Late Evening - Mid Winter : Atlas Academy | Atlas, Bahamut
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*clack* *pour* We sat in silence as Sir Atsáli poured so kind of drink into a small barrel before inevitably pushing it to Krystallo.
It was an action he did out of nowhere, but I was so confused I couldn't say anything.
But his smile eventually started to fade. "You.. aren't joking?"
-Huh?- I imdiately tilted my head. "What do you an?"
He paused to give an odd look before finally letting out a quick breath. "Hooh... Kid, how much do you know about your family?"
"Well, I'd like to say quite a bit." -But the way you're acting is making doubt myself...-
"In that case, could you tell why the Ragnarok family is held in such high esteem?" Grabbing two more small barrels off the shelves, he quickly started filling them with alcohol.
"It's because of Atlas, is it not?" I responded as if the answer were obvious.
But he just scoffed. "Maybe to so, but if you think your family is able to hold nearly a hundred thousand dragons in the palm of their paw because of everyone else's respect for Atlas, you are gravely mistaken."
My expression quickly turned curious.
"You have too much faith in us as a species, Vasilias... If he was Bahamut, you would be correct, but Atlas didn't have that kind of presence." He continued as he pushed the small barrel of alcohol to . "I would love to say that we dragons hold onto and respect honor forever, but unfortunately, the more ti that passes, the more the weight of honor from our ancestors lightens, and the more people forget it ever existed in the first place."
My eyes instantly widened; he hit the nail square on the head. -But if people's honor and respect for Bahamut are already starting to fade...- "Then what upholds the Ragnarok na?"
He gave a serious look before responding simply. "Money, strength, and blood." His voice was without an ounce of hesitation or uncertainty. "In her current state, you may see your grandmother as a young lass who is just beginning to see the world for what it really is, but if you give her a few hundred years, she will turn into a monster that even the strongest dragons would do anything to curry the favor of... However, what do you think they can give a family that already has enough gold to build an island out of it and enough cities, resources, and skilled subordinates to essentially rule the world?"
I imdiately hesitated before finally speaking with so uncertainty. "Loyalty?"
He nodded right away. "And with loyalty being sothing even common folk can pay, not only has their influence grown, but people's trust that their loyalty will be repaid has deepened; after all, if people retain their loyalty to the Ragnaroks for long enough, their taxes in Ragnarok-owned cities will be slashed. That single repaynt caused their influence to spread like wildfire, to the point that even the two other major families could no longer escape from beneath their influence; however, among those two, the Chalastís family were the only ones to embrace it."
The Chalastís family was one of the three major families from the great war and were a family that was ant to rival the Ragnaroks. -But while we grew our power and influence, they simply accumulated money like treasure hoarders.-
But that was exactly what made them love us so much. -Alleviated taxes would essentially double or triple their profits, and that isn't even including that they can use our influence for their own gain...- After falling into thought for a mont, I eventually spoke up. "So, are you trying to say that the Chalastís auction is beneath ?"
He imdiately smiled. "Well, you are a Ragnarok, are you not? If you want sothing from the auction, you could simply ask them, and they would sell it to you for cheap if not just outright give it to you."
"I an, sure, but we can't go around touting the family na until the festival in 8 years." My smile finally returned as I tossed the small barrel into my mouth. "Plus, it would be more fun to attend regardless of that."
"Ah, is that so." He imdiately started to clam up a bit. "In that case, the auction is held the day after tomorrow in the Southern Hall of the academy. Anyone affiliated with the academy is able to attend, so if you are to speak to the headmaster, he could get you a VIP spot, but if not, you could use the Whyte family na as well."
"Hm, I see..." I quickly started to fall into thought again before promptly tensing up. "Wait, it's in the academy?"
He quickly nodded. "When the Chalastís family originally built it, it was ant to be a massive gathering hall for their businesses to host auctions, gatherings, and parties in, but once they realized it was quite unnecessary, they eventually changed it to be the academy we know of today, and only hold their biggest auctions in it."
-Ah, that's quite convenient...- But while it was convenient, it raised so of my worries. "Does the Chalastís family still have influence over the academy?"
He gave a confused look before responding plainly. "Absolutely. They could shut down the entire place and turn it into a field of grass if they wished."
