Chapter 139: Undressing

Seemingly realizing his own lapse in composure, the young man offered Andy an awkward smile and exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm, "What a great name! Uh, but I suddenly remembered that I left the tools for crafting the sorcery contract back in my dormitory. I’ll go grab them right now; please wait here for a moment..."

With that, he scurried away in a hurry, leaving Andy standing there completely bewildered.

However, Andy soon understood the reason for the young man’s reaction. When he returned, he was accompanied by a young man dressed in ornate noble attire. As soon as the nobleman entered, he confronted Andy bluntly, "Are you Andy Charles?"

Seeing this, Andy sighed. Although he didn’t know who the visitor was, it seemed that his plans to join the Raging Flame Society were about to hit a snag. Regardless of why this guy was here to cause trouble, Andy had no patience for such nonsense. He stood up and prepared to leave; if this place wouldn't have him, he could always find somewhere else.

Seeing Andy’s move, the young man from the Raging Flame Society stepped forward to block his path and shouted, "Damn it, Young Master Charles is asking you a question!"

Andy had intended to leave, but upon hearing the surname "Charles," he stopped, suddenly interested.

"Charles?" Andy turned back to ask.

Before the nobleman could speak, the Raging Flame Society member chimed in, "That’s right! Young Master Charles is the greatest genius of the Charles family. In terms of lineage, he is even..."

"Shut up!" The nobleman cut him off sharply before he could finish.

The nobleman was Xazo Charles, the greatest prodigy to emerge from the Charles family since the Battle of the Shadow Forest. This achievement was his pride; he possessed not only the knightly talent common to the Charles family but also exceptional talent for mental energy, which had earned him entry into Grim Academy. Recently, he had even combined the family’s secret "Eagle Eye" technique with sorcery to create a new spell, shocking the entire family and earning him greater attention and investment.

Recently, however, Xazo’s good mood had been ruined by news regarding the one-eyed mercenary, Sherlock. That man was the one who had killed his father!

Years ago, his father, also a family genius, had died during a mission in the Shadow Forest—a mission to track down the one-eyed Sherlock, who had stolen a family secret manual.

When his father died, Xazo was still a nursing infant. Born to a maid, Xazo lost his support within the family, and because his knightly talent was inferior to others in the clan, he grew up enduring cold stares and mockery. If not for discovering his talent for mental energy, laboring over sorcery, and finally astounding everyone at the family tournament, he would likely still be living as humbly as the lackey currently standing beside him. He harbored a deep hatred for the one-eyed Sherlock, who had cost him his place in the family, and he had sworn to avenge his father.

When he heard from a friend in the City Guard that there was a case involving the dark mercenary Sherlock, he immediately took an interest. Unfortunately, by the time he received the news, Sherlock had already fled. However, he also heard that Andy Charles, the grandson of Will Charles—the sinner who had caused the loss of the family secret technique—had arrived at Grim Academy in the capital.

Xazo had studied Sherlock and knew that his brazen assassination of a viscount in the streets years ago had been to avenge his sister. This proved that Sherlock was a man who valued family ties. Xazo didn't believe for a second that Sherlock would ignore the only grandchild his sister had left behind. There had to be a connection, perhaps even a secret meeting in the capital.

Hoping to track down Sherlock through Andy, Xazo had used his connections at Grim Academy to locate him, and today, he had finally succeeded.

After silencing the young man, Xazo frowned, clearly displeased by the member's tactlessness. If one were to calculate by family lineage, he would technically have to call Andy "Uncle."

Without further delay, he walked up to Andy, held out a portrait, and asked, "Do you recognize the person on this?" The portrait depicted none other than Sherlock.

Andy didn't even glance at it. He was annoyed by the man's arrogant, interrogative attitude—who did he think he was? He brushed Xazo’s hand aside and walked straight out of the Raging Flame Society.

After he left, Xazo’s face turned livid. The young man from the society stepped forward and asked, "Young Master Charles, why didn't you stop him?"

"Hmph! Stop him how? By starting a fight inside Grim Academy? Besides, he is still a direct bloodline of the family, and he has quite a few relatives left in the clan. When his grandfather and father were conspired against and killed, the family stood by and watched, which already left those people very dissatisfied. But because Will was a sinner, they remained silent. If I were to hurt their only remaining descendant now, those people in the family would jump out in an instant."

Xazo had other concerns. In recent years, he had risen through the ranks by ruthlessly crushing his rivals, which was satisfying, but it had also offended a large number of people. If he were to incite the wrath of those in the family who sympathized with Andy's family, the two forces combined would make his situation precarious. Furthermore, given his low birth, he was already effectively disqualified from ever becoming the family head.

"Then what do we do? Are we just going to let him be?" the young man asked.

"If we can't do it openly, we'll do it in the shadows. I will make it impossible for him to get anywhere in Grim Academy. I don't believe he won't reach out to his so-called 'Great Uncle' Sherlock when he's desperate!"

...

When Andy returned home, he found Katherine acting very strangely. She kept her eyes wide open, staring at him incessantly, which made Andy feel a bit guilty.

What was going on? Did she find out about the tip he gave the girl at the mission hall? Andy tried to remain calm; after all, he had a clear conscience, and regardless of the situation, he had ultimately refused her.

Then, he noticed Katherine stopped staring and scurried over to him, sniffing him repeatedly. She circled him twice and even jumped onto his shoulder, pressing against him to get a better whiff.

Andy couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered a song from his past life: "There is her perfume on you..."

He decided not to disturb Katherine and let her sniff away, curious to see what conclusion she would come to.

He didn't notice that Katherine's expression was becoming increasingly grave—though it was admittedly hard to read a cat's face.

Suddenly, Katherine stopped and said to Andy, "Andy, take off your clothes!"

"What?..." Andy couldn't believe his ears.

"Hurry up, take them off!" Seeing Andy standing there in a daze, Katherine urged him anxiously.

"This... isn't this moving a bit too fast? Besides, you haven't even transformed yet," Andy said with hesitation.