Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun and Sabina were being led around the academy by Jake.

They had thought that having a guide would save them the effort of asking for directions and reading signs.

However, as they walked, Jake suddenly admitted that they were on the wrong path.

After crossing another intersection, Su Lun and his group saw a beautiful spire-topped auditorium. Through the auditorium's glass windows, they could perfectly see a group of beautiful female students rehearsing in ballet attire.

But this was not the library they had in mind.

Jake looked around, finally showing an embarrassed expression, and said, "Ah... teacher, it seems we've come to the auditorium instead; this is the opposite direction from the library."

Su Lun and Sabina couldn't help but wear wry smiles upon hearing this.

This kind of outrageous mistake was something only those students who never went out and never participated in group activities could make.

Jake also felt quite embarrassed and explained further, "I haven't really wandered around the campus much either. The places I visit the most are just the library and the labs. I don't know how we ended up here..."

Su Lun also smiled and reassured him, "It's alright, the scenery of the academy is very nice, and it's good to stroll around."

...

The trio took a wrong turn and then changed directions to head back.

Su Lun inquired about some topics related to Jake's life at the Royal Academy.

But there were few interesting things Jake could tell.

His life seemed to consist only of the laboratory and the library, studying, researching, and conducting experiments, dull and tedious.

After all, it was the Royal Academy, and Su Lun could see that his disciple only became spirited when talking about explosives and had an inherent loneliness and inferiority in his daily life.

The three hadn't walked much further when Su Lun noticed a gaze searching them out from behind, coming from the direction of the auditorium.

Then there came a sound of light footsteps.

Looking back, a young girl had come chasing out. She seemed to recognize Jake, who had his hat brim pulled down low, and called out tentatively, "Jake?"

Upon hearing someone calling Jake's name, Su Lun stopped.

Jake glanced back, his expression turning somewhat evasive.

He seemed to recognize the girl but didn't want to encounter her.

The excited young girl ran over, still in her rehearsal ballet skirt, "Jake, is it really you?"

Seeing it was indeed Jake, she could hardly hide her joy, "Did you come to see our rehearsal? Hibel just mentioned she saw you, and I thought she was mistaken."

Jake appeared somewhat awkward, deliberately hiding the burn scars on his left face, "I...I didn't..."

Watching his evasive demeanor, Su Lun immediately understood that he had encountered a girl he liked. He chuckled and asked, "Jake, is this your classmate?"

Jake looked slightly embarrassed, nodded, but also seemed eager to leave.

The girl, however, didn't mind and performed a curtsey like a noble lady, introducing herself to Su Lun, "Hello, sir. My name is Phoebe Shelley, I am Jake's classmate."

Worried that his teacher might unknowingly offend a noble, Jake quickly added, "Phoebe's father is a distinguished hereditary baron of the empire."

Su Lun listened but said nothing, yet he immediately understood where his disciple's insecurity stemmed from.

In Ruying, nobles and commoners were indeed people of two different social strata.

For the nobles, marriage was the most stable and lasting method of benefit exchange. Thus, their offspring would never marry a commoner. Such secret affections were usually doomed to be fruitless.

Su Lun thought of the great writer Fujiwara Hayato and Grandmother Katjusha's love story, romantic and grand, yet ultimately no match for the differences in status.

"Oh? A noble..."

Sabina, listening nearby, her eyes twinkling with mirth, "No wonder Miss Phoebe looks so beautiful and is so well-mannered."

"Thank you for your compliment."

Blushing slightly at the praise, the girl showed her good upbringing, responding politely, "You are also the most charming lady I have met."

Sabina watched the young girl, her eyes smiling in satisfaction.

Su Lun also felt it was nice.

At least she did not mind Jake's commoner status and had obviously seen the scars on Jake's face but did not mention them.

What a kind-hearted young girl.

After the courteous greeting, Phoebe looked at Jake again with a mischievous smile, "Jake, did you sneak over to watch my rehearsal?"

Her little playful smile immediately dissolved the awkwardness of "being caught red-handed" and she added straightforwardly, "Actually, you didn't need to sneak. If you had told me earlier, I would have been very happy for you to watch my dress rehearsal."

