I Refused To Be Reincarnated

After their negotiations, the group accompanied Nova to the girl's dorm before introducing her to their friends.

"Wow. She is a ghost, too," said Asha, her green eyes alight with curiosity.

"Half-half," Adam responded, smiling before adding, "Help her understand the college rules and take care of her, please."

"No problem," answered Asha, happy to help with this small matter. "By the way, you missed a few months of shares," she added, retrieving three heavy pouches from her desk before handing them to Julius. "We signed many exportation contracts and are earning a fortune! Your dividend comes to eighteen thousand gold coins," she concluded with a bright smile.

"How much?!" Adam and Julius yelled in shock at the absurd number. Didn't it mean Asha's family profits came to a hundred and fifty thousand gold?

After a brief pause to recover, Adam's eyes shone as he said, "You deserve your position as an influential merchant noble house. Hahaha." Then, he gazed at Julius, adding, "Take half. The rest is mine!"

Everyone looked at the ghost in shock, even Nova, who understood the value of money after their visit to Skullcove. Yet Adam gave it without second thoughts, only emphasising that the rest was his.

"Are you sure, big bro? We aren't speaking about fifty gold coins this time," asked Julius, feeling warmth fill his chest.

"Yeah. Use it to buy beast cores or other useful items to cultivate," Adam responded, shrugging. Of course, he would share with Julius, especially since he didn't really have things to buy. 'In fact, I can buy materials to prepare a puppet,' he thought, planning to build the best imaginable one before July.

After pondering, he smiled at the four girls, saying, "Alright ladies, we'll go greet Arun. See you later!"

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After bidding goodbyes, Julius curiously asked on their way, "Do you think Arun reached the intermediate level of the acolyte tier?"

"Humph. He'd better be in the late stage, or his father won't stop bugging me," Answered Adam, remembering his deal with Vikram. With only two months left before the deadline, he had to hasten the boy's education to fill his part of the contract.

As they walked through the college's garden, discussing eagerly, two blond-haired middle-aged men locked their blue eyes on them.

"So, that's the kid that old coot wants us to capture?" Asked Reynard, scanning the duo. "I can't believe Shepard recruited alchemists and high-tiered mages from our country right after annihilating Aurora's troops."

"He punished the two countries, unknowingly helping us to infiltrate as teachers," replied Alexander, sighing at the irony. As a former general, wasting his time teaching and spying on kids was definitely not what he wanted to do.

'At least, it'll allow me to judge and question him myself after classes,' he thought, hope swelling in his heart. Reynard's initial approach was correct but too narrow-minded. In his opinion, their generation's Bellors were unfit to rule. After all, changing a foolish tyrant for a smart one wasn't the best idea in his books.

As they discussed their mission, remembering Jean's instruction not to expose themselves or act rashly, Julius opened his room's door.

"We are back, Arun!" He yelled excitedly, raising his hand to give his best friend a high five.

Alerted by the disturbance, the boy turned in a hurry. His lips stretched into a smile filled with emotions as he replied, "Welcome back. I really missed you." Stay tuned with empire

Then, his hand met his friend's before he gazed at Adam. "I missed you too, big bro. I didn't slack during your absence, I promise!" He added, his head held high and pride filling his chest.

"Did you reach the late stage of the second tier already?" Asked Adam, his brow raised with interest. However, Arun shook his head in response, disappointing him.

"I'm already an apprentice!" The boy exclaimed, a broad smile covering his features. "You should have seen Shepard's face after my father boasted about it before the entire staff. Hahaha," he giggled, raising his firm forearm to give a thumb up.

"Hahaha. Well done!" Adam laughed, trying to pat his disciple's shoulder in vain. "Imagine it," he added, scraping his throat in embarrassment.

Yet, his inability to express this close gesture hurt both boys' hearts. It was just too sad to live like this.

After a heavy sigh, Arun dropped his plan to question their journey. Instead, he said, "I learned from Shepard that you planned to build a puppet for your soul. Want me to help find the best materials?"

"Why not? But I warn you, I have money now. So, I'll only take the best of the best!" Replied Adam, eager to discover how vast a duke's network was. Would he have access to exotic commodities from other continents or to mysterious auction houses filled with mythical items?

Ethereal drool formed on his lips as his imagination ran wild, believing he could build a puppet filled with unique features.

Upon witnessing his reaction, Arun exploded into laughter, saying, "Of course! Let's find hidden gems during our vacations in three months."

Adam nodded in response, thankful for the help, before letting the two fidgety boys catch up on the events. Listening to the side, he discovered the recruitment of many new teachers during their absence, including two powerful adepts!

He also learned they missed the midterms' mana testing and theory exams. But it didn't matter much since he was Shepard's disciple.

Night rapidly fell as Arun listened to their misadventures, widening his eyes and gasping at each challenge they faced as the flickering light of candles cast dancing shadows in the room. However, what shocked him the most was their maritime excursion.

"I can't believe you set foot on Skullcove and are still alive to tell the tale!" The boy yelled, his eyes trembling after he recalled all the terrible rumours about the hidden island. Only established captains knew about its location, making it a haven for pirates and criminals.

"Well, we promised not to talk about what we witnessed there. Sorry, Arun," Julius said, an apologetic look on his face as he remembered the vulgar but friendly men.