Chapter 511: A Mutual Investment with Lucianne
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 511: A Mutual Investment with Lucianne
"What's wrong? Starting to get tired of the view?"
Seeing that I was already on the verge of dozing off, Bai Yu paused what she was saying and asked in a light, playful tone.
"Mm... my eyes are getting a bit blurry..." I said, feigning exhaustion.
In truth, with my current physical constitution and memory, it was impossible for something like this to actually make me sleepy. However, just as Sister Bai said, I was starting to experience a bit of "aesthetic fatigue."
"Sigh... Sister Bai, you really shouldn't try to force-feed me like this... I don't think this method really suits me," I pleaded for mercy.
After all, if learning isn't driven by interest, it truly becomes a chore. While I did think it was great at first, as Sister Bai continued her lecture, I gradually realized a problem—there was something wrong with her teaching style.
I didn't know if it would be a problem for others, but it certainly was for me.
"It doesn't suit you?" Bai Yu blinked, caught off guard by my sudden remark.
"Yeah. It's not that I think you're a bad teacher, Sister Bai. You know I haven't really attended many normal classes. How about... you record all this knowledge into the Tree of Knowledge, and I'll go through it slowly on my own?"
"Alright..." After a moment's thought, Bai Yu didn't press the issue. She also felt that this was perhaps a bit too tedious. She rested a hand against her forehead. "We really shouldn't be doing such boring things here. Fine, fine—Sister Bai was wrong. Let's go do something else."
"Mm. Do you have things to take care of, Sister Bai? You're an official mentor at the Witch Academy now; surely you need to socialize with the other mentors? If you spend all your time on me, people might start gossiping."
"Heh~ if I were afraid of that, I wouldn't have stayed by your side this whole time. Does Xiao Han have her own things to do? If that's the case, I shouldn't keep holding you up." Sister Bai naturally caught the subtext in my words and didn't seem particularly upset.
"Was I... that obvious?" I asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Yeah, you might as well have just asked for some private space," Sister Bai said with a smile, pinching my cheek. "I know we've been stuck together like glue these past few days. It's only natural you'd want some time to yourself. How could I say no? If anything happens, you can call me directly. I won't get in the way of your 'good business'~"
"Aren't you curious about what I'm going to do, Sister Bai?" Seeing her turn to leave so decisively, I couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I am. But if Xiao Han doesn't want to say, I naturally won't ask," Sister Bai replied, turning back with a smile.
"I plan to promote the Knowledge Seed. And... I already have a candidate in mind," I said with a smile, hiding nothing.
"Oh? So that's it?" A flash of surprise crossed Bai Yu's eyes, followed by a smile. "Then I wish you success. But remember to stay within your limits~"
"Thanks~"
With Sister Bai's approval, I no longer hesitated. I had seen Lucianne board this yacht earlier, so finding her wouldn't be difficult.
Sister Bai didn't say anything more. She walked straight to the poolside bar and ordered an alcoholic drink, then leaned back and glanced in my direction, quietly keeping an eye on my movements.
It didn't take long for me to find Lucianne inside the yacht. She was currently surrounded by several girls, playing some sort of small game together.
Cheerful music filled the air. Amidst the many lively scenes on board, this small group actually seemed rather inconspicuous.
"Assistant Xiao Han! You really are here!" As I approached, one of the girls beside Lucianne noticed me and took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Of course. Isn't it normal to come here and relax?" I walked up with a smile, glancing at the game they were playing. The rules weren't complex—in fact, they seemed a bit childish—but it was the perfect kind of game to play with friends.
Amidst their enthusiastic invitations and Lucianne's slightly awkward expression, I joined in. After all, I rarely had opportunities to play with others, and people seldom approached me for conversation.
Regardless of why these girls were so eager to include me, their warmth perfectly filled a certain void in my heart.
Though the gameplay was a bit clumsy, it provided a rare sense of genuine pleasure outside of my relationship with Sister Bai. As it turned out, a good atmosphere and a happy mood were quite simple to achieve.
As we became more familiar, their curiosity about me began to surface. The topics of conversation would intentionally or unintentionally drift toward learning more about my background.
To the students of other classes, my existence was shrouded in mystery. Even in my former class, they didn't know much about me.
It was only natural for them to have an instinctive curiosity toward the unknown. However, I didn't answer everything truthfully. It was all part of the art of conversation; I wasn't about to bare my soul just because of one enjoyable game.
Eventually, they grew tired of the game, and at Lucianne's suggestion, they moved off to play elsewhere.
"Alright, out with it. You're here for me, aren't you? What is it?" Seeing the others leave, Lucianne tucked away her smile and turned to look at me.
"So direct? Are you so sure I'm here for a reason?" I countered with a smile.
"I haven't had much contact with you, but you don't seem like the type to waste time here for no reason. Besides... your social skills are terrible. If you weren't a teaching assistant, those girls wouldn't have played with you."
"So... I'm that bad, huh..." Her words left me momentarily stunned. I hadn't really paid attention to that just now. I thought I was getting along quite well with those girls; I hadn't realized that was how they saw me.
"Don't take it too personally. That's just how it is between girls. You aren't part of their clique, and your perceptions and values don't align with theirs. They're bound to be a bit exclusionary. They were only trying to suck up to you earlier, but it looks like you didn't give them the chance," Lucianne explained.
"Is that so? That sounds incredibly complicated. If human interaction is that messy, I'd rather just be alone."
"You have the capital to be that willful, so the choice is yours. But I don't... Let's stop beating around the bush. Why are you looking for me?" Lucianne didn't waste words. She stood up and walked toward a nearby bar counter.
"Would you believe me if I said I came to bring you some benefits?" I chuckled softly and followed her. Lucianne was right; no one is perfect. I might not have great social skills, but I had the strength to be willful.