Her simple two sentences boldly expressed a young girl's feelings, but Jake probably didn't understand.

He indeed hadn't come to watch the rehearsal, stammering, "No. I...I was accompanying my teacher..."

Phoebe glanced again at Su Lun and Sabrina, blinked her eyes, and said, "Teacher?"

Children of high society all had various home tutors, so having a teacher was not strange.

Sabrina corrected with a smile, "We are Jick's family."

At these words, Phoebe felt somewhat surprised.

Although neither Su Lun nor Sabrina exhibited any emblems indicating noble status, their attire and demeanor were noticeably exceptional.

She seemed never to have heard that Jick had such family members.

But she didn't mind, and quickly found another topic, "Jick, I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you still always holed up in the laboratory? I told you, you need to get out more."

Jick looked quite unnatural, especially in front of his own teacher, and was almost stammering, "Um... I... I..."

Although Su Lun didn't know what experiences they had shared, he could tell they both saw a light in each other's eyes.

His disciple was clearly due to his inferiority, not daring to respond to the girl's enthusiasm.

Su Lun felt he should step in to help Jick build some confidence. He was about to suggest having lunch with the young lady when suddenly, a group of young apprentices saw the interactants and hurried over.

There were both males and females, and one could tell from the crests on their clothing buttons that these were some young nobles.

The group walked over with an arrogant expression.

Someone greeted Phoebe, "Phoebe, the next rehearsal is about to start, why are you here?"

When he drew closer, the leading brown-haired young man then pretended to recognize Jick with a sneering tone, "Oh... who is this? Isn't this our class's 'Ammunition Genius' Jick? Tsk tsk... not staying in your servant rooms, what brought you here? Oh, what happened to your face, and your fingers got blown off too?"

Originally here to see his likely "fiancée" Miss Phoebe's festival rehearsal, he hadn't expected to encounter a toad. Naturally, his mood was not pleasant.

"..."

Jick, hearing the obviously mocking words, also stayed silent, his sense of inferiority not allowing him to lift his head.

Seeing this, the brown-haired young man sneered again, his eyes full of disdain. He then turned to Phoebe and said, "Phoebe, why are you with this kind of person? If Uncle knew, he would definitely say I have not taken good care of you at the academy."

Phoebe clearly knew that these people had come to mock Jick, as they had many times before.

She remarked with a displeased tone, "Tim, I am not that close with you!"

With that, she directly grabbed Jick's hand, "Let's go, Jick, we're going somewhere else."

"You...!"

This protective action made the face of the brown-haired young man, called Tim, even more sullen.

Just then, his skinny, blonde sidekick suddenly spotted the gold pocket watch hanging on Jick's chest and quickly snatched it.

Upon seeing the brand on the pocket watch, the sidekick immediately burst into sarcasm, "Oh... look, look, our Jick here is wearing a 'Filigree Warrior's Heart'! Wow, a limited edition pocket watch worth over a million rice-so!"

With these words, the other apprentices immediately began to ridicule as well.

"Tsk tsk, Jick, you're really rich, huh? I pulled strings and still couldn't purchase this limited edition mechanical pocket watch, and you actually have one?"

"Hehe, hard to say if he found it, right? After all, I heard he often goes to the academy's waste material room to pick up materials..."

"Hahaha, Jick's family are big fur merchants, aren't they? How could you say he found it?"

"..."

Mockery was like a sharp blade, deeply cutting through one's dignity.

Jick mustered his courage, snatched back the pocket watch, and yelled fiercely, "Give it back to me! This is mine!"

He could tolerate insults to himself, but not to the present from his elder, which must not be sullied.

Seeing Tim Lordling's implication, the sidekick refused to let go easily. He grabbed Jick's collar aggressively, "Hey, I just lost a valuable pocket watch, now I suspect it was stolen. Come with me to the school office!"

Although Jick knew it was deliberately troubling him, he still argued, "This is a pocket watch gifted by an elder! It's not the one you lost!"

The young nobles had naturally noticed Su Lun and his companion as well.

But seeing no obvious signs of nobility on them, they dismissed them from their minds.

Moreover, Jick was famously impoverished, just a fur trader's son. If he had any significant background, he wouldn't have been living in the servant quarters for so long.

