"Mister s.h.i.+n Iofiel, would you accompany me for a brief moment?" Just as school ended and s.h.i.+n was taking a stroll back to his dorm room, a prim and proper female butler stopped him in his tracks. In her mid-twenties, the butler boasted a healthy youthful look, and her dark eyes eluded any information about her true ident.i.ty. Although she seemed to be rather young, s.h.i.+n felt a sense of dread similar to that when he faced the Instructor. Even without her summoning out her spiritual pressure, s.h.i.+n could tell that the butler was an expert in her craft.

"You're..."

"I'm here under orders from my young mistress, her grace, Kanari Saniela. Don't worry, we don't have any bad intentions for inviting you over." Bowing courteously, the butler reaffirmed that she didn't have any intentions of harming the young black-haired teen.

'Her again? What does she want?' s.h.i.+n exasperatedly exclaimed in his mind. "May I ask why she wishes to see me?"

"It's not proper for me to divulge the intentions of my mistress. However, you don't have to worry. This visit would only bring benefits to you, I guarantee that." The butler continued with her pressing as if she wouldn't take no for an answer.

'Kanari Saniela again… Honestly, I want to remain as low key as possible but having her on my side could reap me some benefits...' s.h.i.+n took a few seconds to think about the butler's words. Even though he was somewhat apprehensive to meet with the greatest genius in the Himmel Empire once more, he ultimately relented, as he felt that the benefits far outweighed the demerits.

"Looks like you've made up your mind. Follow me." Catching the minute change in his expression, the butler pivoted her feet and led the young boy down the familiar route to the hidden auditorium. The walk over was an awkward one, with the butler refusing to answer any of s.h.i.+n's questions. Eventually, after realising that he was unable to move the butler, s.h.i.+n shut his mouth and conserved his energy for the meeting ahead.

Stepping into the abandoned hall, s.h.i.+n felt a wave of emotion rush through his mind once more. The refres.h.i.+ng sensation that he had felt when he had first visited this area pulsated within the depths of s.h.i.+n's soul, albeit in a lighter manner than before.

Sitting on the crystal table that was a few metres away from the prominent Soul Tree, a young girl, whose beauty could only be described as divine, was sipping on a cup of tea, while calmly staring into s.p.a.ce. Her angelic face that transcended all regular appearances and her delicate movements hinted her n.o.ble background. Turning her head slightly, the young girl noticed the two newcomers and her reddened lips curled up slightly.

"Mister s.h.i.+n! You have arrived!" Exclaiming in a soft voice, Kanari laid down her teacup. s.h.i.+n noticed that unlike the first time they interacted, Kanari's tone had a tinge of respect as if she were addressing a fellow n.o.ble instead of a commoner. "I have been waiting for you."

"Good day to you too, Miss Kanari… I wonder why you have called me here yet again?"

"Haha, we'll get to that later. Please, take a seat." Gesturing for her peer to sit opposite of her, the young girl jubilantly poured him a cup of her tea. "It's Pu'er Tea. I hope you don't mind it."

"Thank you, but I'm not thirsty."

"Oh, that's a shame..." A sour pout emerged from the lovely lips of the young girl as she put on a dejected expression. If it were a typical male, they would undoubtedly feel a p.r.i.c.k in their heart for causing such a pretty girl to go through such stress. Unfortunately, s.h.i.+n was no regular man. With his heart already buried together with Ariel, and his standard for beauty raised significantly after spending an exorbitant amount of time with his Master, s.h.i.+n was basically immune to Kanari's charms.

s.h.i.+n stared vigilantly at Kanari, hoping that she would take the first move and state her intentions for calling him over. However, even after a full minute, the only thing that was shared between them was silence. Kanari was busy cooling the hot tea down with her puckered lips and totally ignored s.h.i.+n.

"Miss Kanari… If there's nothing of importance, would you excuse me? I have some matters to attend to."

"Mister s.h.i.+n!" Just as s.h.i.+n was about to leave, Kanari raised her voice slightly.

"What is it?"

"You know… I'm a talented individual."

"Huh?" s.h.i.+n dropped his jaw after hearing Kanari's self-praise. It was one thing if everyone called you a genius, but if you address yourself as a rare talent, it would have come across as being smug and arrogant.

"From the day I was born, I was destined to become the greatest. I was born to a High d.u.c.h.ess that controlled over a million human lives, and I was first in line to inherit that Duchy. I was given the best resources to administer my Spirit, and I had some of the best teachers that the entire world had to offer." Instead of getting to the point, Kanari went off on a tangent and began to narrate her backstory.

"When I awakened my Spirit, I triggered a natural phenomenon, and my world became even more hectic. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people gathered to congratulate me. The best resources that I received since I was young, they doubled. The best teachers, they improved. I was even given the right to visit the Imperial Palace whenever I wanted, something that not even Dukes or Counts had the right to."

"..." s.h.i.+n silently listened on to the young girl's ramblings without moving a muscle. It was a rare chance for him to find out how Kanari formed her Spirit Core so quickly, so he didn't dare to interrupt.

"Do you know the term there's always a mountain higher? The funny thing was, I had always been the highest mountain. Whenever I compared myself to my peers, even if I didn't want to be overly confident, my talent far surpa.s.sed theirs. The only one who came close was Suji but even he was five ranks lower than me." With a lonely sigh, Kanari displayed her despondence. To be at the top of the world, came solitude. Even though everyone was gunning for her spot, with just a mere wave of her hand, Kanari could sweep her compet.i.tion easily.

"So I have been searching. Searching for the higher mountain so that I wouldn't be the sole trailblazer. However, I have never found someone that was more talented than me. Those who were had already made their mark on history. Amongst the younger generation, no one even came close to my talent. That is, until today..." Lifting her gaze from her teacup to meet eyes with s.h.i.+n, Kanari gave a wry grin.