"Benefits? I don't believe in free lunches. Just say it. What could possibly be important enough for you to spend so much time idling here? It can't be a small matter," Lucianne said, taking a sip of a pre-mixed drink and looking at me.
"Fine, fine. I'll be blunt. I want to invite you to help me test something—or rather, a spell."
"Test a spell?" Lucianne was taken aslant. She truly hadn't expected that to be the reason. "Why? Why me?"
"I just feel you're the most suitable candidate," I said with a light laugh. I snapped my fingers, and a Soundproofing Spell enveloped the small area around us. "Let me ask you a question. If there were a spell that could give you a photographic memory, would you be willing to try it?"
"A photographic memory!" Lucianne's eyes widened in shock. She had fantasized about such a thing before, but it had always seemed unrealistic. Even the Jack-of-all-trades Club didn't have a spell that could simply boost memory so conveniently.
"It looks like you're interested." Seeing her reaction, I was satisfied. It seemed she was a likely candidate for my promotion. Now, it just depended on her requirements.
"Of course. Who wouldn't be interested in an ability like that?" Lucianne said, pursing her lips. "Do you actually have that kind of spellbook?"
"I do have that type of spellbook, but what I'm talking about isn't a spellbook. It's something else. Lucianne, do you remember the spell I cast on you during the joint exam called Knowledge Shadow?"
"Of course I remember." Lucianne nodded. The effect of that spell had been incredible. Aside from the fact that it often talked back to her until she questioned her life choices, it had virtually no downsides. "What does that have to do with this?"
"Explaining it bit by bit would be too slow. Let me show you something. Don't be too quick to doubt; just be patient, look through it, and then ask your questions." As I spoke, I waved my hand, and a UI panel with a clean design appeared before our eyes.
Lucianne had seen this trick before—the Knowledge Shadow could do something similar—but seeing it again, she couldn't help but marvel.
If a third party were watching, they would see absolutely nothing.
"The thing I want to introduce to you is called a Knowledge Seed. You can think of it as something similar to a spellbook. To use it, you integrate it into your forehead—into your Sea of Consciousness. Its most basic function is to grant you a photographic memory."
I gave her a brief introduction, while the information panel I pushed toward her contained far more detail, with many points recorded with extreme precision.
After a moment, having finished reading the information, Lucianne snapped her head up. Her face was full of shock, her gaze filled with disbelief.
"This... how is this possible?"
"In the Transcendent world, anything is possible. Just remember that. Now, things are simple. The choice is in your hands. What will it be? Will you accept this benefit?" I asked with a smile.
"What's the price I have to pay?" Lucianne asked, her voice tight as she struggled with the decision.
"Price? No, no, no. At the very least, you don't have to give me anything. The Knowledge Seed is something I already intended to promote. However, I can't mass-produce it yet, so I need someone to help me test its effects."
"So, inherently, there's a risk, right?" Hearing my words, Lucianne quickly calmed down. She had figured out the subtext, but facing such a temptation, it was still hard to resist.
"Everything has risks. Do you think the Mana Source or the spellbooks inside your body aren't dangerous? In the outside world, many people avoid them like the plague. But I can give you a basic guarantee: it won't kill you."
"Then... have you done clinical trials? How can you give such a guarantee?"
"I was the first test subject. You didn't think I just found some weird experimental product somewhere, did you? I created this thing myself. I am its original host and its first test subject. I know it inside and out. If you're still worried, a Transcendent Mentor has also tested it. The effects so far have shown no side effects whatsoever."
I explained this to Lucianne. "And the information you just saw was the feedback collected from that mentor's trial. I have high hopes for you. I think you could develop it to a whole new level."
"And after I help you collect the data? Will you take it away? If I lose it, what will I have left?"
"What are you worried about? Of course I won't take it away. From the moment the Knowledge Seed takes root and sprouts in your Sea of Consciousness, it no longer has any value if removed. It will belong to you and you alone. I won't be able to interfere with it either; after all, it's not one-of-a-kind."
"...Really?" At this point, it would be a lie to say Lucianne wasn't tempted. She didn't think I would lie to her here, and if a Transcendent Mentor had accepted the test, it was almost certainly stable.
More importantly, she couldn't refuse the ability to have a complete backup of her memory, nor the Knowledge Shadow. Although the Knowledge Shadow had been difficult to get along with during the joint exam, its abilities were terrifying!
As for the "Ley Line Identification Art" mentioned at the end... she didn't have much of a concept of what that was, but she was definitely salivating over the first two functions.
"Of course it's true. If you can't trust me, we can always sign a Witch Contract, can't we? If you ultimately refuse, I can just find someone else. This is my first attempt at promoting it, and the first batch of slots is no more than a handful."
"There's no need to try and make me anxious. You've offered a condition I can't refuse. What exactly do you need me to do for the trial?" Lucianne interrupted.
"It doesn't need to be that formal. Developing it can't be rushed, and I don't expect you to be able to help me much in the short term. I only approached you because of your status as a Child of Destiny. I'm just curious to see if any miracles will happen." I said this with a smile, my tone not at all polite. I intentionally belittled her to put on some pressure, making her feel undervalued. This lowered her suspicion while simultaneously triggering her competitiveness and her instinct to prove me wrong.
"Just because of that?!" Clearly, my words had piqued Lucianne's emotions—a spark of indignant defiance.
"Of course. When I saw you in the library before the joint exam, you seemed a bit clumsy, so you were the first person I thought of this time. Consider it a casual helping hand. Just don't let my investment go to waste. Do you dare to accept this mutual investment?"
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" Lucianne said quickly, her voice full of drive.
Seeing her get fired up like that, a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Hook, line, and sinker.