They thought, if these two dared to intervene, they would surely let them understand the consequences of offending nobles!

Blond Sidekick persisted relentlessly, "Hmph, whether it's yours or not isn't for you to say, follow me to the school office, and they will judge!"

What really mattered wasn't the truth; his aim was to humiliate this unwise toad in front of Tim Lordling.

"You guys are going too far!"

Phoebe shouted urgently from the side.

Hearing this, she also was shocked. If they really went to the school office, it would be hard to clear things up.

She knew very well that a commoner student like Jick, even with reason, couldn't speak up. If it escalated, he was likely to be expelled by the academy!

But such an expensive pocket watch...

She suddenly turned her gaze to Gic's two elders.

...

Su Lun had been a cold observer, listening to the conversation, and he knew this was probably Gic's rival.

Miss Phoebe was quite attractive, the type that boys would like.

But jealousy at this age is nothing out of the ordinary.

He hadn't planned to intervene, just silently watching from the side.

But now... he had no choice but to intercede.

School bullying exists everywhere, it seems.

Normally, noble students bullying common students is just one of their daily amusements, and no one cares.

Commoners, when humiliated, can only endure.

Because in Ruying, even offending nobles with one's gaze is a crime that can lead to imprisonment.

Even the school's purpose in admitting commoners is to stimulate these noble children by keeping a few "carps" around, and give the noble children a sense of superiority.

Unfortunately, they picked the wrong person to mess with this time.

Before Su Lun could speak, Sabina simply stated, "This pocket watch is a gift I gave to Gic."

She had no interest in troubling a bunch of youngsters.

But unexpectedly, these young nobles were not easy to dismiss.

Even though Sabina wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered half of her face with black gauze, the blond youth was still stunned by her beauty, yet he mockingly said, "Auntie, who are you?"

As a professional intelligence officer, Sabina had already identified their family backgrounds from their noble crests. Hearing this, she coolly retorted, "A merit-bought baronet and a hereditary viscount. Is this lowly noble status the basis for your arrogance?"

Nobles are of a higher class than commoners.

But even among nobles there is a chain of mockery.

Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron—the rankings of nobility form a chain of disdain.

Earls and above are considered high nobility, below that are the low nobility.

Tim is a hereditary viscount.

The blond is a baronet, barely even a pseudo-noble.

Sabina's condescending tone indeed subdued those young men instantly.

Low nobility offending the high nobility also comes with great trouble.

Only then did Tim seriously size up Su Lun and Sabina, displaying the courtesy expected of a noble as he introduced himself, "I am Tim Price. May I inquire who the lady is?"

Sabina embodied the arrogance of high nobility to perfection. Upon hearing the question, she hardly glanced at the young man and countered, "Do you really want to know who I am?"

After pausing for a moment, she spoke gravely, "The Price family...if I am not mistaken, you are the minor lords of Brait in the eastern border of Ruying? Your family is in the iron mining business, right? The newly discovered ore layer in Shadow Forest is of very poor quality, and your family is quite distressed over it, yet here you are, bullying a classmate."

At this revelation, Tim's face turned deathly pale.

Minor lord?

He did not expect that after merely mentioning his name, she could detail his background so accurately.

With that haughty tone, there was no doubt that she was a high noble!

Sabina, being a professional intelligence officer, had deep knowledge of the nobility in Ruying.

Besides, why waste words on these youngsters?

With a cold smile, she continued, "So, Mr. Tim, it seems that you are aware of the trouble you have brought upon your family? Heh, are you aware that you have offended me? Once I reveal my last name, both you and your father will have to come to my door to apologize..."

Before she could finish, Tim, with sweat beading on his forehead and panic in his eyes, hastily bowed deeply and hurriedly explained, "No, madam, there must be some misunderstanding here. I intended no offense."

If his father found out that he had offended a high noble at school, he might as well have his legs broken.

Sabina had no interest in prolonging the conversation, and said emotionlessly, "Apologize! Then, go wherever you were going."

At that moment, Tim, already scared out of his wits, promptly performed a noble bow, chest protected, and said, "I apologize for offending the distinguished madam."

The blond underling also followed in panicked apology.

Sabina shook her head, "Not to me. To Gic."

