Why Did You Summon Me?

Chapter 466: We’re Just Friends…

The student’s conversation made Baiyi realize that he no longer paid attention to student rankings, from the moment Vidomina became the VP. This was because he had delegated ranking duties to Tisdale and Vidomina. He only had to view the finalized lists and prepare special pendants for the top three students and normal pendants for the rest of the top ten.

“I really do find this quite intriguing. Which students will occupy the top three? Hmm… There’s still the final exam to go before left graduation, though. Nevertheless, the Arfin City defense mission must have been a great opportunity for the students to farm extra-curricular points, which is sure to have affected the ranking,” Baiyi murmured under his breath as he snuck away silently.

The students were now planning how they would make the perfect love confessions during graduation. This was a topic Baiyi considered too private to eavesdrop on.

Although Baiyi considered the student rankings something slightly exciting, he still regarded it as unimportant. To him, it paled in comparison to an upcoming event, where he would be able to milk those noble cash cows dry!

Baiyi would first select fifteen students whose family’s tribute would satisfy him, and after that, Da Xue’s exam session would arrive. The students would then write their final exam, while the candidates that are not sponsored would write the entrance exam. Following that is the grand welcoming ceremony for freshmen. A long break — the only one in the study year — would come after that.

After that, Baiyi would be ready for a war with the Church.

‘When you put it that way, the schedule looks pretty tight,’ Baiyi thought.

Baiyi’s “Cash Cow Milking Bonanza” was still a day away, but Arfin City had grown even more festive than usual. It was still early in the morning when Walhart Empire’s most prominent nobles began to gather in the city, filling the streets with sounds of trotting as horses pulling their exquisite coaches exited transportal portals in Arfin City’s Sorcerers’ Association branch. As commoners watched the fancy coaches ride through the streets, in the company of servants, they tried to guess the nobles the coaches belonged to.

When night fell, there was still so much hustle and bustle around the city. It was as though the city had not suffered an invasion attempt. Extravagant balls and evening parties began, hosted by tycoons and attended by nobles they were affiliated with. The wealthy at these parties took delight in discussing worldly affairs, spurred by intel, news, and rumors they had gathered by themselves. They also guessed what could happen in the future.

The most extravagant wine party being held that night was being hosted by the Dole family, and it boasted the largest number of moguls in attendance. This wine party was an event ordinary nobles and nouveau riches could never be invited to.

Undine Dole — who the people from the Northern Continent called ‘Southern Pearl’, because of her ravishing beauty — was the heart of the party. She could have passed for an eighteen-year-old girl, but she also exuded an air of maturity that younger girls could never emulate.

Undine Dole had let down her hair for the party, and it rested gracefully on her purple nightgown. She was like a rose that had blossomed in the calm of a quiet night, attracting the attention of everyone at the party.

Undine was still single, and there were no rumors that she was dating someone. It was surprising that a single, rich, and beautiful maiden like Undine was not being bombarded by request from noble suitors. However, there was a reason for this — a reason why the casanovas did nothing more than admire her from afar.

It was an open secret that she had a secret and complicated relationship with the powerful Fifth Voidwalker.

The Dole family’s wealth and power had increased greatly because they were acquainted with Hope before he became famous. It was only because of his help that the Doles started a lucrative commercial route, transporting goods between the Southern and Northern Continent. That was not all, though. The Dole Family was also personally protected by Da Xue and its dragon knights.

Neither Baiyi nor Undine had confirmed or denied the rumors flying around. These rumors, which were started by some people on the inside, had it that Baiyi and Undine had made marriage plans about ten years ago. Although it seemed odd for a human to wish to wed a suit of armor, no one disagreed with the fact that power and status were enough for just about anyone to have their way.

Hope rarely attended parties with Undine in tow; instead, he would arrive with a Da Xue student, Tisdale, Aya, the graceful leader of the dragon knights, or a mysterious woman that could transform into two other women at will. The identity of these three women was just as much a mystery as Hope’s real face. Hence, a vast number of people pitied Undine.

Whoever Hope chose to attend events with did nothing to prevent the Dole family from being an elite amongst the upper-class — a position they had attained only because they had latched onto the Fifth Voidwalker before everyone else did.

Link, the Southern Duke, arrived at the wine party late. His arrival did not surprise anyone. The man’s relatives were long since past the age of academy students, but Link was instrumental in the sponsorship business. He was, after all, the middleman between Da Xue and the nobles. When Da Xue’s sponsored student system was implemented, it was Link that helped Baiyi attract over the most affluent nobles.

When Undine saw Link, she walked over with her glass of wine, and they clinked their wine glasses. After taking a sip of her wine, Undine beckoned Link to join her outside, under a gazebo.

“What was that stinky jerk thinking, increasing the number of sponsors so suddenly?” Undine grumbled the instant she was out of sight. “Thanks to him, stampeding vulgarians nearly tore down my door!”

Calling Baiyi a “stinky jerk” showed that Undine already knew who Sven the Rogue Knight really was. Back then, this mysterious man had slighted her first before saving her from her inhumane captors, the Steppe Barbarians. This was something that was revealed to her by Attie, not Baiyi.

