Chapter 49: A Matter of Principle

Then came daybreak and shed light from the east to wake up the city. Sunrays went through the window in three broken parts, falling on Nikolai’s face and waking him up.

As he pulled himself out of bed, he found that his body was as good as new. Only a tiny portion of his Blood Energy remained, as his body consumed it overnight to heal him.

“Good morning, Bossman!” Sergio was quick to greet him. The Alchemist stood up from his table, countless vials of different colors. “I prepared some healing potion here; you can drink it!”

“Thank you.” Nikolai smiled. “However, I don’t need it right now. Put the vials in a small case for me to carry around. They can be useful.”

“Right away!” Sergio hurried to follow Nikolai’s request. As he rose from the bed and looked at him, Nikolai’s heart felt warm.

Even in two lifetimes, Sergio was still the same. An alchemy-focused good person and a great friend to have. Nikolai might be his boss at the moment, but Sergio treated him the same way he did in his past life.

“Here you go, Bossman.” Sergio gave him the case, which Nikolai placed in his bag. “What happened yesterday? You came here bruised up, dirtied, and wet.”

“A lot,” Nikolai walked to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.”

As he undressed and stood beneath the water, Nikolai’s mind began clearing up. Everything that happened yesterday was within expectations, but he hated the fact that he allowed it. He was playing into Valkyrie’s hands this way, which was the opposite of what he wanted to do in his second lifetime.

Since she must be aware that he took care of Julian and injured Galen, Nikolai’s value skyrocketed in her eyes. A gunman and a magic archer were what she needed to organize significant battles.

‘What would happen if things didn’t go as she planned?’ Nikolai smirked to himself as the water ran across her skin. ‘I lost sight of my biggest goal, to never be used or abused.’

Nikolai threw a towel around his waist and left the bathroom. Sergio was on his desk concocting something as Nikolai rummaged through his bag. He took out his old phone and connected to the WMA, logging into the Rohan Community.

The news of a new member joining the Drunken Stars party was the topic talked about the most. After Nikolai’s revelation, many posts emerged as to why the party chose such a ‘weak’ student.

[Drunken-Stars: The party chooses members based on their usefulness and their potential.]

Came the reply of the party on one of the blogs, which made things escalate a lot. Nikolai became the hot topic everyone either questioned or hated. The party’s official reply confirmed the identity of the new member joining the party.

‘Ah, this will be fun.’ Nikolai grinned as he logged into his official student account. There was no one else who can have the same name since he was using his student ID.

[Nikolai-Yaran: I’m very grateful for the high praise, but I apologize for my inability to join your party. I hope that one day, we can hunt together. @Drunken-Stars]

After writing that down, Nikolai posted his reply. Anything with this party’s handle drew attention, and Nikolai’s name amplified that. As soon as his post appeared, many reposted and commented on his post.

[Ray-Golan: What? Is this true? Or is this just a different person?]

[Arin-Varin: This has to be accurate, no one in this community shares the same name. He’s an idiot!]

[Peter-Hosko: I believe he made the right choice, as this party is above his qualifications, even as a first ranker. I salute him for knowing his limits.]

[Erza-Terni: Trash.]

Nikolai laughed at Erza’s reply. She had a lot of free time to go online and keep on tabs on this topic. His post was replied to and reposted by everyone in the school, even the senior students.

‘What are you going to do now, Valkyrie?’ Nikolai watched the thing escalate until his phone suddenly rang. It was a community call, and the id of the caller appeared in front of him.

Valkyrie-Helnes.

Leaning back into the couch, Nikolai answered the call. As soon as he did, Valkyrie’s provocations arrived.

“Have you been scared by the Mackays?” She asked with a hint of teasing. “You passed the test, so you should know better than folding now.”

“Why would I be scared after I handled eight people, Galen included?” Nikolai dismissed her provocation in a relaxed manner. “It’s a matter of principle; I won’t be toyed around with.”

“Do you have any other choice?” Valkyrie shot back at him. “I’m the reason you got into the academy; would you leave to defy me too?”

“I’ll leave once this year ends, gladly.”

“You’re aiming for the Lost Garden.” Valkyrie laughed. “I don’t know if that makes you determined or too ambitious. Students from every academy, including the Royal Academy, explore this space. Do you think you can grow that strong in two months?”

“Watch me as I do, Lady Valkyrie Helnes.” Nikolai’s tone was neither arrogant nor uncertain. As if he was reading a simple fact from a book, his tone was flat.

“Confident.” Valkyrie’s voice came after a moment. “Very well, I hope you won’t regret your choice. You’re the first person to reject an offer I made.”

“You’ll grow up and forget it, no worries,” Nikolai said.

“Hmph.” She snorted and cut the line off. Nikolai grinned and threw his phone back into his backpack.

“You seem happy, Bossman.” Sergio smiled. “Did you break up with your girlfriend?”

“Did you even listen to the conversation?” Nikolai looked at Sergio in a speechless manner. “How did you conclude that I was…”

“I’ll leave once this year ends. Watch as I do. You’ll grow up and forget about it.” Sergio then mimicked Nikolai’s tone exaggeratedly and dramatically. “Our love may have died, but the memories will live on forever!”

“I didn’t say the last part.” Nikolai wanted to slap him. He shook his head and began dressing. “Forget it. You’re the same as before.”

“Hm?” Sergio was confused, but he forgot about it once Nikolai took out a gold coin. “Payday!”

“That was like a week ago,” Nikolai was speechless. “Buy this list of materials. I’ll need a lot of potions in a while. You’ll get a lot busier.”

“Boss, can I…”

“Sigh, buy the materials you want too. Just don’t blow up the potions you make.”

“Rogers!” Sergio snatched the coin and ran out. Nikolai thought about the possibility of him stealing it and running, but he simply shook his head.

‘I’m too cynical. This guy would never.’ Nikolai remembered the time this guy offended the king because he refused to poison someone. At that time, the king would have killed Sergio without several powerful people interfering to save him.

One of those people was the disguised Elven Princess, which Nikolai followed during that period. Remembering those days, Nikolai felt two contradicting emotions.

One of them was nostalgia, and the other was disgust toward himself for feeling any kind of sentiment toward that time.