THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

After the shenanigans, the news of Iliana's visit was spread throughout the Institute. The students went crazy about it, because this was a chance for them to witness the Braxtein's Strongest Couple.

Although Basil often spent his time in the Institute, he rarely got out of his office. He did sometimes give lecture to his students, but for most of the times, Ione, his assistant, was the one who gave them the lecture.

He could rarely be seen, and because of that, his appearance was something that was still more than worthy of the commotion.

"Hey, that girl is giving you 'the' eyes. Do you have a special relationship with her?"

"No."

"Oh my, that boy too. Are you perhaps...?"

"Iliana..."

Basil couldn't help sighing lightly as he walked through the hall with Iliana in his hand. Many students had gotten out of their class just to witness them walking through the hall.

Basil, Iliana, and Ione were already used to it, so none of them minded the gaze. Iliana even joked around about the gazes just to get a reaction out of Basil.

Contrary to their expectations, the three's fame soared even higher after the Outbreak. Everything they did was treated as something incredible that not anyone just could do.

Although it was indeed the truth—like that one time Basil subjugated a horde of Demons by himself in five minutes—they still thought people were making everything bigger than it should.

They had tried to somehow "calm" the people down by rarely appearing in public and just kept doing their thing—training. It, unfortunately, didn't bear the result they wanted; the exaggerated rumours about them spread even crazier than before.

Ever since then, they had stopped caring, and just focused on their goal. Because of that, unironically, their fame soared even higher.

–The youngest Sixth Circle Mage.

–The youngest Violet Core Knight.

–The strongest Mage in Braxtein.

–The unofficial heir to the throne.

Basil, especially, had his own status in many people's minds. Many had laughed when people called him the Supreme Genius, but after he defeated every Seventh Circle Mage in Braxtein in an open duel a year ago, no one dared to ever dispute it.

Aside from the fact that he had six Ultimate Circles, which they thought was Grand Circles, his knowledge regarding Magic was simply mind-boggling. Many were dying to talk to him about Magic, but he always refused them by saying he wasn't interested.

Young as he might be (19), his standing in the Mage community was undisputable. It wasn't rare for senior Mages to ask him for advices, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.

With that kind of person teaching in their Magic Institute, of course, Randalvine Magic Institute's reputation also rose to an unimaginable height. Many youths tried their best to be accepted into it simply because they wanted to meet the legendary Basil Pacifer.

"So, where are we going today?" Iliana asked when they were outside. "The path is blocked by these students—don't they have classes?"

Basil merely glanced at Iliana with an unamused look at her remark. This wasn't the first time she had done it; she had always done it whenever she visited him at the Institute.

Although she knew he could just directly teleport them to the place she wanted to visit, she still took him around the Institute because she wanted to brag about her relationship with him.

No one dared to court Iliana because all of the men were afraid of Basil, but no woman seemed to be afraid of her fist of wrath. They kept trying their best to make him interested in them, so this was one of her ways to make it clear that he was hers.

"I have made a promise to meet Master Blake and Chester today—do you want to join us?" Basil suggested.

"Oh, that is a good idea. It's been quite a while since I last saw Mr. Blake and your surrogate brother." Iliana nodded her head in agreement, whereas Ione said nothing, like usual.

Immediately, Basil snapped his finger, and teleported them to the place where Blake and Chester were waiting for them.

Snap!

Basil's family had been relocated to somewhere safe a year ago. Chester and Blake worried that he might feel lonely, so they often visited him.

They were already close to each other in the very first place, but they got even closer after the relocation of his family.

Around half a year ago, due to their closeness, Chester suggested Basil to call him by his name to make it more intimate. Jokingly, Basil called him brother; and much to his surprise, the very first teacher of his life cried on the spot.

He told him how touched he was by the love Basil showed him, and promised to be a good brother to Basil. Floored and baffled, Basil couldn't bring himself to tell it was just a joke; in result, he called Chester brother ever since.

"Aha. My brother has arrived! Look at how different he is compared to a month ago." Upon appearing in the designated place, Chester stood up from his chair, and went to hug Basil.

"You don't seem to change at all, Brother." It had been half a year, so Basil didn't feel awkward anymore returning the hug.

"I am not as talented as you—of course, nothing changed." Smiling, Chester turned to Iliana. "Hello, sister-in-law, you look as gorgeous as usual."

"Indeed. You really know how to praise a woman, brother-in-law." Iliana nodded her head. "Unlike a certain someone. Fufufu." She laughed softly as she nudged Basil.

