"...Ah, back to life."
Miss Croix let out a long sigh of relief, then hurriedly turned to Graham behind her and said, "Dean Graham, I will help clean this up later!"
The elderly man didn't pay her any attention, just glanced at her expressionlessly and walked towards his desk with his bone-white cane.
Miss Croix quickly followed, pouring a glass of water for Graham.
Old Graham glanced at her and spoke slowly, "Is there anything else?"
"I just want to get some revenge before I leave, let off some steam... so I'd like to ask for your advice," she said.
Miss Croix huffed. She clearly still felt somewhat unreconciled... mainly because of the loss of her assets, which pained her heart.
"I'll just remind you that The Association's task for you is already completed, Miss Croix."
Graham held the water cup and drawled in Irisian Language, "If I were you, I'd immediately hide out in the countryside. As soon as things die down a bit, I'd go straight back to my country."
"They won't catch me."
Having been pursued for several days, Miss Croix apparently had full confidence: "The Inspectors from the Path of Authority are much more stupid than the Transcendents from the Path of Love and Beauty. If I plan more carefully this time, lie in wait where Aiwass sleeps, and camp out without eating or drinking for a day or two, I'm sure to succeed," she said.
"To me, this sounds more like a trap."
The old man took a sip of water and said with a gloomy tone, "You're too arrogant, Miss Croix. Although you entered the fourth Energy Level at twenty-four, you still haven't formally entered the fifth Energy Level now. Without completing the advancement ceremony, there are still many in Avalon who could take you down."
"The Grand Arbitrator, the Grand Adjudicator, the Grand Guardian, the Grand Justice, and Master Yanis from the Holy Nation. Just on the surface, there are already at least five Transcendents confirmed to have reached the fifth Energy Level and are willing to serve the royal family. If you encounter any one of them, you'll certainly not be able to escape."
"What's more, even the Arbitration Hall hasn't made a move. They have the power of arbitration, and in Avalon, they can exert the full strength of the Path of Authority... Knights without power, lacking honors, pose little threat. Your reckless actions, I believe you've deviated from the Path of Adaptation. After you return, I will report this to the leader."
Who could have known that this student he had once taught for a semester, who could never grasp the Path of Beauty... now thrives after switching to the Path of Adaptation?
But too smooth advancement and never failing an assassination had now somewhat unbalanced her mindset.
This high-profile behavior is not the principle advocated by the Path of Adaptation. It's also the reason her abilities had started to stagnate.
"...Do you mean to say that you don't oppose my action now, Dean?"
Seeing that her former superior wasn't opposed to the idea, Miss Croix was somewhat surprised.
She displayed a sweet and obedient smile, flattering, "You too are a 'Master.' Both Transcendents of the fifth Energy Level of the Path of Art, Master Yanis took over two hundred years to become a master, while you became a 'Master' in less than forty years..."
"Heh... useless, I'm not swayed by that."
But the old man just laughed deeply, "Let me make it clear beforehand, no matter how close to success you get, I will not intervene. I have taken on a more important mission and cannot expose myself. And since Yanis is watching me, it's also not good for me to act."
"Just in case, I still have to ask... where do you plan to lie in ambush?"
"I haven't thought about it. How about his home?" Croix replied offhandedly.
Old Graham rejected the idea without hesitation: "His butler Oswald is very dangerous."
"Does he have a fifth energy level?"
"It's hard to say, but it's very likely. Oswald doesn't have a 'profession' per se, but rather inherited the old system used by the longevity species from the old times, before 'professions' existed. His path is completely mixed and unsystematic, strength scattered across multiple paths, showing no clear trajectory. No one knows which paths he has adapted to or what strengths he possesses."
"But based on the abilities he has shown so far, he has at least a fourth energy level strength of the Path of Adaptation. And since elves are experienced and well-informed, he most likely knows about shadow stealth. Going there, you would undeniably be walking to your death."
The old man gazed at Croix with his ruthless and critical eyes, like a critic scrutinizing another's art piece, and with a voice marked by strange cadences he intoned, "If there's a chance you could be captured alive... I will kill you."
"Now, tell me again. Where will you lie in ambush?"
She was surprised to find the elf butler so formidable.
"Then I must do it outside. Although I haven't read the Avalonian newspapers, I'm sure he must have become famous by now. If he were to be assassinated by me, it would definitely make the headlines."
Croix answered lightly, "To buy time to escape, I must avoid the public eye. So I have to kill him swiftly in a place where no one can find him and leave enough time to get away..."
"In that case, my suggestion is that you go to the White Ballet Shoes Club again. Take a look at his awards ceremony," the old man replied.
"...But isn't it already almost five o'clock?"
"No matter. He has an award ceremony at the Supervisory Bureau this afternoon. Even without a dinner, he won't be back until at least five-thirty. Considering the long journey, he won't reach his dormitory until at least six or seven o'clock. If there's a dinner, he might return even two or three hours later... Maybe he'll have a drink."
"According to my information, someone wants to take action against him this afternoon... Just two hours ago, two demon scholars from the Noble Red Society infiltrated the University of Law. The statues of great figures placed at the school's entrance have told me this. They are not weak, but I believe their assassination will certainly fail. The measures taken to guard against you can just as well be used by people from the Noble Red. Because he must also know that you're still alive."
"On the other hand, you can also observe Aiwass's methods and bottom line."
Although he didn't approve of the condescending plan given by the young assassin codenamed "Caramel," the old man still made a sound suggestion based on his own abundant assassination experience from his youth: "There is no better opportunity for assassination than this."
"He has dealt with enemies who wanted to murder him and has received honors that are almost impossible to attain at his age, so he is bound to be relaxed and proud. After that, go directly to his dormitory to ambush him."
"After the socializing, he'll be tired; a full meal will make him drowsy, and alcohol will depress his consciousness. You might not even need 'Hawk Feather'; just apply the poison to his lips, and he will die from poisoning in his sleep. This way, no one will realize immediately that he was poisoned... You will have plenty of time to escape from Glass Island."
"As expected of the Dean!"
Croix was genuinely convinced: "Then that's what I'll do!"