"I would have never had expected that I was in the presence of the youngest healer in history. You did well to conceal yourself."

"You!" s.h.i.+n abruptly stood up, sending the chair that he was sitting on tumbling in the opposite direction. This was the first time that s.h.i.+n had lost control over himself since he entered the Capital. He had a good reason to hide his ident.i.ty and yet, Kanari managed to figure out who he was within one week. "How much do you know?"

"Quite a bit actually. Your real name isn't s.h.i.+n Iofiel. You were an orphaned child that was picked up by the Frie Clan. For some reason, you managed to get apprenticed to the ill.u.s.trious Lady Seph, and in a shocking turn, you learned 'Heal' when you were just thirteen! Attending in the battle for Aldrich's Keep, you are an experienced healer with hours in the battlefield, and your healing is equal to that of an intermediate healer." Kanari narrated everything that she had heard from the investigation report she asked for.

"To be honest, when I learnt all of this, I was absolutely floored. Even though you are three ranks lower than me, you're way more talented. Not to mention, you weren't given the kind of resources that I had, but have twice the amount of achievements. In fact, not many military men in the Capital have half of your accomplishments. If the world knows of your existence, all the major powers will rush to get you for themselves." Kanari gave a high a.s.sessment of s.h.i.+n's worth.

"What do you want?" s.h.i.+n got to the crux of the issue. For Kanari to conduct such a thorough investigation into his background, there must have been something that the young aristocrat wanted from him.

"How straightforward of you… Well, it's not like I dislike that attribute in a person..." Kanari got up her seat and walked towards the Soul Tree that stood behind her. Walking up the steps until she was elevated from s.h.i.+n's vision, the young beauty did a gracious twirl and flashed one of the most brilliant smiles that s.h.i.+n had ever seen.

"Join me, s.h.i.+n! I can promise you resources that you could never imagine, and I will help you achieve all of your goals! Stand by me as we charge forward and create history!" Kanari determinedly exclaimed. The Himmel Empire's future G.o.ddess and the youngest healer in history. If the two of them joined forces, every single ent.i.ty in the Empire would be put on red alert.

'I see… She wants to recruit me...' Finally understanding why he was the focus of Kanari's investigations, s.h.i.+n let out a mental sigh. As tempting as it was to accept her offer, s.h.i.+n could not grant the idealistic girl's wishes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that..."

"Why not?! We can become one of the strongest forces in the Empire within a few decades, and you would undoubtedly serve as a top official in the future!"

"No, I'm flattered by your offer. I really am. But I have abandoned the healing path long ago. I cannot give you what you seek from me. Now, I'm training to become the strongest warrior that I could possibly be. That's why I'm not in the auxiliary course instead." s.h.i.+n explained himself. "Furthermore, my goals lie elsewhere, not within the borders of the Empire."

s.h.i.+n's fight with the Black Mask syndicate was not limited to the lands of the Himmel Empire. The Black Mask syndicate, led by the elusive Allfather, had legions all over the world. To take down Junius, to finish the Allfather that had caused him so much pain, s.h.i.+n would have to keep his freedom. He couldn't be burdened by entering the world of politics that even his Master warned him to steer clear off.

"Why would you do that?! Aren't you the youngest healer in history?! Why would you squander your talent?! If you continued down this path, you would unquestionably make your mark on history!!!"

"I have my reasons… I hope that you wouldn't probe too much, Miss Kanari..."

Kanari stared silently at the black-haired boy who was wearing a helpless expression. Recalling something that she had read in the doc.u.ment presented to her, the young girl lowered her shoulders and heaved out a deep breath.

"Is it because of Ariel?"

"You!!! How do you know that name?!" s.h.i.+n cried out at the top of his lungs. His voice becoming hurried as his blood pressure began to rise. The veins on his neck started to show, and the pearly white face of his had been dyed red with agitation. Ariel was s.h.i.+n's Achilles heel. The moment someone mentioned her, s.h.i.+n would flip out in anger as the chaotic memories returned to his consciousness.

"I-I investigated..." Stunned by the adverse effect of her words, Kanari took one step backwards and unconsciously raised her hands.

"No… I lost control over myself… I apologise..." After watching the black-haired beauty's frightened face, s.h.i.+n realised the blunder that he had made and immediately made an effort to calm himself.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept your good graces. I have to leave now. Good day to you, Miss Kanari." Taking this opportunity to exit the auditorium, s.h.i.+n left Kanari alone and slack-jawed.

"Should I chase after him, young mistress?" The butler that led s.h.i.+n over to the abandoned hall moved up to support Kanari.

"No… We should leave him alone for now. To think that he would have such a drastic reaction…" If Kanari was entirely honest, she barely knew anything about Ariel and only threw out her name as a means to convince him to join her crusade. Naturally, since she didn't understand how much the deceased Ariel meant to s.h.i.+n, she miscalculated and paid for her mistake. "Let's wait a few weeks for him to calm down. Make sure that no one else approaches him for an alliance. If any aristocratic family sends an envoy to him, let me know immediately!"

"Understood, young mistress."

Kanari barked orders at her butler while taking the time to rea.s.sess where she had gone wrong. There was no way that Kanari was going to give up on securing a partners.h.i.+p with possibly the most talented genius that she had ever seen.

'Looks like the investigation wasn't comprehensive enough… But, I can't bring out the top-tier investigators by myself!!! Should I tell mother about him?' Kanari started to formulate plans so that she could secure an alliance with s.h.i.+n. 'Whatever, I should let nature run its course for now...'