CHAPTER 87: FUND THE RESEARCH

Shortly after Logan finished his monologue, a spatial disorder fluctuated in the room.

With a cutting action from his right hand, Logan created a passage and entered inside. The passage closed within 2 seconds, giving the others zero time to react properly.

By the time Mirelle snapped out of her daze from Logan’s commentary on her battle, she nearly cursed vulgarly.

No, she had already done it with her eyes and body movement alone.

Caroline didn’t know what to say to console Mirelle except extending a hand and patting her shoulder, almost as if she was consoling her that it was alright.

Although Logan’s speech was somewhat hard to listen to, he didn’t seem to be taunting the latter whatsoever. Instead, it seemed to be genuine advice and insight for Mirelle to learn about her mistakes.

Even Leonard, who was about to intervene, paused and pondered over the statement.

’This Logan isn’t bad.’ He silently thought. There was no sugarcoating or anything in his comments.

Logan went straight to the point and listed out three major flaws that she had made.

Such valuable advice was definitely not something you could pay for and get.

"Hah, maybe I should get Logan to tutor me instead of Mirelle. At least I’m certain my battle experience would improve by leaps." Leonard rubbed his chin and muttered.

Although he was muttering, with how silent the atmosphere in the room was, his voice might as well be heard on a microphone.

"Wahh, they’re all bullying me!" Broken down mentally, Mirelle burst into tears. She wrapped her arms around Caroline, seemingly seeking her comfort.

Leonard was taken aback by her sudden cries.

’Eh, my tutor couldn’t possibly be a toddler, right?’ He certainly didn’t expect Mirelle to behave like a toddler who cried at anything and everything.

Luckily, his confusion only lasted for a brief moment when Caroline twitched her mouth in disbelief.

"Stop with your fake crying. I’m not going to hand you any recipes or my potions for free." Caroline hissed coldly and pushed her aside.

’She was acting?’ Dumbfounded, Leonard shifted his sight to Mirelle. Who would have thought that she could behave like that?

As if sensing his gaze, Mirelle promptly recovered to her original state. The switch was instantaneous.

"What are you looking at?" She rolled her eyes at him and turned her head to the side.

Normally, she wouldn’t have dared to make such gestures, but given that her injuries were sustained due to his incorrect judgment. She deserved some of the rights to act unruly for once, albeit not overboard.

"..."

Speechless, Leonard didn’t know how to react to her behavior. In fact, he believed she must have suppressed her real emotions, behavior, and actions when it was just the two of them or in public.

Maybe it was only because Mirelle was next to her friend that caused her to have some cracks in her facade persona.

Nevertheless, Leonard wasn’t curious about it and said, "We should leave soon."

His objective in coming here was to search for a cure. But rather than a cure, he found out some clues regarding his anomaly.

The diagnosis couldn’t be completely confirmed, but at the very least, he had some ideas now.

"Are you in that much of a rush?" Caroline suddenly interrupted.

"Or are you afraid your identity might be compromised if you stayed longer? If so, then leaving early would contradict your belief."

"Oh, do tell me your insight, Researcher Caroline?"

Intrigued by her words, Leonard found a chair to sit down and listen. He wouldn’t outright disregard her words when she was a bona fide researcher.

"You are using a merchant’s identity to disguise yourself, right. Then don’t you think finding a researcher who could improve your merchandise is common sense?" Caroline stated.

"Makes sense." Leonard nodded.

"I’m a merchant in the agricultural aspect, hailed from Veridale. So, you got any miraculous things that could improve the agriculture or the produce I would yield?" Since he planned on using this disguised identity for the long term, he might as well make it even more realistic.

Moreover, learning and obtaining methods that could improve the agricultural aspects would boost his public approval and support.

"I do have some means, but there should be something in return, right?" Caroline said and pinched her finger repeatedly. She had a sly grin on her face, clearly emphasizing that she wished to be paid.

"I believe the price has been paid already when you sought to save this woman’s life." He pointed at the quiet Claudia, who was sitting in the corner, her eyes and ears completely blocked off.

"You—" Startled, Caroline was truly taken aback by his shamelessness and ruthlessness. She tried to glance at Mirelle for some assistance, only to receive a cold shoulder.

It wasn’t that Mirelle didn’t want to help, but she knew helping her would only make the situation worse.

’The Crown Prince was never a reasonable person toward his enemies.’ She had seen his decisiveness when dealing with the enemies.

"Alright, I won’t make it difficult for you. As long as you can help with this aspect and give me a batch of Restoration Potion, I can help fund your research." Leonard clasped his hands and declared.

"And the catch is?" Not blinded by greed, Caroline’s eyes remained crystal clear as she anticipated there to be a twist. She had dabbled in the research department for a long time, but that didn’t cloud her mindset about others’ greed.

In fact, she became more prone to the belief that people would always seek something in return when they offered to sponsor or fund her research. They all held friendly smiles, stating that they didn’t want anything, only to end up going back on their words.

In her early days, her naivety in failing to sign any contracts regarding the sponsorship became her biggest regret.

There was no conclusive evidence of the sponsorship being present, but the transaction of the funds being transferred over to her was listed clearly. Thus, it resulted in her losing in the Magic Court, including some of her prominent research materials.

’I will never be fooled again.’ Caroline vowed internally.