"I have two pieces of news. Which one do you want to hear first?" Seeing that Caius's attention was on Belle, Holan smirked before speaking.

  "Oh?" Caius seemed to be in a great mood, nodding with a smile. "Let’s hear the good news first."

  "The good news is that Ocean City Academy has agreed to let me take Belle to Hydis Academy ahead of schedule," Holan said.

  Belle, who had been knitting a sweater, suddenly froze. She looked up in confusion at Holan.

  Holan, on the other hand, looked quite pleased with himself, while Caius was visibly delighted. "Now, that’s truly good news!"

  "Of course~" Holan was very satisfied with Caius's reaction, even though this news had little to do with him directly.

  "And what’s the bad news?" Caius asked again.

  Holan chuckled mischievously, eyes glinting with cunning. "Did I say there was bad news?"

  Caius feigned surprise. "So, there are two pieces of good news?"

  "Exactly!" Holan said. "Previously, I applied for Imperial financial aid for Belle at Ocean City Academy. In fact, the grant had already been approved half a month ago, but the academy had been withholding it."

  "So I just went to the administration office to pressure them, and they finally released the grant."

  As she spoke, her Spatial Ring flashed, and a pouch of gold coins appeared in front of Caius, falling freely.

  Caius swiftly caught it, weighed it in his hand, and exclaimed, "This must be around 1,500 gold coins, right?"

  "Yes, exactly 1,500 gold!" Holan sneered. "Those corrupt parasites tried to tell me the grant was only 300 gold. If I hadn’t done my homework at Hydis Academy and checked the grant amount for secondary academies, I might have actually believed them!"

  "Those leeches really take a deep cut," Caius clicked his tongue, then chuckled. "Good thing we have you, or this silly mushroom would’ve never gotten her grant."

  Silly mushroom?

  Holan was momentarily stunned before glancing at Belle. Then, understanding dawned on her, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Stop giving my student nicknames!"

  "Haha." Caius laughed it off and then handed the grant money to Belle.

  Belle hesitated. "Instructor Holan should keep it safe for me…"

  "It's yours, so take it." Without giving her a chance to refuse, Caius stuffed the coins into Belle’s hands.

  Belle hurriedly caught them and looked at Caius. "Thank you…"

  Caius chuckled. "Silly mushroom, you should be thanking Instructor Holan."

  Belle quickly bowed to Holan. "Thank you…"

  Holan, amused, waved her hand. "So, pack your things today. You’ll be coming with me to Hydis."

  "Once we get to Hydis, I'll apply for another grant for you. Hydis is a first-tier academy, and the grant is 5,000 gold. With that, you won’t have to worry about living expenses there."

  "Thank you… thank you…"

  Her voice trembled as she spoke, clearly on the verge of tears.

  Caius and Holan exchanged glances, both smiling.

  Since they had to leave for Hydis immediately, Belle needed to prepare and say goodbye to Holan and Tina.

  As soon as the younger girls heard that their big sister was leaving, they burst into tears, clinging to Belle and refusing to let go.

  Listening to their sobbing, Belle couldn’t hold back her own tears. She comforted the little ones while crying herself.

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  Grandma Lunla gently caressed her cheek, giving her words of advice for her journey to Hydis.

  Seeing this tearful scene, Holan couldn’t help but get misty-eyed.

  The little Catgirl pursed her lips, sniffling constantly.

  Caius looked at them, feeling a bit helpless.

  What was there to cry about? Seriously.

  So he simply stepped outside and lit a cigarette.

  A long while later, the crying inside finally subsided. After waiting a moment more, everyone stepped out together.

  When Caius turned his head, he nearly burst into laughter.

  Belle was standing there, burdened with countless bags and bundles, looking just like a mushroom sprouting smaller mushrooms—both comical and adorable.

  "Are you going to study at Hydis, or are you moving house? Isn’t this a bit much?" Caius chuckled as he took some of the packages off Belle’s hands.

  "This is the weight of love from family," Holan remarked from the side.

  "Well, it sure is heavy," Caius muttered as he weighed the bags.

  Inside were not just bedding but also Belle’s usual water bottles, bowls, plates, cutlery, and even farm produce and dried fruits.

  It was clear that, worried about her first long trip, Grandma Lunla had packed everything she thought Belle might need.

  If not for the inconvenience, Caius suspected she might have even sent along Belle’s usual chair.

  They needed a carriage to carry all this.

