Sixth Bloodline [BxB]

CHAPTER 57: NEO ACADEMY [TAKING LIBERTIES]

cHAptEr 57:

nEO AcAdEmY

[tAking LibErtiEs]

   MIKHAEL DIDN'T bother to think about what happened anymore as his food finally arrived and he focused on devouring it with devotion.

Ethan didn't bother with starting a conversation either. In any case, he realized that he started a journey with a trouble magnet once again, so for the sake of peace, Ethan decided to avoid everything that might start another disaster. He didn't even know why this chili pepper got angry earlier!

And once Mikhael swept the table clean, he finished everything with a glass of milk before patting his slightly round belly in satisfaction. Ethan couldn't understand, could it be that a glass of milk will make it easier for you to digest all that food? Or are you just obsessed with it?

But he didn't ask, compared to the other side eating like his life depended on it, Ethan are slowly and elegantly. But it was his mistake since not even five minutes later, Mikhael began to eye his food as well.

   "..."

Ethan truly didn't know how to feel about this.

   "Can't, it would be too much for you."

   'You eat enough for ten people, won't your belly burst if you continue to eat?'

He began to worry. If he ends up being together with this person, will he be able to afford him? This is merely a single meal, don't humans eat trice a day?

   "Don't underestimate me, let's be honest you just don't want to spend money on me," Mikhael sighed. He usually never found blood that attractive since he was always full, but nowadays... Ah, that blood pig curd really seems attractive!

   "..."

Do you seriously think that I'm some kind of a poor pauper who can't even afford to feed another mouth?

   "Just a bite," he sighed in defeat. Surely, a single bite won't be too much? Scoping some of food with a spoon, he brought it closer to Mikhael's mouth who unhesitatingly devoured it in one bite. With a smile of pure happiness on his face, Mikhael leaned back into his chair and contently patted his belly.

How good.

As expected, blood pig curd was the best. Should he prepare some and stock them in his void for the next time?

   "..."

Ethan continued to look at Mikhael with furrowed eyebrow. This person... Seems a bit too easy to please? In that case, won't he follow just anyone who treated him nicely and fed him?

Ethan felt impeding crisis fall on him at that moment.

   'Feed him! No matter what, I must feed him more that others!'

Mikhael had no idea what went through Ethan's head, but he was met with another problem once the time to leave came.

He... Couldn't move.

To this, Ethan only snickered while throwing stones his way.

   "You deserve this, didn't I tell you to not eat too much?"

   "In the first place, you came here as skinny as a tree branch but want to leave looking like a pregnant woman, don't you have any self-control?"

   "..."

   "What to do now? What should we do if we miss the train?"

Mikhael chose to ignore him.

   "Then carry me," he rolled his eyes at the other party.

   "Why should I?"

There were some people who paid attention to this couple. They scared that woman with just few words who arrogantly threatened people earlier, their identities can't be simple. Mikhael wasn't someone who'd back down just because he was at disadvantage, so he recalled his earlier words and sneered.

   "What, I married into your house years ago, but you're still ashamed to carry me around?" Ethan almost spat blood at his words.

Who married you!

Where's out marriage certificate!? Take it out this moment if you dare!

Mikhael naturally didn't have anything like that, but he can't move on his own — what to do? He could use some blood to digest this food faster, but it would be too wasteful. Doesn't he have a perfectly fine chance to take some liberties with this man here?

Want to escape?

Heh!

   'If I say we're married, we are!'

   "I understand that you want to protect your image, but it's nothing shameful to help you husband walk around. Who'd dare to say something?"

   "That's right, there's nothing wrong..." Someone threw to the side and Mikhael nodded.

   "If they dare to say something, I'll beat them up!"

   "..."

Ethan really wanted to beat this person, what to do?

   "Forget it," he sighed before leaving some money and then coming next to Mikhael, "Since wife is unable to move, I should do my best to be a good husband and help you around."

   "..."

Mikhael only sweetly smiled, but in the next moment, knife at his side was already on its way to Ethan's throat who casually stopped it.

   "Who's a wife, you bastard?" His lips twitched as he looked at Ethan as if he's already dead. Ethan only disdainfully smiled at him with mirth in his eyes.

   "Who was it that said they married into my family? Since you admit to it, it's only natural that you're the wife here," he gripped Mikhael's wrist, but the more Mikhael listened to him, the stronger his urge to kill this bastard became.

If he hated something the most, then it's when he's mistaken for a woman! Even when going on missions and someone mentioned it to him, he'd pretend to be civil until he was done, but hehe — if you found your house burned down or find a meteor fall on you while walking a dog, then it's the best you immediately sought protection from God.

Sure enough, Mikhael couldn't keep cordiality for long in this situation. What of bloated belly, what of being unable to move? Compared to his urge to best this person up, nothing mattered anymore.

