Chapter 68: ‘A Story That Must Be Told’

Chapter 68: ‘A Story That Must Be Told’

…

After Louis came out of the Lounge that day, he went to the cafeteria with the little Yordles to have a meal. The little Yordles had gotten their revenge today, and each one was extremely happy—the Boss was so much worse than those Foxes! The tricks to mess with people came one after another!

Several Yordle head chefs who were resting in the dining hall heard about this, tied on their aprons, and made many of their signature dishes. They even personally served them, specially opening a small kitchen just for Louis.

But everyone also felt a bit worried for Louis. After all, at the Sacred Icon Tree Academy, there really weren’t many who dared to provoke the Foxes.

The little Yordles dared to provoke them today because, with many lice, one doesn’t fear the itch. Even if they hadn’t taken revenge today, they would have been picked on every day from now on anyway.

But Louis was different. You need to know, according to rumors, the Foxes had special business in Blackhorn Alley—what kind of place was that Blackhorn Alley?

Moreover, Foxes all came from Great Noble Families and had strong connections in the Ministry of Magic. It seemed like the Boss might be aiming for a political career in the future, and the academy was just a side gig. This might be bad for his future prospects.

But the Boss instead seemed like he didn’t mind making things worse, which couldn’t help but make the little Yordles a bit anxious.

It wasn’t until those Goblins who loved petty gains came to mooch a meal that the little Yordles suddenly understood.

Who rules this world?

Who are the only ones thriving in both the Wizarding World and the Muggle world, yet the Ministry of Magic turns a blind eye?

Who are all the nobles trying to cozy up to, begging for loans, begging for investments, begging to be taken along to make money?

“You came just at the right time,” Louis said, looking at the bespectacled, gentle-looking, even slow-moving little curly-haired Goblin beside him. “I have some things.”

As he spoke, some little Yordles gave the Crystal Balls and magical photos to this Goblin.

“How strange~! Tonight, ‘The Chatterbox’ will have to work overtime—don’t sell to…” The Goblin gentleman got halfway through his excitement looking at the Crystal Ball, then saw Louis’s eyes shining. He quickly coughed and said, “Hmm… foreign affairs usually don’t get much attention, so these trivial matters aren’t very suitable for the newspaper. Oh well, fine, I won’t charge you (“Huh?”), cough, eight… eight Silver Foxes. You know, it’s summer break now, the main subscribers are professors. They don’t care about this kind of thing, not much heat.”

[Once this news is published! How many professors at Sacred Icon Tree will become die-hard fans of The Chatterbox! Students who went home for the holidays will definitely subscribe specially!]

[Should I put it in the newspaper, or tell Yingling and let her buy it… how much could she offer? Louis won’t hit me, will he… Damn it! Damn it! I can’t betray Louis, unless she offers 500% above the usual price. Otherwise, tomorrow’s ‘Foxes Give Louis…’ no, no, ‘Shocking! Baby Trouble? Untold Stories of Earl Yingling, Your Highness Ocris, and Louis VI’ will definitely be front page news!]

Louis spit out his tea, spraying it, and took the Crystal Balls and those magical photos back from the Goblin gentleman’s hands.

The Goblin widened his eyes, refusing to accept it. He jumped onto the table and untied his belt, acting as if he would do anything for money. “Give those things back to me quickly! Or I’ll pee in your food!”

Seeing Louis raise a finger to flick him, the Goblin gentleman hugged Louis’s arm and started crying. He kept hanging onto Louis’s arm, wiping his nose, even as Louis packed up Helen’s portion of the meal and was almost out of the cafeteria. And he raised the price to 9 Silver Foxes.

In the end, this material was sold for 80 Gold Galleons. The title was also changed—’The Strongest Wizard of the New Generation? Louis VI Leads Yordles to Cause Havoc Among Foxes!’.

The strongest wizard of the new generation was something the Goblin gentleman and Louis agreed on—the Goblin gentleman thought, ‘strongest wizard’ sounded mocking enough!

As for ‘the Sixth’, that was something the Goblin gentleman planned to add secretly himself—otherwise, what’s the interesting point? Who knew who Louis was?

A frequently looked-down-upon fool and bookworm, leading a group of Yordles who were bullied daily by the Foxes, went to the Fox new generation club to cause trouble. And in the end, forced that group of people who frightened many students and young Wizards to ride tricycles while crying?