  Caius recalled that Hailan No. 11 offered carriage rentals.

  So he turned to Holan and said, "Instructor Holan, would you be willing to do me a small favor?"

  "Oh? Let’s hear it." Holan lifted her chin slightly.

  Caius then explained his plan, which made Holan burst into laughter.

  Caius wasn’t asking her to do much—just to officially assign him the escort task and issue the commission through Hailan No. 11.

  He needed the prestige of completing a Gold-ranked mission to secure an external deployment position for Kiki at Hydis.

  This way, not only could he travel with them to Grilla City, but he could also gain a reputation for completing a Gold-ranked mission. As for the commission fee, he planned to return it to Holan.

  "When you came to me earlier, was this what you were planning to ask?" Holan asked, looking at Caius.

  "As expected from my beautiful and wise instructor—you saw right through me." Caius grinned.

  "In that case, why don’t I assign you a few more Gold-ranked missions while we’re at it?" Holan said with a smirk.

  "That would be perfect!"

  "The commission fees won’t be high, though," Holan teased.

  "Pfft, the commission fees are trivial. I just love doing Gold-ranked missions," Caius said with a serious face, making Holan laugh again.

  This was simply a mutually beneficial arrangement.

  Caius helped Holan complete tasks, and Holan helped him build up his reputation with Gold-ranked missions. Besides, Caius would also need Holan’s help to find a way to learn magic in the future.

  So, he wasn’t concerned about the money at all.

  "You said it. Then, let’s go," Holan said with a nod.

  Caius nodded in return, turned to Belle, and told her to wait while he and Holan headed to Hailan No. 11.

  Watching their departing figures, Belle remained silent.

  Grandma Lunla approached and gently adjusted Belle’s clothes.

  "Belle, when you get to Hydis Academy, listen to your instructor, alright?" she said softly.

  "Mhm." Belle nodded.

  "If you run into trouble, go to Instructor Holan or that big guy. They can help you."

  "Mhm."

  "Remember to dye your hair."

  "Mhm."

  "Eat properly. Don't worry about home. If you can work, save the money for yourself and buy something nice to eat. Don’t send it back."

  "Mhm."

  Grandma Lunla gave her endless reminders, and Belle nodded obediently.

  Finally, Grandma Lunla reached out, brushing Belle’s thick bangs aside and gently touching her face.

  "And most importantly… don’t use magic."

  "Mhm."

  ......

  Meanwhile, inside Hailan No. 11.

  "Boss Lady, I ordered the Seafood Set No. 3, but this is No. 2," a mercenary pointed at the dish in front of him and said.

  "Ah, oh, that was my mistake. Sorry about that. Please wait a moment, and I'll have the kitchen prepare the correct one," Yvlan apologized sincerely.

  A nearby staff member looked at Yvlan helplessly.

  This was already the fourth time today that the Boss Lady had messed up an order.

  She usually didn’t make such basic mistakes. What was going on with her today?

  Yvlan was feeling extremely anxious at the moment.

  This morning, when she went out for supplies, she saw a large group of Crab Gang members, armed to the teeth, marching out of the city in force.

  She knew that Caius had clashed with the Crab Gang before—because of the task she had given him.

  So from morning till now, she had been on edge.

  Especially because Caius still hadn’t returned. That delivery job should have been completed this morning…

  Could something have happened to him?

  No way. That big guy is so strong he can even take down a Wolf Demon… But the Crab Gang sent forty to fifty men, and they had a Gold-rank mage with them. Could it be that something really did—

  Every time her thoughts reached this point, she had the urge to grab her frying pan and march straight to the Crab Gang to demand answers.

  She knew she shouldn’t be thinking like this, but she just couldn’t help it.

  She had been in this business for a long time. She should have been used to this by now.

  Many mercenaries came to drink in the morning and never returned afterward.

  By now, she should have been numb to it.

  But this time, it felt different…

  Her mind was in complete turmoil, and she found herself absentminded in everything she did.

  Just then, the tavern door swung open.

  Yvlan immediately looked up.

  This time, she wasn’t disappointed. That familiar, muscular figure stood in the doorway, his face still wearing that same honest and confident smile.

  A wave of relief instantly washed over Yvlan, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

  But in the next moment, her smile froze.

  Because she saw that Caius was not alone.

  Beside him was a woman.

  A stunningly beautiful woman with an air of elegance and nobility—someone whose status was clearly anything but ordinary.