In the next moment, both of them flew out of the window before continuing their brawl on the streets. Switching from martial arts, to talismans and even to throwing bricks at each other and rolling in mud like dogs, the two didn't stop until their ship arrived. The more they fought, the more their words got out of the hand and the worse this situation became.

Those who witnessed the living moment when Ethan fed Mikhael and listened to his nonsense about the two being on a honeymoon couldn't help but wipe the sweat off their foreheads.

   'How are those two a loving couple, this is more like sworn enemies!'

It can't be that the two belong to rival families and were forced to marry for the sake of peace? They tried to go along, but it was just impossible?

It would appear that Mikhael was still lacking compared to imagination of onlookers.

But no matter how much Mikhael wanted to beat Ethan or how much Ethan wanted to spank this little brat, the two tactically drew back knives when the time came to leave this place.

Anyway, they'll be on a ship so there will be many opportunities to throw the other party in the river and drown them, no? They coincidentally though of the same thing, throwing a dangerous glance at the other party.

   'It's fine even if he doesn't drown, it should be enough to scare him, no?'

Thus Mikhael showed generosity and used the cleansing spell on both of them. If he didn't, it's hard to say if this ship would let two muddy men board it. Tickets weren't expensive, but the problem was with the class.

Ethan was a Pureblood, so how could he settle for the lowest class? Unlike the cheapskate by his side, Ethan didn't hesitate to take out more money for more peaceful journey. So he took two little mana crystals from the void the size of a tear and bought them two first class tickets.

It was hard to name the relationship he had with this youth. Before if was just a one night stand, but even after all those days, the two never even kissed, forget about other benefits. The furthest they went was holding hands, so it can be said that the were... Friends?

Perhaps.

But both of them had intentions for the other party, so it can't be it. Yet at the same time, because of the incident from before, they really wanted to trash each other, so enemies as well?

Frenemies?

They did sound like an old couple bickering at this point, but they didn't know each other for so long.

In any case, neither made a move to make their situation clear — but that itself made their relationship special. Since neither of them could figure out their relationship, they thought that just being by each other was good enough. There was no need to specially name it, or it felt like something big would be lost that way.

They didn't even know each others name!

   "Thanks for the ticket," Mikhael said once they finally boarded the ship and Ethan rolled his eyes. He's older and he's richer, it's fine to take care of this stupid human.

   "It's husband's duty to take care of his wife, don't mention it," Mikhael angrily stomped on the ground, but maintained a gentle smile on his face.

Some passengers felt like the ship sunk a bit for a moment, but only shrugged it off as their misconception, since no one mentioned it. They all felt like they'd look like fools if they started it, so no one said anything.

Ethan was extremely happy as he proceeded forward to get the card for their room. Since the two spent so much time together already, he didn't feel the need for two rooms, not to mention that he won't be sleeping anyway. And seeing as this was not his first time on this ship, Ethan knew where to go.

When they handed over those tickets, the two of them got a wristbands with special inscriptions written on them. Mikhael could recognize them as some simple spells that restricted movement in certain place or let one pass freely as the wanted. The entire ship was also full with inscriptions, making him nod in admiration.

After just few years, the world progressed so much — even while war threatened everyone's lives. They also got a special card for their room that was full of inscriptions but could be used without mana as well. It's one of the devices fueled by mana that appeared at the beginning of this era where spell-casters were born.

After getting the card and taking Mikhael to their room, he threw him inside and turned to leave.

   "I'll go and take a proper bath now. Using talismans was good and all, but it can't compare to the feeling of relaxing in a pool. You want to follow or not?"

Mikhael though for a while, but then refused. He noticed earlier that woman from before and thought that this was a good chance to get rid of this pest and have a conversation with her.

   "You go, I'll come later," he rolled his eye before giving Ethan an ordinary looking talisman, "Keep it with you so that I can find you later. I want to relax a bit, my ass hurts from all that brawling earlier."

Ethan only raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he left on his own. Holding that talisman, he wondered if he should go ahead and throw it the ocean, maybe tie it for some dog and let it run free or should he keep it properly on him?

In the end, he gave up. This was a good opportunity, he will mess up with him some other time.

Mikhael waited for a while until he could sense that talisman get away before sighing in relief and locking the doors. If Ethan could think of throwing the talisman in the ocean, how could Mikhael not think about the same thing?

He naturally had no intention of searching for that talisman later, weren't there workers on this ship?

He should just ask them for directions instead.

He felt like he outwitted Ethan today, which made him walk away in a good mood. Not to mention that the other party spent money on him while he kept his all.

How could he possibly feel bad about it now?

Anyway, it wasn't hard to find that woman.

She was also in the first class like him so he wasn't restrained no matter where he wanted to go — and he just needed to expand his sense to find people with dense mana around them. He noticed few on the ship and few of them also noticed him scanning them, but they didn't think much as he passed them to continue to search.

Spell-casters will find each other using this same method and as long as one doesn't try anything funny, most spell-casters would simply ignore them.