-So they are the ones with all the power...- My suspicions only worsened. "In that case, were they the ones to choose the headmaster?"
"No, but he typically has to report everything he does to them, and if they wish for sothing to be done, he cannot object. Although after seeing how successful the academy was, they rarely do anything besides things related to the auction."
"Ah, is that so..." I responded with a blank expression as my mind started to wander, questioning who I should really be pointing fingers at, but eventually I snapped out of it. -I should just ask Mother about that when we get back... But in any case...- "It seems like we will be going to the auction then... Before that though, I need so money."
His smile widened instantly. "Right, you said you had so mythril for ?"
"Well, of course." I smiled, thinking it would be a quick deal, but little did I know, it would be another hour before he even gave us the opportunity to leave.
But eventually, after his endless barrage of questions about where I got the mythril and how much more he could get ca to an end, he let us out, and we finally made our way ho.
But the questioning continued; the only difference was the identity of the interrogator.
"So, is that all money you can spend right now? When are you going to go create an account with the bank like Sir Atsáli suggested? Can I hold it until you deposit it?" Krystallo's eyes simply had money signs in them from the mont she first heard Sir Atsáli say how much was in the pouch he gave .
But it's not like I could bla her; even for , it was a sum way beyond what I imagined. -But why should I complain?- *cl-cl-clink* A warm smile ca to my face as I tossed her the coins. "I'll take it to the bank in the morning. Do you want to hold onto them until then?"
Her eyes instantly lit up. "ABSOLUTELY!"
Her enthusiasm hit like the warmth of the sun, quickly lightening my mood and making the trek ho quite a bit more enjoyable.
However, once we eventually got back, I needed to shift gears once again.
"Hehehe~" Just after we got back, Krystallo made her way back to her room with the pouch of money and a wide grin on her face, but my smile had already faded by then.
"Welco back, my lord!" Chloe quickly greeted as I walked inside, but now wasn't the ti for conversation.
"Is Mother in her office?"
She nodded imdiately. "She is. Would you like to speak with her?"
"Yes, if you could prepare that."
"Right away!" She quickly straightened up before making her way down the adjacent hallway but almost imdiately returned with a much older maid.
The older woman bowed the mont she ca up to . "Young master, the Missus wishes to see you."
-Good timing.- "Alright, please lead the way."
Quickly following the maid down the hallway, we ca up to Mother's office and promptly opened the doors. *Click-fwoosh*
As they swung open, a blast of chilly air rushed past , but contrarily, Mother's expression was incredibly warm. "I heard about what you did in the combat assessnts this morning... You know it made your na spread around like wildfire, right?" Her words sounded like she was trying to warn , but her voice was full of pride.
Quickly finding my way inside, I found the comfiest cushion and promptly sat down. "I sort of figured that would happen. The students liked how I taught so much that they tried to get to teach every class for the whole day. Plus, I can't deny that I made an impression on several of the professors as well."
The pride in her expression only grew as I spoke. "Hoho~, it sounds like my sweetie is starting to get recognized by the world."
I imdiately let out an awkward laugh. "Haha, not quite. I still need to lay on the low because of Asgard, but as long as I don't trip on any of their wires, I should be alright..." I paused to think about the situation for a mont before continuing. "In any case, I need to ask you about a few things."
She imdiately straightened up her posture. "What is it?"
"The headmaster and the Chalastís family. How much can we realistically trust them..."
She was imdiately taken aback. "What makes you ask that?"
-Well...- "I have so suspicions about the headmaster, and since he has to report everything to the Chalastís family, I can't exactly take any suspicions away from them either."
She gave an odd look before speaking. "I understand where you are coming from, but at the sa ti, the headmaster is certainly not soone who betrayed Lord Bahamut."
"But..." I felt a little back to be throwing out accusations so baselessly, but at the sa ti, I couldn't shake my suspicions. "How can you be so sure?"
"Vasilias." Her expression quickly turned serious. "The group that still prays and worships Lord Bahamut. Do you know their na?"
"Well, it's Latreía, isn't it?" I responded instantly as if the na was already on my mind.
But that's because it was. -Wait.. isn't that the headmaster's last na?-
My suspicions got tied into a knot almost instantly.
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