Hearing this, the expressions of Tim and the others turned very unsightly, but they had no choice but to comply, lowering their noble heads towards the commoner they had scorned, "Sorry... We were wrong to blame you, Gic."

...

Tim and a few others had arrived with their heads held high, now they were leaving with their tails between their legs.

Gik stood still, his face a picture of astonishment.

He had never expected that the nobles, who seemed so unapproachable in his eyes, would be frightened into apologizing and fleeing by this lady's few words.

Yet at the same time, Gik began to understand that his teacher's friend was a highly distinguished noble!

As soon as Sabina spoke her mind, it was like an elder speaking—her presence overwhelming, leaving no room for Gik to interject.

Miss Phoebe also became restrained by her side.

Faced with a high-ranking noble, even the young master from a viscount's family fled in apology, how could she, a young lady from a baron's family, dare to act recklessly.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit strange, and Phoebe knew it was time to leave, reverently saying, "Uh... sorry, honorable lady and sir, although it's rude, but... I must go to rehearsal now."

To stay any longer would seem presumptuously aspiring for favor.

"Hmm."

Sabina smiled and then asked, "Miss Phoebe, if you're free sometime, Gik would like to invite you to have dinner together?"

Phoebe glanced at Gik from the corner of her eye, her face constrained as she nodded her head, "Hmm."

She said this and quickly bowed slightly, her heart fluttering as she looked back and added, "Then, I will leave first."

Su Lun and his companion nodded their heads.

Watching the girl's retreating figure, Sabina remarked sentimentally, "Such a kind-hearted girl."

Su Lun chuckled and agreed, "Hmm."

Naturally, Sabina understood Su Lun's attitude, revealing a bit of identity to give Gik some confidence.

Moreover, Su Lun's current status and ability were not something any regular noble could compare with.

...

The recent incident was just a minor episode; the three of them continued to stroll around the academy.

Perhaps due to facing a high-ranking noble, Gik also seemed much more restrained than before.

At that moment, Sabina curiously asked, "Gik, it seems like you are quite familiar with that Miss Phoebe?"

Gik responded, "When I first started school, the academy organized a 'Beast Hunting Practice Class,' but there was a small accident, and the beast went berserk and injured people. The other students were scared, but I helped her. Later, we ran into each other a few times in the library, talked a few times, and became friends. Phoebe was also the only friend I had at the academy. And when I later encountered difficulties, she always helped me."

As he recounted their acquaintance, Gik sounded a bit sentimental, but his eyes dimmed as he spoke, adding, "But... you can't always be a bother to someone."

"Oh, so you saved her?"

Sabina, of course, understood the deep insecurity in his words.

Then, she said meaningfully, "Gik, you are Mr. Su Lun's disciple, you are by no means inferior to any noble." Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire

Gik mustered some courage and nodded earnestly, "Hmm!"

As they talked about this, Su Lun felt somewhat puzzled.

Shouldn't the nickname 'Reaper' as his teacher grant his disciple some confidence, even if he wasn't a noble?

His old friends who saw him, would always tease him about his valor during the battle in Morolos City-State.

Having once demonstrated the "Eight-Armed Spider Spear" in Blizzard City, with such a distinct weapon, Gik shouldn't have failed to recognize it.

Could it be his disciple still thought he was just a second-tier professional from back then in Blizzard City?

Su Lun thought that was probably the case.

He thought of something and asked, "Gik, haven't you been reading the newspaper recently?"

Gik, unsure why his teacher would ask such a peculiar question, nevertheless admitted, "Ah... yes."

"I've spent most of the past half year in the lab, paying little attention to current events, and I haven't had much time to read the newspaper."

Thinking he might have missed some significant news, he further inquired, "Teacher, has something big happened that was in the newspapers?"

Hearing this, Su Lun chuckled and shook his head, "Oh. It's nothing then."

It's no wonder Gik, who didn't interact with others nor read newspapers, was unaware.

Watching Gik's baffled expression, Sabina covered her mouth and chuckled softly, remarking, "If you read the newspapers, you'd know what an impressive teacher you have."

Gik was a bit lost, "Ah?"

Upon reflection, he suddenly realized that he might have heard something quite significant.