"You're still trying to joke with me at a time like this?"
Commander Webster was met with a look of utter disbelief from Vosbites.
"Ron André was personally brought to Chaos City by you. Did you think I wouldn't know that?"
"Are you stupid, or do you think I am? The person you sent here is now claiming you didn't supply him with any resources?"
"That flower shop—wasn't it arranged by your mercenary corps? You think no one at the academy knows how to investigate this kind of thing!?"
The tension between the two escalated sharply.
"That shop was requested by His Highness Ron himself. I wasn't informed in advance what he intended to use it for," Webster said in a deep voice.
"You didn't know? Hahaha! You didn't know?"
Vosbites burst into laughter, his beard trembling as he laughed like a madman—
"If that's true, then André deliberately kept it from you!"
"A dignified Seventh-Tier Legendary Warrior, and you weren't even told about something this important?"
"Webster, you've lived your life like a dog!"
"And you're still loyal to André? He clearly doesn't trust you at all!"
Webster ignored the mocking, his gaze sharp as he asked,
"Then why would the Nether Orchid and the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum be part of an imperial plan? What if I said this entire thing was orchestrated by the Magic Academy—part of a scheme to elevate the Seventh Prince's standing? What would you think of that?"
The moment the words landed—
Vosbites suddenly halted, a terrifying aura radiating off of him.
The air around them grew stiflingly hot.
He turned toward Webster, eyes burning like a sea of fire.
"What are you trying to say?"
His voice was low, with a dangerous edge that sent chills down the spine.
Webster's expression remained steady.
"I'm simply making a logical deduction based on the information I currently have."
"Heh… Hehehe…"
Vosbites let out a cold chuckle.
"Webster, I take back what I said earlier. You didn't live your life like a dog."
"You are a dog!"
"So this is what André instructed you to do?"
"To pin the blame for colluding with the Seventh Prince on the Academy—then have you show up and secretly threaten us, hoping we'll back down?"
"What a brilliant little scheme!"
"But do you really think someone like me, Vosbites, would bow my head that easily!?"
Webster let out a sigh. This person was the most difficult to talk to.
The bigger issue was that the two of them now stood on completely opposing sides, with zero trust between them.
This made any communication painfully inefficient.
Webster straightened up, lowered his gaze, and solemnly drew the symbol of a warhammer on his chest.
"With the faith I hold in the God of War, Sebotan, I swear that everything I just said is true. I genuinely don't know where His Highness Ron's flowers came from, nor do I have any knowledge of Emperor André III's involvement in this matter."
With the oath completed, Webster looked at Vosbites calmly.
"What do you say?"
Vosbites fell silent.
The air grew solemn.
After several tens of seconds, Vosbites also bowed his head and drew a symbol representing magic on his chest.
"With my faith in the God of Magic, Magiko, I swear that everything I've said regarding the Nether Orchid and the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum is true. The Magic Academy and I have never colluded with or supported the Seventh Prince Ron André, nor have we discovered how to cultivate the Nether Orchid or Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum."
Webster looked at him but found himself at a loss for words.
The two stood there on the mountain path, staring at each other.
After a long pause, Vosbites scratched at his messy beard and asked suspiciously,
"You switched faiths?"
"Shut up!"
…
The next morning.
It was the weekend again.
Ron got up, washed, and followed his usual routine of morning training in the courtyard.
While practicing the Light Sword Codex, he suddenly received a system notification.
[System: "Temporary Mission Triggered."]
[Temporary Mission]—[Dispel Suspicion from Two Legendary Figures]
[Mission Objective:
Before the Magic Academy, Dean Vosbites and Radiant Mercenary Corps Commander Webster uncover the host's true secrets and find a way to reasonably dispel their suspicions.]
Mission Reward:
Free Store Items: [Rainfall Spell], [Earth Wave Spell], and [Plant Manipulation Spell].
"What the heck!?"
Ron was instantly startled.
"What kind of situation is this!?"
[Store]
[Permanent Mental Interference] (Standard Version): 100 Wealth Points per use
(Will be removed upon mission completion)
[Permanent Mental Interference] (Super Enhanced Version): 6000 Wealth Points per use
(Will be removed upon mission completion)
"..."
Ron stared blankly at the newly updated store, at a complete loss for words.
"Wow… you really do switch faces fast, huh…"
[System:
"The original Mental Interference spell did not account for Legendary-level individuals. At the Legendary Tier, a being's essence undergoes a qualitative transformation. They cannot be compared to those below Tier Seven. Stronger interference is required to achieve the same effect."]
"6000 Wealth Points is insane!" Ron clutched his jaw.
And he'd need two of them—one for each guy. That's 12,000 Wealth Points!
He only had around 30,000 total!
"Well, I was planning to go pray at the Goddess of Harvest's temple today. Might as well settle this while I'm at it." Ron muttered to himself.
As for exchanging for the super mental interference spells?
Forget it…
System:
"Host, please mind your posture. Both Legendary figures are currently watching you from the rooftop."
"???"
"!!!"
Ron instantly felt a chill run down his spine. He reflexively turned his head toward the rooftop—
No one was there.
"What's going on? Did he spot us?"
Up on the rooftop, Webster stood next to Vosbites and frowned as he watched Ron suddenly glance in their direction.
Vosbites also looked puzzled. While maintaining the ice-type spell Mirror Inversion, he said,
"Impossible. He's just a First-Tier Mage. How could he possibly detect a Fifth-Tier spell? Plus, we've both suppressed our auras. Anyone below Legendary level shouldn't even be able to sense us."
Down in the courtyard, Ron was equally confused.
"What's going on? Didn't you say they were on the roof? Are they using some illusion?"
[System:
"Fifth-Tier Spell: Mirror Inversion, combined with Legendary-tier aura suppression—there's no way the host could see them with the naked eye."]
Upon hearing that, Ron calmed down a bit.
He resumed his Light Sword Codex practice while mentally formulating his next move.
There was no way he could hide inside the dimensional plane—that would only expose the existence of an alternate space.
So, after finishing morning training, the original plan still stood: go to the Goddess of Harvest's temple and pray.
Then he could directly redeem a divine miracle from the Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta, letting the two Legendary figures witness him being blessed by a deity.
That might be the most effective way to dispel their suspicions from the root.
And if anything did go wrong, he still had over 20,000 Wealth Points saved up. That should be enough to keep him safe.
Having made up his mind, Ron let his heart settle and poured his focus back into the Light Sword Codex.