Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Fruits of Labor

This exploration ended perfectly. After exchanging contact information with Shade and Jenna, the four bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.

As soon as Lando and Alice stepped outside, they saw Odo waiting for them with a beaming smile, clearly in a good mood.

“Master Odo, I missed you so much!” Alice couldn’t wait and rushed into his arms.

Odo smiled and started to reach out, but seeing Lando behind her, he seemed to remember something. He stopped his hand at Alice’s forehead and said, “You’re a grown lady now, not a little girl anymore. Don’t forget your manners.”

Alice had become Odo’s disciple when she was very young. Though Odo looked youthful, in fact he was already in his sixties or seventies—not that such an age meant anything among legendary figures.

Alice looked at her mentor in confusion, her head full of question marks, unable to understand what possible impact her actions could have.

At this time, Lando stepped forward and greeted respectfully, “Master!”

Alice turned her head in bewilderment. “What did you just say?”

“I was greeting Master Odo. Is there a problem, Senior Alice?”

Very quickly, Alice accepted the fact that Lando had officially become her junior.

“So, were you satisfied with this exploration?” Odo asked.

Lando replied earnestly, “I was very satisfied, and I gained a lot!”

“Oh? Seems you’re more accomplished now than I was back then,” Odo said, smiling, and didn’t ask further about Lando’s gains, choosing instead to praise him.

“Since it’s rare for me to be out, my floating city’s four-element pool is still missing a water core. I plan to try my luck at the Evernight Glacier. Would you like to join me?”

“Yes, yes! I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun there, though also dangerous. But if we’re with you, Master, it’ll be fine!”

At this, Odo was thinking: Once we get to the Evernight Glacier, I’ll find a chance to ‘accidentally’ get separated from the two of them. Alone together, man and woman, in a perilous place—surely...

“Master, I’d like to return to the Academy first. I have some ideas I want to test. If I succeed, I might create something truly interesting.”

Odo looked at his disciple in exasperation, thinking that if Lando remained single, there would be a reason for it—he couldn’t even recognize such a perfect opportunity when it was handed to him.

Ah, this oblivious disciple is really worrying. I’ll have to find them another chance in the future.

“Well, now you’ve piqued my curiosity, too. I’ll hurry back as soon as I can. I hope you’ll surprise me.”

“Yes, Master. I promise I won’t disappoint you,” Lando replied solemnly, perfectly missing the opportunity his mentor had created for him.

“…”

……

Upon returning to the Academy, Lando threw himself into the laboratory, beginning an all-consuming research. At some point, he had come to love this way of life.

A month later, Odo and Alice returned from the Evernight Glacier.

Alice grumbled, “Master, the Evernight Glacier wasn’t as fun as I’d imagined! It was too cold, and I didn’t even see any adorable fluffballs.”

Odo: “…”

“I don’t want to travel to freezing places again anytime soon. I need sunshine, beaches, and the sea!”

After sending his overly energetic disciple away, Odo learned from the laboratory’s intelligent core that Lando had been in the lab for a month already.

This comforted him to some extent, but he did not expect Lando’s research to yield much—after all, the boy’s knowledge was still too shallow.

It was like an elementary school student suddenly deciding to conduct research: as a teacher, you had to encourage them, but your expectations for the final product could only go so far.

Yet, as Lando continued to isolate himself in the lab into the third month, Odo’s feelings began to change.

The intelligent core began to detect signs of physical weakness in Lando’s body—a rare occurrence for a second-stage arcanist.

Odo regarded Lando’s real-time data with concern, but did not interrupt his work. Instead, he checked Lando’s meal frequency and added extra nutrients to each meal, effectively alleviating Lando’s symptoms.

Four months.

Five months.

Finally, in the sixth month, when the intelligent core issued a red alert that Lando’s body was at the brink, the closed-door research was finally complete.

Looking at the gaunt, almost skeletal youth in the mirror, yet seeing the light burning in his eyes, Odo finally relaxed.

Lando was shocked by his own haggard appearance and even more dumbfounded to learn he had spent six months in seclusion.

After hurriedly apologizing to his master, he returned to his dormitory to clean himself up, and then naturally went to Old Moore’s place for a hearty meal.

It was fortunate, thanks to his elemental constitution, that he could even think of a meal. Otherwise, in his weakened state, getting out of bed would have been a challenge.

Old Moore almost didn’t recognize Lando in this state. It was only after Lando had Little Grey open the Academy’s smart terminal and verify his identity that his doubts were laid to rest.

Old Moore quickly prepared some nourishing food for him, then, with a gossiping air, began to probe into what Lando had been up to.

“Looking at you, I’d say you must have been kidnapped by a succubus to the Abyss, hmm?” Old Moore teased.

Lando joked back while eating, “If a succubus was to kidnap me, it’d have to be the Succubus Queen herself. The lesser ones couldn’t handle me!”

“Hey, you can boast like that here in the Academy, but don’t say it outside. The Succubus Queen is now the private plaything of a high-ranking imperial figure, and because of that, the succubi are currently the most favored demons in the Abyss.”

This news made Lando raise an eyebrow. If the whole Abyss was the Empire’s back garden, that was only natural.

“But seriously, what have you been up to? That boy Toru keeps coming back to look for you. And your collection—remember to take it with you; it’s taking up too much space here,” Old Moore said, tossing a few rings onto the table.

Lando looked at the so-called ‘space-consuming’ rings and was left speechless.

“I’ve been doing research lately, got a bit obsessed. Thankfully, I succeeded,” Lando said with pride.

“You? Research? You?” Old Moore was full of disbelief.

Lando protested, “What’s wrong with me? I’m a genius too, you know!”

“…”

After their customary bout of banter, Lando hurried back to the laboratory, eager to share his results with his mentor.

“Master…” Lando hesitated when he saw Odo, feeling that directly announcing his success might seem too much like bragging.

Fortunately, Odo smiled and said, “It looks like your research has borne fruit. No need to keep it from me—hurry up and show me what you’ve got.”