In arena six, we were having our optional class with Zagressa.
Or at least... we should be having that class. Instead, both Cecil and I were told to skip that class by the teacher herself.
The first thing teacher Zagressa told us when we entered inside the arena was:
"Don't you rats think I've forgotten when your group interrupted my class!"
"The director told me not to do anything to those two royal students. So you two'll have to do for now"
Fran and Theo were excused of her punishment thanks to both of them having to prepare for the visit starting next monday.
So that leaves Cecil and me to suffer whatever she had planned for us.
"You don't have to attend this class... leave and meet me at the Academy's gates at night"
That wasn't any better. Instead of a quick punishment on her class, we'll have to suffer on some extra activity of her liking.
In the end, Cecil went off to train by himself, as he couldn't just not train.
He asked me if I wanted to train with him, but I declined his offer as I wanted to do other things.
Now, I'm all alone while walking through the streets of Aurum Academy city.
Being given this free will to do whatever I wanted is what I expected when I first arrived here. Granted, I never expected to actually make friends.
Not that I don't like spending time with Fran and the others, I love spending time with them. But I can't go explore on my own to take advantage of my knowledge of the game when I'm with them.
Which is exactly what I want to do.
A secret event.
If you meet certain obscure conditions, a secret event will trigger.
And the event that'll help me the most right now is...
The fishing mini game... not fishing itself, although I will need to get into doing a lot of fishing. But, the fishing spot is the one that'll trigger the event.
Walking south east to the ports and where the yellow tower is present, the tower of the most advanced magical knowledge.
While I have no plans to do anything with that tower in specific, the curiosity sure is killing me.
"A-alen!"
I heard the voice of a girl calling me out from behind.
When I turn around, I see Kaida Thican all by herself holding a big leather sack, a sack that made an awful noise of metal clanking whenever she moved.
"Kaida! Buying weapons another day?" I smiled at her as she approached me.
"Y-yea... Y-yani's not with me today, though" she kept her gaze lowered when she talked with me.
"Do you need help with that?"
"N-n-no, I-I can carry it by myself" she nervously fidgeted a hand in front of her.
"Actually..." she blushed and dropped the sack to the ground.
Kaida opened it and started looking for something inside that sack.
"D-don't cut yourself..." I breathed out, seeing as she could cut herself with every different weapon inside.
"Th-thanks... but they're all sheathed"
Why wouldn't they be... that one's on me.
"Here!" Her face lit up when she found what she was looking for.
She took out a pair of iron daggers and held them out to me.
"Oooh... those are a nice pair..."
I grabbed and inspected those two daggers.
The first one had a curved design with the edge following the arc of the curve, making it perfect for slicing and cutting.
The second one has a straight double edge with better thrusting power than the curved one. It even has a basket hilt that offers more protection to the hand.
"D-do y-you like them?" with both her hands clasped together, Kaida asked me with a blush on her face.
"They feel amazing..." I tested both daggers, with the straight edge dagger on my left hand.
"I'm sure they'll be really useful for whoever these daggers are for" I said with a smile, handing the daggers back to her.
She didn't grab the daggers. Instead, she pulled my hand away.
"U-uh... th-those are yours..."
"Wha-why?"
"Y-you gave me coins yesterday to buy them..." she took out three small leather bundles. "These throwing knives are also yours"
"Oh right, I forgot..." I put the three bundles on my belt, and I keep the daggers on my hands.
"Thanks, Kaida."
"N-no problem, Alen... especially after what happened yesterday..." she looked down to the ground.
"D-don't worry about that..."
"N-no... y-you shouldn't have gone through that" at this point, Kaida's pink hair and blushing cheeks made a cute contrast, even more with her yellow eyes.
"Fran also told me that... but I think that you're both ove-"
"She told you that you were going to die... she revealed personal information about your parents without your consent..." she interrupted me.
"Y-yani also felt like I... like we did"
Kaida picked up the big leather sack full of iron weapons.
"That secret information about my parents doesn't bother me. I have my own family outside of them, and they're more important"
I reassured Kaida with determined eyes.
She seemed to notice that I wasn't lying, which made her relax and feel a bit more comfortable.
"She still said it without your consent..." she smiled under her bangs, knowing that I was telling her the truth.
"I'll make it up to you some other time, Kaida!" I smiled at her and began walking away.
I waved at her, and she returned the gesture. With a flushed expression and a smile on her lips, she said a final goodbye and continued on her own path.
I attached the two daggers' hilts to my utility belt, making sure that I tie a strong knot so that they don't fall off.
...
Once I arrived at the south eastern part of the city, where all the ports were, I inspected the place.
The smell of salty sea water, the waves crashing against some rocky formations, the various boats and ships on the ports, the amount of people working and fishing, the sounds of people drinking all kinds of alcoholic beverages, and the one character I'm interested in.
To trigger the event I want, I need to talk with every fisher, and only those kinds of people. If I talk to anyone who doesn't have a rod, the event won't trigger at all.
Thankfully, it isn't hard to begin a conversation with them.
Simply approaching them from behind and making simple questions about what they're trying to fish up is easy enough to start a chat with them.
Some even managed to catch a fish while talking with me.
The most useful chat happened with a... weird couple.
An elven woman and an old human male.
Apparently, the elven woman has been alive for the last two centuries and has spent the last sixty years married to that old man.
Both were sitting on chairs and enjoying each other's company as the old man tried to catch a couple of fish.
After talking with them for a while, they began to talk about the best mages in Aurum Academy city.
Of course, most of them were teachers from Aurum Academy itself. But they did mention other characters. The main name that stuck out to me while they were bantering on the best mage was Rickart Fortnos.
When I asked about that Rickart, they told me that he is a demi-human who travels around the world in search of spells.
The elven woman even lived through Rickart's first spell invention when he was twenty.
The first part of the event is on.
Once you hear info about Rickart, you can finally talk to other npc around here.
I should have gotten around doing that, but I got really entertained talking with that couple that I forgot to advance on the event.
It wasn't a loss of time, though. I also learned a couple of things about the yellow tower.
Apparently, their granddaughter is attending the yellow tower and is currently studying magic there.
Taking my opportunity to learn more about that tower, I began asking my questions.
They eagerly answered all of them as best as they could.
Some new info I got was that, unlike Aurum Academy, the yellow tower doesn't divide its students on years. After a period where the new addition to the tower gets tested to see if they fit and can survive on a highly competitive environment, the students are allowed to research magic on their own.
They told me that it isn't rare to see old people teaming up with the younger ones on a research.
At least, that's what their granddaughter told them.
Their methods and discoveries are kept secret, though. Not even family members are allowed to be told on the specifics studied and researched there.
They also helped me with a doubt that formed on my head ever since I was told that the yellow tower works with high-level magic.
Why don't they help the outside?
I know the help from mages that can cast the greater tiers of magic would've helped a lot in the game.
They could've helped Hellen Goldenlaw and Kaida at different points in the story, but they didn't.
They told me that the yellow tower strictly prohibits any interaction with the outside world.
If it isn't related to magical studies, it doesn't matter to them.