Chapitre 15: I have a confession to make

It took a while before the old man had calmed down again, except for shining stars in his eyes, the rest of his demeanor turned back to normal.

"Brat, listen up, under these circumstances, I will of course agree with your suggestion and will hereby officially grant you a studentship at the academy of Marz. However, others will soon come to know about your arrival and notice you haven't passed the official assessment yet. There is no way around this because the tests are always done in a ceremonial and public way. Therefore, we will use the following excuse..."

"For the public, you will be made a guest at our academy who has been personally invited by me to work as an artist on several renovations projects, here at home. Despite your status as a guest though, your privileges will be the same as any other student." Simon explained.

Samuel and Eva who were listening attentively to the old man couldn't help but frown, 'This old man is too damn shrewd. Not only does he solve the problem but will also personally benefit from getting Samuel to work as an artist in his temple." They both thought.

"Ehm, does this means I have to actually work for you as an artist as well, or is that just to mislead the public?" Samuel asked him suspiciously.

"Hehe, of course, you have to do some miscellaneous work here, but don't worry, I won't let you work all day round as a slave or something, some statues and paintings on the walls will suffice. You have to understand Samuel, the closer to the truth our lies are, the harder they become to see through. Plus, this is the only solution I can think of at the moment, I really wish I could help you in any other way but I simply can't think of any, I'm truly sorry." Simon explained while he did nothing to hide the wicked expression on his face.

When Eva heard this, she couldn't stand Simon's shameful behavior any longer. "Old freak! What nonsense are you battering about, you know damn well tha..." But before she could finish her words, the old man suddenly intervened.

Simon pressed the full force of his spiritual senses down on Eva, making her drop down through the reinforced floor, all the way to her knees. Then he opened up a spiritual link and started teasing her!

"If you tell him anything, I will use the full force of my capabilities in the dao of illusions and create the most realistic and alluring illusion of you that I can possibly make, than I will let it kneel with the rest outside in front of my statue hehehe," The old man said in a teasing tone.

"You...!"

'This shameless old bastard!' Eva thought, but there was nothing she could do. He may look like a harmless and old perverted man, but if he wanted to, he could destroy this entire mountain with a single palm! Leaving her with no other choice than to play along with his shameless schemes.

"Ehh, of course, of course. I agree hehe, this plan is truly perfect, I can't think of any other solutions either." Eva said begrudgingly.

Samuel wasn't an idiot of course and knew he was getting tricked, but what could he do besides making things overly complicated? And all he had to do was make some artwork here and there and his problems would be solved. So, not wanting to waste any more of his time, he agreed with Simon's proposal. But before doing so, he made one last adjustment.

"I agree on one condition, and that is that I will get paid according to market prices for all the work I create," Samuel stated.

"Hahahaha... I like you kid! We have a deal!" Simon said smilingly, before handing him a guest token of the academy.

"Ohh yeah, one last thing, when you have started cultivating and reached the early Ki condensation realm, come back here so we can start doing some experiments ok? You can refuse whatever you want but I'll just use some force and drag you over here hahaha. Now then, if there's nothing else... be gone hahaha!" The old man said, grinning like a kid who had just received his birthday present.

Samuel: "..."

Eva: ヽ(ಠ_ಠ) ノ

When Samuel and Eva left the room they could still hear the old man's mumbling in the distance...

"Hahaha... I'm such a genius! What am I? A genius hahaha," Simon mumbled with an evil laugh.

Once outside, they quickly left and flew down the mountain, heading towards the place where Sarah lived. A couple of minutes later, they arrived in front of a grand and luxurious villa, made entirely out of white marble with a very slight, almost unnoticeable pinkish tint in it.

The front of the house had a porch with lots of plant pots on it, containing a variety of beautiful colored exotic-looking flowers. One of these beautiful flowers was currently watering the others, it was Sarah hopping happily with an orange watering can.

When the beautiful young maiden saw Eva and Samuel's sudden approach, the watering can slipt from her hands and dropped down on the floor. She looked at them, remained frozen on the spot, and didn't say a word. A minute later and with a blushing face, she couldn't handle her growing nerves anymore and quickly ran inside!

Eva who saw all of this happening exploded into a burst of laughter. "Hahahaha, that silly girl! Don't worry about it Samuel, she's just a little nervous that's all. I will leave you here now before returning home myself, it seems you two have some catching up to do. In the meantime, be gentle with her please, we'll be seeing each other soon again!" Eva said, then she quickly kissed him on the forehead and left him standing dumbfounded on his own.

Samuel could still feel the soft, warm, and wet sensation of her lips that was lingering on his forehead, and stared at her disappearing and sensual figure until it was completely out of sight. Without thinking about it any longer, he started walking towards the porch and entered Sarah's home.

Once inside, he was shocked and awed by all the excessive and luxurious decorations around him. Despite the girlish ambiance, everything inside screamed the word expensive. Expertly woven carpets, golden candle holders, expensive-looking art, vases made of rare shiny crystals with colorful flowers, a giant and masterfully crafted chandelier, everything single thing he saw was probably enough to buy the entire village he came from!

He was speechless, he knew she was rich and had already expected she lived in luxury, but this? 'How much money exactly does this girl have?' He asked himself. But while he stood there and marveled at the sight, he suddenly noticed a Sarah that was standing further in the room, her head was held down and she was looking at the floor.

"Ehh, Sarah?" He asked. "I-I'm sorry, I hope the fact that I'm here all of a sudden doesn't inconvenience you at this moment. It's just that Eva dumped me here without explaining anything, and before I could ask her she had already left. So yeah, I hope you don't mind me being here," Samuel said a little awkward. He wasn't sure why but he started feeling nervous when he realized that they were all alone inside her house.

After gathering some courage, Sarah raised her head and looked into his eyes... 'Ahh, those eyes again,' she thought as her face turned reddish.

"N-No, no, not at all hehe, I was expecting you, after all, so of c-course you're more than welcome here. Please forgive my earlier behavior, I ran inside without giving you a proper welcome, it seems I was acting a little silly hehe," She shyly said, while constantly fidgeting with her fingers.

Human interactions sometimes work in a mysterious way. While the girl in question thought she was acting stupid, silly, and inhospitable, the boy, on the other hand, thought the girl was extremely cute, sweet, and charming. He couldn't help it, no other boy his age would blame him, but his heart was melting when he saw her standing there...

A beautiful and sweet, cute and gorgeous girl his age, dressed in a turquoise summer dress... How could he possibly resist?

"Samuel... I have a confession to make.