That was interesting. Students reading it would feel they got enough revenge.

‘However, it still doesn’t feel hot enough. Thinking it over, I always feel it lacks a bit of a hot topic…’

The Goblin gentleman thought for a long time and finally decided to give his cousin ‘Wallace Barriff’ a call. He had the most clever ideas. Even a needle’s worth of business could be sold for the price of an ox by him.

There was a big charity banquet in a couple of days. Any news related to the Princess and the Earl could ride the hot topic wave. The Fox incident itself had some selling points. With his cousin’s advice, they could definitely make big news.

The Goblin gentleman left happily, shaking his head. On the other side, Louis had long since taken the meal box and entered the dormitory door.

Glancing at the small mushroom shoe rack, Louis knew Ocris hadn’t returned, and Helen was lying on the sofa, pouting her little mouth and studying hard.

Sure enough, when big sister wasn’t home, little sister would be starving at home. To deal with those difficult assignments, the girl even forgot about ordering food.

When Louis put the meal box on the table and opened it, the steaming, fragrant smell immediately made Helen jump up. Watching her eat with a smile, Louis checked her homework.

After looking for a while, Louis was a bit surprised. The girl had actually finished all her homework and had flipped through quite a few books. It seemed she really hadn’t been lazy.

‘Having pressure and threats really does make one strive, after all. For a lazy little bum like her with no ambition, this is the way.’ Louis put away the fly swatter.

After looking a bit longer, Louis couldn’t help but nod again.

Although there were many mistakes, the thinking was correct. And it was bold, daring to think. Unlike older Wizards like Harold, the thinking of these new generation Wizards wasn’t rigid yet. They accepted new things more easily.

After the meal, Louis properly explained to Helen the revised books from Sacred Icon Tree. Then, starting with a few simple Magic Spells, he began to teach Helen.

The first was the Animating Charm. Helen hadn’t mastered this Magic Spell yet. Louis didn’t use it much himself, and this Magic Spell was actually quite difficult, not much easier than the Demon-Banishing Charm. So it was only at Lv2 (12/100), barely reaching the level of wandless spellcasting.

[If Louis were to compare it himself, he would say that his knowledge in this subject was already Max, and this Magic Spell was just a problem.]

After thinking carefully, Louis explained it to Helen using his own understanding. As he explained, Louis found that his grasp of this part of the knowledge became even more thorough. Some vague, deeply hidden knowledge in his memory gradually came back to him.

Seeing Helen still didn’t seem to understand, Louis went behind Helen’s chair. Holding her hand, he guided her through the motions a few times. He didn’t know what the girl was thinking; her face turned red, and she was all shy and awkward.

‘Maybe she didn’t understand?’

Louis sat back in his seat and thought it over again for a while. After explaining a bit more, Helen seemed to grasp it. She raised her pretty face, thought for a long time, and asked a few questions. After Louis answered, he helped her review the steps again.

This time, Helen still couldn’t cast the spell, but when she recited the incantation along with Louis, she was already able to feel the Mana.

Louis glanced at the Storybook and found that in the Storybook’s prediction, Helen had finally achieved mastery of this Magic Spell at Lv0—this meant she could understand it.

Louis glanced at the Narration, and then his face was filled with astonishment.

[Your comprehension of the ‘Animating Charm Lv2’ improved…]

[Required proficiency -3]

[Required proficiency -6]

[Required proficiency -1]

[Required proficiency -13]

[Required proficiency -20]

[…]

And now, the Animating Charm had become Lv2 (12/0).

With a thought from Louis, the teapot on the table came to life, and the Animating Charm changed to Lv3 (13/609). Normally, the required proficiency to go from Lv3 comprehension to Lv4 level shouldn’t be six hundred, but one thousand.

‘The Feynman Technique!’

[When top students explain problems to struggling students, the more they teach, the better the top students’ exam scores become. Some problems they didn’t fully understand themselves, or understood incorrectly, suddenly became clear after explaining them.]

[And many questions from the struggling students are often a chance for the top students to think and answer.]

‘The Narration is quite fitting. That’s exactly how I feel now… this part of the knowledge, I am indeed understanding it more and more thoroughly.’

Feeling someone pinch his leg, Louis looked down in surprise. He saw Helen’s little white foot under the table, using her toes to pinch his calf.