165 Deal or No Deal
Kevin was walking towards a particular building in the Third Year area.
He stopped as he looked at the massive building and entered it.
“You came here to meet Leon, right?” A third-year student asked, and Kevin nodded at him.
“You can use the entrance from there,” He pointed at the hallway.
It was probably soon after the duel class in which Asher beat him that Leonard contacted him with an offer to meet him.
‘This feels wrong,’ He thought while walking in the hallway.
He knew that Leonard opposed Raelyn, so he didn’t want to appear friendly with him, but part of him still wanted to hear him out.
Leonard had only messaged him once, which was about both of them not liking Asher. He offered Kevin to chat with him when the area restrictions were removed and the First Years were allowed to interact with each other.
Kevin opened the door and saw Leonard, who was playing with a crystal-like thing in his hand, sitting on a couch.
“Oh, welcome to Blood Faction. Why not sit down here,” Leonard offered.
Kevin sat on the couch.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Kevin asked.
“Well, slow down, my friend,” Leonard chuckled a bit.
“We are not exactly friends,” Kevin reminded him.
“Are you talking about me being against your sister?” Leonard asked with a curious look on his face.
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Leonard said.
“What do you mean by that?” Kevin frowned.
“Relax, this is just an academy. I am doing all this because I was just bored,” Leonard said as he stared at the crystal in his hand.
“Bored?” Kevin asked.
“Yeah, I just felt like the existence of the Student Council was too strict, so I wanted to stir things up as only two years are left, and we all will leave World Academy anyway,” Leonard said.
Kevin listened to him, and his impression of Leonard had been positive so far.
‘Maybe I was wrong about him,’ A doubt appeared in his mind.
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In a matter of seconds, Leonard had changed the vibes between him and Kevin, appearing like a typical third year in his mind.
“But still, why did you want to meet me?” Kevin asked, but his tone had changed a bit.
“It’s about Asher Greville,” Leonard said as his face turned serious.
“I will be honest with you; being the son of the World Association Chairman, I have a strong sense of justice, and the Grevilles are one of the few families that I dislike,” Leonard spoke.
“Why them?” Kevin asked as he wanted to appear neutral right now.
He was not with his friends, so he didn’t want to sound like he was against the Greville family. It was one thing he didn’t get along with Asher, but he had already received his lecture from his father when the Party Incident reached the ear of the Whiteheart Family’s Head.
“Is it even a question? Look at their history; it’s not too hard to judge how they have maintained their spot in the High Council,” Leonard said.
“And looking at the current heir, do you really think it would get any better?” Leonard asked.
Kevin squinted as he did not realize what Leonard wanted to say. But he agreed that Asher was not a good choice as a Heir candidate.
“I will not ask you to join the Blood Faction, but after graduating, Reece and I will start a new company,” Leonard spoke.
“Why don’t you join us?” He said.
Kevin was surprised that Leonard openly invited him and Reece to join him. Although he would not join Leonard, seeing that his sister’s fiancé was also present made it worth thinking about.
“But why me? You could have asked any other people from the Elite families,” Kevin asked.
Leonard smirked internally, but his face didn’t show it.
“You were the only one who stood against that guy; it shows that you are brave enough to stand against people like that,” Leonard said.
“Most people in Blood Faction would not go against him, and the reason is the amount of power the Greville family has right now,” Leonard explained.
“I heard about the Party Incident that happened. Do you think any other family would have treated you guys like that?” Leonard sighed.
Remembering the incident, Kevin got a bit angry but controlled himself.
“I will give you enough time to think about it, but tell me your response before graduation,” Leonard said.
Leonard talked a bit more with Kevin and made him comfortable around him.
“I will think about this deal,” Kevin stood up but didn’t give a clear answer.
But this much was enough for Leonard, who watched Kevin leave his room. As soon as Kevin left, a smirk appeared on Leonard’s face.
“It seems that the Whiteheart family didn’t put much effort into teaching him enough about this stuff,” Leonard thought of his conversation with Kevin.
“I was wondering if it would be too hard to use Elena Rothschild through him,” Leonard laughed.
He wondered how to use Rothschild against the Greville, as James Rothschild was a very crafty individual who would not move unless he was sure he would win.
“But every man has a weakness,” Leonard muttered.
Despite his crafty nature, his unconditional love for Elena Rothschild, his daughter, was pretty straightforward. And Leonard knew that Elena was a good friend of Kevin.
Even if Kevin didn’t agree to his plans and refused outright, he had other ways to make sure Elena Rothschild went against Asher Greville, but using Kevin was still a better option for him.
*Ring*
Leonard’s face turned serious as he picked up his phone, and a hologram appeared. Then, Leonard saw the familiar face in the hologram.
“Hello, Father,” Leonard greeted the man.
It was Osbert Tarvian, the Chairman of the World Association.
“Is everything going on smoothly inside World Academy?” Osbert asked as he looked directly at Leonard.
“I encountered a problem with Asher Greville, but I will deal with him soon enough,” Leonard replied.
“Good, don’t rush into things. I expect a lot from you. The project will go into its final phases soon,” Osbert reminded him.
“Use Allister and Neville properly; even if you go a bit overboard, I will handle things from my side,” Osbert said.
“Let’s wait a bit, but I wanted to get some information about his movements,” Leonard asked.
“Not right now; that stupid bastard attacked him, and now Greville and Raven are on high alert. Let things cool down a bit,” Osbert replied.
“The Auction will happen soon, and you will attend on my behalf,” Osbert reminded him about a particular Auction.
“Gather as many artifacts as you can; I heard that a few rare ones have been found but are still being analyzed by the experts from the Artisans’ Association,” He said.
“When will it happen?” Leonard asked.
“In a few months, you will receive the dates soon,” Osbert said.
The dates for this special Gala were still not out. It was an event that required confirmation from all VIP guests, as it was a huge gathering of elite families and those related to the High Council. Many other influential families were also invited.
However, most families attended because it was the most significant auction every three years, where the rarest artifacts would be presented.
“I will warn you again; don’t let that Old Fox have his attention on you,” Osbert said as he soon disconnected the call.
“You worry too much, Father,” Leonard said as he played with the crystal again.
“Soon, you will be under my feet,” Leonard said as he remembered Asher’s face.
**************
Two days later,
Asher was heading to the Runic Theory class, the last class he would attend before he left the World Academy for a week.
Helena had already returned the day she arrived, and the news about her arrival surprised most students. The most jealous ones were the senior-year students studying Black Element.
Asher entered the classroom, which had very few students, and most of them were shocked to see him join this class.
Most of the kids from influential families avoided this class as it didn’t help them much with their combat abilities.
“Why is he here?” A student whispered to his friend.
“Shush, let’s stay away from him,” his friend stopped him.
Although they were far from the seat Asher had chosen, they still didn’t want to take the chance and create trouble with the most infamous first-year student of World Academy.