As Attie’s tribe’s settlement was the most important stop on the trading route between the Northern and the Southern Continent, her people had benefitted greatly, becoming the wealthiest and the most powerful tribe in the Steppe. Its current chieftain would have crowned himself king, but the rightful king, Attie — who was chosen by the War God — was still alive. She was being pampered by her wayward master, who possessed enough power to turn the Steppe into an ocean of flames if he saw fit.

As a merchant with a nose for maximizing profit, Undine knew that the trading route’s success solely rested on an important stop, which was Attie’s tribe. Hence, she went out of her way to befriend Attie, the same person that ordered her capture and allowed the Steppe’s barbarians to treat her inhumanely.

The two had been able to put their testy past behind them and become friends. The strong relationship Undine shared with Tisdale allowed her to become a part of the sisterhood. A tight schedule was the only thing that stopped her from having fun with the sisterhood every day.

It was then Attie let slip that the War God’s sword could only be wielded by those acknowledged by the War God. Thus, only Attie and her master, Hope, could use it. This revelation had exposed Baiyi’s little lie. Back then, he had told everyone that he had snatched the War God’s sword from Sven.

When Undine learned of this, she was not annoyed that Baiyi had fooled her for years. Instead, she was smitten. Undine had always nursed feelings for the mysterious Rogue Knight that saved her, and now that she knew that the Knight was Hope, who had brought her family immense wealth and power, she considered him the only man for her — the only man that who could maximize her happiness in the business called love.

Things became more… interesting from there. Like a teenage girl in love for the first time, Undine had visited Baiyi every two days. His continued rejections had not deterred her at all. After every rejection, she would change her manner of approach. Acting cute in public, standing outside Baiyi’s office patiently like a good girlfriend waiting for her man, and hiding in Baiyi’s room whilst dressed in seductive underwear, waiting to surprise him, were some of the things she had tried so far. [1]

When Undine pulled the stunt with the sexy underwear, Baiyi promptly rejected her again, causing the furious and disappointed lady to cry out, “You’ve done worse things to me before! You saw everything, even the parts underneath the underwear… You had even touched me everywhere! You lied to me and said that it had been done by some guy called Sven! Don’t you think you should take responsibility for all you’ve done to me?”

“H-hey, wait for a second! Did I see any of your private areas? Did I touch you? Have I lied to you before?” A flabbergasted Baiyi had answered. “Honestly, back then, I was only doing the Merchant Walker a favor. On the hierarchy, you’re pretty much his junior! You shouldn’t be saying things like that about your seniors, okay?”

“Y-you…You stinky jerk! If you wish to be this way, then I… I’m going tell my ancestor about it!” She shouted in bluster.

This “ancestor” was, of course, the Merchant Walker, who was now the Principal of Da Xue’s Business Faculty. This Voidwalker was also the main reason why the Dole family always supported the Voidwalkers and Da Xue.

“Sure, I don’t think his words mean much. Go and cry to him if you want to,” Baiyi replied nonchalantly.

A hurt Undine had burst into tears, calling Baiyi a ‘heartbreaker’, ‘bastard’, and ‘the meanest baddie ever.’ With tears streaming down her cheeks, Undine had fled the room.

A short while later, the Merchant Walker had visited Baiyi, seeking help to repair his battered suit of armor, which had parts missing. When the three Huffinf Piggies caught wind of what had happened, they had visited Undine and the Merchant Walker with a vengeance. [2]

Undine had not bothered Baiyi after that, but she had completely given up on him, either. She had rejected all proposals she had received after, for years. She was also responsible for starting the rumors that Baiyi had a secret relationship with her.

The Dole family remained one of the Voidwalkers’ staunchest allies, despite Undine’s complicated relationship with Baiyi. Undine did everything Baiyi asked of her excellently. Events regarding the selection of Da Xue’s sponsors were always taken care of by the Dole family.

“The reasoning behind his decision eluded me, as well. Perhaps, it’s related to the growing animosity between the Voidwalkers and the Church. He may now feel the need to garner support from the nobles,” the Southern Duke replied.

“Ha! That stinky jerk, afraid of the Church?” A bemused Undine snickered. “Nah, I think he just ran out of money again.”

“The Church is the largest and most influential organization in Isythre. You’re aware of that, aren’t you?” Duke Link replied.

“I think you misunderstood him, Lord Link. He lived in a desolate abyss for thousands of years, and he had had to crawl out from that frigid darkness alone. He had stared anyone’s worst nightmare in the eye. Do you really think a man like that could be afraid of anyone in this world?” Undine said, sporting a tone of confidence. “He’s the man I want, and I don’t want just anyone.”

As Undine spoke, she stared at the stars, lost in thought. It was a pose only a young lady in love could make.

“Is that so? I suppose you’re right,” Duke Link replied, smiling.

He knew that Lady Undine’s wish would never come to fruition. Duke Link had seen the women that surrounded Baiyi, and he knew that Undine’s beauty could match some of them. Undine was an independent woman, who was as bold in her approach as she was in her business. As the Dole family’s ray of hope, Undine shouldered a heavy burden, which she hid behind her carefree personality.

From what Link had gathered, burdens like these were just what Hope feared the most