"Waaahhh!" Edward cried at the top of his lungs, like a baby. He tightly hugged Adam as he sobbed incessantly. "Wahhh! Adam!"
"Ugh, let me go, you fat pig." Adam struggled to free himself from Edward's grasp. However, it proved to be quite difficult.
Edward, who used to be chubby and stout, had now grown up to be a teenager with considerable height and a muscular build.
Adam suddenly fell into deep thought, Come to think of it, his transformation is quite bizarre. Considering that only a little over a year has passed.
When he realized this, he couldn't help but sigh. It all makes sense now. As expected of an S-grade talent, I guess. Magic isn't the only thing he's gifted at… How envious!
"Tsk!" Adam clicked his tongue in annoyance. Then suddenly, he saw Edward's tears and snot rub against his new clothes. Seeing this, he was livid. "You dirty dog! Get off of me!"
BAM! POW! BAM!
Adam brutally punched and kicked Edward all over his body. But despite that, Edward tightly clung onto Adam's legs. "Waahhh! Adam, thank you! Thank you!"
"Get lost, you idiot!" Adam tried to move but was still unable to.
Suddenly, Remy appeared outside Edward's room and gently knocked on the door. "Lord Adam, my master has invited you into his study."
He completely ignored the bruised and battered Edward and directly spoke to Adam. This wasn't the first time he had seen the two friends fight after all.
Hearing that his father had called for Adam, Edward finally let go. He wiped his tears and mumbled while sniffling, "Go, I'll see you later."
"Hmph!" Adam harrumphed and stomped away. "Good riddance."
"Adam… thanks for saving her. I mean it." Edward softly muttered, his eyes beginning to tear up again.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Heh, no big deal!" Adam nonchalantly waved his hand and replied without looking back. Then, he left Edward's room and followed Remy to Viktor's study.
…
Upon entering the study, Adam found that Viktor was waiting for him there and so was Berger. The latter was casually smoking from his pipe and blowing out smoke rings.
Remy tactfully shut the door and then left. Meanwhile, Adam approached the seating area and sat beside Berger. He then looked at Viktor and asked, "Uncle, what did you need me for?"
Viktor looked at the youth with boundless gratitude. It was his life's greatest fortune to have come across Adam. After all, if it wasn't for the youth, his wife would probably have no hope for a cure and eventually perish.
"Adam," he spoke gently. "I've called you here for two reasons. The first is a request."
"A request?" Adam stroked his chin in thought. "You don't want me to divulge anything about Ed's peculiar talent increase, is that it?"
Viktor smiled. "You're a smart kid. There was a reason why I had kept this a secret until now. If word got out about Edward's uniqueness, who knows how many crazy people would hunt him down to experiment on him?"
Adam nodded. What Viktor said made complete sense. After all, increasing one's talent was very rare. One could either get lucky and form a contract with a familiar similar to Valerian, and even then the chances were very low.
Or they could transplant the bloodline of a powerful being into them. However, this had many drawbacks. In short, it was extremely difficult to increase one's talent.
"I understand." Adam nodded. "Rest assured, I'll take this secret to the grave."
"Thank you, kid." Viktor smiled with gratification.
There were many ways to initiate a binding contract, one that made sure that neither party reneged on the terms of the contract. However, he would never use such a contract with Adam.
Because he trusted and was greatly indebted to the youth.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"No problem," Adam replied as he slowly slouched in his chair. However, his lack of proper etiquette didn't bother anyone in the room. Then, he casually asked, "What's the second thing?"
Viktor smirked. "That is the reward."
"Huh?" Adam was puzzled. "What reward?"
"You saved my wife. Of course, I must reward you." Viktor laughed heartily. "Go ahead, kid, ask for whatever you wish. I promise that I will deliver it."
Adam was stunned. He looked at Viktor's confident expression with wide eyes. He couldn't help but involuntarily gulp and think to himself, Ask for whatever I want from one of the richest men in the Southern Federation?!
Just the thought of it made him tremble in sheer excitement. He had never even thought of asking for any reward from Viktor. For a brief moment, Adam's eyes had transformed into platinum coins.
However, the next moment, he adamantly shook his head. "No!"
"What?" Viktor was taken aback and so was Berger. The latter knew just how much the youth loved money. For him to say no to Viktor came as a great surprise.
Adam gritted his teeth and struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "I… I don't want any reward! Edward is my friend, and I did it because I wanted to help him. I never wanted any reward!"
After getting the words out, Adam felt surprisingly light as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulder. For a person of his character, it took a great deal of willpower to turn away in the face of such wealth.
He knew for a fact that no matter what he asked for, Viktor would have readily agreed. He could have become a millionaire with just a nod of his head.
However!
Adam's morals would never allow him to.
Edward was the first friend he had ever made. In many ways, Adam had come to see him as his brother. That is why he decided to cure his mother without expecting anything in return.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Did you hit yourself in the head?" Berger asked him dubiously.
"Hmph, old man!" Adam harrumphed exaggeratedly. "I'll have you know I'm a morally upright person. How can you even—"
"Shut up before I give you a beating." Berger glared at the youth.
"Yes, sir!" Adam immediately straightened his back. "As you say, sir!"
Viktor couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this. He looked at Adam and stated, "Kid, I'll forever remember this favor. In the future, if you ever need anything, and I mean anything. You let me know, okay?"
Adam nodded with a smile. "Hehe, alright!"
The trio chatted for a little while until Berger and Adam finally left. On the carriage ride back to the South Ward, Berger glanced at him and solemnly asked, "So the wandering Magus that taught you herbalism is from Yen-Lu, eh?"
Adam, who was digging his nose, replied absentmindedly, "Hah? What's a Yen-Lu?"
Veins started to throb from Berger's forehead as he intensely clenched his fists. Adam had done a good deed today, so he didn't want to give the youth a beating.
So he calmed his anger and asked in an irritated voice, "You don't even know the names of the continents on the world map? What the hell do you even do at the academy?"
Adam looked at the booger he had just managed to pull from his nose and flicked it outside the carriage window. He then looked at Berger and replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Sleep."
Berger finally lost it.
POW! POW! POW!
"Accckkk! Wait, wait—"
POW! POW!
