Kenneth looked at the corpses on the ground and the items they carried. Upon discovering the large traces of mercury on the ground, and that many of the items these corpses carried were magical tools that could only be used by members of their faction, his expression instantly turned ice-cold. His eyes filled with a thick, murderous intent.
A situation like this could only mean one thing: there was a traitor within their faction. And this traitor's position was not low; otherwise, they could not have obtained magical tools that were for internal use only. It was precisely because of the special nature of these magical tools that all who could obtain them should have been on a list of trusted individuals. But now, someone on this list had betrayed them!
Very well. Taking their faction's pay while doing things to betray them. It seemed it was time to conduct a certain investigation and cleanup of their internal affairs. If you dare to bite the hand that feeds you, you should be prepared to die!
"You all should have been caught in a disaster through no fault of your own this time. On behalf of the entire El-Melloi faction, I offer my apologies. Please do not, because of this small matter, have any different views of our El-Melloi faction. This kind of situation is all too common within the Clock Tower."
Aslan nodded. Even the fae had their factional disputes, and had even gone through some troublesome and disgusting back-channel dealings, let alone the long-since-tarnished Clock Tower. As for Akuta Hinako... having lived for over 2000 years, what kind of schemes had she not seen? From aggressive to conciliatory, from behind-the-scenes plots to open conspiracies, the land of China had already staged them all.
In this regard, neither of them blamed Kenneth. After all, to some extent, this guy was also a pitiful person who had suffered an undeserved disaster.
Aslan thought for a moment. Since Kenneth wanted to build a good relationship with them, he didn't mind sending a friendly signal. On one hand, the strength of their faction was indeed not weak. On the other hand, there were truly too many troublesome matters within the Clock Tower. This time he had been used as a pawn, so what about next time? He also liked to enjoy himself while investigating the possible abnormal situations in this world; he didn't have that much time to play power games with the group in the Clock Tower.
Leaning on a faction, although it could lead to being targeted, in most cases, being separate from the faction, more like just having a nominal affiliation, meant an ordinary member wouldn't be targeted that much. On the contrary, to prevent him from being poached by other factions, the El-Melloi faction would still need to prevent Aslan from being too disturbed by his opponents. He only needed to give a little bit of goodwill. Since that was the case...
Aslan took the shield from his hand and tossed it directly to Kenneth. After Kenneth caught the shield, a curious expression on his face, Aslan just gently waved his hand.
"Since Teacher Kenneth has shown me goodwill, I naturally can't offer nothing in return. This shield is a gift for you, Teacher Kenneth."
Upon seeing the densely carved Faerie Letters on this shield, Kenneth's eyes widened. His gaze constantly shifted between the shield and Aslan. In an instant, the calm demeanor he had maintained vanished without a trace.
At this moment, Kenneth truly wanted to complain. Did this genius not understand how precious a shield with so many Faerie Letters was? As a genius, Kenneth had, of course, come into contact with Faerie Letters, but he only knew and understood a few of them. But now, look at this shield. Let's not even talk about what abilities this shield had; just these Faerie Letters alone were of immense value.
"You're just giving this shield to me?!"
Kenneth's voice trembled slightly, but Aslan just nodded. He had no less than 90 or 100 such shields in his treasury. It was just a simple creation made on the fly, without any major special abilities or even the ability to transform. If he weren't afraid of exposing his abilities and identity, what he would have given out would have been a special, transforming Mystic Code. After all, in Aslan's view, having already mastered transformation technology, if the gift he gave out could not represent his status, it would be looking down on others. Even if Aslan wanted to give a lower-grade weapon, that would require him to have a stock of those low-grade weapons in the first place. Strictly speaking, this was a bargain for Kenneth. But in Aslan's eyes, being able to exchange a piece of equipment that was nothing special for a future free of any troublesome matters, this transaction was not a loss.
Far from being a loss, perhaps in Aslan's eyes, he was the one who had profited. After all, with Kenneth backing him, no one would doubt his identity again. His future actions could also be carried out using the connections of the El-Melloi faction.
Kenneth put the shield away, and did so very carefully, directly stuffing it into his own Mystic Code to ensure 100% that it wouldn't be damaged in the slightest.
"I will remember this favor. If there's anything you need help with, you can come to me at any time."
Kenneth adjusted his mood, and a calm yet proud smile returned to his face. "Alright, let's leave this place."
Kenneth had always been a very proud person. Besides his mentor, there really hadn't been anyone else who could help him. Therefore, Kenneth was truly not good at words of thanks. Of course, no one present cared about verbal thanks anyway.
After this incident, Aslan truly experienced the benefits of having a faction as a backer. At least after returning to the Clock Tower, some of the faint gazes that he could have originally perceived as watching him vanished without a trace. It seemed that those who had been watching him all along, whether they wanted to recruit him or test him, had all settled down after he had a faction. Perhaps it was because the shield he gave was truly precious in Kenneth's eyes. Even though he already had a faction, the hostility between factions had not yet affected him. It was likely that Kenneth had blocked it all for him.
However, the stable time did not last too long. When the hot summer came to an end and the cool winds of autumn were about to blow, Aslan received a mission from the Clock Tower. This time, it was a mission exclusively for the Archaeology Department, so Aslan didn't need to bring Akuta Hinako. What's more, it seemed that his previous attitude towards life had touched the heart of this long-lived being. Akuta Hinako seemed to have begun trying to accept some new things. Perhaps it was to alleviate her own restless heart. Recently, this 2000-year-old crypter... had gotten into heavy metal rock music!