Endless World: The Rise of Leonard Lawson

Leonard was a bit frustrated and thought Mirelle was playing a prank on him.

There was no way she could miss the cut when he pointed where it was precisely.

’She must have been mad that I made her appear to be a whore. It’s just an act. Did she have to be so petty when it’s about a serious issue?’ He couldn’t comprehend her behavior.

He might have been a bit overboard with the demand, but all along, he was only trying to deceive the public while investigating a hidden enemy. His objective and motive were clear, so she should have been understanding.

When Mirelle saw the kind of looks that Leoanrd was giving her, she knew exactly what he was implying.

”I really don’t see or smell anything amiss.” She responded honestly.

In the next instance though, her eyes narrowed, and muttered, ”Could it be that a high-level concealment spell was in effect?”

”A concealment spell?” Leonard pursed his lips. ”You mean the kind that concealed something from the naked eye or some detection?”

”Yes, that is correct!” Nodding, Mirelle began chanting a spell that was designed to expose any concealment. It was a high-level spell of the fifth circle.

The mana she spread began to glow slightly, a clear reaction that the presence of foreign magic was present.

However, it lasted for only a brief moment when the mana returned to its normal state.

”This is...” Stunned by the situation, Mirelle’s expression darkened.

Meanwhile, Leonard’s expression remained unchanged. ”So do you still think I’m being overly paranoid?”

Realizing the severity of the matter, Mirelle no longer doubted his discovery.

Instead, she was astonished by Leonard’s ability. He was able to smell the foul stench and see the damage despite a high-level concealment spell being active. This indicated there was an unspoken talent revolving around Leonard.

”My spell worked for a bit, but it dissipated.” Mirelle softly spoke and turned to him. ”The enemy was clever and used either a high-level item or spell. If I were to forcefully remove the concealment spell, it would definitely alert them.”

Leonard furrowed his brows, his eyes subtly glancing at the door outside. He now had two options.

One was to request Mirelle to remove the fuel leakage and alert the enemy, but in exchange, the innocent crewmates would be saved.

Or two, feign ignorantly and allow the fuel to continue leaking, risking the crewmates’ lives. In return, the enemy remained unaware that their plan had been discovered.

What Mirelle said wasn’t explicit, but she was definitely trying to test his character. She wished to know whether he would forgo the chance of capturing the enemy or sacrifice multiple lives to eliminate the enemy.

’How shrewd of her.’ He realized that this kind of question wasn’t an easy one to answer.

After much pondering, Leonard ultimately made the decision.

...

Sometime later, the door opened, and the two emerged from the fueling room.

”You’ve come out fast, Crown Prince,” Kent said in a surprised tone. He clearly thought the two were going to do some rated 18 stuff. Otherwise, why would anyone want to come to the fueling room?

”The fueling room was alright.” Mirelle wrapped her arms around Leonard and said disappointedly. ”I’ve thought the fueling room of such a ship would be exciting.”

”Are there any more exciting things on this ship?” Leonard appeared to be visibly annoyed as he questioned Kent.

”I’ve lost a lot of my face just now.” He continued, clearly frustrated that he failed to achieve his goal.

”I apologize, Crown Prince. The sea is raging hard at night, so not much activity is available.” Kent bowed his head and replied.

”Hmph, what a trashy ship!” Mirelle snorted and pulled her arms away from Leonard.

Afterward, she left in a large stride, seemingly annoyed by the situation.

”Ah, don’t go.” Leonard cried aloud and hurriedly gave chase. In the meantime, he gave a sharp glare at Kent for seemingly ruining his mood.

Poor Kent could only tremble slightly in response. He watched as the crown prince left and wondered if he would face any punishment later.

Kent remained unaware that the whole scene was witnessed by a particular crewmate hiding in a corner.

Their expression was a mix of confusion and bewilderment. ’The concealment spell is still active, and it didn’t seem like the Crown Prince discovered anything.’

—

Private Chamber

Upon returning to their chamber, Leonard went to his bed and lay down.

Meanwhile, Mirelle was clearly disappointed as she found a chair to sit down on. The final act she did in front of Kent wasn’t pretending. Instead, she was really disappointed at Leonard’s decision to leave the fueling room untouched.

”If you’ve got something to say, then say it aloud.” Leonard suddenly said.

”Would it even matter?” Mirelle rolled her eyes. She had no influence nor the authority to question his decision whatsoever.

”For a tutor, your temperament is quite lacking.”

”Lacking? If my temperament was truly lacking, then I would have exposed the fake act altogether.”

”You’re not exposing it because you know that I’m still the key to the academy remaining fair and just. Don’t try to sound righteous here.”

Right after saying that, Leonard stood up and said, ”We’re both after our own objective, so let’s not try to paint ourselves in a great light.”

”...”

Silent, Mirelle was unable to refute his statement. Despite how honorable her objectives were, it still didn’t escape the fact that she was willing to put down her reputation for the sake of her objective.

Seeing that she became downcast, Leonard concealed the fact that he had already anticipated something to occur within the ship.

’By now, Curtis should have been closing in on the ship.’ He calculated the timing and believed they should be nearby.

Always have a backup plan and even more backup plans to follow through.

Leonard would never be foolish enough to bet on a single plan and expect things to go smoothly.

Experience and instinct had proven him to be correct again.