Ronald’s eyelids twitched violently as he stood at the door.
Although these guys were holding a secret meeting, they were really not mincing their words!
If it weren’t Ronald standing here today,
any impulsive listener might have already barged in and started a fight.
Ronald’s mouth twitched outside the door.
The Casters inside the meeting room were unaware of the situation outside.
After someone expressed their opinion, someone with a differing view immediately spoke up:
"I think this matter is debatable."
"Not everyone may be aware from historical records, but this Ronald is not just a holder of the original text. Right near Yoiz, there is a Magic Power den called Kourpis, and the Adler family leads it."
"Could our poor treatment of him possibly bring unexpected trouble?"
A puzzled voice followed:
"Clement, could you elaborate?"
"There aren’t many records, actually."
"However, in my lineage, my teacher once mentioned that there was a strong servant there who suppressed many evils; he definitely advised against provoking the master of that place."
The chair of the meeting spoke:
"So, where does this description of the Magic Power den come from?"
"As far as I know, your teacher rarely used such vocabulary."
The answering voice continued:
"Regarding this, my teacher did not mention it before he passed away."
The questioning ended, and the meeting room once again erupted into debate.
Just as Ronald outside almost labeled these people as creaking, decaying machines, the discussion finally reached a conclusion.
"Concerning Mr. Ronald, let Ogel handle him."
"Try to keep him held up in Tree City as long as possible to ensure our successful retrieval of the original text. That way, even if Mr. Ronald has objections afterward, he won’t challenge our school for the sake of the original text."
At that moment, polite knocking sounds resonated from the door of the meeting room.
Hearing this, Ronald completely gave up on the idea of friendly interactions with the Casters of the Secret of Aogen. Since the other party had made such a decision, he decided to openly confront these people.
The door swung open, and Ronald walked in with an indifferent expression.
Under the gaze of all the Casters present, he began with an insincerely polite tone:
"Gentlemen, excuse the interruption."
A Caster immediately banged the table and stood up:
"Who is your mentor, and do you not know where this is? How dare you burst in and cause a disturbance at such a time?"
After the furious interrogation,
Ogel’s trembling voice quickly filled the room:
"B-Bayer, this is the Ronald we were just discussing."
"How is that possible!"
The meeting room instantly erupted into chaos.
Apart from those shocked by the news, some Casters displayed overt hostility toward Ronald, standing up from their chairs and starting to draw runes of the Secret of Aogen school on their bodies.
Ronald glanced around indifferently.
Out of basic ethical baseline, he said softly:
"If anyone attacks me, I will take it as a declaration of war."
At the moment when the battle was about to erupt,
the meeting chair noticed Ronald’s demeanor and then stopped his own people from making their eager combat moves.
He looked at Ronald with a very serious gaze,
"Mr. Ronald, there might be some misunderstanding between us."
Unfortunately, the discussions that had just taken place completely wiped away any good feelings Ronald had.
He had no intention of continuing to navigate the conversation with them and immediately steered the topic towards the most intense point of contention:
"We have no misunderstandings."
"Now that I have entered this room, it is to inform you all of one thing—I will be reclaiming this original text."
The meeting room fell into silence instantly.
The provocativeness of Ronald’s words was akin to a slap on their faces.
As the top Caster controlling the entire institute, several Casters from the Secret of Aogen stood up:
"Young man, mind your words!"
"If the weak possess overly precious resources, great disaster can befall them!"
Ronald smiled indifferently:
"From the perspective of strength, I see no problems with what you’ve said."
"So it would be appropriate for the Secret of Aogen to voluntarily relinquish the original text, otherwise it could lead to disaster."
"Young man, don’t be too rash."
"Aren’t you here with your companions? At least think of them before making impulsive decisions."
Faced with what seemed like a typical antagonist’s rhetoric, Ronald responded with a sincerely heartfelt suggestion:
"My companions...are probably not something you can handle."
"Cooperating with my actions now would be the best option for you."
"Utterly oblivious!" a Caster finally lost patience.
Faced with Ronald’s attitude, this Caster immediately wielded Magic Power to inscribe runes. In the next second, a number of sharp wooden spears extended from the wooden walls of the room, aiming straight for Ronald’s vital spots.
This was an attack aimed at taking his life.
In an instant, a series of noises echoed around Ronald.
He stood there, not even activating the defense of the "Angel," and these very dangerous wooden spears simply broke upon contact with the ground.
The reason was simple.
Merely the defensive enhancement from the sin of Sloth in "Purgatory" was not something they could break through.
At this moment, the leader of the Secret of Aogen, who hadn’t spoken up to now, spoke in a very regretful tone:
"Let’s all calm down!"
"Mr. Ronald, we can understand your feelings right now. But trust me, this matter can definitely be resolved through discussion to reach a satisfactory outcome for everyone. Resorting to force is not wise."
Ronald’s expression did not change in the slightest. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel[f]ire.net
He coldly looked at the good-cop leader of the Secret of Aogen and said in a tone equally devoid of emotion:
"When I walked in here, I already declared—if anyone attacks me, I will take that as a declaration of war."
His words fell, and Ronald waved his hand in the air.
A violent gust of air instantly swept through the meeting room.
It disrupted everything, while also pinning all the Casters from the Secret of Aogen against the walls.
At that moment, Ronald alone stood calmly in the center of the meeting room.
The voice of his incantation, steady and measured, began to reach these Casters’ ears:
"The greatest enhancement of productive forces, as well as the greater proficiency, skill, and judgment displayed in the use of labor, seem all to be the result of the division of labor..."