Chapter 102: Leo
"Please wait a minute, Mr. Oswald." Rebecca adjusted her messy hair with her hand, turned her gaze towards the front, who sat on the opposite chair, and gave a file folder towards the guest.
The guest was a blonde man in his late 20s and wore a grey robe. He had short, whirly hair, fair skin, monolid hazel eyes, and a heart-shaped face. Once he got the brown color file folder from Rebecca, he stood up from his seat and went towards the exit with fast footsteps.
Charles felt that man was a little bit familiar and at the same time unfamiliar.
'Who is he?' He furrowed his brows and soon cast [Inspect] skill on him.
'Inspect failed?' He got startled a little and then shook his head.
'I should do my regular work.' He muttered to himself and turned his gaze towards Rebecca.
Meanwhile, Rebecca put the books in the drawers before closing them with a small key and soon led Charles and the kids to the third layer of the Tower of Elements. That's where the Main Administrative Department of Elemental Studies was located!
They walked past the alchemic labs, ritual chambers, scrying chambers, and experimental rooms for dark arts and soon reached the third layer. Unlike the other two layers, accommodation rooms and office rooms were the only rooms that appeared in their eyes. Rebecca made a few turns in the maze-like corridor and soon arrived in front of a runal letters inscribed wooden door. Then, she tapped on a particular character on the left side corner of the door and patiently waited.
Two seconds later, the runal letters shone brightly for a moment and soon made a metal clicking sound.
The next instant, the door opened with a screech and soon revealed a small office room to others' eyes. A table full of documents, a lamp on the corner, and a few wooden chairs were the only things placed in the small room.
Rebecca took the lead, went near the table, took an application paper, and started to fill it using a grey quill.
Once she finished the process, she gave it to Rhea and asked her to put signs in a few places. Then, she folded the application paper and locked it in a wooden cabinet.
"That's it, sir. The process will be over once Head Administrator returns from her mission and sign this application." Rebecca said with a smile and soon added.
"Next is about your job, Mr. Oswald. Thankfully, we have one place vacancy in Ritual Department, so you can go to the head department and ask Professor Robert about your schedules tomorrow."
A bright smile appeared on Charles's face as he nodded his head and asked.
"What about the fee payment?"
"If you have the right amount, you can finish the payment here now," Rebecca said in an instant.
Nodding his head, Charles asked Jessie to pay the right amount and then asked few more questions about where to buy theory books, robes, and so on for Rhea.
"We also want to get the Official Mystic Badges. Where can we get that?" Charles suddenly recalled that they don't even have any official identity badge and asked.
Rebecca paused in surprise for a moment and soon responded politely.
"You can get those badges in the First Layer, and each badge is only 14 gold coins. If you guys don't mind, I will show it to you."
"That would be helpful." Charles nodded his head.
After that, they returned to the first layer, brought the necessaries like badges, uniform dresses, and books for 60 gold coins, and bid their farewell to Rebecca before they walked out of the Tower of Elements.
"Titus, you and Jessie can go and do Jessie's personal mission now." Charles paused for a moment as he recalled that they hadn't had any breakfast yet and soon added.
"Buy something to eat on the way. Start in the Mystic Borough. If the security guards stop you and ask questions, show your Official Mystic Badge."
"Yes, Teacher." Both said in unison and soon separated from them. On the other hand, Charles and Rhea silently left the Mystic Borough and returned to 11C Orchard Street.
But to their surprise, they saw five muscular men and one short man were waiting for them at the entrance and became stunned.
'Where is Noel?' Charles glanced at the locked steel door and soon frowned as he inspected their strength.
'Five Rank-2 Mystics? And, this short guy seems to be a Rank-3 member…' His wrinkled face turned gloomy as he stepped on the concrete path and soon asked in a cold tone.
"Who are you guys?"
Upon hearing his voice, all six of them turned around in unison. Then, the short man took a step forward and greeted him with a smile.
He had a slightly obese body, straight black hair, a round face, and wide-set dark-blue eyes. Unlike others, who wore regular clothes and leather armors, he wore a black vest, worn over a white linen shirt, black pants, and leather shoes.
"Greetings, Mr. Oswald. My name is Leo Grant, and I came here to talk to you about something interesting." The short man deliberated for a second and asked with a sly smile,
"Do you want to hear it?"
Meanwhile, Charles tapped the cane on the concrete floor and asked in an emotionless tone.
"Did you kidnap the chubby face kid?"
Leo's face went stiff for a moment, and soon the smile on his face disappeared.
"It seems you already aware of our arrival." He said coldly, took out a bloody human's finger from his space ring, and tossed it on the ground.
"I heard that you are a mage from my lackeys. This one is that kid's finger, and you can check whether it is real or fake." He paused for a moment and soon asked with an evil grin on his face.
"Shall we talk in private now?"
Meanwhile, Charles bent his waist with the black cane's support, picked up the bloody finger, and gave it to Rhea.
"Keep it with you, lass. If we want to heal Noel's hand completely, we need this finger." He said in a gloomy tone, walked past the muscular men, and soon arrived in front of the steel door.
In the meantime, Rhea also followed after him closely, and soon both walked into the two-storied house.
"Go upstairs and wait there till I call you," Charles said in a low voice and soon added as he saw the panic in Rhea's eyes.
"Don't worry. I will take care of these guys."
With an anxious face, she nodded her head and soon went upstairs with hurried footsteps.
On the other hand, Charles turned around, pointed the cane's heel at Leo, and said in a calm voice.
"Only you are allowed to come in. Your lackeys have to stay outside."
Surprise flashed on Leo's face as he frowned a bit and soon raised his cold voice.
"Old man, it seems you still didn't understand the position you are in."
Upon hearing those words, Charles shook his head and said in an indifferent voice.
"If you are that much afraid to come and talk to a 75-year-old man, then you can scram. As for Noel, I can rescue him on my own."
Leo's face went cold as ice as he heard those words and soon stepped forward while ordering his lackeys.
"Wait here and stop anyone who wants to enter inside. In the meantime, I will teach some manners to this foolish old man."
Once Leo said those words, he walked into the two-storied house and soon entered the reception hall.
Meanwhile, Charles closed the steel door, locked it from the inside, and moved to the reception hall with a gloomy expression on his face. He then went near the Chesterfield Sofa, sat on it with the support of his black cane, and fixed his gaze on Leo, who was already seated on the opposite Settee Sofa.
