Capítulo 9: Chapter 6: World Famous Paintings, One Filial, One Joy_1
For a moment, the study was silent.
From the atmosphere between him and his father, Lanci guessed that this conversation might be significant to them both.
Looking at his father's expression, it was going to be a discussion about the future, responsibility, and family honor.
So, before his father speaks, he decided not to say anything first.
His gaze slowly roamed the room, and Lanci noticed the butler smiling at him.
A smile as cunning as ever.
Lanci felt slightly uneasy and quickly averted his gaze.
His eyes fell upon the neatly arranged books housed on massive bookshelves, and the oil painting hanging on the wall.
It was said to be a treasured ancient masterpiece of the family, bathed in the elegant glow of the magic lamp. It infused the entire study with an artistic atmosphere.
However...
His painting somehow competed with it.
At length...
Noe, as if he had finally gathered his thoughts, spoke up:
"Lanci, you've been an adult for a month now... During this time, the family has solved numerous problems for you. I think you can no longer continue to live so recklessly."
Following this, there was another brief silence.
Or perhaps, a momentary wait.
Noe wasn't sure if Lanci would become outraged due to the revelation of his act and throw a tantrum.
Because changes in Lanci over these two days have seemed to him more like a temporary acting strategy.
He might have realized that the family would begin to curtail his wasteful expenses and impulsive behavior.
So, he seemed to be fighting his ill habits, planning to weather this storm by briefly behaving well.
However...
What Noe did not expect was...
Lanci's eyes remained clear and calm.
After reflecting on the problem, he earnestly nodded his head.
His reply was:
"I'm truly sorry, and I promise I won't do anything to tarnish our family's reputation ever again."
This response somewhat stunned Noe, and he crinkled the corner of his eyes.
He took another look at Lanci.
No matter how you looked, he seemed to be a good child.
For a moment, Noe felt proud to have a son who was knowledgeable and had bright eyes.
This young man either truly realized his mistakes or was only acting stubborn.
While Noe wished for the former, he also knew the latter was more likely.
Could it be that this silly son had a complete change in his mental state due to some opportunity?
Regardless...
Whether Lanci is acting or not, Noe had a way to determine how to treat Lanci fundamentally.
"Er-hem."
Noe cleared his throat, straightened up, and fixed his gaze on Lanci, asking,
"How are you preparing for the entrance exam of the Alchemy College?"
Although his tone seemed to soften, the underlying meaning was much harsher,
"You must bear in mind, just because I need to work on international trade and am usually in the Empire, it doesn't mean I do not care about you. My leniency toward you is only because I think you are living earnestly."
"Hmm, hmm..."
As soon as Noe finished speaking,
The butler, standing behind Noe, revealed a slight smile.
Three parts of it were due to the pleasure derived from the youth's difficulties, and seven parts due to interest in seeing how the young man would respond.
"... "
Lanci did not speak immediately, but he gasped inwardly on hearing the words.
From the memory of his previous self, he hadn't done any studying at all!
The Alchemy College Noe referred to was a subsidiary of the oldest Ichrite Academy, located in the royal capital of the Hutton Kingdom.
This prestigious academy annually recruited promising individuals of suitable age from the Hutton Kingdom and surrounding countries, and it was known throughout the South Continent.
The Alchemy College was one of its four branches.
The difficulty of its entrance exam, which emphasized alchemy craftsmanship and theoretical research, made his prior self give up without any effort.
The former him was always lying about striving for admission to the Alchemy College to gain the trust of his parents and squandering large amounts of money on pleasures.
Damnit, this damn previous self.
He enjoyed all the benefits, and now it's my turn to bear the consequences!
Lanci grumbled in his heart.
However, in the original course of events, the preceding man-child wouldn't encounter this problem.
That's because Talia would have ended the worries of this foolish rich boy's life.
Thinking about this, Lanci suddenly furrowed his brows.
"Father, are there any other companies in this world with the same name as 'Wilford Chamber of Commerce'?" Lanci asked.
"Hmm?"
Noe seemed puzzled by Lanci's sudden change of topic, but seeing the seriousness in Lanci's eyes, he responded proudly:
"I won't claim there are no small enterprises with similar names, but in the large-scale commercial enterprises that trade between the Hutton Kingdom and the Cerryti Empire, there is only our company."
Upon hearing Noe's words, Lanci's expression didn't change, he simply nodded silently.
Since he had altered his fate of "being killed by Talia" and survived, he would face some situations that the previous rich fool would not.
Lanci had long ago found the last name "Wilford" somewhat familiar but couldn't recall where he had heard it.
Upon hearing from Noe, Lanci finally remembers a quest in the main storyline of the game two years after the present timeline, called "The Wilford Chamber of Commerce Massacre"!
The quest hints that there's a multinational trading company that went bankrupt overnight due to unknown reasons, and the high-ranking officials of this company ended up being killed one after the other. Whether or not to investigate is optional for the player, and it's a high-level quest.
