Chapter 73: The Strange Calm
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Benjamin rushed towards the necklace and grabbed it as soon as he saw that the necklace was about to be blown out of the window.
He closed the window and started inspecting the necklace.
"Hey, can you clarify whether this necklace is the one the old madame usually wears, the necklace that can be used to unlock the treasury?" Benjamin asked the System while he continued scrutinizing the necklace.
"Um... let me have a look." The System examined it as if it were an expert. After a few moments of silence, he then said: "Yes, I can confirm that this is the necklace."
Benjamin furrowed his eyebrows.
What was going on?
Were there tapping devices everywhere in this world? Michelle was the first to put one on his body, did the madame also do the same? Otherwise, what was the reason for her action?
Benjamin found it hard to believe that the old lady accidentally misplaced her necklace here.
Did she know about something Benjamin didn’t?
The old lady left her key here the moment he asked Grant the method to open the treasury. Without a doubt, the madame knew he had plans to open the treasury, and that was why she made such a move.
In fact, her actions were not harmful to Benjamin. At the very least, he was no longer in a dilemma on whether to help Michelle obtain the necklace.
But why did the madame want to help Benjamin?
Furthermore, the main concern now was how much information the madame had.
Did she know that Benjamin was once kidnapped because of the treasury? Did she know that Benjamin was once threatened for a long period of time? Did she know of Michelle’s existence?
More importantly... Did she know of Benjamin’s identity as a mage?
He shivered as he thought about it and could not help himself but to turn around and look at the corridor just outside the room. There was nobody outside since the madame left a long time ago.
Benjamin could not help himself as he felt that a pair of eyes were observing him out there.
The feeling of being watched faded as he walked over to the door and locked it.
After that, he sat on the bed and continued struggling as he looked at the necklace on his hand.
Should he pass the necklace to Michelle?
Benjamin would definitely pass the necklace to Michelle if the old lady did not appear. However, Benjamin could not decide on the best route after this incident.
This must be a trap.
Was the old lady setting a test for him?
Or did the old lady find out that someone was going after the Joseph family’s treasury and decided to place the necklace here so that she could report it to the church and let the people from the church to catch the intruders?
With this thought in mind...
Benjamin smelled a conspiracy under his nose.
Maybe the Church was the one pulling the strings in the dark. They were the ones who told the madame to leave the necklace to Benjamin in hopes that he would pass it to Michelle and capture her.
Seriously.
Now that he thought about it, it was very likely that this was a trap.
He could not think of other reason for the madame to do so unless the Church was pulling the strings in the dark.
It was the church again...
Benjamin sighed.
From the looks of it, the Church was not satisfied with their results at Fulner’s theater. Hence, they decided to lure Michelle out with such a method.
They used the Fulner family to remove the mages’ power in the inner capital. This hit the Academy of Silence hard and severed the possibility of collusion between the Fulner family and the mages. Now, they were planning to use the Lithur family to take out the trouble maker, Michelle.
One had to give some credit to the Church for their effective use of power. The Church had the skills to manipulate the aristocrats and royal family in their hands.
And so Benjamin fell into a dilemma again.
What should he do?
Michelle would open the treasure room and die in the Church’s hand if he were to give her the necklace. The Church would suspect Benjamin’s intention if he were to tell Michelle that it was the Church’s trap instead of passing the necklace to her.
He was in the same situation when he received Michelle’s letter.
Damn...
Couldn’t these people give him some peace at all?
He really did not want to be involved in this battle!
"Didn’t you know that you can’t always do what you like in this world?" The System appeared and said in a deep tone.
"You’re in the wrong world. I teleported into a fantasy world, not a martial art world." Benjamin could not help himself but to complain even though he agreed with what the System said.
"The truth lies within even though one is blinded by the search. One may miss the true purpose as one is obsessed in finding out the truth." the System spewed nonsense as it spoke like a monk.
"..."
Did the System forget to take its pills today?
Benjamin thought and shook his head.
Nope, the System has always been like this. Only he could be blamed for having an unreasonable expectation that the System would behave normally for even just a second.
After thinking for a long time, he decided to push the issue aside.
He guessed that the members of the Church would soon approach and tell him to pass the necklace to Michelle.
However, Benjamin planned to play dumb before that happened. If he had the chance, he could pretend that he was a good man who had returned a lost jewelry to the madame. In short, he had to drag this out as long as possible.
He would have the upper hand if he dragged this issue longer and he would eventually find himself a way out of this situation.
In the end, it all depended on his ability to manipulate and improve his surroundings.
Benjamin felt that the reason Michelle unlocked the curse for him was because Benjamin was getting too strong in a very short amount of time. Hence, he would owe her a favor if she unlocked the curse for him and this would also show that she was a generous person.
Benjamin had no reason to hesitate any longer.
He kept the necklace in the drawer, laid down on the bed and pretended to sleep. He started to meditate as his mind entered the space of consciousness.
He could not wait to practice magic in this world with no rest, but he did not do so.
He stopped the strengthening the triangular rune at around twelve o’clock, exited the space of his consciousness and came back to reality.
It was time to sleep.
He had no other way as the meditation could took a toll on his spirits even though the process was not monotonous at all. Regrettably, it was not like what he expected in the novel where this kind of training could replace sleep.
He needed to sleep even if the sky fell down.
Benjamin took a shower, went back to bed, and fell into a deep slumber.
A silent night.
On the second morning, he was sent to the military camp by Claude’s servant to continue his military training as usual.
It was the usual running in laps, firing a toy gun and "military boxing". However, everyone knew Benjamin was kidnapped due to the Church’s announcement and he was ridiculed.
Benjamin laughed it off. The relationship between them had improved a lot as they suffered through the day.
Besides that, nothing special happened. Benjamin’s physical attribute slowly improved over the days during his days in the military training. He felt that he had grown taller as his trousers did not fit him anymore.
Benjamin went home to have his lunch after a series of training.
He purposely took his time out to return the necklace to the madame after his lunch.
However, the madame gave him this response instead,
"I grew bored wearing that necklace, you can have it. The elder has to show some concerns to the young ones, right? Keep it well."
After finishing her sentence, the madame went to take a nap, completely blocking Benjamin out.
"..."
Benjamin stood outside the door, speechless, with the necklace in his hand.
He could only accept his fate and go back to his room dejectedly. He meditated as he waited for the Church or Michelle to appear.
They would definitely come after me since they had already laid their traps.
At this point in time he could only react as things developed.
He was very surprised when the Church or Michelle did not approach him after he waited nervously for a few days. It was as if both parties had forgotten about Benjamin.
What the hell?
Where was Michelle? Where was the Church?
In addition, Benjamin noticed that the Church had stopped sending people to protect him.
This was the most shocking thing to Benjamin.
Before this, the Church had not stopped "observing" him for many days.
Did the people here take a vacation?
What was going on?
Peaceful days passed one after another. Even though his punishment period was almost over the third magic rune was already formed half way through, Benjamin could not feel excited at all, he only felt confusion.