t have a problem earning points and then using those points to gain better accommodations for me and my attendant. I suddenly thought of something and told him to simply cancel off Ioannis’ debt but at the same time to continue paying for his education and not surprisingly, he readily agreed. I winked at Ioannis as he looked at me in awe.