After meeting each other quite a lot of time, Iliana and Chester found they had something in common—they liked to get a reaction out of the steady Basil. They got along well, so they liked to joke with each other.

"Ah, hello, Miss Ione. You look as stoic as usual."

"Nice to see you, Chester."

Like usual, Chester couldn't help smiling awkwardly after greeting Ione. She really didn't talk much to anyone other than Basil and Iliana.

"What a happy day to be able to see the Three Stars of Braxtein gathered in one place," Blake remarked. "What a lucky old man I am." He laughed deeply.

After finishing his seventh Magic Circle, which was three months ago, Blake's demeanor changed. He used to hate having a beard and had always dressed himself to make him look younger than he was actually, but now he didn't care anything about that.

He now had a black beard that reached his chest, and dressed himself in a simple black tunic. He looked older and more mysterious than before, but his entire existence was emanating the aura of wisdom.

"It's been a month, Master Blake," Basil greeted.

"You look wiser than a month ago, Master Blake," Iliana remarked. "You even seem like you have created the Sage's Stone now."

"Like usual, I can't tell whether you are joking or mocking me, Iliana." Blake smiled helplessly.

Iliana merely shrugged, then sat herself, following the others.

The maids, knowing it was their time to shine, immediately entered the scene. They put down the cookies and the tea they had prepared on the table where the people had sat themselves at.

Maids? Yes, Basil and the others were in the lovely garden behind his secret Mansion in Randalvine. They were having their reunion in the stunning gazebo that was located there.

"What about your Mission, Iliana?" Chester asked curiously.

"Nothing much. It's just the same." Iliana waved her hand nonchalantly. "We encountered a couple of Upper Middle Class Demons, but they were no problem. One of them carried a head of an Elf, but that was the only thing that was worthy of note."

"I think it is rather concerning." Chester smiled awkwardly. "Encountering Elves outside of the Great Forest of Yitoupheo is rare after all—let alone a dead one."

"Nothing to worry abut. She was just unlucky." Iliana shrugged nonchalantly. "Rather than that, why don't you talk about your research? That is the reason why you wanted to meet Basil, isn't that?"

Chester blinked his eyes in surprise, then nodded his head slowly as he turned to Basil. Said genius was still sipping his tea, but his mind raced as he dreaded the content of the research paper Chester would show him.

Although he didn't know if it was exactly it—he hadn't been told about what Chester had been researching about yet—but he had a strong premonition it was the research that had led Chester to his doom in his past life.

Just like how early the alliance army was discussed, there was a possibility that Chester was going to show him that very research paper.

"I would like to ask the others to do the peer review, but I am afraid they will mock me as soon as they read the title," Chester said awkwardly. "So... You know, I am hoping my Supreme Genius of a brother will treat me less harshly."

"Great choice." Basil smiled, but it was empty. "The Possible Reason Why Humans Can Use Magic... The Origin of Magic Circles... The Truth About Spells, and Why It Works..." Basil muttered as his expression got heavier.

Raising his head after skimming through the research paper, Basil looked at the anticipating Chester solemnly. 'This is it,' he thought. 'This is the paper that will shake the belief of the entire Mage community.'

Thud.

Putting down the research paper, Basil said, "It is decent. It contains many assumptions, but the explanation you have given makes those assumptions plausible. Still, it can't be called a complete research when it still contains many questions."

"Well, it is mainly because of the history." Chester scratched the side of his head. "Our history is so obscure, I can't tell which one is fabricated and which one is real."

"Is it about your theory about the existence of Gods?"

"Yes, I believe the Four Heroes were given the ability to use Magic by a God." Chester shook his head. "No, I believe the Four Heroes stole the ability to use Magic from a God."

"Why are you so sure?" Basil quirked his eyebrow in interest as he sipped his tea.

"Imagine a world where humans are in peril because hundreds of thousands of Demons infested it, killing those they see..."

Chester took a sip of his tea, then continued, "That was the situation during the Age of Chaos. Don't you think it is weird for ordinary humans to last that long in such a dangerous environment? I mean, look at how many people we have lost during the Outbreak."

Chester's research paper suggested that the Knight Principle used to be the only Principle humans could practice, which was the reason why humans had survived that long.

Magic was a stolen knowledge from the Gods, so hypothetically speaking no human had ever used True Magic. This claim would, of course, enrage may people, but this wasn't the only "outrageous" conclusion Chester had reached.