It took a few minutes before the Headmaster gave an answer to Instructor Valdin’s question, but he eventually gave an answer.
"Do not allow him to join the special class of shadow assassins."
Instructor Valdin was not surprised by this decision, but he could not help but ask for the reason.
"Permit me to ask why. From what I know and believe, especially as an Instructor of the academy, nurturing somebody with a C grade affinity would be beneficial to the clan as a whole even if the individual is a slave of the clan."
The Academy Head leaned into his chair, then he released a soft sigh.
"I know this too, but his situation is different. He’s a... rather unique slave."
Instructor Valdin was confused. "A unique slave? Does he secretly have a powerful organization? Or is he the child of a prominent figure of the clan?"
The Academy Head chuckled. "No. No. No. It’s none of those."
Instructor Valdin’s brows were furrowed deeply even as his head was hung low.
"Then can you please enlighten me why he’s unique?"
The Academy Head shook his head while chuckling softly.
"I can’t tell you the exact details. It’s top secret and highly classified. What I can tell you is that the upper echelon does not wish to make the boy strong. They do not want the boy to grow into a force that they can’t control."
"What they want in him is a usable pawn, and a pawn that can be discarded after causing a grievous wound to our enemies."
"They want us to train him, but they don’t want him to grow beyond a certain point through us, unless, we believe that he can be influenced and that he can be loyal to the clan."
Instructor Valdin’s brows were even more furrowed as the questions in his heart were not answered by the headmaster.
"Then we’re going to suppress him by all means?"
The Headmaster shook his head. "Certainly not. That would stifle his growth to a great extent and would not allow them to get what they want. We would just make things more difficult for him, and we’ll reduce whatever opportunities he can get whenever we can."
"As long as he doesn’t break the rules, we’ll let him be and watch him. We’ll see how he behaves in the three years he’ll be here, then the Grave Lords would know what to do with him."
Although Instructor Valdin had so many questions to ask, but he kept them in his heart and just asked one more question since he did not want to displease the academy head.
"This is my last question. Wouldn’t it be better if we at least treat him better than how we treat other slaves that were fortunate to become Initiates? I believe that as long as he shows sufficient worth, then we can treat him better and make him to feel a sense of appreciation and attachment toward the clan."
"From what I’ve seen and the records I have from the clan. He’s not a bad talent and can be a good assassin in the future."
The Headmaster chuckled while shaking his head.
"You are right. That’s what we would have done if his situation was not so different."
Instructor Valdin was still confused, and the Headmaster knew this.
He released a soft sigh and decided to give Valdin some details.
"The child was tortured by Pellin and when he was brought before the Grave Lords immediately after the torture, he was calm and fearless before them. They said his eyes contained a depth and fearlessness a child should not contain."
Instructor Valdin’s eyes widened in shock, and if not for the immense respect and fear he had for the academy head, he would have raised his head in shock and spoke in disbelief.
"Now, you understand why the Grave Lords and even the Master does not want to give the child an opportunity to grow beyond a certain point."
"To be tortured by Pellin as a fifteen year old. To have the boldness and fearlessness to stand before all the Grave Lords without trembling in fear. And to participate in the trials after all of these things, but to still get first position... Tell me, Valdin, would you not be wary of what this child can become in the future?"
"Would you not be anxious over how much hate this child has for the clan?"
Instructor Valdin remained silent for some seconds, the gears in his mind spinning rapidly, then he lowered his head the more.
"I understand now, Headmaster."
The Academy Head nodded.
"Just watch him and observe him. We need to see his character and we need to know more about him."
"Understood."
The Academy Head nodded.
"You may leave."
A fraction of a second later, Instructor Valdin sank into his shadow and disappeared.
The Academy Head looked to the side, and he could see Simon eating in the cafeteria as clear as day.
Some seconds later, he released a sigh.
"Oh, Lord Night Sovereign. Are you certain that your ambitions would not lead the clan to destruction? Are you certain that you’ve not brought a serpent into our mist?"
Meanwhile, while the conversation between the Academy Head and Instructor Valdin was going on, Simon was staring at the food in front of him with a stomach that desired to be fed.
’Bloodfin slices and vitality blood porridge. These two costs fifteen merits altogether, but as a slave, the price is tripled for me, so I spent forty five (45) merits, leaving me with only three hundred and sixteen (316) merits.’
’Sigh.’
’I can’t believe I actually decided to spend so much on the first day. I’ll seriously need to think of a high source of income if I want to keep on living like this as a slave.’
Just as Simon was about to dig into his food, a shadow appeared in front of him, and a fist suddenly shot toward his face without warning.
Simon’s eyes flashed with a cold light when he saw that the owner of the hand suddenly changed his fist to two fingers.
And the two fingers were aimed at his right eye!