Solomon rubbed his palms on his face as though Inna just reminded him of something that has been stressing him.

"I was just… planning to visit for a short while. My plan was to just go here to tell my dear troublesome disciple to pack her things to leave for tomorrow then after I had to go back to my office to continue to sort out those nasty paperwork and also that issue about someone from royalty getting into trouble."

"But since you were poisoned during an official exam under the Academy's supervision, I can't just ignore that. Something like cheating and harming a student in my academy during an exam is already a huge blunder on its own so I might have to talk with Gnarly about that matter."

Solomon sighed when he realized that another thing is once again added to his never ending list of worries.

"Heavens, I feel like the one of the Academy's guards running around here and there just to make sure no one gets into trouble."

Inna patted his back comfortingly.

"Why don't you just delegate the task to the people who works for you? Isn't that easier? No need to be so hands-on about it."

Solomon shook his head slowly as he stared into the distance.

"I… can't. I once made a huge mistake in the past by letting others do my work for me. And that… resulted to numerous evil acts being secretly approved by the people I thought were trustworthy."

"And before I realized, it resulted to me losing the trust of my son as well."

"I know I could never make up for what I did, or what I didn't do to be precise. So, at the very least, to avoid having a repeat of it, I'm making sure that I would be involved in everything that's happening in this academy, both the good and the bad. Even though it's going to increase my workload by a hundred-fold."

Inna was truly intrigued by his story. She has never seen Solomon look so pained yet so concerned at the same time.

It must've been a really devastating thing for him to have his own son lose his trust on him.

She wanted to know more and she wanted to comfort him but she knew that dwelling too much or being nosy isn't something that would be appropriate on that time.

Because if he looked this pained just by recalling it, talking about it would probably make him feel way worse.

So, Inna had no idea what else to do except to just pat his back awkwardly.

Then, a cold gust of wind suddenly made its way towards them and the p.r.i.c.kling cold made Inna involuntarily s.h.i.+ver.

Sensing the vibrations from her hand through his back, Solomon immediately snapped out of his thoughts.

"It's cold out here. You should go inside and rest now."

Inna didn't want to bring the topic up but she had to be sure. So, she muttered slowly under her breath.

"Uhm, so what about my tardiness?"

Solomon blinked as he realized that he actually forgot about that. Feeling somewhat embarra.s.sed for himself, he coughed before muttering in the same manner as Inna.

"Ahem. Don't worry about that anymore. Since you couldn't help it, I'll overlook your tardiness for now. So you should really rest for now. You still have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

Inna nodded and was about to do her formal bow towards her Master when she suddenly remembered something.

"Uhhhhhhhh, speaking of a busy day, I'm thinking of undergoing some training."

Solomon's eyes widened as his face contorted into an irritated expression. He looked greatly offended with what Inna just said.

"Why would you want to train with someone else if you already have me as your Master?! Is this some kind of betrayal? My first discipline is actually leaving me to train under someone who's most likely incompetent?"

Inna rolled her eyes at his statement but inside, she couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw that Solomon is back to his usual mood.

"It's for the Yearly a.s.sessment tournament. Y'know, the thing you forgot to mention to me when I entered this academy?"

Solomon clicked his tongue at her sarcasm as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"I did not forget to tell you anything, missy. I purposely hid that from you because there's no way you are entering that kind of tournament. You're too… underdeveloped to partic.i.p.ate."

Inna raised her eyebrow at his statement.

"What do you mean 'underdeveloped'?!"

Solomon sighed as he gave her a flat look.

"By the Academy's standards, those in the High cla.s.ses are in the High ranks of their chosen fields. Those in the Middle cla.s.ses are Intermediate rank peak stages while those in the lower cla.s.ses are from Intermediate rank middle stage."

"You see, those people are already considered geniuses outside this Academy since the ordinary growth of the people their age would be in the low rank middle stage. That's a three-stage difference."

"Meanwhile, we have you here who is only in the starter rank peak stage of all professions. And to be honest, that's the average growth rate of ten year old children."

"So, just imagine a ten year old out to fight genius eighteen year olds, who's strength can already cla.s.sify as someone in their mid-twenties, in an all out fight. Not so great to hear now, is it?"

Inna gritted her teeth in frustration but she had to admit that he was right.

With her capabilities now, never mind the top spot. Even just winning a single match would be impossible for her.

But then, he's only talking about her 'current' capabilities.

"That's all the more reason why I need someone to train me! Obviously you can't because you're busy running this academy and truthfully, it'll be a little bias if you did. So, I found someone else that's willing to do it and I can guarantee you that he's capable. He's from the Rose cla.s.s!"

Solomon furrowed his brows as he looked at her in amazement.

"How in the world did someone from Rose cla.s.s get acquainted with you? Did he or she take pity of you? Is that why he or she offered to train you?"

Inna frowned deeply in response.

"Hey, I can make friends! And yeah, it might've been out of pity and it might seem like he was forced to do it but that doesn't change the fact that he offered."

Solomon narrowed his eyes when he heard the word 'he.'

So, it's a man?

He suddenly felt a bit worried for Inna.

Most of the people in the Rose cla.s.s are usually selfish and stuck up brats so it's rare for someone to offer their help.

"And who is this 'he' you speak of?"

Inna answered immediately.

"Remember that guy I told you about before?"

"Who?"

"Raghnall."

Solomon choked on his saliva as he tried to reel in his shock.

Why is he, of all people, training her?!