Chapter 1 An Investment

The grandfather clock in the study ticked slowly, its gears clearly audible.

The fragrant aroma of ancient books from the carved bookcase in the corner permeated the air.

Gazing at the magic lamp on the desk, which emitted a soft, amber light, Lanchi took off his glasses, closed his eyes, and gradually relaxed his brow.

Regardless of whether Lanchi was acting or not, at least Lanchi's unhurried attitude made him feel gratified.

"But Father, I need some money before taking the exam. Can you guarantee that I will have sufficient funds for these three months?"

Just when Noel thought Lanchi was about to leave, Lanchi's words made him open his eyes again.

"What do you want to do?"

Noel asked warily.

He seemed to suspect that Lanchi wanted to swindle as much money as possible before the entrance exam and have one last fling.

"Making magic cards requires a lot of money for materials, and I also need to hire a suitable teacher."

Lanchi's expression and tone were still so calm.

He didn't seem to be lying at all.

And he was indeed telling the truth.

Because after reading the legal code, he would start researching magic cards.

"You can make magic cards?"

Noel asked in surprise.

Lanchi did not answer immediately this time.

Actually, he couldn't yet.

He needed a perfect speech to make his father trust him and invest in him willingly.

However, at this moment,

"I guarantee that the young master will make excellent magic cards."

The butler who had been standing behind Noel spoke.

He bowed slightly and said beside Noel,

"If you could see the painting in the young master's room, you would no longer worry about him."

"Oh?"

Noel heard this and turned to look at the butler.

He was surprised by the butler's words, and soon reacted with delight.

Then he looked at Lanchi with great interest:

"Lanchi, have you started painting again recently? For Hans to praise you so much, it must be a pretty good painting."

Hans was the butler's name, but the original owner rarely called him by his name, so Lanchi followed the original owner's habit and only referred to the butler as "you" when communicating with him.

"More than that..."

The butler shook his head with a smile.

Obviously, the master had not yet realized the level that the young master's painting had reached.

Anyone could hear that Noel's tone was praising a child.

"Hans has always taken good care of me, he's just exaggerating."

Lanchi just pursed his lips briefly, not letting the butler finish speaking before interrupting him.

It was best not to let Noel see the portrait of Talia hanging in his bedroom.

Otherwise, if Noel ran into Talia in town, there might be some ridiculous misunderstanding.

"Is that so?"

Noel heard this and didn't take it seriously.

The only thing that surprised Noel was Lanchi's humility.

Generally speaking, Lanchi should seize this opportunity to tout his own talents in order to seek investment.

After hearing Lanchi's words, the butler didn't intend to say more.

He smiled knowingly and retreated behind Noel.

"Alright, I hope you can pass the alchemical academy exam smoothly. Hans..."

Noel said words of encouragement to Lanchi in a sighing tone, and then instructed the Hans butler to provide Lanchi with the money he needed.

It was only for the sake of the old butler, and because Lanchi's attitude was good today, that Noel agreed to Lanchi's request so readily.

Anyway, he had given this stupid son quite a bit of money already.

He hoped he could understand things sooner. May the goddess bless him.

If he wasn't faking it today, but was really so calm, steady, humble, and polite, that would be such a good thing.

…

As the night grew darker, the wall lamps in the spacious corridor on the second floor of the mansion shone dimly, immersing the entire mansion in a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

Most of the servants in the mansion had finished their work for the day and went to rest.

Of course, there were also servants who hadn't gotten off work yet.

As soon as Lanchi opened the door to the study, he noticed the maid waiting outside—

The understanding maid who wasn't as afraid of him as the other maids, named Francine.

Lanchi found that she and the butler seemed to be the only ones in the mansion who were willing to treat him seriously.

After a brief, polite greeting.

"Young master, are you sure you're not fooling the master?"

Francine followed Lanchi out of the study with some worry, and asked him in a low voice beside him.

She had heard the conversation in the study just now, and she also knew very well how Lanchi had spent every day before.

The alchemical academy's entrance exam alone included a written test covering the kingdom's arithmetic, potions, material processing, magic engineering basics, alchemical principles, and many other subjects.

Even if Lanchi hired the best teacher now and started studying desperately, it would be too late.

"A mere entrance exam."

Lanchi smiled lightly and closed his eyes, his calm expression seeming not to care about the difficulty of the exam at all, nor did he have any intention of stepping up his review.

"Uh..."

Seeing this, Francine even suspected that Lanchi had really given up from now on and was experiencing one last hurrah.

However, she also knew that even if Lanchi failed to enter the school, he wouldn't be scolded at home or end up covering himself with a small quilt on the streets of the capital.

The young master could work hard flexibly in the capital.

He would definitely make a lot of money just by selling paintings.

"Don't worry, I'm going to study the exam rules tonight."

Lanchi sensed the maid's worry, smiled brightly, and added with certainty, his eyes as clear as when he was facing the legal code.

"That's good..."

"Hmm? Exam rules?"

Francine was startled.

She always felt that Lanchi's words had a hidden meaning.

Although carefully reading the precautions before the exam was definitely a good habit...

But what was there to study about the alchemical academy's entrance exam rules?

Soon, after saying goodbye, Lanchi quickened his pace towards the bedroom, leaving the maid with a tangled and puzzled face in the corridor.

…

Back in the bedroom, he closed the door.

Lanchi took out the Ikrit Academy entrance reference book from the bookshelf.

He came to the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down leisurely, slowly picked up the pen, stared at the book in his hand, and planned his schedule for the next three months.

He was serious about entering the school.

He had indeed promised his father that he would successfully enter the school.

But he didn't say which branch he would enter.

"Although I don't like fighting in my life, I only like to resolve fights... but when it comes to doing it, I don't think I will lose when I'm prepared."

Lanchi murmured to himself while flipping through Ikrit Academy's admission brochure.

This academy had the Alchemical Academy and the Magic Engineering Academy, which focused on theoretical research and reserve support, and were difficult to pass quickly.

Of course, there were also the Sage Academy and the Knight Academy, which focused more on direct combat and tactical application.

Lanchi's method was very simple.

That was to enter the school in a roundabout way.

When the time came, he could change his application from the Alchemical Academy to another branch.

Although the two courtyards of magic and knights, which focused on actual combat, had very different points of investigation, the main purpose of the investigation over the years was the candidates' ability to adapt to changes, their character and temperament, and their actual combat ability.

This was also closely related to the world's most difficult dungeon, "Shadow World."

The next three months.

As long as he could successfully create a few key magic cards with "Lanchi characteristics," and then buy a few magic cards that could be found on the market to form a cooperation.

Lanchi was not unable to play operations that would darken the eyes of all the academy leaders!