*THUMP!*
In front of the Clock Tower's teaching building, the sudden sound of a collision startled the surrounding pedestrians. However, after the initial shock, people merely glanced at their watches and naturally returned to their own concerns.
"Again today."
"Every day at this hour."
"Has it been two years already?"
"Can't we have a peaceful day or two?"
Everyone more or less showed an expression of intolerance, muttering softly. This was also natural, after all, such a scene had occurred almost every day for the past two years.
And when the sound of the impact subsided and the billowing dust settled, Naoki lowered the Gray he was holding and looked at his watch, "Hmm, there's still ten minutes before class, more than enough time."
"Brother, even though I've said it many times, please don't use such time-saving methods anymore, it will trouble others."
Gray looked at Naoki with a hint of displeasure.
Although she had promised to watch over Naoki before leaving, once on the street, Gray actually couldn't stop him at all. It seemed that due to several rooftop actions during the incident in Paris two years ago, ever since then, whenever he had to make up for lost time, Naoki would directly jump onto the roof and keep leaping.
According to Waver, it was like a monkey.
Moreover, due to Naoki's physical abilities being beyond human limits, doing such things didn't make him uncomfortable at all, his speed was even faster than Waver driving. And also because of this way of saving time, Naoki had directly become one of the most famous celebrities in the Clock Tower in these two years—in various senses.
And besides that, another factor that made Naoki famous was Gray.
A year ago, because she had reached the right age, and also fearing that Gray at home would be negatively influenced by Merlin, Naoki tried asking Kayneth about Gray's enrollment. Initially, Naoki didn't have much hope, but not long after, Kayneth had Waver convey that Gray could be accepted.
It was just that different from the normal enrollment method, Gray was accepted as Naoki's follower.
This was also one of the Clock Tower's rules.
Magus were often targeted by others and faced life-threatening dangers. Therefore, for self-preservation, Magus had the right to bring followers or disciples by their side. Among the sons of prominent nobles studying at the Clock Tower, this was a very common thing.
Gray was accepted through this rule.
Although Naoki couldn't be considered a competent Magus at all, and was clearly not of noble descent.
"Bringing such a small child to class every day, could that blonde guy have some strange hobby?"
"Besides that, is there another reason?"
"Disgusting."
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Such voices faintly drifted from the surroundings. Hearing that, Gray unconsciously pulled down her hood lower.
Letting out a small sigh, Naoki patted her head, then turned his head and stared sharply at the surrounding crowd. Although blocked by the Mystic Eyes Killer, that cold gaze still made the surrounding people shiver and immediately disperse like frightened birds.
"Seriously, these people... all day long they only know how to spread rumors and make trouble. I'm really disliked, huh."
This wasn't a matter of just one or two days. Due to various considerations from Kayneth, plus Naoki had been seen traveling together with the Lord of the Botany Department, many people thought he was just a playboy constantly exploiting connections—especially those Magus who also came from poor families.
"There's no need to care about those rumors, Gray. Let's go to class."
"Um..."
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Morning class, just as Naoki had said that morning, because it was approaching the end of the semester, the material for this semester had already been taught, so the lecturers only checked the progress of each student's final thesis and went back to their own research.
Teaching at the Clock Tower was done with a system of whoever could follow could come. Magecraft could almost be said to be determined by lineage and talent, so there was no need for serious teaching. Spreading information that could be bait appropriately, and then choosing a few promising people to be their assistants, this was the common practice of the Clock Tower lecturers.
And as a student, rather than gaining knowledge in class, finding a competent lecturer and becoming their disciple would allow them to learn faster.
Naoki was the same.
"Waver, I'm here."
"Sorry to bother you, Lord Waver."
Inside the office, seeing the two people who entered, Waver, who was writing his thesis, nodded, "You've come, sit down for a moment, my thesis is almost finished, we'll talk about the course later."
"Then I'll help you tidy up your documents first, it's such a mess here."
"Thank you."
"I'm your assistant."
Yes, the lecturer Naoki chose to guide him was Waver.
This wasn't too surprising. Although basically the lecturers chose students to be their assistants, if the lecturer's ability didn't meet the requirements, the students also had the right to refuse.
And Waver's ability, as everyone knew, was that of a mediocre third-rate Magus, it was completely impossible for any student to be willing to be his assistant. He himself, realizing this, had never looked for an assistant. But strangely, the lecturer's rank was related to his achievements, if he couldn't guide a few assistants, Waver's lecturer rank wouldn't be able to rise, and his salary wouldn't increase either.
This was a nightmare for Waver, who bore part of the El-Melloi Faction's debt.
Therefore, a year ago, Waver made Naoki his assistant. After all, the two of them did often have private tutoring after class, it was just adding another layer of relationship, so Naoki didn't mind too much.
After helping Waver tidy up the office with Gray, Naoki had only sat down for a moment when Waver finished writing.
"Finished?"
"Um, this should be enough to submit to Professor Kayneth."
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Waver, here's coffee."
"Thank you very much, Miss." After receiving the coffee from Gray and taking a sip, Waver looked at Naoki, "By the way, Naoki, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. I originally planned to look for you after finishing my thesis, but since you're here, I'll just mention it now."
Naoki frowned, "What is it? Don't tell me there's another blind noble daughter who's taken a fancy to your dark circles, and you want me to reject her?"
"I can handle that kind of thing myself—and that kind of thing has never even happened, why did you say 'again'?"
Glaring at Naoki, Waver said, "Remember the incident two years ago that you mentioned to me? You said you wanted me to pay attention to any rumors about Aozaki Touko, you had business with her. This morning when I came to work, I happened to hear from some people on the street that there seems to be a doll maker in Japan who is holding a doll exhibition."
"Eh?"
Naoki was silent for a moment.
'A doll maker holding a doll exhibition... that's right, it's almost 1998 now, if I calculate, the time isn't too far off.'
"So, you think it's Aozaki Touko?"
"Who knows? It's just that according to those people, some Magus who participated all gave high praise, and even spent a lot of money to order some. This already shows that the doll maker's technique is not bad, right? Who knows if it's really Aozaki Touko?"
"Trying my luck... not bad." Naoki nodded, "Is there a definite schedule for the exhibition? When is the next one?"
"I don't know, it seems it's not held regularly. But judging from the frequency of its holding, there must be one every two months, if I calculate... there should be one in January."
"January..."
Naoki pursed his lips, then smiled, "Alright, it's been two years in England, I haven't gone home yet. This time I'll go back to celebrate the New Year, and also meet some old friends. It's been two years since we last met, they must have changed a lot."