   "As expected of senior, you found me rather fast," she was on the main deck, waiting for him alone. Although vampires and Neo humans fought everywhere, there were some places where they didn't want to create trouble since it would affect them as well. This only ship that traveled to Egypt was one of such places.

If a fight erupted here, who would still dare to travel? And if this ship was damaged, who else would dare to transport people on these waters?

So they all had a tacit understanding regarding this matter.

   "Indeed," Mikhael nodded, "I'm also satisfied that you understood my words."

He couldn't help but eye her attire oddly. Still the same choice of colors — tell him, would he have to dress like this in the future as well? Just that thought alone made him shiver.

He had a terrible fashion sense, but at least he knew that black color is better than going out completely in green or purple!

   "Senior must be joking. You wanted Selena to come here, you obviously have something to talk about, how could I possibly reject such opportunity."

   'Basically, I came here to talk with you, so you better give me something good in return.'

Mikhael's lip twitched.

Humans have become even more crafty, it seems. Even daring to exploit someone stronger than themselves.

   "Indeed, I have been wandering the world for the last few years and heard a lot about reputable Neo Academy," he began and her eyes shone.

That place was a wolf's den. If one wasn't quick-witted and knew how to understand other's intentions, they'd die before even knowing whom they offended. How could she not understand what he wanted to say?

She originally though that this person was her senior in that place, but listening to his words, he didn't enter the Academy. One must know, that place values talent! It doesn't matter if you're the weakest of bottom, as long as you can recommend someone powerful to enter that place, the Academy won't mistreat you. Just the benefits alone would be enough to push her up to another rank!

   "Senior means to ask about how to enter that place and other things?" She smiled, "Our meeting can also be considered as fate. I have just graduated the first year so I know slot about it and can tell senior whatever he needs to know. You have found the right person!"

He rolled his eyes.

Boot-licking while using self-praise at the same time is a skill that needs to be polished for years. Even turning their conflict to the fated meeting, this girl has some skill.

But Mikhael was someone who needed information, so he could only play along with her.

In any case, just let her raise her self-esteem a bit more — that way she'll be more willing to tell him everything.

   "Please do tell. You said that you graduated the first year, but I'm not clear on many things. Is that place a genuine academy? I'm afraid that it might not be able to teach me anything else, in that case."

She clenched her fists. The ability of this person to gather mana was absurdly strong. He should probably belong to the indigo rank at the very least. Perhaps... Even the top purple rank might be his true power!

Forget about increase in rank for her, if she could make him join the academy, two to three ranks are no problem at all!

   "Naturally not, senior," she still continued to act polite with him, "Although that place is called academy, it is nothing like other establishments made for learning. First of all, there are seven different ranks you can get once you enter that place — you should've heard about how they're sorted?"

Mikhael nodded.

Yup. The rainbow squad.

   "First year is merely for spell-casters to learn more about our gifts. After that, we can continue to be trained for various professions or simply take on a military post or join the government. There's also an opportunity to go and fight on the frontiers while we also have our own intelligence network all over the world. All powerful spell-caster came from the academy and there are lot teachers and records that would help us increase in rank and wield mana more properly."

   "Oh."

Mikhael didn't appear to be that interested.

In summary, they just train people to rule the world. Those who enter would act as millionaires in the old era and make Academy's standing firmer so that it can peacefully rule the world without any oppositions.

What a joke, with almost all people on top originating from that place, it would be weird if someone had complaints about this Neo Academy ruling the world. It's no wonder why those young masters and whatnot can go around bullying people. Who'd dare to complain with that behemoth behind them.

She also noticed that he wasn't as interested in this as she originally thought.

   "Senior, this is something only we inside know, but..." She leaned closer revealing her cleavage for Mikhael to see who almost took a step back, but help himself in place.

   "Inside the academy, we have a sacred artifact that is rumored to have created all spell-casters," as she whispered those words, Mikhael perked his ears in surprise, "They say that it's full of mana and inscriptions and merely by looking at it for a while, you could get to another level."

   "Really?"

Mikhael was doubtful.

There was such a thing? How ridiculous! How could an object create a bunch of spell-casters?

   "Yes, it is the reason why the Neo Academy was formed in the first place. Using its power, we were able to grow much stronger than our predecessors," Mikhael suddenly had a bad feeling about this place.

Indeed, for spell-casters, it's natural for their understanding of mana and inscriptions to grow if they happened to see an Armament made by a stronger spell-caster.

But for an Armament to create this much of a sensation...

There shouldn't be many who are able to create it.

   'In fact...'

   "What a convenient thing," he missed, "Did it always belong to the Academy?"

She nodded.

   "Yes, I did say that the academy was formed because of it. You can even say that it's our Dean that made it three years ago and then wanted to spread the knowledge to the rest of us, so he allowed us to learn from his creation."

   "..."

   'Three years ago, isn't that so?'

What a coincidence, didn't that spell-casters steal one part of his Armament Set around that time?

   'No good.'

He needs to tell Ethan about this.