"You have to do these two jobs. Can you do it?"
Nathan had a troubled expression.
John was 'asking' him to do two jobs in return for staying in Ward. They weren't particularly hard, but Nathan didn't understand why he was the one asked to do them.
He ultimately nodded, though. He had been planning to do them either way.
"You may leave."
Nathan stood up and walked to the lift.
Entering the lift, he left.
"Weren't you supposed to give him only one task, Vice-headmaster?"
The space behind John distorted, and a woman appeared.
She was wearing a white blouse and black skirt, with high heels that were almost painful to look at.
She had her hair up in a bun, which made her appear younger than she actually was. Her skin was flawless, and though she wasn't very tall, she exuded an air of authority.
John was silently operating his device, seeing that the woman pushed her glasses upward.
"You were supposed to tell him to become overseer for the examination on the 13th floor only. Besides, asking that cadet to monitor Lilith's surroundings as his job... are you sure about doing this to Lilith?"
At the mention of Lilith, John dropped his work and faced the woman.
He took a moment to answer.
"Ever since she joined Ward, she had been happy after making friends. I want to support her, but she needs to grow emotionally. She can't survive on frontlines with her mindset."
The woman's brows furrowed.
As John's secretary, she stayed with him for the majority of the day.
She understood what John was trying to say.
Lilith had been sad because Nathan was always in danger and might die at any moment. Nathan might die tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
They had no way of knowing when his condition will become unstable.
Lilith did not show it but, knowing that it would lead to his death, Lilith could not bear to watch Nathan trying to grow stronger.
John also knew this. Nathan's report suggested that the more he levels up and his core quality increases, it will result in a delicate situation of Nether and Aura in his body.
The moment the balance breaks, so will his connection with life.
Nathan was like a ticking time bomb that would eventually explode.
John wanted to teach Lilith about death using Nathan.
Earth's condition was deteriorating with every passing day, a war almost on the horizon.
John was worried that once the war begins, Lilith might not be able to handle the death of the ones she know and called her friends.
With Nathan, he wanted to make her familiar with loss and death, maturing her in the process.
Though it was also possible that, with his low potential, Nathan might not level up more than a few more times and ultimately live. This was why they were giving him the other job. To see if he was useful.
"Though I must say, when the teaching staff spoke about him no one had a favorable impression of him, he was choosing subjects left and right with no sense of coherence between them, but seeing his result, he is a genius in his own right."
John opened Nathan's mark sheet.
[Aether Metallurgy]
[Magic chants and Magic circle]
[Spell sequences]
[Basic combat theory]
[Monster behavior and habitats]
[Advanced Dungeon Knowledge]
[Basic Alchemy]
[War]
These were the eight subjects Nathan chose for his 1st semester.
He failed in one and passed in others with average marks.
Nevertheless, it was the content he wrote that was special.
"He gained only average marks in [War], however, every strategy he wrote was highly efficient."
[War] subject covered the basics of military knowledge, different formations, and strategies, learning terrain usage in battles, and different types of battles.
Every strategy Nathan answered in the exams was highly efficient and achieved victory in the least amount of time.
His strategies showed a near perfect analytical comprehension about enemies troops, ability to engage in psychological warfare and above all ruthlessness to use any necessary means to win.
The reason why he didn't get a high score was the methods he chose. His strategies, although efficient, were, in a way, flawed.
He disregarded the life of soldiers, and civilians, damage to terrain, and other aftermaths of battle.
His answers were written to get the victory, ignoring everything and regardless of cost.
The woman continued her report.
"I've informed the other student council prospects about him. With their reports, we will know if Cadet Nathan is worth nurturing."
John nodded.
Even if Nathan's strategies were efficient, disregarding life and the after-effects of battle wasn't viable.
In the exam, the overseers will have to implement rules and respond to all emergencies.
They wanted to see how Nathan will react to those situations. He might have disregarded human life on paper, but would he do the same on the field?𝙛𝘳ee𝓌e𝗯n𝗼ѵ𝙚𝗹.𝒄𝚘m
***
Ding-
The lift opened on the ground floor.
Nathan, whose feet moved on their own, was lost in his thoughts.
He understood why he was given the task of monitoring Lilith's friend circle.
John was using excuses to keep Nathan close to Lilith.
Maybe because he would die after breaking through to Enma-rank, John wanted to use him to familiarize Lilith with the loss of close ones.
It was a decision that hurt John the most. For him, his daughter was his world. He could not bear to see her hurt, or even saddened.
But if Lilith didn't learn now, she would have to pay double the price in the future.
Nathan knew John would tell him to do something as long as he provided an opening. John asking what Nathan could do to stay in Ward was his attempt at that.
Thus, he did what he did.
Though he still felt like cursing himself, this was one of the dumbest plans, if he could call it a plan, he came up ever with.
"Haa…"
Nathan came out of the building and looked around.
Someone who would brief him on his mission as the overseer would be coming here.
"Why isn't Headmaster contacting me by now?"
Nathan's fast growth was recorded on the training ground, his meeting with Susan on her floor. Nathan had been trying to get Headmaster's attention.
But so far, either the Headmaster did not check the footage or he ignored them.
"The only thing good would be John will now pay more 'attention' to Leon."
If, similar to the novel, John decided to send Leon to exterminate gangs, he would engage with and destroy the Black t-shirt gang, which would cause Nathan endless trouble.
But now he should give Leon a harder task, and Miller's gang should remain safe.
"Not like Leon can complain about why I made it hard for him. I am just keeping my promise."
Nathan smiled.
Being a menace sure felt nice.