Chapter 34

"Hey, so your name is Timothy, right? Everyone was wondering where you have been lately since only students in the third year class usually take time to head out into the outside world. You had all of us very worried, and during all of this time, I thought that I would inquire once you returned. From what my uncle taught me growing up, it looks like if I am not mistaken, you advanced to the second rank as a warrior?"

Nora's voice was crystal clear and was heavenly yet stern. Even teachers believed that Nora had a noble aura to her and that one day like her father, she would become an important figure within the empire. It was assumed by everyone that Nora would not be married out in her lifetime due to having such a background and actually outshining several of her siblings who in their own right, began to build a sturdy foundation and had good reputations.

"If you were so worried about me, maybe you should have come and checked in even with one of my roommates? It's okay, next time I am about to head into closed door training I will be sure to let you know directly or send someone to deliver the message." There was no way that Timothy given all of his years of experience would be overwhelmed by this teenage girl who was he same age as he was. Having many decades of experience under his belt dealing with even the most impressive of women who fawned over him, Nora's unrivaled beauty was only able to affect him due to the similarities of the other woman he had who died in his arms that he cared deeply about.

His attitude did not seem to hurt Nora, but instead she had a strange glow in her eyes as if she enjoyed being tested since others would not dare to do such a thing in case it would end badly for them. Even the most prosperous clan in the empire would have to show her father respect and since she was his only daughter, she was considered to be someone that no one could mess with similar to the members of the Imperial Family.

"At least now you know your mistake. Since it seems like you outright admitted it, it shows that you are a stand up kind of guy. Would you like to go to dinner tonight with me? I promise that I will be able to treat you to something nice even if we are in the academy's dining hall. I wanted to take some time to get to know you more since so many of our peers have been running around tirelessly requesting information."

"Oh and you do not have to worry, I will split any commission with you when it comes to selling the information to everyone. I think that between the both of us, five hundred gold coins each for a night's worth of work is a reasonable return. Plus, you will be able to spend some time with yours truly. It is too bad, but all of the other boys on campus avoid me like I have a deadly disease. Hmph!"

All Timothy could do in this moment was to agree to Nora's demands because she did have a point and he did not think that her father would be so over domineering that he would send assassins on campus to kill him. Sure technically anything was a possibility, but it was not like Nora was asking him to be her boyfriend or anything and treated it more like a business transaction. Not only that, but she wanted to have dinner with him in the dining hall where every student at dinner time would be eating unless they had some plans to go out into the city which was unlikely.

Just being seen with Nora would absolutely raise Timothy's reputation even more and would ward off any potential open rivals that may spring up in the future. He was considered a kind hearted individual to all of the students who took the time to talk with him about different topics, but he was a commoner with no backing except his two roommates who students still felt had to be nice to him regardless since they all lived together. Therefore, he needed some additional capital in order to continue to live peacefully on campus since many male students were becoming jealous of him due to the attention the female students were giving him.

"Oh Tim, it is only having dinner with me, there is no reason to blush." Nora told him while winking as she walked back to her seat. Timothy had a crystal ball in front of him and it was more than just teasing him, he actually was blushing! Some of the girls nearby who witnessed the whole scene started whispering to each other and giggling while a handful of male students stared at him. If their gazes had actual force behind them or knives, Timothy would be puking out blood and would be dead on the spot.

What Nora did not know, was that Timothy with Andrew and Ian's help was informed about who she was and why no one chose to approach her so casually. It was claimed to be a rumor but there was no one who could decline the rumor, that her father upon retiring would be given an extremely high noble title due to his military service. This would allow his family to receive many marriage proposals almost immediately following the ceremony and would cement them into power as an extremely influential force within the empire. Not only that, but another rumor was that his force at that time would be considered a supporting force for the Imperial Family which meant that in return they only had to answer to them instead of anyone else unless they traveled outside of the empire.

Almost everyone in the empire who studied military campaigns and battles understood why Nora's father would be given such a rank upon retiring and would be showered with so much love and reverence. Roughly twenty five years ago, there was an incredibly large demonic beast horde that headed towards the empire from the southern area. There was no warning from anyone and so there was almost no time for the general in charge to request assistance as layer upon layer of formations and protective seals were torn apart!

At the time, Nora's father Brutus was only a rank six warrior and a high ranking officer. In order to give the general more time to call for reinforcements, Brutus chose to head directly into battle with only a handful of officers who served under him. The demonic beast horde mainly had very low ranking demonic beasts but it was the sheer number of them that was what horrified everyone. With Brutus and his squad of twenty others holding the horde back as long as they could, it gave enough time for every other general in the empire and their forces to arrive since they had emergency teleportation arrays in their own area they were stationed in.

Once the reinforcements had arrived, it was very easy for them to intercept the horde of over one million demonic beasts. The battle raged on for an entire three days and three nights and out of his squad of officers, only Brutus was able to survive simply because a general took his own officers deep into the horde to rescue him. And so, Brutus at that point was given several medals and honors for his bravery and was promoted to the rank of general immediately along with several top notch pills, equipment, and a golden statue in the capital of the empire in their infamous "Hall of Heroes" where only one individual if they had the ability to, would be able to be given a spot in.