His surname is Wilford. His family's business is also named Wilford Chamber of Commerce, and it's the only large-scale multinational company...
Seems like, it's his family.
It looks like he can't just let things slide. He needs to strive for at least a year or so to investigate and address the family's potential widow-maker ahead of time!
The family's money was what he relied upon for his early retirement at 20. He must protect it.
Recalling the information he had about Ichrite Academy from his memory,
"I promise I will pass the entrance exam,"
Lanci answered somewhat calmly.
In fact, he did not mind going to the Academy located in the royal capital.
You could even say that according to his former life's memories, it was a dream-like academy—
Not only did it possess the most cutting-edge Magical Engineering technology and numerous advanced facilities and resources of the Hutton Kingdom, it also offered excellent protection.
Right now, he was still a defenseless first-order man of no particular class, lacking in self-defense abilities and the stature to attract the attention and protection of the influential figures.
Daring to head to the root of the problem—the Cerryti Empire for investigation was simply courting death.
It was better to first cultivate his potential in Hutton Kingdom.
If he wanted to quickly rise to fame,
Or even to gain the favor of some major powers or strong figures and to build up his connections,
Becoming a Card-Making Master would definitely be the fastest way that suited his talent.
Going to Ichrite Academy and using the resources of the Magic Engineering College would be a hundred times more efficient than studying card making alone in this frontier city-state.
The royal capital was also a better stage for him to exhibit his skills.
Even if nothing else worked out, as long as he could make a fortune in the Capital City Ekrite, he could personally ruin his father's Wilford Chamber of Commerce and prevent his family from disaster!
"Hmm?"
Noe raised his eyebrows. He didn't pick up on Lanci's filial thoughts at the moment and doubted Lanci's confidence in applying for the Academy.
He thought that his son, who behaved like a punk, would have exposed his true colors by now.
Unexpectedly, in addition to frowning, Lanci was still being stubborn.
Lanci's reactions today were indeed beyond Noe's expectations.
Although Noe didn't have much energy to keep an eye on Lanci's daily life, every time he asked the butler and maid about Lanci's situation, the two tried their best to protect Lanci.
However, Noe wasn't a fool. He roughly knew what kind of life Lanci was leading.
"Since you say so, if you pass the entrance exam successfully, I will admit I was wrong about you and apologize…"
Noe said solemnly, probing Lanci's bright green eyes with his own torch-like eyes,
"But if you fail the academy exam, does that prove you have been fooling us with our trust in you?"
"Of course, honestly,"
Lanci answered leisurely.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer. Continue studying. I will buy your train ticket to the royal capital in advance. You don't need to worry about this."
Having received Lanci's forthright promise, Noe was finally satisfied.
Since Lanci wanted to remain stubborn,
Noe didn't mind using this as a justified reason for punishment, once Lanci met with some setbacks and willingly accepted it.
Noe really didn't think Lanci could pass the Alchemy College exam.
Or to be exact, it was simply impossible.
Given the complexity and number of subjects in the Alchemy College exam, as well as its high pass threshold, one would need at least two or three years of serious preparation.
And the entrance exam for the Ichrite Academy was only three months away.
Even the least demanding Alchemy College was impossible for Lanci to tackle,
It was only when he went to the royal capital and met the gifted peers from the other three colleges that he would realize how foolish and pitiful his laziness, arrogance, and short-sightedness were.
"I understand,"
Lanci replied confidently.
His father had always been doubting him deep inside, yet he always came across as high EQ and wanted to send him to the royal capital. Lanci felt respected.
So, he would definitely live up to his father's expectations.
"As long as you believe you can send me to the royal capital, I promise you will receive good news of my successful admission to the Ichrite Academy at the royal capital,"
"...Huh."
Noe almost burst into laughter.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, barely suppressing the smirk threatening to appear on his face.
Showing off his prowess, huh?
You're merely getting admitted to an academy, can you even make a big show for me?
Noe didn't expect the conversation to go so smoothly. He was originally prepared for a rather unpleasant exchange between the father and son.
Punishing Lanci was inevitable as Noe intended to teach the arrogant and overly confident Lanci to pay the price for his mistakes.
Instead, due to Lanci's sincerity, they had reached a peaceful agreement unexpectedly.
For Noe, the only difference was allowing Lanci to visit the royal capital before punishing him.
After all, Lanci was just going to embarrass himself in the Ichrite Academy entrance exam.
As for letting Lanci go to the royal capital, Noe was not at all worried that Lanci would become a runaway horse.
In this frontier region, Lanci, who was unworldly, could be arrogant.
But in Capital City Ekrite, the real big stage of the South Continent where influential figures were everywhere, this son of his definitely couldn't stir up any waves.
After all,
Noe understood Lanci very well. Lanci was just a paper tiger type of blockheaded spoilt kid.
And absolutely not a devil incarnate that would evolve uncontrollably when given the right environment.
This was quite reassuring.
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