Chapter 50: Dean Silver: “You two just want to fleece me dry, don’t you?”
Given the scale of Starfall University, the transfer of a second-year student and the addition of a barely noticeable line at the end of the Obelisk ranking…
These were all trivial matters that no one paid attention to.
Perhaps due to the former principal’s educational philosophy, Starfall University provided each Night Traveler with a single-person dormitory.
Thanks to this, in a forgotten and quiet corner, Rast began his campus life.
Of course, since it was unbothered by any “human,” that naturally didn’t include magical creatures.
A certain ferret dean moved boldly and confidently into Rast’s single dormitory, seemingly possessing the ability to open a secondary dimension, allowing it to enjoy life anywhere.
The public reason Dean Silver gave was, of course, “Shiltina was worried you wouldn’t be able to adapt to modern society and asked me to take care of you until she returns.”
But in truth, Dean Silver came with the intention of finding a long-term meal ticket.
As a magical creature, Dean Silver couldn’t obtain the identity of a Night Traveler, nor could it enter the Nightworld to undergo advancement.
And with its actual age listed among the “Top Ten Unsolved Mysteries of Starfall,” ordinary training methods like meditation or role-assumption had long since lost their effect on it.
Though there were also ways to upgrade by absorbing extraordinary materials or consuming magical potions, Dean Silver’s long-tier Sequence was akin to Rast’s “Tower” — a one-of-a-kind rarity in this era, and obtaining corresponding materials and potions was as hard as climbing the heavens.
Therefore, making contact with humans, connecting with that sincere, pure, and radiant emotion, had become its only choice.
Shiltina’s unwavering and pure faith was certainly dazzling, but this little girl’s stubborn personality meant she spent more than half the year inside the Nightworld, making her a rather unstable meal ticket.
And through their prior brief contact, Dean Silver keenly sensed Rast’s potential as a long-term provider — his emotions were even purer than Shiltina’s.
It was just that this kid wore too many masks and hid too deeply; without using the “Moon of Truth,” even Dean Silver couldn’t tell if this kid was just stringing him along.
Its decision to move into Rast’s dormitory was meant to observe him over time and see what lay at the core of this young man — whether he was worth the investment.
But——
As the days passed one by one, Dean Silver grew increasingly puzzled.
It had been five days since Rast had enrolled.
But during these five days, aside from going to the shooting range every morning for four hours and burning through thousands of rounds of ammo…
The rest of the time, Rast had been wandering around Starfall University’s campus and various extracurricular clubs.
If he visited the “Ashen Institute,” one might say it was to reinforce his Emblem Armament — a wise move before sharpening one’s axe…
Then when Dean Silver saw Rast’s figure mixing within the campus bar, and even the gossip-filled journalism club full of flirtatious chatter, it found no reasonable explanation at all.
His behavior didn’t resemble that of a Night Traveler burdened with a mission, but more like a freshman eager to experience the colorful and exciting campus life.
Although living in the moment and enjoying life without regrets was indeed the educational philosophy of the old principal, wasn’t this level of immersion a bit too smooth?
So——
That whole “champion of justice” thing… was it all just his own delusion?
The real Rast, in fact, was a meticulous egoist wearing different masks to say what people — or ghosts — wanted to hear, all to fulfill his own desires.
Just as this thought surfaced, Dean Silver smelled a tempting aroma not far off.
It padded forward lightly and, in the next instant, appeared in the living room of the single dormitory.
A massive grilled fish cake had already been placed by Rast on the dining table.
Steam still rose from the fish cake, clearly fresh from the oven, releasing a fragrance that was… no, that made ferrets drool.
Dean Silver appeared on the table, took a huge bite of the grilled fish cake without a word, and those ruby-like beast eyes reflected a look of satisfaction.
Then, it squinted its eyes slightly and glanced at Rast, who was seated leisurely on the sofa with a relaxed smile.
“A grilled fish cake custom-made from the ‘White Walnut Bakery’ in the inner city of Summerflower Capital?”
“How do you know I like eating this — and even know my favorite bakery?”
Rast smiled. “Eighteen years ago, Dean Silver secretly diverted some research funding from the Magical Creature Research Institute to order a month’s worth of grilled fish cakes from the ‘White Walnut Bakery.’”
“This incident was exposed by the campus news agency in the Starfall Daily. Though the heat was later suppressed under Dean Silver’s threats and bribes, a backup of it still remains in the archives.”
“Eighteen years have passed. The members of that news agency are no longer in the academy. I had to specifically ask the current editor-in-chief of the news agency to dig through past issues of the Starfall Daily to find that info.”
Dean Silver rolled its eyes at Rast, but didn’t dwell on it, continuing to eat the grilled fish cake at its own pace.
Research funding from the Magical Creature Research Institute… wasn’t it itself a magical creature?
“A Magical Creature Ate Grilled Fish Cake for a Whole Month — This Is How Its Mood Changed.”
What a great research topic that would make.
Rast simply sat quietly at the side and watched Dean Silver eat — its eating posture was elegant, but the speed was astonishing.
In just one minute, the giant grilled fish cake had vanished without a trace.
Seeing the fish cake completely devoured and seemingly not having triggered any system notification, Rast shook his head slightly in disappointment.
“As expected, simply feeding a favorite food can’t really establish a bond, huh?”
“You little— Do you take me for some pet cat or dog, or one of those romanceable female characters in a virtual dating game?”
Dean Silver glared at Rast. “You think just feeding me or giving me the right gift will make my affection meter shoot up?”
“Forget it.”
It gracefully licked its paw. “I know you and Shiltina are the same — offering unsolicited kindness always means trouble.”
“Spill it. What do you want from me this time?”
“I knew I couldn’t hide it from you, Dean Silver.”
Rast smiled faintly. “I want to ask you to take me to the Red Frost Territory.”
“More precisely, to the Nightworld Advance Front #61 within the Red Frost Territory, where a Calamity Remnant has appeared.”
He glanced at the pocket watch in his hand. “I hope to arrive there within eight hours.”
“If we’re any later, I’m afraid Shiltina might already have entered the Calamity Remnant alone.”