CHAPTER 176: CHAPTER 176: RETURN

Lake had a stunned look on his face as he heard Kate’s words. However, unlike before, this time it wasn’t an act but a show of his genuine surprise. His brain froze up as he tried to process what he just heard, even stopping his act of reading through her fate in the process.

"What did you just say...?" Lake asked again to clarify his thoughts, but his brain had already started formulating a logical conclusion in that short time.

"I don’t know much myself, but it seems that your parents and mine had a really close relationship a long time ago." Kate spoke as she blew on the fish she picked up to cool it.

"I see..." Lake had already calmed down at this point and began to review what he already knew.

A long time ago, Kate had attempted to investigate him, but her parents stopped her before she could even start. Lake was never able to find out the reason behind it, as he was unable to read their fates, but he did deduce that it must have something to do with his background as an orphan.

Thinking of this, Lake sighed as he leaned back on the grassy ground, his head tilting up as he started to read through her fate again.

"Did they say anything else?" Lake asked as he closed his eyes, scenes from Kate’s past these last few days flashing through his head.

"A-About that..." Kate stuttered a little as her eyes suddenly twitched a bit. "Apparently our parents were so close at one point that when you were put up for adoption, they wanted to adopt you."

"Meaning..." Kate’s voice trailed off a little as Lake suddenly smiled.

"We were almost siblings." Lake finished her words, causing Kate to slightly shiver.

Just the thought of having this psycho for a brother deeply disturbed her. When she first heard this was the case, she almost felt like vomiting just from picturing it.

In fact, she felt herself losing her appetite right now, despite having picked up the roasted fish from the fire.

"Urgh, don’t make me think about it. I feel sick every time I so much as remotely think of it."

"Aww, come on. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad. Why don’t you try calling me brother as a test round?" Lake spoke mischievously, but in reality, he too felt strangely sick thinking about the fact that he would’ve had to call Kate sister.

Maybe it was because of the influence his current sister, Lilia, had on him that he felt really disturbed at the thought of having another one.

Kate, on the other hand, gave up on eating the fish and just placed it aside, resisting the urge to vomit or attack Lake for his sickening remark.

"Haah," she sighed. "Anyway, my parents said they wanted to meet you."

"Sure, I want to hear more about my parents anyway, so I’ll meet them." Lake said as he finished reading Kate’s fate. He had tried to find any additional information through it but ended up not finding anything of note.

"I’ll organize the date, so keep your schedule open for next week." Kate said as she got up. She felt awkward sitting next to him in that atmosphere and decided to go do literally anything else.

Lake didn’t tell her goodbye as he sat there in contemplation. He had a lot to do in the coming days, and this revelation from Kate had only added to his list of things, making him feel slightly exhausted.

However, he was quickly able to get over it and sort himself out.

’There is still some time before Alec returns, might as well do some hunting to cool off and gather some RP.’ Lake thought as his eyes turned to the open bay before him.

Most of the sea creatures had already retreated, and the rest were left weakened or defenseless, making them the perfect target for some leisure fishing.

****

A few hours later, Lake exited the teleporter back at the academy.

After the battle, Alec had returned to the Stronghold and called headquarters to report on the situation, ultimately resulting in the exam being cut short.

Everyone had returned from what felt like a century during that hellish exam experience caused by Lake, with some even tearing up at the sight of the massive Academy buildings and the tree-lined walkways.

Lake felt dizzy as he walked out of the teleporter, even more so than previous times, collapsing to the floor in a daze as he resisted the urge to hurl up the roasted fish he just ate.

Everyone else walked up behind him and saw his sorry state.

Kate ultimately just sighed. She had learned during the start of the exam that Lake couldn’t handle teleportation that well, so she somewhat expected this result, but she never expected it would be this bad.

Iris, on the other hand, was silently snickering behind his back. Ever since a while ago, she had found herself secretly reveling in his misfortune and felt great joy from it. Little did she know, however, that nothing could escape Lake’s powerful senses, even in his current mess of a state.

’Continue to dig your grave deeper...’ Lake’s eyes turned frosty as he listened to Iris’ snickering. However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden retch, and the roasted fish from a few hours ago came spewing out.

"Urgh!"

A few students saw the scene and jumped back in reflex.

Everyone was quite surprised by the sight, wondering if any of this was even real.

Lake Egoven, the Demon of the first years who held an undeniable presence in the hearts of every student, was left in such a sorry state after just going through one teleporter.

The sight was both mystifying and sad. However, a few of them couldn’t help but laugh, feeling their resentment towards Lake ease a little. They tried to restrain their laughter, much like Iris, thinking it was silent.

’Keep laughing. I’ll remember each and every one of your faces,’ Lake thought to himself as he continued to vomit his life out.

Thankfully, Sylph came next to Lake in the next moment and helped him somewhat recover. Unfortunately, she was a little late, as a few students had already signed themselves up for a one-way ticket to hell.

****

While Lake and everyone else were settling back into the Academy, a meeting was being held by its leaders. Seated among them were the principal, some deans, and a representative from the Royal Family who backed the school.

They were currently in the midst of an argument about what to do with the troublemaker from the first-year department, Lake.

Not only had he caused the Academy a headache by forcing them to clean up the aftermath of his wolf army and the chaos it caused in the Stronghold, but he had also gone a step further by leading over a hundred students and thirty hunters into a death battle with a Rank Three creature!

The Academy was still dreading having to deal with the representatives of each guild who would come asking for compensation for their hunters having to face such an unexpected ordeal, let alone the parents who would complain about their child’s safety.

Almost all of the deans were of the opinion that Lake should be punished or even expelled, but a few were arguing in his favor, causing the meeting to be locked in a standstill.

After all, despite all the trouble and headaches he had caused the Academy, it was true that results always blossomed from his actions.

Just look at the current first years, for example. Not only had they survived the battle against the beast tide and the Rank Three creature, but reports also showed that they had greatly contributed, showcasing strength far above their rank!

Despite most of them being Low-Rank Apprentices, they were able to fight creatures one or even two ranks above them! This was all thanks to Lake’s special training course and the constant pressure he placed on every student, causing them to rapidly improve despite having joined the Academy less than a month ago.

Eventually, after hearing each dean’s opinion, Principal Ralph was the one to break the standstill.

"Alright, I’ve heard enough from everyone." Principal Ralph sighed as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples with one hand. "I admit that Lake’s actions this time were reckless and caused us a few headaches, but I also agree that his overall effect on the students has been positive and aligned with the Academy’s original goal."

Everyone fell silent at Principal Ralph’s words. Some of the deans who had argued against Lake wanted to complain but didn’t dare utter a word in front of the old man and waited for him to continue.

"I’ve decided that Lake will suffer a suitable punishment for his actions, but in light of his positive results, he will avoid expulsion. Does anyone have any objections?"

Hearing Principal Ralph’s question, nobody replied. It was only natural since his decision satisfied both sides. Besides, even if someone was dissatisfied with the decision, they wouldn’t want to offend the war veteran by going against it.

"Hm, I do have a small suggestion on this matter." At that point, a relatively young man with silver hair seated among them spoke. He was the representative of the Royal Family and the school’s financial advisor responsible for overseeing general Academy affairs and ensuring that his family’s money wasn’t being wasted.

He usually didn’t have much to do in the Academy besides occasionally reporting back to his family, but recently his little sister had told him an interesting story, sparking his interest. "I hope everyone will allow me to oversee his punishment."